Raymond Beadle was an American nitro funny car and dragster racer, as well as a prolific auto racing team owner. In the sport of drag racing, Beadle’s ‘Blue Max’ cars he won three consecutive NHRA funny car championships from 1979 to 1981 and three IHRA funny car championships – 1975-6 and 1981. In NASCAR, Raymond Beadle owned a NASCAR Winston Cup team from 1983 to 1990, winning the 1989 Winston Cup Championship with driver Rusty Wallace. His team’s car number was always #27 and his car was usually a Pontiac. Around the time he owned a stock car team, he also owned a World of Outlaws sprint car team. The car was driven by Sammy Swindell.

Among his many accomplishments, Raymond Beadle ranked 20th on the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, he is a member of the 11th class of inductees into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the 2006 recipient of the Bruton Smith Legends Award in the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame, the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association’s All-American team in 1980, and Beadle was perhaps most known in the NHRA as the driver of the “Blue Max” funny car for many years.