Here is a link to several of the old NHRA rule books. Can’t remember who it was that took the time to scan them and put them up but thanks again. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2006u57wp7sqpxt/eZJPZZcJdZ
There were actually other racers who tried to BUY that Pinto, just to get rid of it! Can't beat em, buy em out. The guy also had a 70 (?) Chevelle SS 454 LS6 (?) with a 4 speed, that was no where near as consistent as the Pinto. He had a brother that raced also, but I can't remember their name; it'll come to me when I least expect it to, but I'll also be digging through all my old Bremerton Raceway paperwork. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
\ I read somewhere one time, it could have even been in the NHRA Rule Book, that Junior Stock Class cars had to have a minimum of a 16 pound "exhaust system after the header dumps", but they did not have to be hooked up; dead weight so-to-speak. I wonder how many of those exhaust systems got filled with lead or concrete; never heard of one being pulled off to check for illegal "ballast"; and most of it was to the rear of a car. I remember seeing a 64/65 Chevelle wagon running in Super Stock, that just had a single Thrush muffler hanging under the car, no exhaust tubing to it or out of it (???). Husband and wife team Dotson, Dootson (???); he might have been a school teacher (???). Yes, I used to do a LOT of looking under the cars; still do, but it's gotten harder to get up. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I was just looking through this thread and recognized a car that was brought to my attention a couple of days ago ..the Schaums garage 57 Chev 150...a few weeks ago I had posted some pictures from a magazine that I had just found one was a story on a customized 59 Ranchero shortly afterwards I received a PM from a H.A.M.B. member that stated that he is a good friend of the owner of that car and he told me that the owner remembered that his car was in a photo shoot but was unaware that the car was featured in a magazine ,this was in 1961,..the owner turned out to be Mr. Ted Schaum...so I returned the PM saying that I wanted to make sure that Ted got a chance to see the magazine ....so going through the other party ( 41 coupe) I sent my copy of the magazine to him....so in the mail the other day I received a large envelope it contained a letter from Ted thanking me for the magazine and he included some pictures of different cars that he had through the years and they included the 57 Chev.....the first shot is when they had won there class at the 1970 Nationals the second shot is of a clone car that he built in 2004....good looking car... I'm looking forward to be corresponding with Ted , sounds like a pretty cool guy..... I thank 41 coupe for making it happen.... Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Butch, your post combines a couple of points that are particularly pertinent to the evolution of Junior Stock rules. For many years, stockers were required to have a minimal, even vestigial exhaust system that was a throwback to the days when most competitors drove their cars to the track, raced them, and drove them home. As the sport developed, an increasingly large percentage of racers favored single purpose, dedicated race cars that were towed to the track, some on tow bars and some even on the ultimate of luxuries, a trailer!!! NHRA Tech Services originally clung to the exhaust system rule as a way of leveling the playing field between the "little guy" who drove his car to the track and the more affluent racer who could afford to own both a race car AND a tow unit. That lasted until, as you pointed out, it became something of a joke and then even a safety liability due to the extreme lengths racers exercised in order to meet the letter of the rule. I suspect that the racers you mentioned were Ken and Nancy Dodgion from Division Six. They would have been racing in the days of required the carefully worded rule that defined the acceptable minimum exhaust equipment that had to be on every car competing in Stock. I recall that, in the early days, they campaigned a '62 Mopar entry, possibly a 383 cubic inch Plymouth or Dodge equipped with a 343 horsepower, dual AFB carbed motor. I know that they raced a small block Chevelle in later years. The second point that you made is just as interesting but it arose from a different motivation. You referred to seeing the isolated, Thrush muffler tacked under a race car, unattached to any other exhaust components.. That was directly related to the involvement of manufacturers who wanted to cash in on the rising tide of popularity of Junior Stock. The concept of offering "contingency" awards to class and eliminator winners really deserves its own lengthy post but, in short, the corporate entity that owned the trademark to a particular item (in this case, Thrush mufflers) offered a cash prize to any class or eliminator winter who utilized their product on the car and was carrying a specified decal in competition. That practice led to instances of attaching a product, pasting on a decal, and collecting a check. Thankfully, even Thrush realized the futility of that program and withdrew their offer fairly quickly but the concept has endured to this day. One of the manufacturers who employed that strategy more effectively was George Hurst with his very successful and highly-regarded shifter mechanisms and who can forget the "Header Wars" that were just as colorful and heated as were the "Cam Wars" waged in the Top Fuel category? "I Love my Hooker Headers" struggled against the "Stahl Total Tuned" on the fenders of countless competitors. The contingency phenomenon developed progressively throughout the '60s and into the 70s before NHRA took steps to throttle back the enthusiasm of both the industry and consumers by formalizing and legislating the process of rewarding of cash prizes. I can tell you that, at one point, winning a single class trophy at one of the few national events that were then being contested could result in enough cash to approach the response of a bucket of fish guts being dumped into the midst of a school of sharks. This recollection is, as always, subject to correction by those with better memories than my own but I seem to recall that the winner of the World Championship in Super Stock in about 1967 (Ed Miller) collected a $10,000 bonus from Hurst in addition to the rest of his contingency package. Ten large in 1967 was serious money! I think that prize package may have rivaled or even exceeded the cash purse for the winner of Top Fuel. Of course, a racer who accepted the cash prize also signed away their rights to their name and picture to be used in further advertising but then, who didn't want to see their name and picture in a magazine ad? Oops, it's time to head over to Pomona for day-one of the current event! c
And that is why I do my postings I have had several members with the HEY THAT'S MY CAR or I remember that car or I was looking for photos of that car. It makes my day when I can bring good memories to HAMB people.
That was still in effect up to the early 70's in my area. After it died I had the exhaust on My Super Cobrajet from the header end flanges with bolts tacked into the header flanges, dual exhaust with x pipe and only two rubberized hangers for the back just before the diff. Drive to the drags 6 nuts off at the flanges and two bolts and nuts at the hangers drop it all, and drive carefully out over them and leave maybe 60 lbs laying in the pits. Of course had to secure them to the fence or they might "walk away" during the event. Putting them back on was easy too because they are very nice and cold by the end of the day roll back over them slide under the car with the whole exhaust system on your chest and install the nuts and bolts and drive home. Easy even with one person
John Barkley The Illinois Shaker John Barkley vs Willard Wright. Lamar Vaubel in Convertible again in sedan for sale
The mufflers were still on Kyle's car when I got it from Butch. They were hooked up but I would say it was just to keep the neighbors happy. In talking to a few of the racers from that time, another reason NHRA did away with the requirement was there was a problem with them some times falling off on the track and NHRA got tired of stopping the races to pick them up.
Yes, Dodgion was the name I was trying to remember; he was a rather "rotund" man. We used to have Stock/Super Stock Combo races along with the regular brackets at Bremerton Raceway. The Dodgion Chevelle Wagon was a Super Stock car. Of course, the Thrush muffler hanging there all by itself makes all the sense in the world. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
You're close...NHRA did drop the requirement of a full exhaust system for Stock in 1971. The '71 rulebook reads..."Exhaust System; Open exhaust with headers permitted. Tailpipes and/or mufflers optional. Outlets for open exhaust cannot exceed 4 inches in diameter." The following year 1972, NHRA Stock went through a major change and became more of a pure stock format. Full exhaust system returned and remained through 1974 when once again it was dropped for 1975.
Note the grandstand segment visible behind the Bill Allen/Harvey Lawson pairing. At Pomona in that era, that part of the stands was commonly only accessed by competitors, crew members, and pit pass holders. The general admission stands were farther down the track past the starting line. When that picture was taken there was a healthy crowd of on-lookers engaged in watching the Stock runs. By way of contrast, the stands in that area today are reserved for patrons of the expensive Top Eliminator Club while the last segment of stands at the far end of the track, a quarter-mile south of the starting line are set aside for competitors. During the first qualifying run for Stock at the 2018 Winternationals I sat in the top-end stands with old friends and long-time competitors "Big John" Barkley and Tony Janes. The commentary provided last Thursday by John and Tony was worth every cent of the $25 daily admission charge. A mere handful of spectators was present during that session. c
Sad state of affairs today. Money talks and the No Hot Rods Allowed will do anything for a buck. The starting line was my favorite place to watch from between rounds there was no reserved seating except for a few select guests talking the the announcer way up in the tower. Got to go up there once when they started a program call "beat the trooper" where other Stock class trophy car competitors would donate to a local charity like $10.00 and the names would be put in a hat and during the last few minutes of intermission they would line up against me and see who won just for bragging rights. Raised several hundred bucks for the charity over the years.
Lyn, I don't think so. That was long after NHRA abandoned the handicap spots but, having said that, I can't tell you what it signifies. That picture, I'm fairly confident, was taken during the Winternationals of 1971. The Hot Rod Magazine report on that race has a nearly identical picture of Bill racing Harvey Lawson. I think the '57 Bel Air rounding the corner on the return road in the background is Tony Janes but I can't identify the wagon just ahead of him. c
You are correct! I dug into my stash of 1971 results and it appears that my original statement regarding the background cars was in error.. A. Sunday eliminations had already begun (check the "T" decals on the windshield) so the cars on the track were all class winners. Also, note the handicap start given to the M/S car versus the B/S Camaro of Harvey Lawson. There are no dial-in numbers because all cars were dialed in according to their class records. B. Although Tony Janes was listed as the winner of O/SA in some reports, he had been disqualified because his tires were too wide when they were checked at the scales. Therefore, the winner of O/SA was Barry Raichlin in a '57 sedan delivery. I recall being in tear-down next to Barry on Saturday night. Barry and I were sitting on our tool boxes waiting to have our camshafts checked and he asked me if any of the contingency money would be paid in cash because he needed gas money for the trip back to New York. I had no clue because that was my first class win, too. (I kept in touch with Barry over the years and I don't think that he would mind it if I mentioned that.) C. If the foregoing is accurate, the '57 rounding the corner would have been the 210 2-door sedan of John Barkley who had won M/SA and whose paint job was eerily similar to Tony Janes', probably because Tony had bought one of John's earlier cars. D. Among the other names listed as class winners at that event were Willard Wright, John Troxell, Bob Burkitt, Marv Ripes, Dave Boertman, Keith Lynch, Mike Keown, Sonny Bryant, Cal Method, Tim Neja, Val Hedworth, and Keith Berg. E. Of course, the big winner for that weekend was Boertman who defeated Marv Ripes in the final. Both cars chopped roughly a quarter-second off their respective records on that run. Good times!!! c
Chuck in about '72 Willard Wright was in Montgomery, Al running a '65 Biscayne big block SS car. I was there and we hit it off so Willard followed me home and stayed a couple of days while we hit all the local tracks. He left here and went to I believe his brothers' in Florida and of course we know the rest of the story. Real likeable guy and S/ SS thru and thru. Jimmy
Indeed, Willard was one of the most intense competitors I have ever encountered in the sport. He lived Stock from morning to night, day in and day out. I knew him only peripherally in Los Angeles but I do recall at least four of his procession of cars including the '55 Chevy, a '62 Dodge wagon, the Smother's Brothers Olds, and the '65 Biscayne. In 1972 I got a good look at the taillights of the Biscayne. I drove Richard Salcido's '69 Camaro in SS/LA at Indy that year. In July, 1972, Richard's car had set the SS/LA record at 12.07 at the Lion's Drag Strip Divisional race with Val Hedworth driving. At Indy there were something like nine cars in SS/LA and Willard's Biscayne was, by far, the fastest car in the class. I turned 12.07 during the semi-final run for class against Willard but he dusted me thoroughly with an 11.90. In the class final Willard red lighted against Bernie Agaman and once again ran well under the record. On Labor Day, Bernie finished the event as runner-up in Super Stock to John Lingenfelter's Camaro convertible. The cars that made the trip east that summer included Val Hedworth in his SS/V '55 wagon and Keith Berg in a '56 150 business coupe in SS/PA. Val was the only class winner in that group. c
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