Any Brotherhood of Street Racers on the HAMB?

Big Willie and Tomika Robinson started this in the 60's and it was quite a phenomenom for a while. Big Willie got Mayors to block city streets from midnite til 6AM for "legal" street racing. He also opened up Terminal Island Drag strip TWICE in San Pedro california. In the 70's and again in the 90's. It had a killer street race vibe to it. They'd announce that the next race was for "X" amount of hot dogs, each representing 1000 dollars that was bet on the race. Awesome nite shows. Jet cars going way faster than NHRA would allow. ETC. Anyone on here a "Street Racer"?

 

I went with a friend to race his Kawasaki 1100 in the mid 90's one night. at Brotherhood Raceway. It was the first version,like 500',with just win lights,and the shutdown area rough and pot-holed. scared the shit out of him, we packed up and left. One guy got his bike stolen that night,Big Willie shut down the strip,blocked the exits,and it was getting ugly,by the time we got let out. We never returned. Later it was repaved into a 1/4 mile,then closed shortly after.

 

Wow, that's wierd, i was just thinking the other day "whtever happened to Big Willie?

 

Didn't he pass away a few years ago? The opening scene in Two lane Blacktop was a close resemblance to the L.A.S.R.A. of the time.(1970?)

 

I do believe some of that WAS filmed at Terminal Island Drag Strip. Also, i was approached last weekend by a guy that says Big Willie's at it again in San Pedro for the THIRD time with a new dragstrip soon. Also, if he did pass away a few years ago, for sure he's BACK! He'll never give up on "REAL" street racing type atmosphere

 

Yup I'm an old "Brotherhood Raceway" groopie..I was raised in Harbor City and T.I. was the place to hang out in the early to mid 80's...I remember they shut it down last time after Mac Perry the old Torrance High Autoshop teacher.(I think)..died there...Mac also owned HOTROD performance off of Sepulveda in Torrance...

 

I've been a street racer in the past.

Prefer to take it to the strip now, but wont chicken out on a light to light run.

 

I'm a veteran of TI too. Still pals with the HRP crew and have lots of friends into the scene. They all run at the 1/8-mile at Irwindale now or out at Fontana.

I hear the street scene is still 'lively' but I've been out of state for a couple years.

It was cool while it lasted. There's other 'vets' on here too. Where's Axel?

~Scotch~

 

Yeah, his nickname was schoolteacher at the street races, Built a couple cars for a buddy of mine years ago. Some beat to shit Camaoro with sledgehammered firewall (literally) so's the engine could be set back. A real piece of shit, but it'd lift the front wheels chest high on the street. Pretty fucking impressive to see 3 feet from you at 4 in the morning if you ain't ready for it!!!! They closed the strip to investigate his death there, but it reopened shortly.

 

How you think I got the money to buy all my shit

One thing I learned real quick:

Don't briing your girlfriend!! She'll get you in a fight!!!

 

Way back in the early seventies Big Willie put on an event at the old Orange County Int'l Raceway. After the regular Saturday night Top Fuel/Funny Car show, they cleared everybody out, then The "Brotherhood" took over and we all got back in. The had thousands of people there and the racing went until sunrise. It was amazing.

 

I remember that one it also had about 1000 1/2'' holes drilled in the front crossmember....ya know to save weight...

Groucho ..your buddy...."Doug "M" '' ?????? by any chance???

 

I know back in the day "Douggie" had the yellow Nova ..but thought he had the Camaro for a bit also........I think Mac ended up with my 67 rs that I sold to a buddy ..he then sold it to the "Gasser" boys ..who sold it to Mac..

 

About 8 months ago, my employee comes up and tells me he knows where there are a couple of shit box dodges sitting in a yard near his home. So I pester him to check it out. One turns out to be a superbird or daytona. So he's driving by one day and this guy is out watering his lawn. Big Willie himself. He tried to get a donation for a new T.I. strip from him. Went on with a bunch of seem to be to tall stories. I don't think the Harbor dept. is ever going to let the strip back in, container yards have took it all over. Even the old Ford plant is a container yard now.

Street racing 30 years ago: Bobs Big Boy on Manchester, Pershing Drive behind the airport, Manchester on ramp to the 405 freeway, Lincoln and Jefferson, Van Ness and Del Amo in Torrance. Oh ya, many late nights. Probably why I'm worn out from typing this.

 

I 'used' to street race in South Seattle/Tukwila/Kent in early-mid 90's. Places like Snap-On, Kebler and South Park. Tuners started showing up, more police patrols and it just wasn't worth losing your car over.
But it sure was a thrill!

 

I ran into Randy Thomas at the LB swap a couple of months ago. He's racing legal these days. Says that Big Willie has the new mayors ear and hopes to open another Brotherhood again. I sure hope he pulls it off. Bluto's right about not bringing your best gal. You CAN get into a punch up that you WON'T win there. I took a lot of people to Brotherhood who were really scared and never went back. I even raced my Kenworth there. Screamin' 21 second pass!!

 

Didn't Hot Rod or somebody do a story on Big Willie in the early seventies? I remember reading it but I don't remember where. We were hanging out on Woodward Ave till 4 or 5 am on the weekends in the early seventies till the gas crunch screwed that up.

 

my dad raced at Terminal Island a few times about 10 years ago.

 

Brotherhood Raceway was the $HIT!!! my dad used to take us all the time when my brother and i were kids!!! we used to FREEZE our a$$e$ off but didn't care cause i was so into the races, i saw many cars race their!! would be cool if big willie could do it again!!! i remember seeing the SCHOOLTEACHER crash, was a sad sight. RIP dude

 

the daytona at the HRR in bowling green, it has a new owner...

 

Ive read so many stores about the 'brotherhood" that must have been one hell of a sight to see people comming to gether to 'race what you got' I herd HBO has the rights to Big Willies story

 

Well, I sure hope that if Willie's story is made into a movie it's not too sanitized. There were some really shady charactors involved. But there wasn't any bad dealings from them. Just some betting and intimidation. But the big black gangbangers and bikers were there and made it verrrrry interesting. Brotherhood was not a place to let your mouth overload your ass. But if you really were a racer or just a gearhead, it was bitchen. If Willie and Tomiko got it opened again I'd be there, for sure.

 

Robbie H

 

He was in a bunch of magazines that i read in the 60's while still living in New York as a kid. So, when he made me a member i was stoked!

 

i hope so i had fun there in the 90's friday and sat night, people there racing moms station wagon to stock toyota pickups

 

Well it's all kinda coming back to me now ....October 1983..Friday night I ran my mom's 69' Impala..300hp 350 with camel humps from the factory....Ran 1 10.10 in the 1/8th ..spun umm a bit off the line...then on saturday night I ran pops brand new toyota pickup (84 with 150 mi on the odo)...don't remember what it ran....


All I can say is Washington is a great place to live ...but I sure am glad I grew up in So Cal and did some cool shit back when I was a kid

 

Part 1 Visiting With Huell Howser
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxIp_gtIrsg

 

Tomiko's Memorial Big Willie's Tribute


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I ran with those guys back in '67-'69. We used to meet saturday at midnight behind the IHOP at Crenshaw Square. I had a '56 Chevy wagon running a 394 Olds, tri-power with a hydro.