History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Graham's passing included the presence of his kids too if I recall correctly...sad.[/QUOTE]

Nope - Graham's son Damon Hill is very much alive and went on to follow in the footsteps of his famous father and become Formula One World Champion in 1996

 

Mazooma,
Is Ascot Hills across the street from Wison High School in Boyle Heights?

 

yup....

 

Love the "then & now" pix of the area! Thanks for posting those.

George

 

There was also Colton, not many people mention it, but it was like the San Gabriel that Mazooma described (very well!!)...Colton was run what you brung, no strict rules (that was both good and bad), but good competition -- Ivo ran there, Scotty's Muffler, Mike Snivley, Heidelberg Speed Shop, 15oz coupe, Archie Ary, Cook & Bedwell, John Bradley (practically owned the place), and lots of guys who never became famous (like me), but who built their own stuff, and raced just for pride and trophies...

 

Correct, Cook Brothers and Jahns (son of the Jahn's Piston family), I watched this car run a number of times at San Gabriel, ran straight as a string, but ultimately got banned, mostly because of the jack start system...It looks dangerous but it was really well constructed...Jeff Johns lived in Oregon now, near Don Ewald...

 

I see the caption, but really think that this is Coburn and Warren, not Lefty, look at the chassis and the motor angle, Lefty dropped his motor more in the front...what do others think??

 

Bill Traylor's Animal pitted right next to us that night at San Gabriel...Aluminum chassis, body by Dave Stuckey...fuel competiton coupe record was around 179, on the Animal's first run Bill ran it off the track, drove back on and ran 184, one of the few times there was silence on the top end, our jaws were hanging open...later I broke the strap on my goggles, and Bill lent me a spare set he had (keep 'em, you guys look like you need them more than me"...great guy...since passed away, and his son still is looking for the car...

 

Doug (Mazoom)
Thanks for the history lesson.
I'm the same age you are and gew up in the Covina area, so I've been most of the same places.
Forgotten most of those old sights, thanks again for the reminder of some of my early years.

Lots-a racers were in the Covina, Azusa, Glendora area back then.

Mike

 

Heres a couple pictures from our trip last August. First one is just inside the gate of the picture that Mazooma posted. In the next one the return road would be approximately where the railroad tracks are and the track to the right where the containers sit. I would guess that the walkover bridge was about where the red Semi Tractor is sitting.

And for the record I got permission from Union Pacific to drive in and take these pictures.

 

OK, I'll get back on topic

Don Hampton at Lions.

 

Hampton gets more credit for his twin coupe and Corvette funny than the rail, and yet it was with the rail that Hampton won the 1970 Winternationals!

 

Ever wonder what might have been if the track were allowed to prosper? Hell, it might still be there operating as its locale still wouldnt pose a noise problem for local residents.

 

I went to his shop when I was out there and he is a Cool old guy! He is there everyday building blowers and says he doesn't plan on stopping.

 

......... you'd be watching something like this:



instead of this:



Tom S. in Tn.
P.S. I'm told the first one is a Mustang also.

 

After looking at that first picture I feal like I need a shower...

 

this might be too new for this thread, but i think it is a cool photo.
Thunder Valley Dragways, Marion, SD---roughly 1981 or 1982...

 

So what current drag strip is just north of West Covina? Went there on a Friday night a while back just to see the locals run while in Ca, but of all things was rained out!

 

Irwindale...

 

Irwindale closed because of lower and lower attendance and the bid by Miller Brewery to buy the land. The owners of the track did quite well in the transaction and so did Miller and the City of Irwindale.
The site was valuable due to it's access to the Santa Fe Railroad's spurs that ran on the north end on the drag strip property. The ability to move freight via rail is always an attractive component.
The rail line plus all the other components made it a simple choice for everyone involved.
The drag strips weren't doing well by the 1970's and at the same time property values were going up.
Lions made way for a huge freight terminal for America's lust for cheap goods.
Fontana was shut down due to the poor attendance and most of the big shows going to Irwindale. Fontana was also right smack in the middle of the urban sprawl that we have seen extend from Claremont to San Bernardino. Fontana is right in the middle.
By the mid-1970's the only track running was Irwindale.
Lions, Fontana, San Fernando were all gone and Pomona was limited to a couple of events a year like it is today.
The drag strip at Ontario Motor Speedway closed with the tracks closure in 1980.
Irwindale was the only real drag strip running in the mid-70's in the Los Angeles basin and even though it didn't have any competition it still couldn't make the numbers work financially.
They tried adding a Speedway motorcycle track and a motocross track but by 1977 the dollars brought by Miller Brewery and the investment of the City of Irwindale made the transaction a simple solution.
The brewery, still to this day, provides hundreds of jobs locally and in the eyes of most people, that is extremely important. Any place that provides good jobs is Gold today.

If Miller Brewery didn't come in to buy the property, there still would be no drag strip there today. There's no "show" to book. Therefore no paying customers.
If a drag strip in the greater L.A. area would work financially someone would have built one.

 

there's no track north of West Covina.
West a few miles is a 1/8th mile track that runs on thursday nights.

http://toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com/

There's a 1/4 mile track east about 20 miles at the Fontana Speedway.

 

Mazooma that last thread ( #30489 ) really did my heart good. The cars, ingenuity, inovation and craftsmanship (good or bad) is what really made this a sport/hobby to love. Whether it be NASCAR NHRA INDY its all gotten too liberal in the sense that the make all the cars the same so that the last place guy doesn't feel bad to be 80 laps behind the 1st place guy. I kind of like 2 flatties in a dragster but its against the rules now. Or how about runnung a Offy motor at Indy no way Honda only. I'm proud to be a American, Veteran and Hot Rodder and glad to have seen and done this stuff while it was real.

Pat, 1st Cav. VietNam 69, Indy Nationals 64.

 

"I'm a gonna add a steering wheel sometime today and then it'll be ready to go. Robby, you're a great guy to drive this for me. I have this sore throat, ya know, so I'm glad you'll git the bugs out of it for me next weekend"

 

I think you mean "conservative". The rules need to be more "liberal" and not so restrictive.
The rules are so conservative that they don't inspire any innovation.

 

Well i just love see these pictures. It's simply awesome.I find it interesting to see these people early roots since I never knew of any west coast history prior to joining here. But i am too much impressed by these home made productions. I think most of the cars are made by the riders himself.

 

Never knew Walt Niesen had a flathead. In the 70's He was an AHRA regular in B/Dragster with a Small block Chevy car. He later ran AHRA Top Comp with a injected early Hemi car. I had a hemi car very similar to his and ran AHRA Top Comp also.

 

toyota speedway, oft times confused with irwindale raceway, is northwest of west covina. of course, that is just 1/8 mile.

 

Stop posting those ads!!! The prices are killing me!

 

If I'm not mistaken, the twin flattie FED (8th pic down) in Mazooma's post (30489) is Virden, IL. favorite son Stan Lomelino's. Pure Flat-Head genius.