partsrivet

Since my intro will be buried in the H.A.M.B archives, I decided to redo this bio incorporating what I said then.

I was a teenager living in Texas in the '60's. My dad took the whole family to Green Valley Raceway in 1963 to see the Green Monster jet car, which he wanted to see. I got hooked right away and drag racing inspired my photography of the time. Too bad I didn't have more money for film and processing, as a lot was spent on gas, pit passes, cheap motels and even plane tickets. Who knew that this was the classic period of drag racing? It was just what we did. Would have taken many more pictures if encouraged, but since I shot color slides and not black and white like the drag papers used, they weren't interested. Besides, most strips and the NHRA had their own photographers and they didn't want some kid screwing around. Their loss.

Between 1965 and 1970, I worked on and off at AEECO (Automotive Engineering and Equipment CO) in Dallas where I met many racers and worked to earn coveted (to me anyway) press passes which enabled be to get some of the closeup action shots that I've posted in various threads. They worked great at Div 4 meets where they knew me, but unfortunately carried little weight at national meets where the kid was out of place among "the pros". So much for the value of hard work.

I quit going to the races in 1970 after my buddy Bob Gibson won the NHRA Springnationals in Dallas-didn't care for the corporate leanings of the day among other things. Following Bob's win, I didn't attend a race until 2005 when he and Jimmy Johnson talked me into going to the nostalgia race at Bowling Green KY. Now that's more like it! Photography has been a lifelong interest and I'm again shooting at the admittedly few events I attend. So you'll see some views from the classic era as well as some newer nostalgia views as time goes along. They're reminders of good times for me and hope they are for you too. See you in History-Drag Cars in Motion as well as other threads.