Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Movie of the Day: Winternationals at Pomona in 1962 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Thanks for posting this, perhaps the best times for Drag Racing, as far as development, and variety of AA/D. As a 13 year old at the time, I followed it intensely, and it was a dream of mine to race Slingshot Dragsters !
Yep, I was there. '61 too. Saw it all, and certainly remember it. I'm very surprised they didn't show more of the Super Stockers and A/FXs. That was the big new thing, definitely including Mopars. And G***ers. Sheesh I'm old. PG
We lived on Dudley in Pomona just off of the 10 Freeway then. Almost by the 7-11. My Dad would drive us over to watch the racers pull their dragsters and rods in. We would sit outside of the fenced area and watch and listen to them run the track. My Dad would take my Mom in to watch the races and would leave us at home with the sitter but we could still hear them race. It was awesome. I was six years old and was fascinated by the sound of power and the looks of the cars. We moved to Riverside (Arlington) and growing up we could hear the races at Riverside and Corona. Then they built Ontario Speedway and we could hear that from the few miles away. Now, I live in Fontana, just a few short miles from the Fontana Raceway and I still love sitting in my driveway listening to the sound of the racing. It's too awesome...
Hello, I had taken my brother to the first Winternationals at Pomona in 1961. It had been almost 7 months for the recovery of the 3rd degree burns from the 1940 Willys Coupe accident. We had sold a lot of the stuff from our build and left over parts. But, for some unknown reason, my brother wanted to see the first Winternationals, despite the bandages still around various parts of his body and head. He wore a hat, which he never did before and our back seat of the Impala was packed with a cooler and food supplies to last the whole day. 1957-60 We had been to big drag race events before but this one was supposed to be the biggest on the Westcoast. We knew most of the top racers from our time at Lion’s Dragstrip in 1957-60. Their race cars were now in a new development stage or different builds or even configurations. So, it would be a new thing for us, too. As the photo shows, the parking was horrendous and since we were not racing, we were parked along a telephone pole row to keep the parking from going over onto the dragstrip. We did not want to sit in the stands and decided to stay with the Impala for the duration of the event. The open spaces were near the finish line and my brother felt less enclosed, so, we drove over to that newly opened parking area. The area became packed with more cars as the day wore on to the conclusion. It certainly was much different than being at Lion’s Dragstrip for a big meet or our weekly racing and participation. Sitting on the sidelines near the finish saw racing, but they were blurs whizzing by us at varying speeds. It was just not the same and on the way home, my brother said that the adventure was the last drag race he wanted to attend. Lion's Dragstrip 1959-60 Jnaki We still had our midnight conversations about our next step in hot rods and drag racing, in the continuing year and a half. Then, he was well enough to go to the beach and resume surfing. Drag racing? It was all Drag News and magazines for a few more years. Surfing was making a return inroad into our lives. Then when the drag racing turned into dragsters and funny cars, that was the last time we picked up a Drag News for information. Our home grown drag racing, along with our friends’ adventures, went out of the door with the newly formed type of racing and cl***es. Soon, the little cl***es were gone and the dragsters and funny cars were the features. So, this final drag race was a good way to end the whole era of two teenage brothers enjoying what we liked to do, getting something started/finished, and finally being mature enough to be able to walk away with some important knowledge. It also led us to learn how to cope with society’s ways of lifestyle changes. YRMV
Man 62-70 were amazing times….always blown away by the amount of people in the stands…and the fact many of these cars were out there without big sponsors, built in garages or small shops, and the sheer amount of them never ceases to amaze me…and yes those jackets are kick ***
Sure wish this was for 1963... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...forensic-investigation.1261410/#post-14451796 Nice movie!
Great movie! Thanks for sharing. Love how the announcer calls the participants "Acceleration Enthusiasts". Wow, a plethora of old-school name dropping! Got one of these stuck to my truck. Sure wish it were real, and a waterslide decal, but beggars and choosers are two very different breeds.
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