If our cameras were as clear as the ones used by the professionals at Life Magazine, it would have opened up a whole world of historic photos from those early days of drag racing. It was a minority event in the whole timeline of So Cal history, but for all of us, an important one for "the books." "The Road Kings, with Tommy Ivo standing at far left, seem ready for another pass at the Santa Ana Drags. The car appears much as it does today, with Hilborn fuel injection, race slicks, Mercury hubcaps, and full top." Hello, There have been many articles about the “Battle of The T-Buckets Race” at Santa Ana Dragstrip at the Santa Ana Airport in So Cal. The guy standing on the tire is Tommy Ivo. Hardly recognizable but as young as everyone was at the time, it was him as more photos were posted about the historic race. Jnaki Agriculture and farmer's fields as far as the eye can see was the early OC situation... radishes and tomatoes do not complain about the noise... It is too bad the Santa Ana Drags did not continue, as it was out in the open area with not many homes to complain about the noise and whatever. But, as the Orange County area began to grow in the mid 50s-60s, everything exploded and expanded. Including a plethora of drag strips starting in 1955 in Long Beach and the list gets started, until most are now gone. These old photos were shot by the pros at Life Magazine. The cameras were big and clear shots were always the case. So, preservation and current photos make it look like a clear photo for a movie scene.
The Jalopy Journal
