Here's a library find complete with dramatic voice over and campy imagery. They weren't hot rodders... no, hot rodders were amateurs. They were real mechanics that kept their windshields clean and everything! [flv:vintageracing.flv 500 320]... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
VERY cool i have a bunch of old programs and i believe a little bit of footage from Langhorne thanks for posting Zach
First race I have watched where nobody explained the difference beween "tight" and "loose" and aero push. Guess there wasn't enough do-rey-me around to hire real broadcasters like Mushmouth & Motormouth
you would have thought that they would see the smoke and stop rather than continue to crash into the pile. just think how many cool old cars got destroyed doing that stuff.
What a great old film! The crash in the end was crazy. I would give anything to be in the pits at one of those old races.
That is exactly the kind of racing we saw back in the 50's at the local tracks here in the south,,,,thankfully we didn't see too many major fires. HRP
Hmm, I am too sure the one guy got out of that car that caught fire. If you look close, I can't really see that he got out. Looks like some guys tried to run to get him, but then the fire flared up and they ran back. I can't imagine he got out after that. Man, that would suck. I hope he did. That crash just kept coming. Not much in the way of safety back in those days, that is for sure. Some pretty rough and ready racers. If they were the pros, the amateur hot rodders must have really had some buckets.
Hey man that was really cool. My father, his brother and friends use to hang out in the pits at Langhorne and has some really good stories just like the video. The speedway is a car lot now named Reedman's. No more good tracks like that anymore. First went Langhorne then Trenton and finally Flemington. If anyone has similiar stuff from Trenton or Flemington please post.
Those guys weren't puttin' around the track they were haulin ass! Their eyes may have been better than their brakes!
Great film. It brings back memories of going to the small dirt tracks in NY back in the 50s. Most tracks ran flatheads then and a few converted to the overheads. It wasn't until the mid-60s that I decided to build a car and go racing and I'm really glad I did. It was the most fun I ever had and wouldn't trade those memories for anything. IMHO dirt track racing is still the most exciting and purest form of racing their is.
Ryan, Thanks, for sharing the old footage...For those of us that aren't old enough to remember or weren't born yet?! There is a group of guys in my area that still race their vintage rods on circle dirt tracks. They race for the glory and memories. No trophies, but they do have side bets...Very kool!!!
I WOULD LIKE TO GET A COPY OF THAT TO SEND TO MY DAD AS HE DONT HAVE INTERNET, THAT WAS A HELL OF A RACE THOUGH, love the wreckers they used, AND GIVE A KID A BIKE PUMP LIIKE THAT AND HE'LL THROUGH IT BAck at you
A great source for public domain movies is archive.org a quick search on "hot rod" kicked out these. http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=hot rods AND mediatype:movies
Man in that one shot the flag man was dangerously close to the action on the track.I don't know but I never did see the guy get out of the car that caught fire...
Man, that brought back more than a few memories!!!! Throughout the 50's we made a lot of trips to Wall, Old Bridge, but fewer trips to Langhorne - only when one of my dads closer friends was driving. I'm almost positive I spotted our close family friend George McCurdy of the Southard section of Howell NJ in the drivers meeting. I believe that George's car numbers were 27 and 51 (one was a chopped up Ford sedan and the other was a chevy coupe) although I didn't spot the #27 car and the 51 that's shown in the film was a different paint scheme than the one I recall. I forwarded it to my mom (now 88 but still sharp as a tack) to see if she can recognize any of the drivers as my late father had a lot of buddies who raced stock cars, but he never got involved other than as a spectator. These dirt track demons really did haul ass and many did it in cars that had been constructed out of waterpipe and friction tape - no sponsors, no medical insurance, no appearance money except maybe for the really big players. And for a lot of racing families, a new set of tires or an unexpected ER visit meant weeks of eating beans and weenies and deciding on whether to pay the electric bill or buy a rebuild kit. Not unlike at least some of our brethren today - some things simply will never change... Those flame-retardant tee shirts (with the Luckies rolled into the sleeve) and leather football helmets were a real safety feature, eh? Only thing holding them in the seat was a WWII surplus aircraft lap belt, and the only thing to keep them from pitching all the way forward was fear of the steering column. I remember lots of drivers hobbling around on crutches after the races, or ribs bound up, and witnessed at least one death at Wall Stadium when I was about 10 when a car went upside down and instantly turned into a ball of flames. The guy never got out. Speaking of Langhorne PA , does anyone remember the Reedman Motors ads that carried extensive lists of $29/39/49 to $899 working man specials that ran in the Sunday papers? Everytime I'd get $50 in the bank I'd drool over those ads... cars from the 30s and 40s that we'd give fingers and arms for today went for less than $50. Wow!
Don't call us hot rodders...hot rodders have more carbs! those bastards... Damn...factory stock smuggitude back then, too, huh? That was COOL AS HELL though...and local. P.A. has a lot of dirt history... He said "ten cars ready for the junk pile"... if he only knew half of the folks nowadays, or more, would start a build with worse! I'd love to have whatever "went to the junk pile".
All I can say is WOW! what great entertainment. That crash and fire...WOW! you got your moneys worth on that ticket.
I'm glad the footage is kind of blurry. The crash looked horrible! I had that feeling in my stomach the whole time. The film restores my respect for our forefathers and mothers and for the people that have worked to make things safer on the track. thanks for sharing.
Ah, the good old days went racing was dangerous and sex was safe. A lot has changed. It's so safe now that car insurance companies are involved, at least until the next tragedy. I went there once to a "big" car race when AJ Foyt and Bobby Marshman put on a great show. Memory fails me as to who won that day. Maybe some HAMBer remembers?
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