But then the little guy found a way to get back into drag racing... the big bucks killed class drag racing... so the only way to keep john-q-drag racer with 2.5 kids, a house payment and a 9 to 5 job happy... was to invent BRACKET RACING!!! Uggggg!!! I don't like it any more than you do... but it did save some of the drag strips...
Then you had a resurgence in the early 80's based on the idea that something we had was LOST and we needed it BACK... the birth of Nostalgia Drag Racing!
Bus as you probably guessed... the racers that killed it in the 60's... also did a number on it by the 1990's... sure, we still get to enjoy it... and sure events such as the Hot Rod Reunion bring it back to us in little snipets... but it just isn't the same...
But we can do our little part by hosting events and encouraging guys to drag out their iron... just don't tell the insurance salesman...
if i could back to any time it would be the 50's. the stories i hear about the santa barbara drags, and santa maria drags are awesome. seems alot of homemade speed equipment went on back then. homemade heads to homemade magnetos. i would of liked to see all that going on.
SamIyam Thanks for the pictoral history! I went to my first drag race in 1968 "Great Lakes Dragway"..., my neighbor had a FED Ford 427 and set a record that day I beleive 186 mph! Got to see Garlits run his FED there and later his RED at that track. Also saw Art Arfons in his "Green Mamba" Jet dragster have chute failure run past the sand traps and harvest some corn in the field across the highway!! The Dragway was a big event thanks to "Broadway Bob". He always brought in big names and special feature vehicles. But like you I loved the 60's and early 70's altereds like "Pure Hell" and "Pure Heaven", Willy's Gassers, and roadster classes! I really miss ..., "SUNDAY" "SUNDAY" "SUNDAY" radio adds that inspired you and your family to go see the "Race of Races!" Mark
Sam nailed it with the innovation that used to go on and that things weren't cookie cutter perfect and totally exclusive to those with the bucks. The last major innovation in top fuel was getting the REDs to run after Garlits blew his foot in half. Since then, from a fan's standpoint, the numbers get faster, but everything looks the same. Only the paint jobs tell the fans who's who. In today's era it's all money. Even Garlits when he tries to come back can only afford to run 4 races in the year without megasponsership. In the 60's you could get the guys in your club together, have your local dealer sponsor you with engines from wrecked cars they were going to crush, and go top fuel racing. And you saw all kinds of innovation on the track from streamliners and multi engines in top fuel to the evolution of the stocker, modified production, Gasser, A/FX, funny car. Things were changing and evolving and always something new and unexpected happening. As a fan, you went from sitting on your hood next to the track, to needing binoculars to tell who's who. Guardrails, safety walls, and moving the fans back have made things safer at the cost of removing the fans from the experience. Stand next to the fence today at Bakersfield and all you see is the driver's head and rollbar sticking up over the guardrail. You need to climb in the stands and use your binoculars. Wanna see what's happening on the track? Watch the big screen. Or watch it on ESPN2. And the patch is one of the better strips for the fans. The cost has hit the fans bigtime too. You could watch a whole season of races at tracks like Lions and Freemont in the 60's/early 70's for what you pay for 1 National event Sunday today. The heart of drag racing only beats in special times and places like CHRR, Oldies but Goodies Drags, and MoKan today. NHRA and the Nationals tracks are making megabucks, but I wonder if they know what they've lost...
Great stuff, Sam. How about a pic of Jungle Pam ? Part of the coolness of the funny car era in my book. My favorite era gotta be the midsixties:
Oh Boy, Pam Pix comming, I'm sure of it. This thread is about to get 5 stars! I'll narrow it down to mid 60's as well, Skinner/Jobe/Sorokin! SURF's UP Dude!
Note the hand on the door and 1 hand on the wheel. That's Willy! Oh, almost forgot! http://www.junglepam.com/photos.html http://www.lindavaughn.com/
aside from all the current bracket stuff this is avery good era for drag racing. examples PRO world's fastest street car... if you haven't been to one this is good heads up racing that is class based and a little guy can be very competitive. on a similiar note ( and i emphasize i am not a mustang guy) but the NMRA again bring lots of new people into very good competitive racing, much of which is heads up same thing on a little more expensive not but into the nsca, some of the nostalgia pro street classes and what not can bring a older designed car back into being competitive! if you haven't watched any of these events i would recomend it,,, might just change your mind about the current state of the sport
BTW, Anyone know how Pat Foster's comming on the repop of the Surfers car? Ought to be getting close by now. http://www.drag-city.com/surfersupdate.htm
I can only remember back to Big John Mazmanian running an Opel Kadette, but I always loved the diggers with coupe bodies. I forget the class name, but ususally Bantam coupes. Gues that's why I picked a Model Y.
Fans of drag racing need to read this page by Terry Cook about the 1965/66 racing. You'll love it! http://www.dragracingonline.com/newjersey/iii_6_1.html
Sam...thanks for posting all the pics. I really dig the mixture (body, drivetrain and chassis combos)found in the mid sixties . As far as I am concerned, any T body on the strip is killer.
Pretty cool photo-essay, Sam. Now I find it harder to decide after browsing the pics. People that are about my dad's age (b.1942) I would think of as seeing all of the best of drag racing, whereas at 36 years old, I caught the tail end of it. Bracket racing is boring to me, and so are most of the Quick 8 shows and other electronic, computer tuned and bottle fed drags. The vintage race was the best drag race I think I've been to since I was too young to fully appreciate Lions when I was five.
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