History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Half Moon Bay, no ID on either


I thought this was the Surfers, but pretty sure their '55 push car was a 4-door...the dragster sure looks like the Surfers, though...(Gabe Fernando confirmed that the '55 was a 2-door, now I remember, it ran a 6-cylinder engine, got them to the East Coast at least once. Before the finally got a covered trailer, all their spare parts had to fit in the '55's trunk..this from the Surfer's page on Don Ewald's site)

 

Hawaiian (maybe Mike Snively on board) vs Denny Milani in Gotelli's car, Half Moon Bay. Dick Landy's Dodge in the background.


I remember this race, was spectating that day on leave from the Navy, Hawaiian with Snively driving vs Kenny Stafford in Gotelli's car.


The Hill Brothers towed out from the East Coast to race Mike Mitchell in the Hamberis & Mitchell gasser. Fremont

No ID except what is painted on the quarter, Half Moon Bay. The T coupe with the MoPar grill was featured in either Rod & Custom or HRM.


Henry J at Half Moon Bay. HMB was an airport, still an airport except no drag racing.


Art Ward's Assassination, from Longmont, CO. Art went funny car racing with Roger Guzman and sold this car to Peggy Pierce, who painted it orange, but then put it into the guard rail at the old Denver International...unhurt, but the car was badly damaged.


I think that this is Jim Davis from Walnut Creek, CA, at Fremont. It is certainly a Davis-built car, notice the unusual front end mount, single spring mounted parallel to the frame holding the front axle.


chutes out at Fremont.


Power pole with a dragster behind it...Fremont



Denny Milani in Gotelli's Fuller car. Gotelli Speed Shop is still at the same address, been there since 1962.


Ivo on a single at Half Moon Bay

 

Ardun- You got it right. That is the Surfers. Don Madden's '55 was a 4-door but The Surfers' was a 2-door. Saw it on youtube.

 

3310 Holley = 780 cfm while three-barrel Holley = 950 cfm.

 

From George Klass: Brisette Brothers steel roadster. Looks like Colton, but not sure where. The Brisettes ran this roadster at both the lakes and the drags, from an earlier Dean Lowe post, Jim Brisette was badly burned in it at El Mirage. Afterwards, they switched to a fiberglass Bantam roadster on a tube frame.


Unidentified roadster at Oswego IL


No ID on this 'vette, anyone? (elgringo71 recognized it:
I believe that the Corvette belonged to Ernie Dutre. With Champion Speed Shop sponsorship, it is likely a NoCal car...thanks for the ID!)



another no ID from Oswego...looks like a sidewinder?


This might be John Batto's fueler


also Fremont, no ID


Not sure on these two at Oswego...perhaps Dennison, Arlansky, and Knox roadster racing Bill Traylor's "Animal" Bantam competition coupe?


Street roadster in the pits at San Fernando


Jim Herbert's "Lizard" from Carmichael, CA, caption looks like "Batto" so assume that this top fuel race is between Herbert and John Batto.

 

I believe that the Corvette belonged to Ernie Dutre



View attachment 3248736
No ID on this 'vette, anyone?

 

Two was just too much. In 1962, Dan Knapp, Chester Blazik, and driver Don Westerdale, towed from Michigan to the newly opened the Niagara Airport Drag Strip. Their gas rail, “Double Trouble,” housed two direct-drive, co-joined 327s and it turned an impressive 7.99 ET. As was the case with many twin-engine dragsters and hot rods, however, chassis stresses broke up the whole deal. FromLOST DRAGSTRIPS II: More Ghosts of Quarter-Miles Past,by Scotty Gosson. (Dean Johnson Collection)
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The Twin Cities Optimist Clubs Timing Association opened Minnesota Dragways in Coon Rapids in July 1959 with grand passion. After a somewhat rocky start, the venue grew in popularity, peaking with 30,000 spectators at an appearance of Evel Knievel in 1972. There is no question that the Optimist guys also demonstrated grand creativity as well. Here is one of their track dryers, a 1952 Chrysler up-fitted with an aircraft engine and prop to deal with rain, oil, and likely snow. Encroaching neighbors got pretty hostile when racing was switched to evenings and the roar of engines filled the nighttime air. Sadly the facility closed in November of 1976. Photo fromLOST DRAG STRIPS II – More Ghosts of Quarter-Miles Past, by Scotty Gosson. (John Foster Jr. Collection)

 

.In the 1960s Ray Farhner and son Larry built this Boot Hill Express, a fiberglass copy of the hearse produced by Cunningham in New York in 1850. It had a hemi and was a smash hit on the show circuit, and a 1:24 scale model became a big seller. Here’s Hal Hammer making a run with it at Beeline Dragway in Phoenix beneath what was called a “hastily installed roll bar.”

 

Marvin! That’s the late, great Marvin Rifchin of M&H Tire, listening a bit suspiciously as Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen (L) and Don “Snake” Prudhomme exaggerate how fast they were.