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

Hello,

Before the junior fuel rage at most So Cal dragstrips, the top gas/top fuel FED racers had all of the glory on the public eye and in print. Who doesn’t like super loud noise, fire breathing headers and the fastest, sleekest race cars on the planet trying to go faster, yet. There were plenty of smaller motor driven race cars built with the low budgets of normal backyard hot rod folks. As the years moved on and more sponsors were getting into the market, then the builds were plastered with logos and fancy builds.

We were the backyard racers, even being teenagers. Our budget was the limiting factor, but yet, we plodded on in something we liked doing. In comparison, in other classes, not everyone had the budget of a Hemi powered race car or a twin engine masterpiece. Or in later times, a truck load of nitromethane and a specialty built motor & race car.

Classes at each early dragstrip were divided into different lettering due to the type of build/power/weight combinations. Class A or then AA being the top level. So, who gets the credit for a great looking lower number/letter class race car?

Jnaki

In an effort to not have films taken from the spectator’s side for all of our 16mm color movies, I wandered all over Lion’s Dragstrip for different looks at drag racing. If I had a telephoto lens, it may have been farther down the dragstrip and filming the blazing starts. Been there, done that, but it was a small non-telephoto film that captured the racing at its finest, for what I used.

My Lion’s Dragstrip pit pass allowed me to walk across the staging area from one side to the tower side seating. While I was walking across the staging area in front of the class lanes, I quickly took some movies as fast as possible. After the first one, no one bothered me, so I stayed low key for several other staging area films.

early small motor FED
Drag Cars in Motion

This early SBC powered dragster was pretty quick, but for the life of me, the FED is not identified in the films or notes. So, if anyone has documentation, you will be given acknowledgement on a huge public access photo file library that is coming up soon.
PM me, asap.

The white object in the photo is not a flash on the aluminum. It is the starter at Lion’s Dragstrip in his all- white outfit. For the people that have seen this one time photo, they all thought I took a flash photo. Flash photos during the day are used to fill out the composition, but in this case, it was a shiny reflection in the aluminum skin.

So, does anyone know who this race car owner was or who was driving it during the 1959-60 time period, when there were separate divisions for all levels of racing at every dragstrip? Get out your old memory books and written notes/photos from the way back time machine.

I took several other race cars films from my “official” place in the staging area, until a security guard came over to ask me a question. Eventually, I got asked to move to the pits seating or go into the pits area itself and stay out of the staging area. I got the picture. (pun intended) So, I wandered over to the tower side for some other angles and meeting my friend, Mr. Childers from the Dilday Ambulance Service.


Note:
Another local So Cal race family with a fast SBC motor was in the C/D or in the D/D class group. They did not allow the size of the race car limit their success in drag racing. The Tapia Brothers from Wilmington, CA:

“Bobby Tapia was one of the drag racing’s most formidable competitors in the sport’s early days. He began drag racing in the 1950s. His first taste of major success came racing a ’57 Super Stock Chevy at the drag strips in Southern California. It was in that class that his rivalry with Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen began. In 1957, Tapia won the weekend’s competition in the Super Stock class 13 weeks in a row at the legendary Lions Dragstrip in Long Beach, Calif.”

“Later, Tapia raced a small-block Chevy-powered D/Gas class dragster that was constructed in his parents’ garage in Torrance, Calif. That car earned the nickname “the Giant Killer” after upsetting Art Arfons’ legendary Green Monster aircraft engine- powered land speed record-challenging car in a July 1959 match race at Lions. That same year, he won 50 out of 52 Middle Eliminator races at Lions. He made Lions’ “Standard 1320" list of record holders three times in 1958. He raced dragsters, including Top Fuelers until 1961 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.”

 

Hello,

We were not going to miss the big time event at the Bakersfield Smokers 2nd March Meet in 1960. We braved the long early morning drive through Los Angeles and the Grapevine to get there early. We missed the inaugural March mMeet #1 in 1959, so it was not going to happen this time. We had driven a long distance to get to the biggest So Cal drag race event in December 1959 in Riverside, CA with all of the big time racers.

So, it was not going to be a missed event this time. We arrived in plenty of time to wander around prior to the first big race or time trial events.
Two Brothers

Jnaki

As it turned out, it was a huge drag race event with all of the top racers from all over the USA racing for the notoriety. In the first edition in march of 1959, Don Garlits came with a carbureted Hemi motor that previously had set records back east. but, the results against the 671 supercharged west coast cars was not the best race results.

So, with some friends and manufacturers from the So Cal, the new ideas and build was an option for his team. Within months, he toured the Westcoast dragstrips and began to set records, again. By the time March of 1960 rolled around, he was ready to go against the other So Cal racers, again. Only this time, they were evenly matched.
March 1960 with Art Malone at the wheel.

Bakersfield Smokers March Meet 1960

Drag Cars In Motion…

 

Danny "On the gas" Ongais.

"Ongais’ win at Riverside was especially memorable as his dragster broke after final-round opponent Gordon Collett red-lighted, so, as was the rule back then, Ongais had to push his car the length of the quarter-mile to trip the win light. The arduous task took nearly two minutes but was met with rousing cheers from the crowd".


https://www.nhra.com/news/2022/gas-drag-racing-life-and-times-danny-ongais

 

Now for something a little different for the youngsters among us.



"In the period between the advent of the push start and remote engine starters, some tracks used car-engine-powered or electric-powered roller starters that helped racer start their cars in a safer manner. Here's a look back at the practice and the technology involved".

https://www.nhra.com/news/2020/roll-players-look-back-era-when-cars-were-fired-roller-starters

 

Has to be the greatest photo opp. ever captured.

 

Denny the web site is wrong. Danny is pushing the car at Pomona. I watched him do it.

 

Jack Chrisman.

 

Sachs & Son's before lettering in front of Jack Chrisman's home...

 

Thanks Dean!

 

Well, since the title of the thread says "in motion".....here's one of the '26T/512" Cadillac going 9.56 at 139.

 

Smokers Meet...

 

In the back Ernie Nicholson. Super Stude . Later built the AA/GAS Cuda . called Flower Power. Late model Hemi motors by Tony Nancy. The cuda ran at Fremont several times.

 

James Warren at Lions, Alan Earman picture...