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

In deference to RoyalShifter who started this amazing thread, I have removed this post. It was posted with good intentions but maybe the man should be remembered as he was.

 

Woo man, what can you say! .

Just remember the enjoyment he gave people, and what a legend he is

 

i dunno,,you might wanna take that down,,its kinda not right

 

Good intentions but I agree that photo is hard for me to look at.

 

It is part of Drag Racing History, but really not necessary to continue to put these kinds of pictures on the board. His family and friends don't need to see this.

 

Reminds me of a few of those Cash For Clunkers cars we are blowing up at work. The funnest ones totally grenade! Check out some of the destruction vids on Youtube! So far the Fords are hanging in there the longest with the kill juice in them....but Jeep 4.0 I 6's are hard to kill!

 

The Paris Bros REd is a twin.
There was a legit triple engine slingshot run in Ca in the early sixties driven by Lefty Mudersbach. 3 little chevs in line injected.

Steve

Hosting- 8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! march 27-28, 2010 Phoenix

 

The pic of Mulligan is not so bad. The man suffered terrible burns and died later of complications of pnuemonia. However, he died doing what he loved and, at 6.43, they ended up with the quickest ET for the entire decade.
The photo is not graphic. the Jim Nicoll video is much more graphic and we walked away. Studying these pics help others learn and make things better. Now we have better fire suits, on board fire systems, etc. Cars in our class, AA/FD have suffered much, much worse fires to this day and drivers rarely even need to be hospitalized. I am glad things have gotten safer and very glad AA/FD racing is still alive and well and as exciting as ever. Sorry it was at others expense but, that is the way things evolve.

RIP JM

Steve Barcak
Pontiac Heaven Special AA/FD

Hosting- 8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! MArch 26-28, 2010 Phoenix

 

Well, Boss, Guess I have to weigh in...

When Dad ran the AA/FD UDRA N.East thing from 71-75 w/ Lahiae, Dakin, etc. there was team running under name Rich & Dad Place from (Ill. or Ind.?) a kid in (barely) early teens (me) was asking where was Rich after he did not show for a few races.

Then there was 'Starvin' Marvin', a friend of Mr. Garlits, who for some reason
befriended us at the National Events who I read in Drag News had a, "fatal accident".
I had to ask Dad what the word, "fatal" meant.

Have not had those thoughts since the 70's.

I'm Gemini. I see both sides. Progress. Moving on to the next planet doing what you
love to do, but it still stings and maybe there's something to learn from that.
Or not... - Smoke.

 

Wow thanks for that....it is just hard to see something that is supposed to be enjoyed create such great pain. But I do see that the man will live on as a great Drag Racing hero in mine and everyone elses eyes forever. Thank you.

 

I feel the pic of the "Zookeeper" is in poor taste. The poor man lost his life for God sakes!! Should be removed.

 

Nope, this should stay. I can tell you, coming from that era, that I saw far worse. There are lessons learned from these incidents and you can bet that any photos available at that time were pored over to determine what, where and why. This terrible chain of events, which is layed out elsewhere, produced changes in the design of these cars. There was not, very thankfully, another accident quite like this after it was learned what really took place. And, I'd bet that if John Mulligan had recovered from the injuries he sustained he would have gotten back in the seat.

 

That's Fresno Dragways, Note the tower and Fresno Dragways had the dirt bank on the spectator side.

 

''it was pulling real hard when i saw the blower belt come off...it kept on pulling strong so i stayed in it...the blower belt came off again but it still kept pulling so i stayed in it...when i got to the finish line i saw both front tires where missing?>>>john'thezookeeper'mulligan<<<

 

I hate to see anyone hurt. I have had some lumps. Disk removed and donated bone put in (motorcycle racing). If I buy the farm racing don't take my picture down because it is graphic or not tasteful. Remember I left doing what I wanted. I believe this is a tribute to a man who lived the way he wanted and I honor his memory. You may have pain every day, but don't bitch , you earned it living the life you wanted.
Tom

 

Thanks for the info Steve, This photo shop sillyness can make an old fart go nuts!!!!!
I'll check Ewalds WDIFL site for the tripple Lefty drove.

 

I believe the photo should stay not as an example, but of a reminder of the challenges these heros went through for the great sport that it is. We are remembering and learning while they are teaching.

 

here they are Rich...at Lions

 

The Dougster come through in an hour. Now that's HAMB service. I'm wondering if an article was done on this rail. With 4 wheel drive, it was probably pretty a interesting engineering excercise.

 

The photo isn't in poor taste IMO, it wasn't the injuries that got him, it was the pneumonia he got when he was in the hospital, one of my friends dad had to have some cancer removed, they were successful in removing it, but after a few days when he was in recovery he got pneumonia and passed away, another one of my friends dad had to have his gall bladder removed, 3 days later he got pneumonia while in recovery but thankfully he recovered from the pneumonia. Getting pneumonia while being in a hospital happens alot, but you will hardly see anything about it in the news.

 

I'm pretty sure the shot of Pete Robinson's last moments on here, better take it down. That shot of Garlits losing his foot bothers me ,too. Geez.
It's history and life lessons folks, step out of your bubble.

Now, back to the fun!

 

I don't have an opinion on whether it should stay or not, but I do know one thing.
When it comes to death. everyone has a different level of comfort or discomfort when dealing with it.
Your opinion on a touchy subject does not mean that everyone should share your opinion on something so personal.
The last thing we need is a lecture on how to feel about personal emotions like death.

 

1. Please let's not be politically correct here on this thread. I don't know any drag racers who are. I say if you don't like the photos, don't look.

2. Pneumonia is seldom listed as a cause of death even if it contributes. My father died at 49 from pneumonia, his COD was listed as cardiac arrest. Technically that's correct, because the last thing that happened was that his heart stopped, but that's not what killed him.

Pneumonia is nothing to trifle with. There are better drugs to deal with it today, but it's still lethal.

 

Zookeeper's probably looking down and laughing at us.

 

Yup.

 

In my years of Drag Racing, I've seen some truely horrible things go down...anybody who has been around the sport for any amount of time has. Some of these are memories that just will not fade with time...and they shoulden't. Those events are part of the balance. They teach us, make us cautious, and raise the value of the things we do because we understand the true cost of progress and racing.
As for that pic...I have never seen it before, but I was pretty much floored by it. I know the history and the event and even the nuts and bolts of that incident as if I was there. When you tune, wrench or drive these cars, you study these things because they can and do happen, and it's our responsibility to keep them from happening again. But that pic...aside from providing graphic closure to a well studied incident represents something much deeper than all that. That is our brother, going out, literally in a blaze of glory. It's an honor to view that picture. 40 years after the fact, it gives us a chance to stand and salute the immortal Zookeeper, as well as what his existance and demise represent to our sport and culture. Thank you for posting it.

 

I was there in '69, I had just met Mulligan for the first time, our crew chief knew him. and of course being from So. Cal. I was a fan.
I remember the crash, I didn't see it because I was in the pits working on our car but the buzz going around the pits was he was killed, then that he suvived, when we left the races on Sunday the word was he was going to be ok and we were off to the next race, later at I think US30 in Gary we heard that he had passed, I was shocked, I remember thinking, but they said he was going to be ok.
Those were a tough few years, late 60's early '70s the performance technology was out running the safety technology, we lost a lot of great ones.
The pic is hard to look at but I really have no opinion on whether it should stay or go, death has been a close companion these last 25 years, so it doesn't effect me as it once may have. geeze can we lighten the mood a little... more pics please...

 

great pictures maz, post more if you got 'em!

always thought that strip had the coolest name..."DRAG CITY"

 

Thanks Doug!!! "Fontana." It just sounds cool.

 

I remember lots of hot rod push cars, this one is classic.