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

You are correct, Sir!
Dargway 42 circa 1967-68.
A/FD sbc. like this...

last shot B-ville up front.

Nothing like riding in the push car
with the windows down & the spark
fires off that first shot of nitro
up ya nose! Ya'll in the stands got the
2nd dose, we got the first.

 

Thank you all for posting these recent pictures! The comments with them are GREAT! I can't speak for everyone, but I love the details man! Pete Ogden used to tell me great stories from back then. I listened for HOURS, never got tired of it. I just recently met John Batto, who strangely enough is only 3 minutes from my shop. I saw the engine from his '65 rail (the one with the wheels 5 feet in the air with butterflies FLAT in every picture I've seen of it) in his shop the other day. Oil pan to injector, shoved into a corner sitting on an old tire. Up in the rafters is a brand new, never run '66 Pete Ogden chassis. Rotted tape still wrapped around the drag link against the frame...It's literally just as it was when he picked it up from Pete!

Yeah, you all had it great....and your girls were awesome.

It's too late for us though boys. Oh well...Get your carbon fiber and your vinyl wraps and your fake tittie bald bisquit trophy girl and let's go RACIN'! Where's the RedBull and viagra? I know I'm only 25 but it seems to help me keep going...

...I have no idea how long Hanna stayed in it. I wasn't there. I regret it.

 

Dargway? LOL! Sorry folks!
Good Night & Have Pleasent Tomorrow.

Push Car shot pt. II

Q-City. Alway an up hill battle.

Enjoy! - Smoke.

 

My first visit to Puyallup Valley Raceway thanks in part to the US Army in the summer of '67.
Great memories of the early "funny cars" when they were nothing more then a steel body with fiberglass components, this one with its injected 09. naturally tipping the can was rising to the occasion that afternoon. And I thought I was close at the Beach or Irwindale, the right side just inside the bleachers put you up and personal using nothing more then a small box Agfa camera.

 

A couple more from Puyallup 1967

 

NICE stuff,Vintage Gasser ! Thanks.

 

Irwindale was a great place...short lived though 1965-1977...seems like it was there longer, but it wasn't.
One way or another I always came home dirty. The dirtier I was, the better time I had.
My Mom would always say, "how can you get so dirty just sitting in the grandstands?".
Well, she didn't understand that we also woud crawl under the gassers and AWB cars to grab a peak.
I we really got lucky some crew member would ask us to get a tool from the back of a pickup truck or something like that.
After awhile I'd get rides in the push cars/trucks from some of the teams that knew me as "the kid with the camera".
Every thursday, "Drag News" would be in the mailbox, and the search through the ads was on.
This was about 1965-1966. The best of the best years, IMO.
I was within the radius of Irwindale, Lions, and Fontana, which were my "home" tracks. My parents were real cool about dropping me off at one of the tracks and picking me up after the last round. I'm sure they were real glad when I finally got my drivers license so I could drive myself after I bought my Model A panel.
Match racing was huge...fuel altereds, AWB, gassers....all rivalries promoted by the track owners like the wrestling matches of the 90's:
"Pure Hell vs. Wild Willie in a fuel burning frenzy that'll knock your socks off. You better bring a friend just to hold you down!"



this is a re-post, but it sure is worth another look...funnies as far as the eye can see...introducing the teams to the spectators before Round One....32 funny cars wasn't uncommon and the occasional 64 field would just wear you out. That's 63 races, not counting qualifying...




The artwork of James Ibusuki, "Night of the Altereds" pretty well sums it up....two of the baddest fuel altereds of all time , the snack bar serving up "In 'N Out" burgers. the San Gabriel mountains above Azusa Canyon in the background at dusk and an overload of flames...all shot from exactly where I spent hundreds of hours after I was old enough to get a photo credential. I could envision this in my head but James put it on paper, and my memory was exactly as he depicted it.
You ever smell the mix of tire smoke, nitro and burgers?



lucky I bought the print back in the 90's...they all sold out many years ago.



So, that's all for now. Tune in next time for "Memories from the Old Guys"

 

I just posted this on the Bee Line Dragstrip site on HAMB but it fits in here very well. I got it from Frank Livingston.
Mike

http://www.arizonaracinghistory.com/drags.htm

 

great pics tuff tin!

I'm not familiar with the bee line dragstrip, is there a link to it?

 

"You ever smell the mix of tire smoke, nitro and burgers?"

Sure have, as I was there too. Thanks for the memory refresh.

 

guessing indy 1963.... not in motion , but wtf

 

guessing indy 63 again....

 

My dad only ran those Firestones on the roadster for a short bit.They were a test deal,,for free and produced tons of smoke.
He was always true to Ernie & M&H.
When Goodyear first came out with their Blue Streak Dragway Specials,we borrowed a set from Ivo one night at Lions.
The thing hooked up pretty good,went sideays & almost hit the ambulance by the 'old' tower.
My dad went home & lengthened the car.
In that picture,Prudhomme in the background,and I'd bet good money that's Chet Herberts Chrysler sitting next to the roadster.
Chet had a few of those & since he didn't get out of the car very much,he always had a couple of poodles on his lap.
The bottom car in the picture to the left is Ward & Wayre "Longshot",,,probably Mulligan driving.
This thread is killing me,,,,I want to go racing every weekend again.
It seems like that's all we did,,,,thanks so much for all the pictures.
Troy

 

These are the shots I was refering to,,sorry.

 

Thanks Mazooma, your comment made my day!

 

From another source that's Sid Waterman standing next to the young lady watching the next pair head towards the top end. He at that time was hooked up with Hampshire, that car has since been brought back (recreated).