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

Tom....I don't wanna continue beating a dead horse.(no pun intended) This shot is poignant, it was taken just prior to his fatal accident @ Pomona, you'll notice he again used a helmet restraint. You can also see a hint of the vacuum device under the motor, the cause of much speculation.....discussed & cussed before on this thread.

 

#29758;
" Some guys would try make up for having less money (horsepower) by driving without regard for their own safety. "

Some guys would try make up for having less money (horsepower) by driving without regard for their own safety.
Thanx Mazooma, and let me underscore this.
The defense rests........... Tom S. in Tn.

P.S.......... Rick, where did you get all these pics ? Where you a track photog in a past life ??

 

Nope...just an old drag racer like you. I have a couple thousand images of early drag racing filed in 2 different Photobucket accounts...when I see cool pics, I snag 'em.

 

The pairing of these two cars is ironic in that each represents a major era trend in the evolution of funny car technology. Brutus being the old school approach of taking a standard production car then gut it, chop it, and acid dip in the hopes of rendering it into a state as far from OEM conditions as possible. Chrisman Mercury, while crude by todays standards, still baring the basic formula that remains true today: one piece fiberglass shell mounted atop purpose built tubular chassis.

 

Question; if they had banned single piece bodies and tube chassis, would FX or funny cars look like modern day pro mod(?) type cars? Tom S.

 

I figure that Pro Mods are the evolution of Gassers.

And speaking of evolution of classes, isn't Pro Stock kind of a modern day Modified Production? I can't figure out why they are the step child of the Pro classes.
Larry T

 

I think when Pro Stock debuted they were in fact high end scale modified production. In fact it was that very style of launching off the line, wheels up, slightly skating about while the drive banged through the gears that made them entertaining. But as progress ensued and the cars became a bit more sedate in their antics did they lose my interest.

 

How about a short clip from the movie about Rick Stewart..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VqhgrKzZD-8
yep it's pretty cool!
Especially since Rick survived the wreck and lived to tell about it, a very lucky man.

 

Man I only made it 50 pages,need a cigarette and a nap after that .Thanks to Royal shifter and the rest of you.brought back many memories of my mispent youth at thompson and dragway 42. RED

 

welcome Red. Thompson and 42 are still active and we have Norwalk..er...Summitt Raceway park too. Choppers still does their show too.

here's a link to the local action in case you're interested.
www.cruisingtimes.org

 

Random examples of some mid 60's "chute pack" cars.....

Warren & Crowe, 1965....

 

Buehl & Strampfer, 1966....

 

Sheeesh....an open single axle trailer, and no hospitality suite.....man how did we ever do it?

 

Frantic 4, 1965.....

 

WHAT KIND OF WHEELS ARE THOSE ON THE BACK? FIRST TIME I'VE SEEN THEM

 

My memory is pretty fuzzy but I think they were either E.T. or Americans....I did borrow a similar set of those wheels & tires from Gary Ormsby while racing at a NHRA points meet in Portland, Oregon back in the late 70's. Somebody else on here will recognize them I'm sure....

 

THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT RICK, "E-T". BUT I CAN'T SEE THE BOLT IN THE SPOKE HOLDING THE TWO HALFS TOGETHER.

 

^^^Those aren't it....they were 5-spokes, not 5-window.

 

Don't forget the 'R' - Dennis Rollain

 

They were made by a company called Rebel Wheels. There were a few ads for them in the old Drag Racing magazines in the mid 60s. I'll dig up an ad and scan it if I can find it. The only 2 examples I can think of that ran them were the Dusty Rhodes dragster and one of the jeep bodied funny cars. Maybe the Secret Weapon or Destroyer. I can't remember which one right now.

 

Sure a ton of great memories standing right there as a teenager. Mountains look the same and even the parked railroad cars, but that patch of dirt doesn't have any excitement to it anymore.
Wouldn't you love to have saved that sign on the fence before someone tossed it into the trash?

 

From the Irwindale bleachers you could see the arrival of the feature cars as they traversed the bridge overpass located behind the track. Sometimes the announcer would call out who was about the enter facility.

 

Partner "Buehl" would later form Bishop & Buehl Racing Engines, a shop that produced a lot of competetive motors but is often overlooked when discussion arise over constructors of supercharged/nitro motors. If you name search Britting you find another picture of this car at Fontana, but under the hands of new owners.

 

Need some help here , I'm restoreing the 72 satelite Fighting Irish funny car ,looking for pics, handouts, info what ever, got most of the pics out on the net already looking for more tho PM me or email timjones@hughes.net Thanks this is the car I have Thanks in advance Tim Jones

 

is this foto from dragway 42 in ohio, 4 lanes, a long,long time ago

 

Dennis was a great guy, he continued to work out of that shop for the rest of his time.