History Funny Car busted at City Hall for doing burnouts

Jan 18,1978 City Hall Protest:
A Funny Car at City Hall on First and Main doing block long burn outs, got 3 burn outs done before getting shut down. If City Hall will not give street racers a place to race, Big Willie brung the races to City Hall.

 

hehehehe....cool

 

Awesome article. Couldn't do that today without ending up in jail for the night

 

Has it ever been city hall's responsibility to provide a drag strip?

Fuck! I hate socialism.

 

Who say's they are providing it? All we need is the go ahead to open the gates, no taxpayer dollars will be used.

 

Eyewitness NEWS 1977 Brotherhood of Street Racers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BHes8Pprzw

BIG Willie Robinson III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMA76qbrrL8

Terminal Island's Brotherhood Raceway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjMiCg2LDRk

 

Good way to get the point across!

 

big willie gets it!!!!!

 

Chi Town Hustler did it on chicagos street early 70s. Also broad way Fready did it on the boadwalk early 70s.

 

Big Willie Rocks! Love the footage.

Now what does a city have to do with it?
He wanted them to provide the real estate. I applaud his activism, but leave tax payer contributions out of it. The property in the news clipping was public land of protected status. Drag strips are a business. Get investors and buy property if you want to open one.
Street racers don't race on the street for lack of a track, they do it for lack of a brain. Street racing goes on everywhere, even where there are street classes running weekly on a track.

 

You had see it to belive it .....

 

why are we arguing over what city hall should have or shouldn't have done? it was 1978 it was a historical article.

 

Pretty sure Scottybaccus is aware of the date. I agree with him, it's the point of the matter. The funny car running on the street is one thing to debate, but insisting the government supply us with a place to do something as elective as drag racing.....uhhh, I don't think so.

Socialism is chomping at the bit today, more than ever.

BTW, musta been wild to see this thing on a public street! Didn't someone fire up a dragster on Hollywood Blvd. once?

 

Big Willie for President!

 

The mayor of Los Angeles can give the go ahead to open the track. There is a section in the harbor that is set aside for public safety and has been sitting idel for over 20 years, nobody has used it even though it is prime land due to it's requirements. Big Willies program fits those requirments. In Los Angeles getting enough realestate for a dragstrip is zero. Noise, size of plot of land used, traffic and envorimental impact would keep it all from not happening, but in the Los Angeles Harbor, that would not be the case. Now land has been offered in the high desert, but it would not be as effective in solving the Los Angeles street race problem as having it closer to the city limits, some 70 plus mile closer. BTW nothing is free, but no taxpayer dollars are ever used.

 

lets look at this from another veiw point. If you want to particpate in just about any other sport there is taxpayer funded facility to use. Think about it, if you want to play football, baseball, soccer, basketball there are city parks. If you want to swim most towns have public pools. Most boating, skiing, and fishing happens on public waters. Some public land is available for hunting. The list goes on and on. While I am not advocating that any race facilities be paid for with taxpayer money, I see no reason that our governing bodies make it almost impossible for a private citizen or group to open a racing facility.

I will get off my soapbox now.

 

And having your car confiscated and crushed!

 

wasn't that tony nancy...? b randon

 

priceless!!!!!!^^^^

 

That's a totally cool photo.

Teckless, pointless, and stupid, but really cool in an I've always wanted to see that kinda way.

Thanks for posting!

 

Isn't Detroit trying to put a strip in the City ? On City street ?

 

I take it you are against us poor proles bailing out the Wall Street Billionaires then?

All Willie and CO. were and are lookng for from the cities involved is to not be stopped by "building code" and other activity restricting ordinances so they can build and run a PRIVATELY OWNED strip, not "socialism".
Socialism money is being spent on cops bustiing racers who are not being allowed to race legally because the GANG/Government wont, so far, ALLOW a strip to be built.

Freedom is an inalienable RIGHT!
It says so in the Declaration of Independence.
I think that should include ALLOWING a dragstrip reasonably near any populated area that currently has that problem with street racers who race on the street because there flat ain't no other legal place to do it.
And that simply requires Cities to STOP saying NO you can't do that enterprise here.

 

Only in the 1970s could you get away with a Kool stunt like this!! Nowdays the Cops would have you shot with beanbag shotguns,tazer guns and beat with nightsticks all at the sametime!!

 

This was too cool to leave alone.

 

Pete Hill did a burnout down main street in Sturgis on his blown fuel knucklehead, no helmet, nothin'.

 

I wonder why they call him Big Willie???

 

So we shouldn't have taxes go to airports either or harbors where we have sailboats and fishing boats, or parks where we can enjoy hanging out with our rods or no "social" security or . . . . . . .

There is NO such thing as no socialism except in a full out dictiatorship. Think about it. It's always about where to draw the line.

We have always needed a place for young and old to drag off the streets. Its very good for all concerned.

Very sorry for being off topic!

 

i think you just hit the nail on the head!!! but you can see how far big willie and co. got in the 70's. those guys are legends. i was born a few
years AFTER that article and i remember hearin my ol man and his buddies in the late eighties and early nineties talkin bout him and a few others across the u.s.a.

 

He is a mountain of a man..... maybe about 6'6", 350 lbs.

 

Wonder if Big Willie still has his Superbird?...Cool article...I know he was in first few seconds of Two Lane Blacktop...He was waving up the orange Daytona...