the Ram Rods are getting out of the HA/GR cl*** and movin on... i wish they'd stay but i understand the need for speed... its worse than a heroin addiction and a lot more costly i wish em well with the new car. yaknow, i am really torn here for feelings about this news... first is, i'd have loved a chance at staging against that car, but i suppose if this doctor is gonna race it, i might get the chance anyhow... second, and kinda the real meat of why i am posting is this... i am encouraged by this as well and i think this wont be the last team or individual to sell off an HA/GR and move on to other cl***es of drag racing. What the HA/GR cl*** has done is bring TRUE spirit of drag racing back to the cutting edge of the sport and get that thrill of racing back into the hands of the working man. i've been off work for about, 2 months now with a torn rotator cuff and operation to repair it. since then, i have finally gotten a ch***is ready to run HA/GR and i got to tell you guys, it brings tears to my eyes at times just sitting in the thing and really thinking about what it is i am a part of with this car... guys, we aren't reading about history here. we are making it. i believe time is going to judge this to be a turning point in drag racing. Thanks Ryan, for the place to hook up with like minded guys... and also, Thanks Kevin. without the "what if" parasite dragster idea, this wouldn't be happening. now, go back to your regularly scheduled threads and ignore this rant
that's not a rant, and you're NOT wrong. The machinist who is building my engine- Lanier Henry- has been drag racing since the late 50's. He runs a sub- 8 second '55 Chevy with a big block these days. When I told him what I wanted to build, and my goals for the car, he got SUPER EXCITED!!!! You should have heard the questions, the ideas, the comments coming from this guy-- a few weeks ago I had to go to him and tell him I was out of money to finish my engine. His response- " I want to finish this build. You are doing things here that no one has done in 50 years, and you're doing other things that NO ONE has done. You HAVE to finish this car, People NEED to see this....." This guy understands what we are doing, and what this movement we have going means to drag racing, and to history. this is the same guy who painted my full race Mopar flathead six stock Ford Flathead green, as a joke. I thought it was funny, no one else gets it.
FiddyFour, what moparsled said sums it all up, and you are right too. This is a turning point for drag racing and a chance to bring the past alive and show people what the sport is really about.
I watched part of the NHRA Nationals from Houston,Tx this afternoon. After about 20 minutes I changed the channel and watched an old movie. NHRA drag racing has become boring. Cookie cutter cars, electronics, sponsors and money dominate now. I've been involved in the sport in one way or another since the 50's and appreciate the advances in performance and safety. Unfortunately everyone strives to be the winner and too few people want to just have fun. I have a friend (Jim Hand) here in the Kansas City area that runs a 70's Pontiac wagon that runs in the low-mid elevens. It's a street car that idles at 600 RPM and is quiet and a pleasure to ride in. If he wanted he could go much faster since he has the knowledge. But, he likes tinkering with his wagon and trying new things. He's a hot rodder in the truest sense. I'd like to think the HA/GR guys are cut from the same cloth as Jim. We'll never be seen on TV nor will we become famous, But, I hope we will have fun like we had when we first go involved in this sport. Ron
Ron, I think I remember your friend, Jim Hand's Poncho wagon featured in a magazine several years ago. If I remember right, he did it with talent, not money. There's definitely a parallel there with the HA/GR guys.
You know guys when I went to my first drag race in 1956 it was run and put on by a car club. The police were behind it 100% because it gave a place for people race instead of the street. About that same time Wally Parks began to organize the NHRA. He said it was to make it safe. What he really wanted was to make drag racing into another Bill France Nascar. If you will look at the two today they are almost twins except one turns left. They are both boring as hell and there is no room for the little guy who doesn't have a sponser. If we can get more people to build home built cars that are safe and we go out and run them at the independent tracks perhaps we can bring it back. I wish Ryan had a couple of other tracks that would put on races. Of course you have people from all over the USA coming to MO-KAN in Aug. So it would be a hardship on everyone to do it more than once a year. The Nationals used to be were all the local heros went to see how good they were against the rest of the country. Now it is a bunch of touring clowns putting on a show. Roy
Bob, That's the same Jim Hand. For those interested in Pontiac's, Jim wrote a "HowTo" book on building Pontiac's for the street and/or strip. As you say, he did it with talent. If you look in the dictionary under Hot Rodder I'm sure you'll see Jim's picture. Ron
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