Good stuff! It’s like a video of @NoSurf book “grandpas hot rod” very similar story line. Should get a copy if you don’t have one
Hello, When summer came for us at age 13, it was not a trip to grandma’s house. But, a whole new way to have a pre-teenage life surrounded by a big new blue Buick sedan. I did not have a license as yet, but I could drive the family cars around the block, down to the spray booth for a quick wash and usually those block long drives ended up a little longer on the way home. The excuse was the car needed more “air drying” to get all of the water out. Ha! Life sure seemed simple and fun during those early days. But as 1957-58 came around, I was allowed to tag along to Lion’s Dragstrip for a day at the drags. We had seen the drags from our Junior High School baseball field and railroad tracks, berm. But to actually drive into the main gate and walk around the race cars was a wonder. The speeding blurs we saw from the railroad berms since 1955 when Lion's Dragstrip opened was a new adventure just whizzing by us across the farmer's plowed fields. now, we are in the middle of the big commotion heard every Saturday since 1955. The main gate at Lion's Dragstrip + my brother telling the attendant that he wanted two tickets, including one for his brother standing over there taking photographs. The guy had to look to find me standing on the entrance way with a movie camera in photo 2. My brother and his friends were busy with their cars and I was the spare parts finder and expert “gopher.” Go for this and that type of situation… being the low part of the ladder was a hard climb to the upper reaches of activity. One of the rare times that my brother filmed the Lion’s Dragstrip action. I was taking a break for a nice snack and was standing at the starting line in the tower side of the dragstrip. My brother was in the stands with his friends. (sharp eyes will see a black 58 Impala in the return timing slip road… not our 58 Impala…) This place was legal as it is behind a chain link fence and next to the “protective” blast shield. Ha! The Tapia Brothers FED staging action on the dragstrip... Photo/film by James Nak. Tapia Brothers/Beardon-Hoffman SBC dragster A red Pendleton shirt, Levis and desert boots. The typical dragstrip attire. The one thing I could do, at the suggestion of my brother was to use our dad’s 16mm color movie camera and take films of he and his friends racing their cars. That, I could do easily. Plus, now, I could wander to my heart’s delight and do my own filming of what I liked. But, when I saw their cars come up in the staging lanes, I had to find a spot to films the races. This time, he surprised me when I edited the film clips later. I saw myself standing in the exact spot the Saturday before during my so called "break." Yes! Lion's Dragstrip action 1958-59 Jnaki It was a good way for an introduction to drag racing at a young age. But, I did already have favorites in all cl***es. When the films were developed and I was hard at work editing them on a film cutting machine, they came out fine. The weekly teenage gatherings at our house was cool as the older teenagers with their cars came over to watch the races and comment like teenagers did and still do today… bantering with a smile on their faces as everyone was having a great time, watching those 16mm color films on a large, pull down screen. I was just happy to have been a part of those gatherings and could contribute. Then the actual motor/car rebuild/repair portions came and became a learning experience that lasted a long time. Things learned back then still apply today in life and road trip preparations. YRMV 56 Chevy Bel Air 301 or 352? For the local teen from my brother’s group of friends, it was not to go to grandma’s house, this time. It was to go to James’s mom’s house, to eat lunch prepared by her, and watch drag racing movies taken by none other than a very young teenager with eyes wide open. Those were some simple times and great memories… YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
