While on the phone with a good buddy of mine, I mentioned how the HAMB had been discussing old drag strips and street racing spots. He mentioned a few that jogged this old brain. River Road Raceway (Forest lawn Dr.) Glen Oaks Blvd. Glendale Freeway.... while it was being built. These ring any bells?
In the Bellflower/Long Beach area, it was the 91 fwy, while under construction. I'm noticing a trend...
Hitchcock Rd., Salinas CA. Scariest strip I've ever seen. It was out in farm country and the tractors would keep breaking the edges of the road off. I'll bet it wasn't more than 16' wide in later years, and I've seen 9 sec. cars run out there...
210 (Foothill) Freeway before it opened. The local drag racers would use it for "testing". One night the cops thought that they'd go after a guy and this is the result. Notice the guy on the left wearing a Schiefer Clutches t-shirt. Everybody got to spend the night in the clink for that little escapade. I remember this like it was yesterday,,,
Long time before any of you-------1946-1950---Inglewood,Ca. was the hotbed for all kinds of racing. Any given night (mostly Fri.) the hot cars would cruise the local driveins in search of some friendly competition & usually around midnite the racers & the sight seers would congregate out past Sepulveda blvd. & Manchester---Lincoln blvd. used to run diagonaly for 1 mile (?) with bean fields on each side (all high rise now), spectators lined up on top of banks & watched the action, lots of these racers would be running 100+ as they thundered by with no lights turned on (in those days we figured no lights = hotter spark!)--HA!-- At each end of Lincoln there would be a designated car with Appelton spotlights insuring a hasty retreat from the area of all participants & spectators by the flashing of the spotlights if any cops showed up!!! I remember one racer, a WWII vet was running a 1947 Chevy with a big GMC motor & 2 pot intake, even tho his left leg was gone (WWII) he had a hyd. clutch setup to hand shift very rapidly & won many events. One Fri. night, cops were enroute, spotlights were all flashing, everyone trying to get out of the bean field dirt, total commotion, I ALMOST got my dads old '37 Studebaker coupe stuck---Until my buddies jumped out & pushed me free!!!---Never did tell Pop about that one!!!!!----------Don
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