What everr happened to the good ol' days
I was messing around on youtube.com and found a old video listed as drag cars 1971 NHRA Supernationals original cut. even though i was not born until 1973. From what people have told me I wish I could have been there. It is amazing how much things have changed good/bad. Seeing all of those cars in the staging lanes and all of the fans being able to see what was going on. If you watch the video the begining is what caught my eye on it. And what Dick Landy said. Then there was another video where alot of cars were being towed by a "flat bed"trailer, even the Funny Cars. I just wish I could have been there.
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You are right, things have really changed. The first race run at Rockingham Dragway top fuel cars were on flat trailers, with wood floors planks. Push started from the top end of the track, up the track to the starting line, made a u-turn in front of the tower and lined up on the starting line.. Funny cars were hauled on flat trailer or sloped back trucks. At the East Coast Drag Times Reunion at Henderson, the restored Huston Platt "Dixie Twister" was being hauled on an open trailer.
I know folks have seen me post this before, but in those days tracks ran races every night of the week. A match race may have been with several funny cars, Jungle Jim made match racing a show, super stocks or gassers. There would be a crowd of people at any track on any night. Lots and lots of cars. Cars ran off of their "national record" for the class they were in. How about flag starts and the tracks had a wire across, overhead at the finish line, with two yellow bulbs.. A track person was at the finish line with a piece of 2x4 with two light switches, wall switches, and he tuned on the bulb for the winner. This was North Carolina Drag Racing. Your are right those were really the good old days of drag racing. |
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Not enough room, not enough time, and surely not enough beer to tell all the stories. Racing at airports and having to stop for a plane to land, in early 62 having at least 20 SS 409 and 20 more 406 Fords for A/S on any given day. And then the 413's came. If you didn't drive to the races, you had a death trap of a tow rig. If you were cool, you had towing hubs.(Anybody know what that was). $1 to get in and .50 for a Pit Pass. And of course you left your class and number (in shoe polish) on the windows forever. Not enough time.
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JEFF, we know what towing hubs were. If you had a set of those you were big-time. And , we were at the 1971 NHRA SuperNationals.
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The first division points race I ran was at Odessa, TX (don't remember them holding another one there) was in 1968. I got my towing hubs made just before that trip. I tell kids now about flat towing to Pomona in '68 & '69 and they think I'm pulling their leg. A long tow bar and lots of positive caster in the race car front end and you couldn't tell it was back there. You could back one up like a trailer.
One friend of mine, Bennie (the Wizard) Osborn had the first enclosed trailer around here. He built it himself. That guy could build anything. Built his own Top Fuel cars, engines, trailers, etc. Not many Top Fuel World Champs build everything themselves anymore. :D Bennie won the finals when they held them here in Tulsa, that was 1966 or 1967? They still smoked the tires the full 1/4 mile then. |
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You talk like tow hubs are that old, I just stopped using them about 4 years ago. Still have them as backup!
Casey Miles 248H E/S because of 4 hp |
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1971....I had a custom made tow bar made to fit the front of my 1969 300 HP Corvette H/S (F/S today) with a 4-speed muncie. It was hard to get the drive shaft out because everything is small and tight and I was to lazy to install the towing hubs sooooo I flat towed to Colonial Beach, Va. one Sundy with the 7 inch Firestone yellow dots on it. Yep....half way there the vette trans locked up and tore up the main shaft and STOPPED my 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix (very heavy car) right in the middle of Rt.# 301 from 55-60 MPH in about 10 ft.....lol. Scratch one whole muncie and flat spotted my "Stones" that day. Ex$pen$ive lession. Fixed it and ran Larry Lombardo the next weekend at 75 & 80 for class and he beat me by about a bumper bolt.....Had to win class back then to run for the eliminator. Good "ole daze". Maybe but we sure had FUN.
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I still have my old NMW hubs.I flat towed for 14 years (1977-90).Did'nt do much real long distance (longest
was Queens NY to Gettysburg Pa for an AMC show/race).Good thing I still had the hubs and tow bar,my open trailer was stolen 2 days before the trip.I first went to the track in 1965 (NY Nat'l Speedway).Saw all the hot cars of the times.One of my favorites was Wild Willie Borsch's Winged Express AA/FA.Anybody remember the tree was suspended by wire over the track?Only 3 bulbs too,I bracket raced there too a few times in 1969-70,then again in 1977 till it closed in 1980.Fantastic track,lousy road system to get there.Itwas the Long Island Xpressway or Sunrise Hwy.That was it.West Hampton was also open then (The Sand Pit) and Islip (1/8 mi) .All history now.It was a real trip though in the 60s and 70s. Ed F. |
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Pretty sad, you cross the state line leaving Oklahoma in any direction and everything smooths out. |
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Ouch!! |
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How about this: My first race car was a '57 Chevy. I did not have anything to tow it with nor did any of my friends. I went to the junkyard and bought a thrid member out of a '58 Brookwood SW and would swap it into the race car to drive to the race track. At the track, I would swap in the 4.56s and open the headers and go race! At the end of the day, swap everything back and drive home! (about 50 miles) Ed, you may remember the dragstrip at Ft. Smith. That is where I got started. A senior in high school with a O/S '57 Chev but walking to school and work! |
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Casey I remember you flat towing to Indy . Remember " Perkins Cake & Shake" |
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I had 4.56 gears in my first Chevy, 1st year out of high school (1962) it was a '56. Drove it everywhere. OKC, MoKan, Fort Smith. 3000 RPM was 50 mph if I remember correctly. Fort Smith and Tulsa (North Air Port. Private air port. Had to stop the races to let planes take off & land), only had flag men then, and 25' per class spot, up to 250'. I got the same spot from a D/S as an A/S. With the tires we had then, no track prep, and dust tracked on the starting line, I could out run most of those higher class cars heads up past 'till about the 1/8th mile. I got to leave on clean pavement with my spot, they were on dust, and used the fastest (early) part of my runs. Won a lot of races there. Lord, I must have broken a train load of Chevy 3 speeds and rear ends. First christmas tree I remember seeing was at the new track here. (same one as now) Think it opened in '64, but seems like we had a flagman here for a while. Don't remember what year the tree showed up. Always loved seeing Jim Hale's Hemi cars at Fort Smith. He had the first one I remember getting to look at up close. Also, got to visit with one of my long time heros, Don Grotheer, at the Noble race a couple weeks back. He is putting another car together. Nothing sounds like a Hemi! I love 'em. |
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Things have changed a great deal since the eighties. Some good changes and some bad changes. I stood at the top end with my dad when Modified ran and will never forget the experience. My parents let me skip school on Fridays of Rockingham Nationals. My uncle Marshall ran Super Stock at the time. My dad got us all started of course, I have his first trophy. He ran pure stock at Person County N.C. with a new 67 396-350 Chevelle / 4-speed no less. By the way, my fist job on the crew was keeping the choke pushed in on the old ramp truck! Hey a kids gotta start somewhere! Remember the past,embrace the future, and enjoy right now.............and never forget what a Modified Vette sounds like in the traps! I know you all were referring to the sixties and seventies, but think of the change that has occurred since the mid eighties.
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I got my start in the early 70's. Raced into the 80's, parked my car in 1988. We drove to the track,later we towed with tow bars. Eventually I bought a trailer, still have it to this day. I'm just getting my feet wet, slowly trying to get reinviolved in racing. It was starting when I left racing but seems to be even more intense today. It amazes me how much people are tying up in tow vehicles and trailers. |
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Oh those early days. My uncle Jim bought a 69 Z/28 brand new and of course, the first thing you do is take it to the track. I was 10 at the time, what a blast. Later that year my dad bought a new Chevy P/U and so with 75 miles on it, Jim made tow tabs and a tow bar and off to the races we go in class... towing! Fortunately, I was small enough that I could get under the Z/28 and remove and install the driveshaft without having to jack it up. Probably a year later we really stepped it up with the purchase of those tow hubs! Man we were first class then! Find a good pit spot and back the truck up to the fence at Cecil where Grandmom could sit in the lawn chair and see the races and we were set!
I also remember those funny cars coming to the track on the ramp trucks. I remember Tommy Ivo's enclosed clear sided ramp truck. I like looking back at the pictures from that era and seeing the hair and clothing styles along with the "old" cars and trucks in the background. Yep, a lot of fun!!! Safe Trips All!!! |
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Hey, those white shoes were cool!!! I don't miss those pants or shirts one bit, but hey, it was the style.
I recently saw some pics from back then... What was I thinking? I did have a pair of the Coke-a-Cola pants like the ones on NHRA pic page from 2005 of Bob Pickett. http://www.nhra.com/2005/gallery/pow/photo09.jpg |
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https://www.dressthatman.com/pics2/acce/acce375.jpg http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...tfitentire.jpg |
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I started going to the races when I was a Senior in High School. 1955-'56.
Now, I'm just a "Senior." :( We raced at Carlisle, Arkansas, on a deserted WW II "emergency" landing strip that was about 100 feet wide and a mile long. No shutdown problems and no guard rails. The specators pulled their cars up to the edge of the strip, sat on the front of the hood, let their legs dangle down in front of the grill and front bumper, and that was our "guard rail." Insane... The only clocks were some home-made MPH clocks and for one lane, only. Nobody paid any attention to e.t. because there were NO e.t. clocks. A guy stood on a folding chair (sometimes, me) at the finish line with a flag in his hand and when two cars that were racing came by, he'd lean the flag in the air toward the side that won the race. Everything there that had anything to do with drag racing had to be hauled into that place about 5:00 a.m. and set up for the day's racing, then removed at the end of the day. I'm talking P.A. system, concession stand, all wiring for the clock (no "s") and the timing "tower." ALL portable... There were no grandstands, of course... Stock classes ran from A to D... lol! Nobody ever heard of Super Stock. If it wasn't a Stocker, it was a Gasser.. A through D, again... Altereds had 25-percent setbacks and no fenders, so it was easy to tell an Altered when you saw one. I think they ran from A to C... Dragsters were called "Open Gas" cars (go figure!) and the only "fuel" that was run there was in a twin engine Harley called "Double Trouble," and it was usually the "Top Elminator". There was Top, Middle and Lirttle Eliminator. Top paid $100.00, Middle paid $50.00 and Little paid $25.00, IIRC. Uh.... $100 in 1955 is equal to $797.01 in 2008, it says here... Stockers got trophys. Four of 'em... (remember, A, B, C, and D) LOL! It wasn't unusual for there to be 25-30 cars in A Stock... so, winning the A Stock trophy really WAS something to brag about! The fastest A Stockers of the day were almost always '55 Power Pack Chervys, which usually ran 82 to 83 MPH... No slicks in Stock; you ran through the mufflers, with the air cleaner ON, and sticks and automatics ran together. I remember a LOT of parts breakage back then. There were no heavy-duty ANYTHING, and those stock drivetrain pieces just disintegrated with disgusting regularity! When the "legitimate" racing program was over, the announcer invited anyone in the crowd who wanted to grudge race his buddy, to bring their cars to the line and the flagman would start them,,,, for free. Talk about your "grass roots" racing... Lots of people participated! To a 17 year old kid (who was trying desperately to learn how to power-shift his folk's' POS '49 Ford flathead) it was fascinating beyond belief... Now, some fifty-three years later, IT STILL IS!!!! :) I have just never gotten over standing on the starting line and listening to the gear whine of those 2.94:1 low gear '56 Chevy Power Pack 3-speeds with a 4.11 (overdrive-equipped) rear end... how ungodly FAST they'd wind up low gear!!! It was just surreal... Some things will never change. Like my total fascination for this stuff. I saw an enclosed trailer once, with a B Altered inside, and on the back of the trailer, a sign said, "CAUTION; THIS TRAILER CONTAINS A DISEASE FOR WHICH THERE IS NO CURE." More truth than poetry... LOL! Most good-running A/SA cars nowdays could win TOP ELIMINATOR at the '58 NHRA Nationals... if they could travel back in time!!! Maybe THESE are the good ol' days.... |
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my first race was in august 1971 at bethany mo. they had hotrod, hotstock, showroom-option, and showroom. fist time i had ever been to one. sitting in the stands a friend of mine with a mustang 289 3 speed told me if i could get the car in stock i could race it. i took it over and weighed it in and they classified it in option because it had a high rise on it. he let me run iy anyway. i took second and have been hooked since. still racing there today. check it out at www.headsup-racing.com.
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also we were spotted car lengths istead of .10ths and were flagged off istead of tree. two guys set at the end of the track in cars and flashed their lights for the winner. we also shut down on dirt and grass.
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I had a 1967 Mustang, 289 lo-po 2bbl car. My mistake, had a Holley 500 on it. Got classed as a D/MP car. Man, I got killed. That didn't stop me from going back for more. |
Re: What everr happened to the good ol' days
Try this one:
my partner, Ron Taylor, back in the day, was flat towing his Olds stocker with an Olds Vista Cruiser on Interstate 80 in Nebraska from Kearney Dragway back to Lincoln....tow bar w/drive shaft unhooked, Vista wagon loses U joint, they hook up race car shaft & with open headers shove the wagon home Speed limit was 75, they are doing 85+, one guy shoving, one guy in the wagon passing everyone...guy in wagon enjoying a cold one leaning back enjoying the ride...quite a sight and sound My guy can out story your guy, except maybe the Tueton';s |
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Joe or Jeff? I haven't been around Jeff much, but Joe tells the best stories I've ever heard. Probably the most entertaining guy I have ever been around.
Also, in my last post it sounded like I raced at Razorback Raceway (Fort Smith) in 1962, but I didn't race there until 1965. You and Ron's cars are almost too nice to race. Besides being bad fast. |
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'ol Joe...could listen to him for hours
the time he & lil Joe headed to Michigan, said it was long drive & lil Joe took a turn (he was about 12) or the time they swapped cams about 5X & he told crewman to take the slow one back to vender and place it where the sun don't shine (not exact interpretation!) or the time Dick at MoPar told them to lay down for some factory guy & he said he wouldn't lay down if they gave him Chrysler or the time.... geez, someone should get him on tape, it'd be better than the time NASCAR had on Waltrip, Jr Johnson an others reminiscing about the old days |
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You haven't truly lived until you have flat towed a '67 Impala Big-Block with a '66 Deuce, 4-speed. :eek:
It gives you an appreciation of life in a hurry, after a hard stop.:D |
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Quoting Bill, "Everything there that had anything to do with drag racing had to be hauled into that place about 5:00 a.m. and set up for the day's racing, then removed at the end of the day. I'm talking P.A. system, concession stand, all wiring for the clock (no "s") and the timing "tower." ALL portable... There were no grandstands, of course...
Stock classes ran from A to D... lol! Nobody ever heard of Super Stock. If it wasn't a Stocker, it was a Gasser.. A through D, again... Altereds had 25-percent setbacks and no fenders, so it was easy to tell an Altered when you saw one. I think they ran from A to C..." If you guys like the sound of that kind of atmosphere, you really need to make a trip to Bonneville for either World of Speed or Speedweek. There are quite a few ex- drag racers out there, for that very reason. I think what keeps it from getting out of hand is the fact that there is NO prize money! You race either for fun, or to see your name in the record book. The only award possible is a hat...set a record over 200mph, and you get a red hat. Over 300, blue hat. Randall - I loved that story...I spent a lot of hours in the rear-facing seat at the back of a '72 Vista Cruiser as a pup. |
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Nice story Randell!!! I always wondered about having to push instead of pull!
Those tow hubs came in handy in 1979 when I raced my street car (70 1/2 RS/SS) right after I put in 5:13 gears and slicks. Well the stock axles didn't like it. I was flat towing at the time without the driveshaft. Went to a freind of Jim's and got the hubs, installed the axle and hubs, jammed on the emergency brake and towed home 2 hours from E-town, keeping an eye on that rear tire making sure it was staying under the car. Towed that car with a 1967 Firebird for a short time! Not quite the difference between a Chevy II and an Impala, but still questionable! |
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I once overheard Bob Creitz tell a story about a couple of guys there in Tulsa who went out a short distance from town on a windy night with a couple of bottles of compressed gas (I think it was acetylene and maybe helium)... They had procured some weather balloons from the local airport, or Air Force armory...
They filled these balloons with the lighter-than-air gasses (highly flammable) and attached a slow-butning homemade fuse to each of them, and set them loose in the pitch-dark, early morning (2:00 a.m.) sky... The wind carried them over Tulsa's downtown area before the fuses lit them off... BIG excitement from the local mounties... LOL! The perps somehow got caught and were properly chastised for their inventive fireworks... I just thought it was a neat story... Drag racers with nothing to do... LOL! What is it they say about an idle mind??? :) |
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On my part, the stopping thing was sometimes interesting. On the other hand, you ever flat towed the back way to Brown County drag strip? I scared the begeezus(sic) out of bunch of picnicers going around one of those sharp corners one Sunday evening coming home! I guess being young and broke then is no different than being old and broke now, LOL! Like a few others have lamented, it sure was alot of fun back then. And that 74 Pinto, won one of the last few trophies they gave out for weekend stock class wins at IRP before they switched to their bracket only format in 77, I believe. Like many have also said, usually you had run at least two races, sometimes more, just to get a trophy. |
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Ahhh, Brown County Motorplex......every trip there is memorable in some fashion.
I think I am the only racer ever tossed from there for a "tech violation".:rolleyes: |
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The hazards of flat towing
http://images115.fotki.com/v679/phot...4/ROSE2-vi.jpg http://images42.fotki.com/v1376/phot...544/56F-vi.jpg |
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I'll bet that rig got up-righted and went on......:p
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Trailers can have bad things happen as well. I remember Don Wilson showing me pictures of an old SS/I Chevy II he had a hand in. The car jumped the trailer and passed them going down Mt Eagle in Tenn. Said that's an eery site, watching your race car pass you going down the road!
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I don't know about it going on THAT DAY, but that's George Cureton's "Tokyo Rose" '56 Chevy sedan delivery, and I think, the one he FL;AT TOWED from Wllmington, Delaware to the NHRA World Finals at Tulsa, Oklahoma and WON Stock Eliminator there, in 1967.
Sometime around 1963 or '64, Jack ("6 = 8") Clifford flat towed his Hudson Hornet Stocker to the Nationals at Indy from California with another Hudson Hornet, and won Class with BOTH CARS!!! |
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That accident had nothing to do with flat towing. George said that someone ran him off of the road causing the wagon to turn over. Would have probably done the same thing if the car had been on a trailer or a ramp truck.
Bob Rice |
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Sounds like Bob. Not a lone incedent. :D Between he and Bennie, they seem to know about everybody. Interesting and talented men. They can both do about anything. Sheet metal work, fabrication, build engines, etc. Don't see many like that anymore. Guess you knew about Bennie towing to CA to match race Tom McKewen for a bath tub full of silver dollars? I think he might have used Bob's car for that one? I'll have to ask. He drove Bob's car at least once. I seem to remember it was that race. Maybe another. Last time Bob was in here we talked about the movie "World's Fastest Indian". Cool movie about the salt flats. He really likes that kind of racing now. He and Bennie are two interesting, cool guys to talk to. I had stockers when they had fuelers, but they never talked down to me. Just nice guys. |
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