Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Hi everyone,

I am starting on a new project (website and podcast) aimed at people over the age of 60. As part of the project, I am looking to talk with people who made major changes in their life (not caused by illness) or took u new activities.

If you started drag racing after you were older than 60, or know someone who did, please let me know. I'd like to talk with you for website and possibly podcast.

Thanks,

Jim

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Jim,
I turned 60 last July. I am building a dodge drag pak. it should be done by late march.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I can see how this might apply to some. Some guys got married & had a family, right out of high school. Many of these just didn't have the time or money to "waste" on drag racing.

But, many of those guys no longer have children to support. And, a few of those guys got into a profession from which they made lots of money, so now have plenty of play money to spend.

So, for those few guys who wanted a Musclecar and/or a drag car, but could not afford one, but now can, I can easily see that some might wanna get into drag racing, after age 60.

I had to stay out of racing for 20 years. But, now that I'm retired, I'm workin on a low budget bracket car, for local 1/8 mile racing. Didn't like racing any less, during the period when I couldn't do any. So, there are probably quite a few other guys who feel the same way.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

[QUOTE=jwsamuel;578567]Hi everyone,

I am starting on a new project (website and podcast) aimed at people over the age of 60. As part of the project, I am looking to talk with people who made major changes in their life (not caused by illness) or took u new activities.

If you started drag racing after you were older than 60, or know someone who did, please let me know. I'd like to talk with you for website and possibly podcast.

Thanks,

Jim[/

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I know this isn't what you ask, but I started when I was 13 and raced till I was 58 and stopped to care for Mother & Father. I plan to drag out the iron in 2019 at the age of 69.
Might want a little input from Bill Gibbs and Jim Hale.
I'm pretty sure there are a lot of "Start overs"

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Not quite 60, but I bought my first Stock Eliminator and started racing it at 55.
I raced a street car in brackets for 3 years before that, while I looked for a car.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I just turned 71 so I qualify for this round.

In my teens in the mid 60s I was the "staff photographer" at Milan back in Michigan, a job picked up by Tom Kasch a few years after I went off to college. After hanging out in Boston, getting a teaching degree and moving to Washington State in the late 70s, I found that I hadn't been to the track in, like 30 years. Shame on me.

In 2013 I was back at Pacific Raceways with my camera for a Lucas Oil event watching my long time co-worker Alan Falcone work through staging with his GT car. I realized that it was time to get on the right side of the ready line.

In 2014 I bought a Craigs List 68 Mustang off some kid with bills to pay. I sold him back the engine and gutted the car, built it into a street legal bracket racer with a teardrop trailer to haul gear and camp in. In 2015-16 I got a lot of looks on the freeway with that rig. For 2017 and 18 I ditched the mufflers and turn signals and put it on a trailer as a full time race car. '17 was fun with aluminum heads and '18 was disappointing with iron ones. Now that I understand the N351 heads better and have sorted out the power gremlins, 2019 should be fun again. I'm trying to get teched for SS/CS to run in the local S/SS races.

I'm one of those people who doesn't sit on the couch very well and having a race car suites me fine. always something to mess with.

This is my first race car and I built everything myself in a two car home garage. Everything was financed from an investment of $4000 in Apple stock in 1986 at $16.50 per share. Literally forgot about it for 20 years. Never even opened a broker statement. Since I still have $17000 in that account I guess this is a free race car. It's nickname is Mad Money and I am Mr. Persistent.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Not sure if I qualify but,. I've been out of actual racing a car since 2000 (car was fast and to much effort to do by myself) figured I was retired from racing, now at 69+ and still working full time I'm trying to put together a Duster 340 for stock. should have been done last year but I have to make everything and the wife says I'm a perfectionest...Before then I raced off and on since 68 but helped on many other cars thru the years. If I wake up every morning I'm happy.
Mike

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I was 62 in 2013 when I started drag racing a stock eliminator car. I am still racing today at 67. Let me know if you would like to talk. Nanette Stein. 2098152485

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Just for the record, Nanette raced me first round at Pomona last February, and dropped an .004 light on me. That was the best round I had all year.She deserves a good mention for that one.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Needed something better than Sudoku so started at 57 with an AH car. DUH!!!


Now I do the Great Race and building a Lemons 24 car. Phisheaux

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I got hooked on class racing @ age 21.
I didn't get to make my first pass in a NHRA Stocker until I was 52.

It was a long wait

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

@ 63 im going back to class racing after 33 yrs. off.... I've got new glasses now & cant wait !

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I'm among the group that previously posted. I raced from 1968 to 1971, then life changed as the way it does, family, career. I had friends that continued to race so I hung around them for my fix.
After a career in the oil field I retired in 2015 at age 65. Started on my Craigslist Fairmont stocker which was finished in August of 2017.I probably enjoyed building my car as much as I do racing it.
I'm 68 now, the car is fast but the driver is a little slow, don't get enough practice as I should, but having fun.
I highly recommend getting into racing, after all, 'There is no time like the present'.

Good Luck in your endeavor!
Kelly Lane

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I had a super-gas mustang when my broker talked me out of investing 50K in a new IPO for some company called Google. (D'oh) Who knows what I might be driving if he hadn't done that.
I'm struggling to get back into racing building a '67 Shelby from scratch at age 63. Hope to finish it by the time I retire in a few years.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I bought my'67 FireBird in July 1980. Finished it up and moved to Bradenton and raced it on and off till 2010 when the ekonomee dumped. I've gone up and down I-95 enough and had fun,but with an open trailer it might be hard to stop and sleep at night now. The last couple of years I have bought it new stuff, threatened to go race again, and stuff just happens, and e-town closing didn't help matters any. Since I'm 70 now, I got to get busy, and get to Atco, but the thought of towing down the road with these idiot drivers around here is scary. I guess I'll just have to pass them by with our new Hemi Durango. Merry Christmas to all, John Kissel K242

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Turned 64 last month. Haven't raced on a regular basis in 20 years. Since then just dabbled here and there in Nostalgia Super Stock and Stock Eliminator. 2019 is the comeback year!

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Raced pretty seriously for 20 years. Parked my junk almost 20 years ago (life happens or we make bad decisions, either or), stayed involved helping others, working on cars or hanging out. Now I'm trying to get my own deal reestablished. Stk, SS or SG. We'll see where the chips fall. They won't trick me into quitting this time.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Haven't made a hit in over 25 years, but I'll be turning 60 in April, and have a new-to-me stocker that'll be ready to make a pass in. Can't wait..!!

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I'd like to nominate the late Cleo Chandler from Anniston, Alabama who started racing at about age 74. She was a great racer and great lady who won her share of races in stock eliminator.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

I'm waiting for the "Super Senior" NHRA Tour to start. At age 71 now, first NHRA competition in 1965. Time off to serve our country, raise a family and have a career. Race hard everyone, health will eventually slow ya down.

Re: Anyone Start Drag Racing After Age 60?
 

Does re-starting after 60 count? I raced from the early 1980s through early 1990s then took a hiatus..... for 24 years. Still have the car I raced then, but it needs updates. In 2016 at age 61 a good deal presented itself on an older but well constructed S/G car that was ready to race and I've been racing that since then - mostly just brackets.