How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Here ya go Keith, your words. I guess that you should get credit for this thread!

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Thanks, I think this will be a good start to a new thread. It may also help to show what you did to select your “beginner class”

I started at 16 at my local track after watching a funny car show the weekend before. my father and I took my 19 second Mustang II down the quarter-mile for the first time in the trophy class.
First NHRA class was super Street several years later

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Friday Night Trophy Class. I20 Dragway Tyler, Tx. That and the streets.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

My dad. I was brought up around racing. Spent almost every Sunday of my childhood in the 70's and 80's at NY National Speedway and West Hampton Dragway on Long Island. I learned to race in his bracket Camaro, and it grew from there.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

My dad he was a tech guy at National Speedway and west Hampton Dragway when not racing
My firsts win was in a 1964 2 dr Malibu SW 6cylinder dial in of 2020seconds
Dad slammed the brakes every time as I watch through the back window
I was a passenger my dad was driving and we won street eliminations I was like 10 years old
Hooked ever since

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I left home when I turned eighteen. I purchased an old beat up 1969 GTO soon after that. I got in a bunch of trouble with that car....

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

My older brother Joe took me to Dover Drag Strip (Wingdale NY) in 1966 and that gave me the bug. My first race in my Nova was in 1972. Here I am 71 and still doing it and loving it..

Bob Lasko

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

My dad raced and he took me with him the first time in 1966 to Atco Dragway and the rest is history.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Started in '91. A guy that worked for me from long Island talked me into to going to Island Dragway to see what my Chevelle could run and I was hooked ever since. Raced with and against James Perrone at Island starting back in the late 90s.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

My older brother took me to the Super Stock Nationals at NY National Speedway when I was 15. I thought it was awesome and loved it. Made my first 1/4 mile pass at Island dragway when I was 17 in my 66 small block Chevelle. The rest as they say is history. LOL!

Ken Kopecky

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Stock/SuperStock shows at Eastex (AKA "Porter")...

Saturday!Saturday!Saturday!... Houston International Speedway!...
(As told by the guy that gargled with Comet)

When I turned 16, first car I bought was a 69 Chevy with a 396...
(There's a song in there somewhere)

Hanging out at the Jack In The Box...
Racing in the streets...
(There's that song again)

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

The first job I had at 16, was a lot attendant at a local Chevy dealer. I bought a tired 65 Mustang 289 4speed that was a trade in and headed to the crusher for $190.00. I’d race the car every Saturday night, then monday at work i’d search through the used tire pile for a set of rear tires that didn’t have the cords showing One of the techs taught me how to use the tire machine after the third set of tires.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Gus Puskas brought me to Englishtown in the late 60's, I was immediately hooked and spent the next 2 years before going off to college, crewing with him and his 67 HEMILANE B-body in Stock and later Modified Production. This story captured elsewhere on this site, entitled "the Gift". Later that year I made my first 1/4 mile pass in a Henry J Gasser 300CI Ford inline 6, 3 on the column, lol!!!

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Attended the '57 US Nationals at Okla City as a 14 year old paper boy, been hooked every since. Won my first trophy there in '61. I see other racers adding a bit more info so i will do the same.
The race I won my class at in '61was a NHRA Regional, the precurser to divisionals. I won J/SA, still have the trophy, clipping out of the local paper with results and some pages of the ND that covered the race. NHRA added quite a few stock classes in '61 with "L" being the lowest, my Oldsmobile ran "E" in '60.
I remember Dale Ham being at least one OCTA meeting in that era explaining the next years rule changes.
Okla City only lasted a couple or three more years after that with the closest track 70 or 80 miles away.
When I was drafted in Dec, '65 i was sent to Fort Benning, Ga. I asked a local about drag strips and he named off about three that was in the immediate area with 3-4 more in withine 100 miles. That was music to my ears so I, with a little luck spent my whole tour at FB and been here since.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

First race I went to was a points race in Bowling Green, about 1976. The hook was set.



I was still in high school when I sort of "walked on" to a team that was a bunch of guys running Super Pro, Super Gas (might have been called something else then) and "Jr. Pro Stock" at Riverside in Nashville. I moved up to building engines, transmissions, and rear ends, as well as being crew chief. I was fortunate to be in Nashville and at "the Hill", where I learned from guys like Jimmy Bridges, Mike Lynch, Ronnie Duke, Harry Vineyard, Sonny Elliot, and others. Even though I wasn't directly involved with Stock and Super Stock, those were the guys I really looked up to.They were on the same side of the track as Super Gas, the "hot car" side.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I went out to I75 with Cletus Hood in September of 1958. 75 stop at West Road it done but not opened it was done to Sibley. There were around 100 cars.there this went on for about a month till the State Cops shut it done

I took my Dads 57 Ford to Detroit Dragway Opening Night on a night in middle of August 1959. 4 wide and hoked.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I watched the 1964 US Nationals on TV, saw the Hawaiian dragster in the April 1965 issue of Hot Rod magazine at the library. My brother took me to Capitol Raceway in March of 1968. My favorite cars, back then, were Larry Kopp's 57 Chevy wagon and George Taylor's Alco Hauler 39 Chevy coupe.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Big Sting in Columbus Ohio of street racers in 1987 and I was one of them. Went to Trails after that and didn’t look back!

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

In high school I had a 1969 RS Z-28 that John and I had put a crate motor 427/425 L-72 in. Terry Lynn, who was the parts manager at Bowman Chevrolet told us to "Put this in" before we fired it. He handed us a L-88 Camshaft. He said if we bring back the old L-72 shaft he would just trade us even up. A set of 4.88's, Hooker 2 1/4 inch Hooker Headers, Hayes Aluminum Flywheel, Lakewood traction bars and set of 9 inch white dot #8 Firestone 500 slicks and ..... 11.88 @ 116 driving it back and forth to National Trail Raceway on weekends. That set the hook for life.

The class racing part. Blame Joey Wilkes! A few years later we purchased the Green GT Car that Huntzberry now owns. The new pretty blue and black one.

We mentioned to Joey Wilkes that I would like to try SS. We had the car, but running SST. Joey said " We have extras engines ! Try one of ours..". Joey and I worked out a deal, 2000 dollars for four races. I told my brother John about it and he says "what happens if you blow it up". I told John that Joey said not to worry about it,. John wants no part of that... until he hears it for himself, so we head over to Joeys (we both live in the same town). John ask him about it, and Joeys answer was " I've seen him race several times". If its gonna blow up, its gonna blow up on whoever's driving, whether its me or him.. So I'll eat it." So that afternoon we're putting a new SS engine (a 993) in our car. Our first time out was a points race at Quaker City. On the second pass, the rods come flying out of the 993. Joey was about four or five pair behind me, so he was aware the downtime at the track being "from the new guy". Cell phones were just becoming commonplace, and Raymond was sitting in the stands.(Joeys Dad). He called Joey and ask "How bad did Jeff just blow up our motor"? . Joey tells him "how the heck do I know, I'm strapped in the car!" . I'm still at the bottom end, with a huge puddle of oil under the car. My brother shows up, and while looking over the holes in the pan says " Well little brother, your Superstock career was short lived huh?". We were discussing what Joey was going to say, as 2000 didn't even start to cover the damage that I just caused. Joey makes pass, pulls over behind us in the shutdown area, and while walking up and witnessing the oil under the car chuckles "Did that junk Rossler Transmission take a ***** on you! "? LOL. I answered nope.. He says, "Well your gonna be busy tonight". I assumed that he wanted his motor back, and this deal was over. I knew he had a crane in his rig, so I figured we would just pull the broken engine out and head home. To my utter surprise, Joey says " We will have to put my spare in (a 624). He says, its about 15 hundredths faster than that 993... I bout fell over.....So did John. That was 20 years ago, and that weekend had a lot to do with our addictiveness of this class.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Jeff Gillette and I were street racing 750 Honda’s (in 72/73) or anything anyone would throw at us. I rode for Pat Watson ( comp eliminator) back then and started bracket drag racing Honda’s. We did really well!! Pat decided to go comp racing so Jeff and I tagged along. We crewed for Mike Dunn ( BHJ) on his F-G/ Gas Vette. Then we went comp racing with Pat. All the time Jeff and I had Chevelle’s back then bracket cars. I bought a front engine car in 1977-78 and started winning races. I put Jeff in for one race ( ruined him) and he sold everything in one weekend and had a front engine digger in two weeks running! Then it was on! And here we are racing a 69 Camaro Stocker and Hass 2006 Pro Stock GTO in Top Sportsman. If you would have told us then we’d be dialing in 6.70’s in 2023 we would have had you committed insane!

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I grew up around two uncles who were drag racers .One a Stock elim racer and the other a Comp eliminator racer.
I've been told my first drag race was when I was 2 years old. My mom took me to see my uncle race at the NHRA airport drags in '55
I was going with my uncles to races at Vargo , Hatfield, Pocono Drag Lodge, Numidia ,Island ,Maple Grove Cecil ,Capitol from the time I was around 10 years old in '63. Went to my first Indy in '66.
My first trip down the track at 16 in '69 was in my '50 Olds convertible with a stroker ,roller cammed '57 Olds J2 and a hydro . 13.0's on Bucrons
It was heavy but with a 4.10 rear and the Hydro it rarely spun the tires on the street and nocthed a lot of wins over more than a few Z28's 440's and Vettes when they struggled to hook up on the street ..
Got a lot of tickets for loud pipes but somehow never got nicked for street racing.
with heavy influence from racing with my uncle, John Troxell ,I've been addicted to Stock/SS racing for life.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

In the spring of 1971 I was 5 and my dad took me to Midstate Dragway in Havana, IL to see my uncle Jeff Velde race his 69 Mach 1 428 SCJ in SS/G. My uncle told me to jump in the car and ride up to the staging lanes with him to get teched. I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever done. The sound of that CJ with open headers got me hooked. I've had the disease ever since. Absolutely love it!!!




Bret Velde
2003 I/SA

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

When I was 15 a friend and I hitch hiked over to our local Dragstrip,,South Glens Falls Dragway. That was back in 1969,,we peeked through a fence and that's when I fell in love with the 69 Camaro Z/28. In 1972 I purchased my brothers 1969 Z/28 and that's when I first started Dragracing. The same Camaro I'm Dragracing today,,but not with the 302 and 4 speed. They are in my basement waiting for me to retire so they can go back on the street.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

How did you get started in Drag Racing?


I want to hear from the Emmmons Brothers, I am sure they have an interesting strory. I heard they got started around 14 years old.

Darin Grossi

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

1970 Wednesday night at Englishtown in my father 1968 6 cyl. Chevelle. At a lighting speed of 85mph.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I would like to hear from everyone there are some good stories here. It looks as though family has a lot to do with how you got involved and for the older crowd when stock was the norm it seems that that’s what class you stuck with. Billy Nees, we are waiting for your story….

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I always liked the feeling of the seat pressing against my back in a car and I’ve never outgrown that feeling. First real track I went to was Lakeland just outside of Memphis. That nite in 1967, I think, was a Funny Car match race between “Brutus”, 65 GTO and “LimeFire” 67 Barracuda . Also there was a real clean 67 GTX with “Mr 4 Speed” on the doors, Herb McCandles.

Halls Tn was a great place to see class racing in 1966. 62 Bubble tops, 413’s, 406,427 Ford and Chevy, 59 Fi cars. It was a flag track at the start and the finish line. All handicap spots were a car length between classes. The A/S would have to spot the B/S one car length. The B/S would have to spot the B/SA a half a car length. So racers being racers a couple of racers figured out a way to use the rules to their advantage. The two of them both local fellows bought Art Graham's 61 Dodge wagon. they ran it as a 6 passenger or 9 passenger 383 w/ two four barrels, or one four barrel. Could have run it as a 361. Because the car was slow and ran way down on the class scale it received a big spot every round. The spot was so big that they just geared the car for the 1/8 mile. One of the team was a transmission specialist, and was one of the few people to have a 2.77 low gear and a 069J converter the other guy was a well dressed car salesman. Y'all may have seen the car it was brown and double ugly, the trans guy was Ronnie Veatch RIP, a really good racing mind, and the other wrench and driver was Jerry Bennett

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Sometime in the mid 80's I saw this 57 Chevy with 2 four barrels and a 5 speed lined up against this red Falcon with a SBF and a 5 speed and they were absolutely punishing those things , they were loud and violent and looked really cool to drive . Shortly after I put 1n1 together and realized that Stock and SS cars without the "A" after their class were stick shift .I saved my money and I ordered a Jerico trans from Adco Int , they were 200 cheaper than Jerico direct , bought a Dana rear from strange and proceeded to beat on my Camaro till I built my Chevy 2 . Still Jerico shifted can't imagine anything else .

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

In 1963 I bought a 55 Chevy for $600, took the air conditioning off the continental kit off took out the automatic trans out replaced it with a three speed and started racing it as a stocker .I really did not know exactly what I was doing had a friend of mine kind of guiding me as I was Young energetic and aggressive, stubborn ,trying to learn by trial and error wow that was a long time ago

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

When I was young I aways liked car racing. My dad would take me to the little round track near our apartment in Milwaukee. As I grew up I was a motor head. I had a mini Bike. Then a dirt bike. My first car was a 1968 Musang with a 302 4 barrel and a 4 speed. I made my first pass down the 1/4 in that car. Bone stock it ran 14.90. I kept thar car trough hi school and ran it at the track a few times at Bradenton.
During High school I met some friends that introduced me to NHRA class racing. We went to the Gators several years and after I graduated I built the 1968 Camaro that I still race today. At 19 years old I Made my first pass in that car at Orlando. That was 1979 in November. The car was built to the C/SM rules and had a high winding aluminum rod 292 cubic inch small block with a super T-10 trans, Dana Rear with a 6.17 gear. It wasnt fast but it was a thrilling ride. I think it ran 11.00 on those first runs. I transitioned the car from modified to Super stock in the early 80s and I have been class racing exclusively ever since.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

When I was young and living in the city environment, we used to go for Sunday rides out in the countryside. One Sunday we went by Island Dragway and I told my father to pull in there and we parked on the spectator side. Saw drag racing for the first time and was bitten by the bug right there. I was already a car crazed kid by the time I was in high school after we moved out to the burbs....It was the middle of the muscle car era and there wasn't much else I thought about, cars and girls ! LOL....I had both by the time I was able to drive and became friends with other car guys and some drag racers. Myself and a partner took on a project another friend started. A sedan delivery Jr. Stocker and we completed it and started racing it in 1966. Went to many tracks including Indy. I was 18, he was 19. The hook was set the day we drove into Island Dragway to watch around 1962-1963. I raced on and off ever since 1966. Had many cars and a lifetimes worth of enjoyment at the track.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

In the 1970s watching the best in the day at Deep south LaPlace and State Capital. Then two bracket cars and now the slowest stocker in D-4 Racing is still the best sport to me . But maybe sometime the Saints and LSU are a little better

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

My first trip down the track was in 1974 at a jet car show at New England Dragway. I ran Trophy Class and won with my 6 banger Nova, beating a 318 Fury in the final. Moved to Street Eliminator a year later and was track champ in 1977. In '78 made the Nova into a stocker (U-V/SA) and had a fair amount of success. Walked away in '83 and did the career/family/house thing. Picked it up again in '09 when I retired from the PD. Bought the late Greg Schmutz's N/SA Caprice (with the assistance of old friend Billy Nees) and had fun with that until 2018 when I had open heart surgery. Survived that and got the bug again when Eric Merryfield let me drive his T/SA Gremlin for a couple of races. I then saw Jeff Roell's SS/LA Mustang for sale and struck a deal with him. I've been running SS for a few years now and love it. I'll have a fresh engine and tranny this season and hoping for the best. I'll be 70 in May and I plan on racing for many years to come.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

I've had the car "bug" for most of my 20 year long life. My Father bracket raced on and off throughout my childhood, and my Uncle has been running Stock longer than I've been around. We never really had the extra resources available for me to run Junior Dragsters, so when I found out about the junior street program, I was more than intrigued. My first ever pass was with my dad's 2011 Crown Vic Police Interceptor, with him riding shotgun. 10.67 at just under 70mph in the 1/8 was pretty much all that thing would do. When I turned 17, I had my mind set that I was going racing that weekend, and towed my 83 Mustang 5.0 5spd to the track and ran sportsman with it. Growing up I took every opportunity to go to an NHRA race with my uncle, so the thought of running stock was always in my mind. Unfortunately I didn't think there was any real opportunity for me to run Stock within my budget, until I met Billy.... Throughout the process of helping out with the Cavalier, I really got hooked on class racing. Somehow I convinced him to let me "dig out" the blue nova from the archives. A little bit of work, and off I was running U-V/SA within my budget. I then got the bug to go fast, and ended up asking Billy to "cut up" his 28k mile nova, but that story is all in the "Builds" section.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Reformed street racer here.....I have zero backround in racing in my family. I moved out very young and had to learn to work on cars to survive, go to work, school etc. That evolved into cruise nights and hanging out to street racing. Eventually I started racing the legal way. That was in 2000. So I am a little late to the game and probable do not have the level of passion that many here do. I enjoy the challenge of going fast as well as trying to hit a number chosen for me(.90 stuff). And I plan to be back on S/ST this year. I did run S/C races in my 64 Plymouth, but only for fun

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Fun thread!

I was one year old when my dad (Harry Holton) started dragging me to the track with him. I didn’t miss many races over the years, wanted to drive since I was little, but I was his baby girl! Finally, in the mid-90’s we bought a car for me to drive (never got to drive a hemi!) Now the 3rd generation is driving (Jared Jordan). He caught the bug when he was just a toddler, shadowed my dad around at the shop and track. Of course, as a boy, his first ride was dad’s ‘65 Hemi Belvedere. I was discrimated against! lol

Drag racing is a wonderful family sport!

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

A car nut since I was a little boy.
Read every car magazine I could get my hands on.
Was never shy about opening the hood of my parents cars.
Saw the NHRA World Finals on TV on a Thanksgiving Day 1967? and was hooked.
When I turned sixteen my dad was foolish enough to buy a new '69 Plymouth Road Runner.
Oh boy! Now the fun begins!
I got my drivers license and promptly it was suspended within a month.
When it was reinstated I started to casually street race.
It was a stick and I was pretty good pedal kicker.
I eventually re-jetted the Carter AVS, re-curved the distributor added Doug Thorley headers and replaced the 3.23 rear for a 3.91
Ran 13.20s at Dover Drag Strip and New York National Speedway.
Got my feet wet crewing for Jimmy Lovallo and his SS/EA '67 Corvette and Frank Lupo's SS/BA '64 Hemi Dodge.
Bought my first race car from Dave Shepard, a A/SA '64 Plymouth Belvedere and did pretty well with it and the rest is history.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Been a car/racing nut as long as I can remember. Mom n Pop took us to a bunch of Nascar races, local dirt track races and to our local drag strip as kids. Watched all types of racing on TV. I was always more interested in drag racing over the roundy round stuff. From the time I was 14 throughout early adulthood, my brother and myself were at Coastal Plains Dragway hanging out with friends who raced every weekend. I did a fair bit of street racing as a young knucklehead, which pretty much ended after the first time I went down the drag strip. The rush was so much better, along with the environment of all the racers being friendly and family-like towards us. 1988 was my first time racing, in a 1970 'Cuda. I raced that car and another 70 Barracuda til around 1996, when life/priorities changed. I moved and racing took a back seat to life getting in the way. Fast fwd to more recent times, I've been working towards getting back on track. Managed to race a few times between 2004-2015 and took another break to take care of family needs. Life is pretty much back to normal now, and I'm prepping my brothers, (RIP Mike), 68 Camaro to race again. Should be racing again in the next few months. Y'all have a great week.

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

Care to elaborate???

Re: How did you get started in Drag Racing?
 

1967, bracket raced Thunder Valley, Marian, SD. Ran a pure stock road runner in 1968 and a A56 'cuda 4 speed in 1969. That car is being restored.Raced brackets for a few years and then bought a '66 Chevy SS/OA in 1988. Had towing accident and wrecked it. Next was a '66 Chevy SS/NA. Sold it. Next a '88 Olds in GT/MA. Ran a lot races in Street trophy with my '96 LT 1 Caprice and '69 'cuda also

Present and most fun ride is my '80 Dodge Diplomat V/SA. Been a fun time over the years and my goal is to be racing at age 80!

#5458

Curt Rees