Did you race a '56 Corvette at Rocky Mountain Dragway?
 

Hi everyone,

There's a great thread elsewhere on this forum about the old Rocky Mountain Dragway in Commerce City, Colo. Wonderful memories, stories and photos from that track.

I'm looking for any info I can find about a car which might have raced there.


http://lh6.ggpht.com/_DgFcpFMyOek/Sz...GbI/56Old3.jpg

My dad is just about done rebuilding the '56 Corvette shown above, and I'm trying to piece together the history of the car.

He bought it from a guy in Arvada in 1988, primed over as seen above, with no engine and housing a generation of spiders. It's his understanding that the car changed hands a few times in the '70s and '80s as different folks thought about rebuilding it. Heck, it took my pop over 20 years to get it to where it is today.

Here's what we know:
- A title showed the car going West from Pennsylvania after 1966
- A sticker on the car's front window has an NHRA logo and listing of the Rocky Mountain Dragway. The other side has a soaped number 109.
- The car was probably purple given the color of some inside body parts.

Here are photos of the window and the nearly finished car.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_DgFcpFMyOek/Sz...640/window.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_DgFcpFMyOek/Sz...JEk/56-new.JPG

We don't know if it raced, but it would be great to track down some of those old stories and God willing, a photo.

Does anyone know if logs or records of races were kept? And if so, who would have them? The NHRA?

Any info helps. These cars tell great stories and we'd love to hear more about this one.

Thanks for reading,

Jonathon

Jonathon Berlin
Chicago, IL

Stephen Berlin
Denver, CO

Re: Did you race a '56 Corvette at Rocky Mountain Dragway?
 

Hi there,

I have reason to believe that Rick Pierce, a former owner, raced the car under the team Rick Pierce Funny Cars. This would have been most likely in the 70s.

Sadly, Rick passed away last year.

Anyone remember racing against him?

** Anyone know if NHRA keeps records of races from that era? I will call them and ck.

Thanks for reading.

Jonathon

Re: Did you race a '56 Corvette at Rocky Mountain Dragway?
 

I replied to you on the other board and will here also.

I knew Rick and his family quite well when I lived in Aurora. I also knew your car. I always thought it was a '57. Well, time does play tricks on a person. I lived up the street from Rick and Peggy, on Kingston St. to be exact. That '56 had a 265 with a tunnel ram and a 4 speed at the time. It was a maroon color and had the name "Rasputin" and "The Mad Monk" on it. I remember the traction bars with the peace sign, too. Rick won a trophy or two with it. The vent intakes housed switches for the electric door latches that were in the doors at one time. They were made out of Chevy starter solenoids as I remember, but they were out of the doors at that time and in a wooden box of miscellaneous and sundry other parts.

I remember thinking at the time it was weird having the peace signs in the traction bars as he hated the hippies and was a two tour Vietnam vet. Peggy, on the other hand, had two brothers that came around and were hippies... Bob and Pink were their names.

Rick died January of last year in Sutton, Alaska, from what I understand.

Dang... Memories.

Brian

Re: Did you race a '56 Corvette at Rocky Mountain Dragway?
 

Guess that was for not