Re: Tell Us About Setting A Record
Twenty years ago in 1999 I sat down and wrote what I called the"History Of Stock Car Records."
October 7,1961 was an important date in drag racing history. That date marked the first time that Stock Car National Drag Records were acknowledged and certified by the National Hot Rod Association. While the stock car classes were extremely popular at the local tracks and National events, NHRA had put off recognizing records of the Detroit iron.
Wally Parks, who founded NHRA in the early 50's, wrote about stockers in his December 1955 Hot Rod Magazine editorial. His editorial said that the first National Championship Drag Races at Great Bend, Kansas produced only two legal Stock class winners out of the four Stock classes run. In one class the first, second, and third place cars were disqualified for illegal modifications. What was for other categories a record meet, almost became the end of class racing for the Stockers.
But as the popularity of high performance stockers grew NHRA began to receive an ever increasing number of requests from racers, dragstrip promoters, race fans, and even Detroit big wigs to allow stock car records to be set.
The 1961 "Experiment" as it was called by NHRA was conducted at York US 30 Drag-O-Way in York, Pennsylvania. The National Drags Certification Team, headed by W.E. "Farmer" Dismuke, was on hand to certify records set in Optional/Super Stock (O/SS was the forerunner of Factory Experimental), Super/Stock, and A/Stock stick and automatic classes. The experiment was a success. For the first time stock cars at the dragstrip could lay claim to recognition along side of the Dragsters, Altereds, and Gassers who got all the glory. Three cars set records that weekend. They are as follow:
O/SS 13.34-106.64 '61 Chevy Biscayne 409 Dave Strickler York, PA
A/S 14.15-101.12 '60 Chevy Conv 348 Robert Price Manchester, CT
A/SA 14.54-96.25 '61 Pontiac Ventura 389 Ted S. Reynolds Millway, PA
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