Tell Us About Setting A Record

[Larry Hill]

Tell Class Racer:

Who owned the record before
What was the record
How fast and what class was the new record
When and where was new record set
How long did you own it

That should get some of the records off the wall to read the fine print.

[Jon Sarrett]

I can't wait to see Billy chime in. He, Peter Noriega and my dad went back and forth in V/SA during the late 90's through early 00's until......

[vic guilmino]

i am 77 years old and wanted to set it one more time.
and when i was young the records where very important

[Jack McCarthy]

I’ll start with the best story ... later I’ll tell ya second funny one ...
went to Orlando in December to set u/sa record McKay had it in the Buick. They really supported record runs then Carl owned it then so I made four runs at it came up .02 short . Later that night they ran a combo first round I’m under and breakout they call me back to scales. They used that run and an earlier as backup and I’m tearing down 😳 never knew you could set a record in a combo race 😂😂 Carl & division 2 rocked !!!

[Travis Miller]

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

[Bob Bender]

1979 York US30 . Set the Z/S Record at 16.30 at 80.30. Only Z/S car in 1973. A few after that. Held it for 4 years (I think). In the 80s set W/S Records a few times at Suffolk Va.

[ALMACK]

Originally Posted by Larry Hill

Tell Class Racer:

Who owned the record before ( unknown )
What was the record ( also unknown without looking in my National Dragsters. Index=13.00)
How fast and what class was the new record ( 11.82 N/SA with a 4 cylinder )
When and where was new record set ( Bowling Green , KY May, 2014 )
How long did you own it ( 16 months until Marty Buth ran 11.39 with his 4 cyl. in N/SA )

That should get some of the records off the wall to read the fine print.

Of all mine this one stands out the most because it was the first time an NHRA Stocker with a 4 cylinder ran in the 11's. ( two 4 cylinder Stockers side by side )

Actually Marty Buth was the first to break into the 11.90's at an NHRA event with a 4 cylinder Stocker....

....6 seconds later my T-Bird was the first into the 11.80's

[Mike Pearson]

I haven't really paid any attention to the class records in a while. I was surprised when I looked earlier today and saw most SS classes were at minimums with no one holding the record. I guess like most things it has changed over the years. I set the record twice in my career way back in the early 80's. SS/J. Lasted about 6 months. Larry Pritchett took the record from me in his 69 302 Camaro. He was about 2 tenths quicker. That record stood for two years and then went back to a minimum as I remember. Not sure who grabbed it after that. Maybe Mike Pustelney in his Mustang.

[DYER]

national records died when they didnt put them in national dragster anymore that one page of paper most have been a big savings !!

[Mike Jones]

Originally Posted by DYER

national records died when they didnt put them in national dragster anymore that one page of paper most have been a big savings !!

It probably wont be long before ND is an online only subscription
MJ