What everr happened to the good ol' days

[Ed Wright]

Joe or Jeff? I haven't been around Jeff much, but Joe tells the best stories I've ever heard. Probably the most entertaining guy I have ever been around.

Also, in my last post it sounded like I raced at Razorback Raceway (Fort Smith) in 1962, but I didn't race there until 1965.

You and Ron's cars are almost too nice to race. Besides being bad fast.

[Randall Klein]

'ol Joe...could listen to him for hours

the time he & lil Joe headed to Michigan, said it was long drive & lil Joe took a turn (he was about 12)

or the time they swapped cams about 5X & he told crewman to take the slow one back to vender and place it where the sun don't shine (not exact interpretation!)

or the time Dick at MoPar told them to lay down for some factory guy & he said he wouldn't lay down if they gave him Chrysler

or the time....

geez, someone should get him on tape, it'd be better than the time NASCAR had on Waltrip, Jr Johnson an others reminiscing about the old days

[Dave Goob Cook]

You haven't truly lived until you have flat towed a '67 Impala Big-Block with a '66 Deuce, 4-speed.
It gives you an appreciation of life in a hurry, after a hard stop.

[Paul Merolla]

Quoting Bill, "Everything there that had anything to do with drag racing had to be hauled into that place about 5:00 a.m. and set up for the day's racing, then removed at the end of the day. I'm talking P.A. system, concession stand, all wiring for the clock (no "s") and the timing "tower." ALL portable... There were no grandstands, of course...

Stock classes ran from A to D... lol! Nobody ever heard of Super Stock.

If it wasn't a Stocker, it was a Gasser.. A through D, again...
Altereds had 25-percent setbacks and no fenders, so it was easy to tell an Altered when you saw one. I think they ran from A to C..."

If you guys like the sound of that kind of atmosphere, you really need to make a trip to Bonneville for either World of Speed or Speedweek. There are quite a few ex- drag racers out there, for that very reason. I think what keeps it from getting out of hand is the fact that there is NO prize money! You race either for fun, or to see your name in the record book. The only award possible is a hat...set a record over 200mph, and you get a red hat. Over 300, blue hat.
Randall - I loved that story...I spent a lot of hours in the rear-facing seat at the back of a '72 Vista Cruiser as a pup.

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by Paul Merolla

Quoting Bill, "Everything there that had anything to do with drag racing had to be hauled into that place about 5:00 a.m. and set up for the day's racing, then removed at the end of the day. I'm talking P.A. system, concession stand, all wiring for the clock (no "s") and the timing "tower." ALL portable... There were no grandstands, of course...

Stock classes ran from A to D... lol! Nobody ever heard of Super Stock.

If it wasn't a Stocker, it was a Gasser.. A through D, again...
Altereds had 25-percent setbacks and no fenders, so it was easy to tell an Altered when you saw one. I think they ran from A to C..."

If you guys like the sound of that kind of atmosphere, you really need to make a trip to Bonneville for either World of Speed or Speedweek. There are quite a few ex- drag racers out there, for that very reason. I think what keeps it from getting out of hand is the fact that there is NO prize money! You race either for fun, or to see your name in the record book. The only award possible is a hat...set a record over 200mph, and you get a red hat. Over 300, blue hat.
Randall - I loved that story...I spent a lot of hours in the rear-facing seat at the back of a '72 Vista Cruiser as a pup.

Another local hero of mine, Bob Crietz (ex Top Fuel racer: Crietz & Greer, etc) builds engines for a local salt flats racer. He keeps telling me I need to go up there. Says it is very laid back, that he has more fun than when he was drag racing.

[Robert Swartz]

Originally Posted by Dave Goob Cook

You haven't truly lived until you have flat towed a '67 Impala Big-Block with a '66 Deuce, 4-speed.
It gives you an appreciation of life in a hurry, after a hard stop.

In a similar vein. I used to flat tow one of my 67 Mustangs with a 74 Pinto. Another old schoolmate of both mine and my partner, flat towed an old Q/SA wagon with a beautiful 70 or 71 (don't remember which) BB Chevelle. My partner used to give both of us a rash of S-^$ about that, said we had this towing thing backwards. He still drove his 67 Camaro everywhere.

On my part, the stopping thing was sometimes interesting. On the other hand, you ever flat towed the back way to Brown County drag strip? I scared the begeezus(sic) out of bunch of picnicers going around one of those sharp corners one Sunday evening coming home!

I guess being young and broke then is no different than being old and broke now, LOL! Like a few others have lamented, it sure was alot of fun back then. And that 74 Pinto, won one of the last few trophies they gave out for weekend stock class wins at IRP before they switched to their bracket only format in 77, I believe. Like many have also said, usually you had run at least two races, sometimes more, just to get a trophy.

[Dave Goob Cook]

Ahhh, Brown County Motorplex......every trip there is memorable in some fashion.

I think I am the only racer ever tossed from there for a "tech violation".

[Bud Lefevre]

The hazards of flat towing

[Dave Goob Cook]

I'll bet that rig got up-righted and went on......

[Robert Swartz]

Trailers can have bad things happen as well. I remember Don Wilson showing me pictures of an old SS/I Chevy II he had a hand in. The car jumped the trailer and passed them going down Mt Eagle in Tenn. Said that's an eery site, watching your race car pass you going down the road!