Congrats Terry Pearson

racer4919 · 09-24-2007, 08:10 PM

Way to go Terry, it just goes to show you , if you aren't there you sure can't win the thing. Congrats again. Wayne Winfield

bill dedman · 09-24-2007, 09:08 PM

Al, and Jerry; thanks for all the good info on the Sioux Falls cars. I remember most of them. I was the tech guy at Des Moines Dragway from '65 until it closed, in '68, and had a Stock Eliminator car that I raced (H/SA hydro-equipped 220 hp '57 Chevy sedan delivery), along with my partner, Harry Sparks, who is still running a Div. V Stocker out of Des Moines, today. A mid-'80s Malibu wagon.
As you can imagine, drag racing was pretty much "my life" at that time, so
I made it up to Marion many times in the '60s and '70s, and always had a good time there. Another fun drag strip back then was the very busy "North East Iowa Timing Association (N.E.I.T.A.) strip at Cedar Falls/Waterloo. I remember points races there that were so well-atttended that they seemd like "mini-nationals." That was Jerry Stealy's home strip; MORE fast Pontiacs...

Speaking of fast Pontiacs, there was an NHRA national record-holding, single 4bbl, 400 GTO C Stock stick car from Minneapolis called "LIMEFIRE" (guess what color it was...) that used to come down to N.E.I.T.A and terrorize the locals, running 12.60's... Wonder if Arnie and that car ever squared off??? I believe it was a '67 model. Gorgeous car...

Al, thanks for the corrections on my classification error; I should have known that Hemi car of Larry's was an "A", not a "B."

Did either of you ever see the "TENSION" team car ('57 Chevy 2 door HT) run? It was white, with the word "TENSION" in big red letters on the door, with wavy horizontal lines that appeared to be vibrating from the stress... (tension).

The driver's name was Fred Anderson, and the car was out of Omaha. These guys were F-A-S-T.... and way ahead of their time. They all wore white, tailored overalls, with the "TENSION" logo on the back, and ran it like a truly professional operation.

They came over to our track (Des Moines) and ran some 13.30s in D/S, which was really fast for the time.
I just thought they might have showed up at Thunder Valley, sometime... They raced a lot. It was a 270hp. 4=speed car. Classic Junior Stocker....

Thanks again for all the good info;;; I apolgize for the errors.... Most of that stuff was, as you say, 35 years ago and more... and, frankly, I've slept since then!

JRyan · 09-24-2007, 09:49 PM

Terry,

I'm sorry your congratulatory thread has deteriorated into a history lesson, but you were part of it.

Bill,

Yes I remember most of that. In fact, if I remember correctly, the Hall's ran the NEITA track in the 60's. Their son-in-law and daughter were in Ft. Hood TX while I was there and I spent most of my spare time at their house. Lot's of pictures of the track and the Willy's pickup that they ran.

You're right. That '67 GTO was way ahead of it's time for ET. They held the record a couple of times and are referred to in a special Pontiac publication from way back (Don Kennedy - ??)

The "Tension" team showed up at Thunder Valley on a regular basis. Someone recently had a bunch of old photos from Thunder Valley in the '70's and there was a great picture showing the dizzying affect of the TENSION graphics. Even in the picture it was noticable. Great times and NO MONEY. It was still fun though.

Jerry

bill dedman · 09-25-2007, 12:41 AM

Jerry,

I was at Ft. Hood in '62. They had an impromptu drag strip at "The Railhead," that stretch of asphalt beside the railroad tracks where they unloaded tanks and A.P.C's off the flat-cars. They had a flagman at the starting line and a guy with a stopwatch at the finish line. He used some hi-powered binoculars and watched the starter, and clicked his stopwatch to start it when he saw the flag go up, and clicked it off when they went by the finish-line, where he was. Not exactly Chrondek, but it gave the guys something to argue about... LOL!

They ran every Sunday, if I remember correctly... There was a guy there who had a '39 Willys sedan with a GMC-Blown nailhead Buick with a hydro who held the record.... low 13's, I believe. Nothing official.

Were they doing that when you were there?

I just remembered the name of the guy with the "Limefire" GTO... "Greg Murnane." Not that it matters, now...

Loved Terry Pearson's "Skunk" car... Too bad that naming cars has fallen by the wayside...

Monster Mash, The Budget Breaker, Mr. 5-and 50, Grumpy's Toy, Color Me Gone, The Strip Blazer...

Those were the days...

Thanks for listening.

09-24-2007, 08:10 PM	#1
racer4919 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 53 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Congrats Terry Pearson Way to go Terry, it just goes to show you , if you aren't there you sure can't win the thing. Congrats again. Wayne Winfield

09-24-2007, 09:08 PM	#2
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Congrats Terry Pearson Al, and Jerry; thanks for all the good info on the Sioux Falls cars. I remember most of them. I was the tech guy at Des Moines Dragway from '65 until it closed, in '68, and had a Stock Eliminator car that I raced (H/SA hydro-equipped 220 hp '57 Chevy sedan delivery), along with my partner, Harry Sparks, who is still running a Div. V Stocker out of Des Moines, today. A mid-'80s Malibu wagon. As you can imagine, drag racing was pretty much "my life" at that time, so I made it up to Marion many times in the '60s and '70s, and always had a good time there. Another fun drag strip back then was the very busy "North East Iowa Timing Association (N.E.I.T.A.) strip at Cedar Falls/Waterloo. I remember points races there that were so well-atttended that they seemd like "mini-nationals." That was Jerry Stealy's home strip; MORE fast Pontiacs... Speaking of fast Pontiacs, there was an NHRA national record-holding, single 4bbl, 400 GTO C Stock stick car from Minneapolis called "LIMEFIRE" (guess what color it was...) that used to come down to N.E.I.T.A and terrorize the locals, running 12.60's... Wonder if Arnie and that car ever squared off??? I believe it was a '67 model. Gorgeous car... Al, thanks for the corrections on my classification error; I should have known that Hemi car of Larry's was an "A", not a "B." Did either of you ever see the "TENSION" team car ('57 Chevy 2 door HT) run? It was white, with the word "TENSION" in big red letters on the door, with wavy horizontal lines that appeared to be vibrating from the stress... (tension). The driver's name was Fred Anderson, and the car was out of Omaha. These guys were F-A-S-T.... and way ahead of their time. They all wore white, tailored overalls, with the "TENSION" logo on the back, and ran it like a truly professional operation. They came over to our track (Des Moines) and ran some 13.30s in D/S, which was really fast for the time. I just thought they might have showed up at Thunder Valley, sometime... They raced a lot. It was a 270hp. 4=speed car. Classic Junior Stocker.... Thanks again for all the good info;;; I apolgize for the errors.... Most of that stuff was, as you say, 35 years ago and more... and, frankly, I've slept since then! __________________ Bill

09-24-2007, 09:49 PM	#3
JRyan Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aberdeen SD Posts: 645 Likes: 30 Liked 112 Times in 31 Posts	Re: Congrats Terry Pearson Terry, I'm sorry your congratulatory thread has deteriorated into a history lesson, but you were part of it. Bill, Yes I remember most of that. In fact, if I remember correctly, the Hall's ran the NEITA track in the 60's. Their son-in-law and daughter were in Ft. Hood TX while I was there and I spent most of my spare time at their house. Lot's of pictures of the track and the Willy's pickup that they ran. You're right. That '67 GTO was way ahead of it's time for ET. They held the record a couple of times and are referred to in a special Pontiac publication from way back (Don Kennedy - ??) The "Tension" team showed up at Thunder Valley on a regular basis. Someone recently had a bunch of old photos from Thunder Valley in the '70's and there was a great picture showing the dizzying affect of the TENSION graphics. Even in the picture it was noticable. Great times and NO MONEY. It was still fun though. Jerry

09-25-2007, 12:41 AM	#4
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Congrats Terry Pearson Jerry, I was at Ft. Hood in '62. They had an impromptu drag strip at "The Railhead," that stretch of asphalt beside the railroad tracks where they unloaded tanks and A.P.C's off the flat-cars. They had a flagman at the starting line and a guy with a stopwatch at the finish line. He used some hi-powered binoculars and watched the starter, and clicked his stopwatch to start it when he saw the flag go up, and clicked it off when they went by the finish-line, where he was. Not exactly Chrondek, but it gave the guys something to argue about... LOL! They ran every Sunday, if I remember correctly... There was a guy there who had a '39 Willys sedan with a GMC-Blown nailhead Buick with a hydro who held the record.... low 13's, I believe. Nothing official. Were they doing that when you were there? I just remembered the name of the guy with the "Limefire" GTO... "Greg Murnane." Not that it matters, now... Loved Terry Pearson's "Skunk" car... Too bad that naming cars has fallen by the wayside... Monster Mash, The Budget Breaker, Mr. 5-and 50, Grumpy's Toy, Color Me Gone, The Strip Blazer... Those were the days... Thanks for listening. __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 09-25-2007 at 12:44 AM.