How did you get started in Drag Racing?

[BRETV]

In the spring of 1971 I was 5 and my dad took me to Midstate Dragway in Havana, IL to see my uncle Jeff Velde race his 69 Mach 1 428 SCJ in SS/G. My uncle told me to jump in the car and ride up to the staging lanes with him to get teched. I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever done. The sound of that CJ with open headers got me hooked. I've had the disease ever since. Absolutely love it!!!




Bret Velde
2003 I/SA

[scott gray]

Sometime in the mid 80's I saw this 57 Chevy with 2 four barrels and a 5 speed lined up against this red Falcon with a SBF and a 5 speed and they were absolutely punishing those things , they were loud and violent and looked really cool to drive . Shortly after I put 1n1 together and realized that Stock and SS cars without the "A" after their class were stick shift .I saved my money and I ordered a Jerico trans from Adco Int , they were 200 cheaper than Jerico direct , bought a Dana rear from strange and proceeded to beat on my Camaro till I built my Chevy 2 . Still Jerico shifted can't imagine anything else .

[Don Kennedy]

In 1963 I bought a 55 Chevy for $600, took the air conditioning off the continental kit off took out the automatic trans out replaced it with a three speed and started racing it as a stocker .I really did not know exactly what I was doing had a friend of mine kind of guiding me as I was Young energetic and aggressive, stubborn ,trying to learn by trial and error wow that was a long time ago

[Mike Pearson]

When I was young I aways liked car racing. My dad would take me to the little round track near our apartment in Milwaukee. As I grew up I was a motor head. I had a mini Bike. Then a dirt bike. My first car was a 1968 Musang with a 302 4 barrel and a 4 speed. I made my first pass down the 1/4 in that car. Bone stock it ran 14.90. I kept thar car trough hi school and ran it at the track a few times at Bradenton.
During High school I met some friends that introduced me to NHRA class racing. We went to the Gators several years and after I graduated I built the 1968 Camaro that I still race today. At 19 years old I Made my first pass in that car at Orlando. That was 1979 in November. The car was built to the C/SM rules and had a high winding aluminum rod 292 cubic inch small block with a super T-10 trans, Dana Rear with a 6.17 gear. It wasnt fast but it was a thrilling ride. I think it ran 11.00 on those first runs. I transitioned the car from modified to Super stock in the early 80s and I have been class racing exclusively ever since.

[Rich Biebel]

When I was young and living in the city environment, we used to go for Sunday rides out in the countryside. One Sunday we went by Island Dragway and I told my father to pull in there and we parked on the spectator side. Saw drag racing for the first time and was bitten by the bug right there. I was already a car crazed kid by the time I was in high school after we moved out to the burbs....It was the middle of the muscle car era and there wasn't much else I thought about, cars and girls ! LOL....I had both by the time I was able to drive and became friends with other car guys and some drag racers. Myself and a partner took on a project another friend started. A sedan delivery Jr. Stocker and we completed it and started racing it in 1966. Went to many tracks including Indy. I was 18, he was 19. The hook was set the day we drove into Island Dragway to watch around 1962-1963. I raced on and off ever since 1966. Had many cars and a lifetimes worth of enjoyment at the track.

[r.nell54]

In the 1970s watching the best in the day at Deep south LaPlace and State Capital. Then two bracket cars and now the slowest stocker in D-4 Racing is still the best sport to me . But maybe sometime the Saints and LSU are a little better

[Bob Don]

My first trip down the track was in 1974 at a jet car show at New England Dragway. I ran Trophy Class and won with my 6 banger Nova, beating a 318 Fury in the final. Moved to Street Eliminator a year later and was track champ in 1977. In '78 made the Nova into a stocker (U-V/SA) and had a fair amount of success. Walked away in '83 and did the career/family/house thing. Picked it up again in '09 when I retired from the PD. Bought the late Greg Schmutz's N/SA Caprice (with the assistance of old friend Billy Nees) and had fun with that until 2018 when I had open heart surgery. Survived that and got the bug again when Eric Merryfield let me drive his T/SA Gremlin for a couple of races. I then saw Jeff Roell's SS/LA Mustang for sale and struck a deal with him. I've been running SS for a few years now and love it. I'll have a fresh engine and tranny this season and hoping for the best. I'll be 70 in May and I plan on racing for many years to come.

[Doug Hoven]

I've had the car "bug" for most of my 20 year long life. My Father bracket raced on and off throughout my childhood, and my Uncle has been running Stock longer than I've been around. We never really had the extra resources available for me to run Junior Dragsters, so when I found out about the junior street program, I was more than intrigued. My first ever pass was with my dad's 2011 Crown Vic Police Interceptor, with him riding shotgun. 10.67 at just under 70mph in the 1/8 was pretty much all that thing would do. When I turned 17, I had my mind set that I was going racing that weekend, and towed my 83 Mustang 5.0 5spd to the track and ran sportsman with it. Growing up I took every opportunity to go to an NHRA race with my uncle, so the thought of running stock was always in my mind. Unfortunately I didn't think there was any real opportunity for me to run Stock within my budget, until I met Billy.... Throughout the process of helping out with the Cavalier, I really got hooked on class racing. Somehow I convinced him to let me "dig out" the blue nova from the archives. A little bit of work, and off I was running U-V/SA within my budget. I then got the bug to go fast, and ended up asking Billy to "cut up" his 28k mile nova, but that story is all in the "Builds" section.

[sst7250]

Reformed street racer here.....I have zero backround in racing in my family. I moved out very young and had to learn to work on cars to survive, go to work, school etc. That evolved into cruise nights and hanging out to street racing. Eventually I started racing the legal way. That was in 2000. So I am a little late to the game and probable do not have the level of passion that many here do. I enjoy the challenge of going fast as well as trying to hit a number chosen for me(.90 stuff). And I plan to be back on S/ST this year. I did run S/C races in my 64 Plymouth, but only for fun

[Julie Jordan]

Fun thread!

I was one year old when my dad (Harry Holton) started dragging me to the track with him. I didn’t miss many races over the years, wanted to drive since I was little, but I was his baby girl! Finally, in the mid-90’s we bought a car for me to drive (never got to drive a hemi!) Now the 3rd generation is driving (Jared Jordan). He caught the bug when he was just a toddler, shadowed my dad around at the shop and track. Of course, as a boy, his first ride was dad’s ‘65 Hemi Belvedere. I was discrimated against! lol

Drag racing is a wonderful family sport!