05 - Racing Net Source LLC

FrameMyRide
.com
We know you take pride in your ride.
Why not reward your hard work with a frame featuring your ride?
Whatever your ride appeared in, a magazine,
newspaper, website, winner circle or photo
or a picture of your quickest pass, we’ll get
the original and use it as the basis for the
finished product.
Using the highest quality archival quality
paper, we’ll print it out, matte it, frame it, and
ship it to you, all at an affordable price.
$253.96
Now $99.99
FrameMyRide.com
Or Call us at
636-272-6301
How This Works
1. You place an order, Tell us where the article appeared, the date, and the rest.
Alternately, you can upload a high resolution photo. Click here to place an order.
2. We contact the publication and obtain from them the original high resolution article.
3. We create a mock-up of the article as you want it printed and send it to you for your
approval. You either approve it, or tell us what needs to be changed.
4. You Approve it.
5. We print, frame it and ship it!
What You Get
1. Your article or photo printed on high quality magazine
stock using a state-of-the-art
digital printing press.
2. 20x26” Frame.
A classic style handsomely
finished black wood frame
with strong backing.
3. Matte. A high quality light gray
beveled inset matte.
4. Styrene. A pane of Styrene to protect your article and
reduce glare
5. Hanging brackets. Either horizontal and vertical.
: Do you still have relationships with a lot of the drag racers?
DRAG RACING Online will be published on the 8th of each
month and will be updated throughout the month.
EI: Yeah, we still do. Some of the new guys, but a lot of the older guys mostly. It’s quite interesting to notice that some of them made it into the big time,
like Prudhomme, who’s retired now. And there were a lot of others who just didn’t have the right… I don’t know if they needed publicity, an agent, or
something, but they needed big sponsorship. It takes big sponsorship for the top Top Fuel and funny cars.
DRAG RACING Online owes allegiance to no sanctioning
body and will call 'em as we see 'em. We strive for truth,integrity,
irreverence and the betterment of drag racing. We have no
agenda other than providing the drag racing public with unbiased
information and view points they can't get in any other drag
racing publication.
: have you followed nostalgia racing at all?
EI: Oh yeah. That’s a lot of fun. It’s gotten so expensive for the big time racing that
nostalgia’s getting bigger and bigger, ‘cause they can buy old cars and keep running
them and running them. Resurrect old cars.
: It’s a really great way for a lot of racers to burn nitro still.
EI: And get started. That’s right. It’s good, and it’s getting bigger and bigger.
EDITORIAL
Just Wondering… Where have all the racers gone?
The total number of entries for the entire NHRA
Western Swing (including pro teams) was way under
400 at each stop, with under 300 total cars at Denver.
Editor & Publisher, CEO Jeff Burk
Managing Editor, COO Kay Burk
Editor at Large Bret Kepner
Editor at Large, Emeritus Chris Martin
Bracket Racing Editor Jok Nicholson
: It seems to be getting bigger every year. Do you still
advise on cam and lifter design? Do you still have ideas for that?
EI: Yeah. I’ve got some ideas that I haven’t been able to get around to. All the easy stuff I’ve already done. Where do the ideas come from? Well, a lot of
them come from old antique engines. There were a lot of good ideas on those old antique engines, that didn’t make too much difference then, but now
every little bit helps. A lot of those old ideas I like to resurrect. They seem like new ideas, but they’re really old ideas I’ve picked up from here and there.
: Do you pay attention to things like the LS engines out of General Motors, or Ford modular engines, or the new Hemis from
Dodge? What do you think of them as compared to the engines of the ’50 ‘60s and ‘70s?
EI: Yeah I do. Well, the thing I’ve been wondering is I’ve noticed now that the new Corvette LS series engines are pretty highly developed now. I
personally own about three of the Northstar Cadillacs with four cam - four valve engines, and I notice that they’re hard to work on. After 100,000 miles,
you might expect a little trouble with them, and I notice you can buy a new Cadillac now with the supercharged LS engine, and I’m wondering if Cadillac will
drop that four cam Northstar and go strictly with the LS Corvette engine, because it’s a very practical pushrod engine. I’ve got a hunch that it can hardly be
beat for racing and general use. It’s easy to work on and practical.
End of part one. In the next installment, Mr. Iskenderian gets technical about the five cycle cam and other innovations and talks about his favorite
racers, among other things.
Just Wondering… Which has the highest profit
margin for NHRA and the tracks, the spectator’s ticket
or the racer‘s entry fee? If it is a spectator ticket the
NHRA and their partners probably made a decent profit
on the Western Swing, as all three tracks appeared to
have at least two days of excellent spectator
attendance.
Just Wondering… Since the track owners/operators pay a majority of the costs
(including a flat fee to NHRA) to cover the NHRA’s cost to do a race, plus they are
responsible for the entire purse at a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race, what is the
money that Lucas Oil pays the NHRA to sponsor the series used for?
Just Wondering… Why doesn’t the NHRA allow one or two tracks in each division
to add one or more pro classes to a Lucas Oil race? Here’s the twist: No pro cars
entered could have run at an NHRA national event in the last six months.
Just Wondering… How come NHRA national events don’t give away premiums at
selected races as other major sports do? Why not give a John Force, Warren
Johnson, or Bob Frey bobble head doll for the first 20,000 ticket buying spectators?
Nostalgia Editor Brian Losness
Contributing Writers Jim Baker, Darr Hawthorne, Dale
Wilson
Australian Correspondent Jon Van Daal
European Correspondent Ivan Sansom
Poet Laureate Bob Fisher
Cartoonists Jeff DeGrandis, Kenny
Youngblood
PHOTOGRAPHY
Senior Photographer Ron Lewis
Contributing Photographers Donna Bistran, Adam Cranmer,
James Drew, Todd Dziadosz, Don
Eckert, Steve Embling, Debbie
Gastelu, Steve Gruenwald, Zak
Hawthorne, Rose Hughes, Bret
Kepner, Jon LeMoine, Tim
Marshall, Joe McHugh, Dennis
Mothershed, Mark Rebilas, Ivan
Sansom, Jon Van Daal
PRODUCTION
Creative Director/ Webmaster Matt Schramel
Production Assistant Clifford Tunnell
ADVERTISEMENT
Just Wondering… If it is true that insurance companies are demanding that drag
strips have concrete guard walls as a prerequisite for getting insurance, why do I see
so many tracks still using steel/fence post barriers? Who is insuring those tracks?
Just Wondering… If there were suddenly to be a rash of rear-tire failures such as
the one that the Force team had at Seattle (and Force later said in an interview it
would cost him $100,000 to replace the body), would the racers force Goodyear to
come up with a more durable tire? A $100,000 body - YIKES! Let’s hope John was
exaggerating a little when he said that.
Just Wondering… Is there a more philanthropic supporter of drag racing these
days that Kenny “Captain Chaos” Koretsky? He uses his Nitro Fish apparel to back
many teams throughout drag racing who couldn’t race without his support. I can
guarantee he doesn’t begin to sell enough Nitro Fish stuff to break even on the deals.
His support of the bracket racing “Million Dollar Race” is a prime example of his
largess! A big tip of the Burkster’s hat to Captain Chaos!
Just Wondering… Since, according to the figures in the NHRA’s tax returns, the
salaries of the top management increased as the NHRA’s gross income increased, will
those salaries recede if the gross drops (as I’m fairly sure it has)?
ADVERTISING
Director of Sales Darr Hawthorne (818-424-6656)
FINANCIAL
Chief Financial Officer, Accounts
Casey Araiza
Manager
Agent 1320
At the Back Door
(caption contest)
Letter to the Editor
(for publication)
New product press releases
Racing Net Source LLC
114 E. Elm St. , Ste. 8
O'Fallon, MO 63366-2642
636.272.6301 / fax 636.272.0412
Just Wondering… Since the NHRA is now calling the last six races of the
year the “Playoffs”, why not go all the way with that concept and only allow the
teams that made the Top Ten in points in all categories to participate in the six
race Playoffs? The NHRA could end the “regular season” at the U.S. Nationals,
then go to eight-car qualified fields in all the categories for the last six races of
the year. Racers could negotiate sponsorships for a sixteen race season that
would include the sport’s major races at Indy, Gainesville, Pomona, and E-Town.
There could be bonuses for making the playoffs. With smaller fields, live TV from
those last six races might become more of a possibility.
Just Wondering… Where have all of the beer and liquor sponsorships that
were once a big part of the NHRA gone? And while I’m on the subject of
beverage sponsorships, why doesn’t the Coca-Cola Company sponsor a
professional category team?
Just Wondering… Will the so-called Million Dollar Bracket Race ever actually
pay one racer a $1,000,000 to win? I put the odds of that happening at
1,000,000 to one against!
Just Wondering… What are the odds that Goodyear Tire Co., or any other
tire manufacturer involved in drag racing that has a tire explode, declares after
an investigation that their tire was defective? Same odds as above for that ever
happening!
Just Wondering… If the Western Swing is such a big deal, why not a
Southern Swing? They could race at Atlanta, Charlotte, and Bristol on
consecutive weekends and get Bruton Smith to put up big bucks for a sweep.
Just Wondering… How much longer will Pontiacs be the predominant body
style in NHRA Pro Stock competition? Couldn’t the car builders repaint the GXP
body so it at least looked like some brand of Chevy or any active GM brand?
: But it was originally started as a way to
collectively fight legislation that might have hurt your
business?
EI: That was the idea. So it grew. They made me first President. I
wasn’t at one of the meetings they held and originally it was
very… Well Ed Elliot, the advertising man, would get us together.
He did a lot of work on it in the early days, getting us together and
talking and voting, and this and that. He helped a lot, getting it
going, until they got in more people and got more dues and hired
more people. So that’s what made it grow.
: So you’re still a member of SEMA, but
the way that it’s evolved is really positive for the industry still,
right?
EI: Oh yeah. They have their attorneys and they help a lot.
: I’ve seen you at hot rod reunions. Do
you follow modern drag racing on any level?
EI: Yeah, as much as I can. I used to go back east a few times in
the old days, but now I just go to Pomona twice a year when they
race.
ADVERTISEMENT
Just Wondering… When was the last time a highly successful and profitable
race like Carl Weisinger’s World Street Nationals was canceled or postponed
without bombing at least once before the shutdown? Answer: Never!
Just Wondering… On that same subject, is it just a matter of time before
some promoter announces a “Street Legal” race to be run on the same October
weekend the postponed World Street Nationals was scheduled to be on?
Just Wondering… Isn’t it weird that a barrel of racing oil or traction
compound costs the racer more than a barrel of nitromethane? Oh, and
whatever happened to the nitro “shortage”?
RATE THIS RIDE!
: You got your money’s worth! You’re a California native, right?
EI: Yeah. I was born in the grapevine country up near Fresno.
: Can you think of another part of the country that’s had as much
racing development as southern California?
EI: Well big car racing and midget racing.... The weather was so good out here that you could
run so often with hot rods and gow jobs, but that caught on back east too, once they found out
about it. I remember one time we heard about Sheffler. He had an Offenhauser race car and he
was going to go race it back east. He would rebuild it during the winter months here in Los
Angeles. And boy were we excited to check it out when he fired it back up again. We wanted to
be there and hear it run. And then we found out he was already gone. We asked if he’d tried it.
“Oh no, he don’t have to start it up. That’s an Offenhauser racing engine.” So he didn’t even
start it up out here, he just took it racing. It was a professional piece of equipment. We thought
he’d have to try it out, make sure everything was okay first, but he went east and raced out
Legends collide: Don Garlits and Ed Iskendarian
there all summer long.
: Did you ever get a chance to see it?
EI: No, just in the garage where he would rebuild it each year.
: You were one of the founders of SEMA. Is that organization the way you envisioned it today?
EI: You know, the toy company over in Venice… Mattel. They called us all in one time, all of us speed equipment manufacturers, and said, “Are you guys
organized?” I said, “What do you mean organized?” “Well,” he says, “you know we’re in business making these plastic toys, and we all chip in to have a
lawyer, all of us in the toy business. That way, if there’s any legislation against us, he represents all of us and stops it right now.
It seems like if someone, some congressman, wants to get old cars off the street”, it’ll go through because there’s no opposition. ‘Well, yeah, that sounds
like a good idea.’ But there’s another lawyer there who says, ‘Don’t you know what you’re doing here, this is a million dollar business, restoring cars, and
people like to see these old cars in parades and things like that and in Museums… and they’ll stop it.” So that’s what he said. He said that in their case,
they’d tried to get them to stop putting the glue in the kits because kids would sniff the glue and get high or something. And they put a stop to that with our
attorney.
The 2011 edition will again be highlighted by the feature of the DRO AA/FC
group sponsored by this magazine and Mickey Thompson Tires!Cordova World
Series, 2010: A
current photo of
2010 ‘series’
winner Mike
Savage, in the
Candies &
Hughes tribute
Funny car, now
campaigning from
Tucson, Ariz.
Unlike many
national races this season, the fans packed the stands
at Cordova for the DRO Funnies! (Photo by Jeff Burk)
My first ‘Series’ was ’57 when Don Garlits & Serop Postoian squared off for the final run between carburetored
Top Fuel contestants, Serop won, and defended his title at the ’58 ‘Series’!
Following is my perspective on the ‘Series’ which has run at Cordova, the week prior to Labor Day, for some 54
years.
So we did start that Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, and they found out it could be bigger if they changed it to ‘Specialty Equipment’. No, first
‘Manufacturing’ came off and it became ‘Merchandisers’. That meant a lot more people joined up and paid dues. And then ‘Speed’ became ‘Specialty’, and
that made it bigger yet too.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
World Series of Drag Racing, 2010: Defending Champion Tim Frees will be set to defend his title when the ‘series’
opens in a few days. This ‘60s era Mopar wagon is indicative of the many mid-sixties muscle cars which dominated
early ‘series’ events. (DRO file photo)
From ’58 through ’66, our group from Kahoka, Mo. brought 3 to as many as 25 race cars to the World Series! As a
headquarters, we also provided a large tent, rented from a firm in Keokuk, Ia. and erected by racers of Tri State
Dragway! My efforts included a wide range of Pontiac powered cars which allowed me to become friends with Arnie
Beswick.
ADVERTISEMENT
ARNIE BESWICK, THE PERENNIAL FACE OF THE ‘SERIES’!
: But you’ve been in
boats….
World Series of Drag
Racing, 2007: Since its
inception in 1957, Arnie
Beswick has been a
winning part of nearly every
‘series’ event. Here the
ageless superstar makes an
exhibition pass in his famous
‘Tameless Tiger’! (From
EI: Yeah, well when you start making cams, anyone
who wants to hop up an engine… You’ll have drags
and boats and sprint cars and midgets, everything,
even airplanes sometimes, swamp buggies.
: Who’s the most underrated
or forgotten person you know of in racing
history?
the Arnie Beswick CD)
EI: Oh there’s quite a few. I always admired Mickey
Thompson, Fritz Voigt and Art Chrisman. There’s so
many. I’d have to think about that for a while
because there’s so many fellows who never got
true recognition.
The final in 1957:
: The drivers tended to get
more recognition.
EI: I’d say that’s true, yeah. Sometimes just the
driver would get mentioned. But the pit crew or top
tuner sometimes wouldn’t get into the limelight.
: What do you think your
greatest achievement is, as a hot rodder and
manufacturer?
ADVERTISEMENT
EI: Probably when I came up with the 550 High Lift
Super Le Gerra Cam, the high lift-soft action cam
for the Chevrolets which brought the engine to life and way up to the 8500 rpm. Because even Frank McGurk, who
was a good friend of mine, he raced Indianapolis even before World War II, and when I advertised a 550 Super Le
Gerra Cam… Dave Zeuschel gave me the idea for the Super Le Gerra Cam. I said, “Gee, that sounds good. What
does it mean?” And he said, “I don’t know but it sounds good and we’re using it.” So I called my cam the Super Le
Gerra. Later on, we found that it was Italian, meant ‘light and fast’, or something like that. Oh there’s a man that
could use some more recognition; Dave Zeuschel. As for the question, my greatest achievement, you see in the
beginning, Ed Winfield was the first cam grinder, born in about 1901, and I hadn’t ground my first cam. He showed
me how he’d built his machine and I was fascinated by it. I bought my cam from him and after the war, we’d been in
the Army and had been exposed to airplane engines and learned a lot more, why I decided that I’d like to try grinding
my own cams. I made my own cam grinding attachment like he did.
Most people that went into the cam grinding industry probably copied Winfield’s cams. Now he had a very soft action
cam that would rev way high, and when I laid out my first cam to try out my machine, I made a very simple cam with
just three arcs and three radii, one flank, the other flank, and the nose radius. I left off the clearance ramp and I
made it a real fast action noisy cam. It was just a practice cam, but I went ahead and made a few and put them in
stock. I didn’t know I had anything until they called from NASCAR. Without asking if I had much experience or
anything, they bought two by airmail and then they started ordering more and more because, and I didn’t know this at
first, but they had a lot of mid-range torque because of their sloppy action and no clearance ramps, which you could
get away with on a flathead, because it had such a lightweight valvetrain. So it was really good for passing cars on
the circle tracks. It had a lot of mid-range power and good top end too. Now you can’t get away with that on the
overhead valve push rod and rocker arm engines, there’s too much weight and mechanisms. That helped a lot,
getting into the NASCAR business. That all came from putting a two inch ad in Hot Rod magazine, which only cost
ten dollars. Five dollars an inch, you know.
: That’s the only kind of race car you’ve driven?
EI: Yeah. Well, one day I fired up one of the Top Fuelers. I never did make a run with one. I made just a slow burnout. Little burnout, you know?
: There are a lot of people who doubt that Chris Karamesines was the first person to go over 200 mph in the quarter mile.
Do you think the 204 at Alton, Illinois was real?
EI: Well, I do doubt it a little bit, but they played it up as much as they could so.... Yeah, it was kind of a publicity stunt, you might say. It might have been a
little mistake, who knows for sure? What were they running at the time, 190? Yeah, that… that remains to be seen.
: No way of ever proving it.
ADVERTISEMENT
EI: That’s right.
: What promoter or drag racing executive, in your mind, was most
responsible for drag racing?
EI: Well I guess Jack Hart did the nicest job, and Wally, yeah. He had the Safari and went back east
and planted dragstrips in lots of little towns to keep the kids off the streets, so that did help a lot.
: Did you have a good relationship with him?
EI: We had some fallings out, but yeah. That’s a long story there.
: Is there a race car or type of racing you wish you’d gotten involved in?
EI: Uh, Formula One is pretty exotic, elite stuff, you know.
ADVERTISEMENT
ORDER BY PHON
636-272-6301
In 1967, Dave Powers (driving) and John Riley , surprised the stellar Top Fuel
field with their new to the class, Chrysler powered digger. As depicted above,
they made it to the final round and defeated Cliff Zink for the title! After a drag
racing hiatus of some twenty years, Dave returned to the sport with the David
Powers Motorsports Top Fuel Racing team cars driven by ‘Hot Rod’ Fuller
and Antron Brown.
Then in 1995:
Whatever your ride appeared in, a magazine, newspaper, website,
winner circle or photo or a picture of your quickest pass, we’ll get the
original and use it as the basis for the finished product.
Using the highest quality archival quality paper, we’ll print it out, matte
it, frame it, and ship it to you, all at an affordable price.
Click here to read more about our article framing service.
$253.96
Cordova Dragway Park, 1995, The World Series of Drag Racing: Ottumwa,
Iowa is less than 100 miles from Cordova, Ill., so the whole gang was
present when local hero Tommy Johnson, Jr . claimed Top Eliminator at the
’95 ‘Series’!
And in the 2000s:
Shirley Muldowney's Last Ride Tour
Shirley and Don Garlits had top billing. Arnie Beswick and Animal Jim were
also billed at the '03 Series. Four old timers with over 150 years of drag
racing total!
World Series of Drag Racing, 2005 : Six years ago, before NHRA became
totally dominant, Tony Schumacher claimed the Top Eliminator at the
‘series’ with his brand new U.S.ARMY car!
Being there from ’57 to ’66 and several times since, there are many ways to
describe the scene at the ‘series’, but none are better than this, written by
DRO’s own Brett Kepner three years ago: “As always, the World Series was
again a reunion of thousands of fans and competitors who have witnessed
the simultaneous growth of the sport and the event. Amidst the most diverse
assemblage of machinery, from modern Top Fuelers to Nostalgia Funny Cars
and every conceivable sportsman division, the two most honored guests
were once again Dave Jamison, who has attended every World Series with
the exception of the 1955 edition, (and who also competed in Super Comp Eliminator), and the only man to have been in attendance at every World
Series, event founder and Cordova Dragway Park creator, Bob Bartel.”
A recent e-mail from Fairfield’s Mark Schanfeldt prompted my offering this column which should appear a few days prior to the 2011 edition of the
‘series’ . Mark wrote:
"Yo, Mr. Baker, please be sure to mark your 'Calendar of Memories'. Fifty years ago you and your Tri-State Dragway buddies took a circus tent, and a
bunch of top score drivers in several classes to the August 1961 World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova."
Seems top performing cars stayed inside and the stockers were outside. I'm sure your 7-11 coupe was in there with Ed Bruegge's Possum Chaser. The
Flying Dutchman, Jerry Childress’ Bold Venture, & Leo Payne's Turnip Eater were all in attendance!
I don't remember their classes but Bob Jutte and his '38 Chev sedan, Duke Schmidt's '57 Chev, Bod Pringle's '60 Chev, and Tom Smith's '56 Chev. were
there too
Bruegge, Schmidt, Pringle, and Smith were all from Fairfield IA., my hometown.”
: At El Mirage?
Ed: No it was Murock then. We had the best lake of all, Murock. So that’s where we’d learn more by seeing what the
guys had done, picking up certain parts from the junkyard. There was a big variety of cars in those days in the
wrecking yards, and by picking this and that. You could get Franklin front axles and Essex frames, Cadillac gas
tanks, an Auburn dash. All this kind of stuff, you know. Buffalo wheels and this and that.
: What was the first drag strip you went to?
EI: Well let’s see. I always wanted to go to Santa Ann but I was too busy making cams. Let me see… Lions, of
course, but before that? Gosh, I can’t think of it right now.
: Personally, what is your favorite kind of racing?
EI: Oh gee. Well really, I guess sprint car or circle track racing because drag racing’s over so fast, but with circle
track racing, you have a chance to make mistakes and still be in the race, and it lasts quite a while, half an hour
sometimes. And another fun thing is that if you’re a slow car, you can kind of back off a little bit until the leader
comes by, then try and keep up with him a bit! I always thought that would be fun. I never did get on the racetrack
because I was always afraid of being hurt.
: Do you prefer dirt or asphalt?
EI: Dirt. Because you get the sliding and all that.
: Back in the fifties, did you race at all?
World Series of Drag Racing, early ‘60s: As depicted by Mark’s e-mail above, this is Ed Bruegge’s A/G Crossley in the grassy pits at Cordova. Ed had
plenty of competition too, with Arizona’s A/G ‘Little Hoss’ by Johnny Loper in attendance!
EI: Yeah. We did most of my racing on the dry lakes. I did 120 (MPH) with my Model T and I think Edelbrock, with his
V-8 ’32 Roadster, was going 124 or so. We hung out with the guys in the Bung Holer Club, but we weren’t in it. So
we grew up there. We weren’t in the time trials, but we’d wait until Vic took his car out and then we’d see if we could
stay with him. He’d be trying it out on the side of the lake before he made an official run. We noticed that we were
lightweight compared to him, so we could stay with him on acceleration but he’d run away from us on the top end.
Interview by Darr Hawthorne
At 93 years of age, Ed Iskenderian is one of the very last hot
rodders who was around before there was an NHRA. Although not
directly involved in the formation of the NHRA, his status as a
racer, innovator, manufacturer, and race car sponsor makes him
an integral part of the history of drag racing. The camshaft
business he founded, Isky Cams, is famous, both in the racing
and high performance worlds. Although it is now run by his sons,
Richard and Ron, Isky himself is as active in the field as he ever
was, and he can be found there almost every day. We thought it
was well worth the time to sit down and talk with a man who has
seen it all.
: Where and when did you see your first
drag race, either on a street on a strip?
Ed Iskendarian: Well that would be on the street. We didn’t have
drag racing before the war. So we would meet at Hugo’s Hot Dog
Stand or places like that on Pico Boulevard (in Los Angeles), and
first thing you’d know, we’d try our cars out against somebody else.
It was comical, in a way. We used to think that this fella, Morlan
Visel, he had a nice ’32 Roadster, I had a Model T with a V-8
flathead in it; came just to race me out on Venice Boulevard. We
used to think that he only hung out (and raced) around our
neighborhood, west Los Angeles, but by golly, we found out later
that he used to go clear to Santa Ana (to race) ! We found that out
only a few years ago and this is almost sixty years later. He must
have traveled all over the southern California area looking for
racers
: Just looking for racers?
EI: Yeah. And I thought he was just a local guy, but no, he went to
Santa Ana and raced other places. So anyway, that’s the way it
was. We started out with bicycles of course, and we saw our first
hot rods zip by every now and then. It would be a stripped down
Model T, or maybe a Chevy, four cylinders you know. Of course
they had to be lightweight cars because we didn’t have very much
power, but they’d be hopped up a little bit, these four cylinder
engines. We learned from the older fellows, there weren’t any
magazines to learn from then , so we learned from the older fellows.
Then we found out that if you really wanted to see a lot of these hot
rods, or ‘go jobs’ we called them then. Or ‘hot iron’. Well you’d go to
the dry lakes a hundred miles from Los Angeles and there we’d see
hundreds of them.
Cordova World Series, 1958: Capturing F/Altered Class at the ‘series’ was the ’28 Ford p/up driven by Richard
Zucca to a speed of 115.04 MPH. In the background notice the many tents which signify the World Series of Drag
Racing, (Photo from the Garry Smith collection)
World Series of Drag
Racing, mid ‘60s: A
perennial CC/Gas
Supercharged winner
was this ’41 Willis of
Chicago’s Palmer
Lazarus. The
screaming small block
Chevy was even more
awesome being
expertly bang shifted
by the incredible
Palmer. (Photo from Al
Booton)
ADVERTISEMENT
FROM DRAG NEWS RESULTS IN 1957:
Model cars abounded around a display of the York track; this was in the alcove between the two halls and was
created by members of the Central Pennsylvania Model Car Club.
These clips are from the ’57 ‘Series’ results. Of special note, besides the poor
spelling, is Arnie, ‘the farmer’ Beswick winning C/Stock in his ’54 Olds. Then
Dean Watts from Peoria, Ill., of the mid-sixties Top Fuel Team, Evans, Adams
& Watts. Finally, the ageless Chris Karamesines with his winning Street
Roadster!
ADVERTISEMENT
In 1962, we won a trophy with my ’32 Ford Coup and watched as the 1961 U.S.
Nationals winner, Pete Robinson, did it again, topping a young man from
Michigan, Connie Kalitta!
What happened to the A.T.A.A.? Most of today’s drag racers have heard a
spattering of information about the group, but very few know where it
disappeared to. The Automobile Timing Association of America was formed
in Chicago, Ill. in 1953. Their goals were pretty much the same as NHRA on the
West Coast. In 1954, ATAA ran the first of three ‘World Series of Drag Racing’
at Lawrenceville, Ill. on the border with Indiana. The series was then moved to
Bob Bartel’s sparkling new Quad Cities Dragway at Cordova, Ill. for the 1957
edition. These early ‘Series’ were huge events for the fledgling sport, and drew
hundreds of competitors from all across the nation.
This did not go unnoticed by Wally Parks and his start-up NHRA, so on March
14th of 1958, NHRA & ATAA merged and ATAA was no more.
Bartel, however, did not agree with many NHRA policies and no early ‘Series’
ever ran under the NHRA banner. He formed another sanctioning body,
N.A.D.S., (National Association of Drag Strips) which grew to include many
mid-west tracks including Tri State Dragway, at Kahoka, Mo.
Bunny Burkett and long-time crew member Bear Pritchett were on hand with autographed souvenirs and momentos;
Bunny is presently running her old Corvette as a nostalgia-type funny car in east coast exhibition events.
The late Dyno Don Nicholson was brought into the Legion of Honor this year. 422 Motorsports had this 1965 Comet tribute on display in his memory, while
friends Dick Estavez and Linda Vaughn were presented the trophy in his honor. (Joel Stunkard photo)
Jim Lamona of ATAA in a discussion with Don Garlits. This was at Quad Cities Drag Strip at the 1957 ATAA World
Series of Drag Racing. (Photo by Don Elliott)
THE CHUCKLE:
At the ‘Series’ in ’65, Funny Cars were starting
to command maximum attention from the fans.
Not lost on this new phenomenon was Bud
Roche, of Bud, Don & John ‘Guzler’ dragster
fame. Ever the showman-promoter, Bud decided
their team must add a showy Funny or be left
out of many future bookings. The solution was
to purchase both the original Ramchargers
Darts, one of which had match-raced Arnie
Beswick at the ‘Series’ just a year prior.
17-year-old Tessa Scheaffer stands with her cool
1981 Mercury that she has been racing since getting
her driver’s license.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Ten years before John Force’s ¼ mile
smoke fest ‘burn-outs’, the Guzler
Charger showed up at Cordova to ‘put on
a show’! Don Mattison & Co. used a
direct drive, same as the dragster. They
felt this would help insure great burn-outs.
But just in case in did not, promoter turned
driver Roche conjured up two ‘anti tank
smoke canisters’ from a friend at the
Illinois National Guard.
All seemed to go well as the newest F/C
really ‘lit em up’ out of the burn out area.
However, Bud was not a regular driver,
and somehow killed the mighty Chrysler at
about mid-track. As an eerie quiet
descended over Cordova, the smoke kept
pouring out in front of the rear wheels
A totally embarrassed Bud Roche just sat
there until crew men pushed the stalled
Charger off into the grassy area, still
billowing out camouflage smoke.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
THAT SAME YEAR:
Nine cars showed up for the Lyndwood Welding chassis reunion, including Stan Shoppel’s twin-flathead nitro car and Jim Klim’s super-cool A/CC Fiat with
a Potvin-blown Buick installed in it. No records exist for the company, and most iterations are along the lines of ‘what if,’ leading to some unique
combinations like these.
Ed Note: Curt Wasson, a St. Louis racer, won Gas Super Charged Eliminator as depicted above over
runner-up Gordon Selkirk. However it was a grueling race! Selkirk made up the handicap and then ran
off the track, a disqualification. The rules stated that the other winning car must reach the finish line
under car & driver power.
The ‘Vette’s engine died, so Curt got out and pushed most of the 1320’ to reach the finish and win. At
the end, a fan ran out on the track with a beer for Curt, which he gratefully chugged to the cheers of the
World Series crowd. (Thanks to Al Booton for reminding me of this story)
The man responsible for
considerable foresight in
Drag Racing is Quad Cities
Dragway founder and long
time manager, Bob Bartel!
When construction started
in 1955, very few ‘purpose’
built drag strips existed in
the country. Even with the
handicap of ‘sand land
pits’, Bob built the track so
close to the Mississippi
River, that to this day, no
housing tract or huge shopping mall has ‘taken it out’. As I reflect on my long career in Motor Sports,
the World Series seems akin to the March Meet at Bakersfield. In fact, both events meant the same to
hundreds of racers across time. The only difference is
that Bob Bartel had the vision to build a major drag
strip just north of ‘The Farm Tractor Capitol’ of the
World, while Bakersfield used a left over WWII Air
Base located in the foremost Agricultural Valley of the
World!
Until Next Time, Be On Time!
ADVERTISEMENT
This is Ron McHugh, whose 1970 W30 Olds 4-4-2 convertible was a real giant killer in 1970s era sportsman racing. The car won several national events
and class crowns, and Ron has since restored the rare car back to bone-stock condition.
Words and photos by Jay Roeder
Hi, everyone, and welcome back! Wow, time flies! I can’t apologize for being MIA the last number of months because I had to do what had to be done, but I
sure am glad to be getting back to some level of “normal.” At least what qualifies for normal in my world!
In the last article my wife, Amy, and I had just been getting settled in with our spankin’ new daughter, Sarah, and I was getting ready to take delivery of my
new Stuska Track Master Gold engine dyno. I was in a mad thrash to convert what was my work area for Muscrate into a dyno cell.
I actually got a lot done on the car and it rolled out on its own M/T wheels and tires in a semi finished form for the first time since it went in for surgery in
2007! That’s the good news. The not so good news is it rolled right into its tomb, err, trailer and has been there ever since. It appears it takes a LOT
longer to build a proper dyno room than I had figured and trying to spend a couple hours at night after work and every weekend was what it took. But the
dyno is now functional and Roeder Performance Machine and DYNO Service is open for bidness!
The next project is to build a new garage dedicated to the completion of Muscrate. In the meantime it is a process of unloading and loading the car from
the trailer into the front stall of my shop and then repeat. What a PITA! Anyway, let’s journey back a few months and cover what I actually did get done. On
to the ‘taters.
The trial fitting and pre-assemblies are a thing of
the past! The first thing I did was to completely
disassemble the entire car, again, and get all the
various parts and pieces ready for powder coat
and paint. Being the supreme do-it-myselfer that I
am, I have always painted everything on all my
projects. But I really wanted to save some time
and my labor, and end up with a more durable
finish for the parts than any type of paint can
provide. The logical choice is a process called
powder coating.
Pro machines came in the form of the just-completed 1965 Arnie The Farmer Beswick Comet (painted to match early
ownership despite changes) and the recreated Frantic Ford Mustang of Frey-Liebmann- Reidnauer, which
unfortunately cooked during an Englishtown match race not long after…
Photographer
Dave Bishop of
East Coast Drag
Times, Mike
Strickler (son of
funny car and pro
stock ace Dave
Strickler), and
Jack Penn, digging
through a box of
prints, enjoy a few
moments in
Bishop’s vendor
display.
Basically, the parts are grounded and then an
electrically charged form of dry paint known as
powder is applied with a spray gun. The powder is
actually drawn into every corner and around
every bend, assuring complete coverage. After
coating, the parts are literally baked in a large
oven and the dry, dull, powder miraculously turns into a brilliant, smooth, shiny, extremely durable finish.
There are DIY kits available for doing this, but it honestly seems like something that should be done by a professional with the right equipment and the
experience to get it done right the first time. After asking a few friends who did the powder coat on their cars, the cars that look good, I was directed to
Brian Hermann and H&S PowderCoating in Rockford, IA. A couple of phone calls later I dropped off my parts and discussed what colors I wanted and then
I gave him a impossible deadline for getting it done and he came through! Thanks for the extra effort, Brian.
I decided to keep the colors
simple and clean: black and silver.
The silver actually has a pearl
look to it and really gleams in the
sunlight. Everything came out
great and actually even made my
work look good! The price was
great too. Honestly, if I had known
that powder coating was this
affordable I would have done it a
long time ago on many other
projects.
While I was waiting for the
powder coating to get done I
prepped the rest of the car for
paint on the underside and roll
cage. I basically made sure any
oil or grease was removed,
touched up a few of my “booger welds” and masked off any areas I didn’t want painted. I first applied some caulk
around all the joints where the new floor met the old and the new rear frame rails.
Even though I have all of the equipment to prime
and paint with professional spray guns I sprayed
all the bare metal with a self-etching primer right
out of the aerosol can. I decided that using “spray
bombs” would be easier to maneuver around bars
and corners, would create less overspray, and
would also keep the theme of this entire project
intact, which is using tools and products nearly
anyone can use. I then sprayed one light coat of
black rubberized undercoat onto all the surfaces to
give it a nice uniform texture. Once the undercoat
dried I sprayed everything with three coats of
semi-gloss black. This leaves the surface easy to clean and easy to touch up for many years of service.
Next up was the roll cage. I’m
here to tell you that I have
painted quite a few cages over
the years and they never suck
any less than the last one! This
time though I once again used
spray bombs and it was slightly
less difficult than trying to keep
an air hose from rubbing and
getting wrapped around tubing. I
went with a product from
Rustoleum called
Hammertone Bronze. Now to me
it looks more like a charcoal but,
hey, who am I to argue? I think it
came out great. The Hammertone
look is pretty cool. It gives the
finish a slightly dimpled look like
what you may see if you hit a
piece of steel multiple times with a ballpean hammer. It ended up taking five cans and a very worn out set of fingers,
but it looks good and should be fairly easy to touch up.
Chassis
Engineering
Herb Adams
New $14.93
Woodward Avenue
Robert Genat
New $24.61
How to Build a
Traditional Ford Hot
...
Mike Bishop, Vern
...
New $17.13
How to Drag Race
Kevin McKenna
New $18.21
Honda/Acura
Engine
Performance
Mike Kojima
New $14.93
Powerglide Trans
HP1355
Carl Munroe
New $16.46
Part of York’s annual festivities is the Legion of Honor, created to recognize people who have made significant contributions to the sport. Darwin Doll and
Dave Heisey presented a trophy during the much-photographed ceremony, which also included a group photo.
Privacy Information
American Racing
Casino
American Racing
New $107.65
Motegi Racing
MR116
New $107.64
New Battery Kill
Safety Shut Off
Dis...
Performance Plus
C...
New $27.95
K&N YA-6598
Yamaha High
Performance ...
K & N FILTER
New $39.19
OBX Header 00-05
Lexus IS300
2JZ-GE ...
OBX
Speed 6000 Auto
Drag Racing Decal
St...
SPEED UNLIMITED
New $6.99
Privacy Information
Two Wally Booth Pro Stocks were here, from the early days of Booth’s AMC involvement. The Gremlin was first, but Booth switched to the Hornet when it
proved that the body alone was worth a tenth!
It was now time for some final assembly! Whoohoo! Brian had done a great job
of masking off some of the areas I didn’t want coated such as threads and axle
bearing housings, but the thickness of the coating was a little more than I had
planned for in some areas such as the holes in the four-link brackets and the OD
of the anti-roll bar, so a little “persuasion” was needed to get the bolts through
the holes and I actually had to remove the coating from the roll bar to get it to
slide through the attaching arms. I found out firsthand just how tough the powder
coating is when I was trying to remove it from the tubing. Holy cow! No worries
on that anymore!
ADVERTISEMENT
I installed the anti-roll bar first because it was nearly impossible to get to with
the housing in the way. I installed the heim joints into the four-link bars outside of
the car, first making the two uppers and two lowers the same lengths as they
were before teardown. I then positioned the bare housing under the car on a
couple of jack stands and started attaching the bars to the housing and then to
the appropriate holes in the chassis brackets.
Words and photos by Geoff Stunkard
The legendary York US30 Drag-O-Way, on the former Jackson Township airport west of York Pennsylvania, has been gone for over 30 years, having last
felt slick-sidewall rubber grappling for traction in 1979. NHRA’s former Division 1 Director Darwin Doll, who worked at the track itself from 1959-1961, has
hosted the York US30 Reunion and Musclecar Madness event for the last ten years in its memory. As always, the two-day show brings a lot of neat stuff
out of the woodwork, and the 2011 version was no exception. As we went to press, Doll told us he has a potential sponsor lined up to help out next year,
when the show will occur on July 13-15 (the final day being the Nostalgia Nationals at Beaver Springs covered in Drag Racing Online recently).
Incidentally, this date also moves the event off of the same weekend at the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, freeing up some vendors and owners from that
responsibility. We say – BE THERE!...
I basically worked my way from there attaching the coil over mounts and
coilovers to suspend the housing and allow me to remove the jack stands.
Before I attached the wishbone locator I decided to install the Strange
Engineering Ultra Center. I removed the old housing studs with a hammer and
pressed in new studs I got from Competition Engineering with a “C” clamp and a socket. The Ultra Center popped right in with a new housing gasket and I
retained it with the hex nuts from the kit. One of the nuts at the top, however, needed to be replaced with a 12-point version because I couldn‘t get a
wrench between the nut and the Strange case. I then installed the wishbone locator and the roll bar links to the housing.
Next, things got a little more fun when I installed the Strange 40 spline gun drilled axles after wiping some oil on the O-rings that seal the OD of the
bearings to the housing ends. I opened up another box of goodies that contained the Strange Engineering rear drag disc brakes and grabbed the axle
retainer/caliper mounting plates. I was going to use fine thread ½” bolts to thread into the holes of the Comp Engineering housing ends I used but after my
previous experience of not being able to remove one of the bolts during pre-assembly I decided not to chance it and reamed out the holes with a ½”
reamer and used the Strange supplied factory style “T bolts” that came with the brake kit.
Next up I decided to install the wheelie bars and
that turned into a bigger than expected project,
once again because I hadn’t planned on the
thickness of the powder coating being what it
was. A little scraping of the inside of the clevis
fittings and the bars assembled to the housing just
fine.
I then moved to the front of the car and my
custom three-piece cross member and factory
control arms. I borrowed a tool to install the new
ball joints and also used it to install the new
urethane bushings I got from Energy Suspension.
The cross member and control arms attached to
the factory sub frame using my previously drilled
alignment holes for proper placement. I
re-installed the newly coated factory spindles and
Strange Engineering single adjustable struts and used the factory caster/camber plates for now until I get aftermarket plates.
Well, that’s it for now. Next month I will continue with the chassis assembly and maybe even get into the beginning stages of the engine assembly. It’s
going to be a “bullet”!
Until next time, always remember. There is always hope, REAL hope.
And, when in doubt… DO A WHEELIE!!!
Rarity only begins to describe the two Pontiacs that collector Nick Smith brought up from Florida. One was the original Mickey Thompson 421 Catalina
shown here; the other was the only surviving transaxle AFX Tempest wagon.
Words by Ron Ogilvie
Photos by Tim Marshall and Donna Bistran
With the sun going down it was 105 degrees when they opened the gates, but that didn't deter a quality field of PSCA’s finest racers from entering into the
15 PSCA classes.
PRO STREET
Friday night qualifying was an
experience for most racers as
track temperature was above
130 and there were rain clouds
all around LVMS not to mention
the 20 MPH wind that came
when you didn’t want it. Even
with these conditions Mike
Maggio in his awesome Camaro
set low ET with a 6.261 at
234.37 mph. John Mihovetz
turbocharged his way to a
6.331 and Mike Maggio’s son
Wade followed with a valiant
6.60 run on a track that was
trying to turn into desert
landscaping.
Saturday brought a calmer day with almost no wind for great track conditions. Round 1 pitted John Scialpi’s Red Line Oil 57 Belair against Wade Maggio
2003 Corvette. Scialpi‘s 6.23 easily covered the effort of young Maggio’s 6.56. John Mihovetz (6.37) quickly out distanced Kelly Blubaugh (6.71) while
Mike Maggio used his single to test the track.
Round 2 found John Scialpi facing the PSCA record holder Mike Maggio. Maggio was caught napping (.174 RT) by Scialpi (.065 RT) who used the hole
shot to win. John Mihovetz had the single to set up a Scialpi-Mihovetz Final.
The Mustang of John Mihovetz was tardy on the starting line but Scialpi’s 57 Chev ran into problems and shut off early to give Mihovetz the win.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The DRO best dry hop vote goes to
Pocono, Pennsylvani,a racer Kevin
Johnson. He got the wheels of his all
Chevy ’69 Camaro “Glory Daze” way
up. This was another car that appeared
to be absolutely period correct.
OUTLAW 10.5
John DeCort drops the hammer and pulls the wheels as he drives his supercharged BB/FC ‘Vette to a best of 7.45/178.40
ADVERTISEMENT
Gary Soulages towed his 2004 Ford Lightning (F-150) pickup from Alameda, Ca to completely dominate the class with a qualifying 6.866 at 206.01. This
beautiful pickup had the crowd on their feet every time he came to the starting line. Gary quickly disposed of Scot Slotten to meet Ron Weems in the final
and ran an astounding 6.98 at 208.36 MPH to win his first PSCA Trophy.
EXTREME DRAG RADIAL
Sandi Wold drove his 2000 Mustang around Jeff Longden’s 2000 Camaro to nail down the win with
a 7.795 at 185.66
LIMITED
STREET
Bobbie Lee from Southwick, Mass., wheels this injected big block- powered ’71 Demon called “Little Miss Behaven.” It has run a best of 8.02/173 but
could only manage an 8.88/147.38.
Erick Aldrich qualified
#2 in his 1972
Maverick and went on
to eliminate the #1
qualifier Mark
Washington on a hole
shot.
ADVERTISEMENT
HOT STREET
Chicago racer Mike Johnson’s “Illinois Patrol” ’79 Dodge Omni “cop car” had the lights flashing on every lap. He ran
a best of 9.20 with his injected flopper.
Anthony Valentino drove Gypsy Mike’s 1990 Mustang to a win over Rod Dewild’s sharp looking '64 Chev II.
WILD STREET
Russell Davis and his
1970 Camaro were
the only racers at the
event that were
burning nitro. Davis’s
all-iron 427 rat was
burning an 85% nitro
mixture. This was
DRO’s vote as the
best car because it
was period correct
and most important it
was burning NITRO!
The car did awesome
“dry hops” but couldn’t
get down the track
after that.
Artis Houston drove up from Compton Ca. to qualify #3 (8.007) and then took his 1971 Nova to a win over the #1
qualifier (7.945) of Kevin Young.
TOP COMP
The “Damn Yankee” BB/FC Vega driven by Mark Horvath ran a best number of 7.37/177.27 using a blown Hemi for
power.
Tony Niswonger wheeled his 1997 Yancer Dragster (7.881) to a final win against John Phlegar.
STREET MUSCLE
Mike Klontz had low ET and Top Speed of the meet with a 6.78/206. Klontz was the only car in the 6s at the meet. Klontz’s Mustang was built by Mike
Spitzer and is a twin to the ’79 Mustang that Spitzer build for Paul Romine. A lot of people in the pits did not like the body style of the ’79 Mustang.
In the largest class of cars, Dal Trubey (near) from Bullhead City, AZ went through six rounds to beat Dave Nassimbene of Yucaipa, Ca in the battle of
Chevelles.
ADVERTISEMENT
Canadian racer George Monohan brought his injected Mopar wedge-powered ’79 Plymouth Arrow down to MCIR for this race. The “Rainmaker” ran a best
of 8.70/150 in the injected class.
ADVERTISEMENT
OPEN COMP
Ty Ishibee of Las Vegas, in his '67 Camaro, used a hole shot to eliminate the popular '54 Chev pickup of “Dak” Spears.
BRACKET 1
One of the many Pennsylvania cars on hand included Rob Bundy’s “Shellshock” Vega. According to Bundy the engine is an original L-88 Chevy. Bundy says the best lap on the car
is a 7.41/188. His best effort at this event was 7.56/179.32.
Al Alguire drove his '68 Barracuda past Keith Winters.
MUSTANG MADNESS
Most of the cars spun the tires instead of dead hooking and that undoubtedly contributed to the fact that not a single Funny Car oiled the track in more than
32 side-by-side laps.
There is one thing, though. I had
forgotten how long a seven- or eightsecond Funny Car pass takes
compared to today’s “big show” car. The
engines seemed like they were running
forever before the drivers shut them off.
After a while, though, I had to admit that
I liked the race lasting longer and the
cars being on the track for a longer
period of time.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The tickets to watch this race was a
smooth $20 and I would have to say
that the approximately 1,000 fans who
attended this event (which was less
than last year due in no small part to
rain on and off all day Saturday) certainly got $20 worth of entertainment. The teams and drivers did an excellent job and the show went off pretty much on
schedule.
The variety of cars at this Funny Car “happening” was nothing short of amazing. There were perhaps a half-dozen cars that were absolute restorations of
real cars. Atlanta, GA’s Russell Davis brought the Huston Platt “Dixie Twister” 1970 Camaro complete with a spring-equipped front axle, no front brakes
and a supercharged iron 427 big block Chevy burning 85-percent nitro. Both Bob Rosetty’s “Rolling Stoned” and John Troxel’s Cuda were 90% originalequipment “survivor” cars with original bodies, tin work, and drive train, and there were more cars like those in attendance.
Were the cars quick and fast by today’s standards? No. Seven-second and higher ETs were the norm and there was just one six-second car. After
listening and watching NHRA Funny Cars running low four-second passes on 1,000-foot tracks it was actually a treat for me to watch funny cars that were
on the throttle for eight seconds or more.
Gary Moreno (far) came from LaVerne, Ca to cut an .001 RT to win over Justin Spencer of Las Vegas.
So, if you want to see 32 Funny Cars at one race actually racing or show your kids what Funny Car racing used to be when the cars actually had
recognizable factory bodies, then you have to attend this race next year -- and at just $20 for a ticket it is one of drag racing’s great bargains!
MEAN STREET
Racing Engine
Builder's Handbook
Tom Monroe
New $16.29
How to Build a
Traditional Ford Hot
...
Mike Bishop, Vern
...
New $17.13
Honda/Acura
Engine
Performance
Mike Kojima
New $14.93
Greg Scott met Ron De Hoop in the finals and cut a .090 advantage on the tree to win the trophy.
STREET CHALLENGE
After a couple of years of struggling to find the combination, driver Chris Schnieder finally put
ADVERTISEMENT
Ron Shaw, in his '84 Mustang, challenged and won over Rick Hatch's '91 Mustang.
Drag Racing
Collectibles
Cory Lee
New $19.77
Powerglide Trans
HP1355
Carl Munroe
New $16.46
John Troxel’s ex-Della Woods Mopar into the seven-second zone with a 7.88/171 lap. The
Troxel crew had the benefit of having their pal, the legendary Roland Leong, supervising and
SUPER STREET
tuning at this event. The Mopar has a Donovan 417 as a powerplant with a 6-71 supercharger
that has been massaged by Darren Mayer of DMPE.
We arrived at the track bright and early on Friday morning and the first thing I
noticed was that the track struck me as being just as nostalgic as the event it
was hosting. Marion County is a little jewel of a track located smack in the
middle of rural Ohio. It is surrounded by cornfields and pristine farms with red
and white painted barns and buildings. It is so remote that on your first trip to it
you better have a local racer guiding you or a GPS. The facility itself was built in
1971 to host an AHRA Grand American race in which Don Garlits beat Steve
Carbone. (Garlits later lost to him at the ’71 U.S. Nationals in the famous
“Burndown” finals.)
I don’t think the track has changed much since other than scoreboards and a
concrete launch pad. I would almost guarantee that the rest of the track surface,
aside from the concrete, is the original track. To say that from 200 feet to the
end the track surface is a bit deteriorated is an understatement. The track ends
at the edge of a cornfield where there is a big sign with an arrow pointing the
direction you must turn the car. As for the guard rails they are definitely
“nostalgic,” being made of telephone poles with double Armco rails about 18-24
inches high bolted to them. The track lighting wasn’t the worst I’ve ever seen but
it was dark in spots. But it was a safe enough track for the Funny Cars, most of
which were hard pressed to make a sub eight-second pass.
Privacy Information
Motegi Racing
MR116
New $121.37
Pro-Blend Hot Lap
Victory Lane
Pro-Blend
New $61.21
Theodore Logan’s S10 survived the final over a breaking out George Chattertone’s '37 Topolino coupe.
QUICK STREET
K&N YA-6598
Yamaha High
Performance ...
K & N FILTER
New $39.19
Portatree 7000
Pocket Pal Drag
Race ...
PORTATREE
New $99.99
The format for the race was unique. All of the eight injected cars would make two
passes with the quickest and quickest Midwest car and East Coast car coming
back to determine a winner. The same deal applied to the 24 supercharged cars.
I would have to say that the track surface was prepped just perfectly for these cars. Even though the track personnel sprayed the track with VHT and they
ran a few bracket cars before the Funny Cars there was little traction to be had. I suspect the track had about the same amount of bite as it had when
Garlits and Carbone raced on it in 1971. For example, in 1971 at the U.S. Nationals Ed McCulloch won Funny Car with an ET of 6.64. The quickest pass
by a Nostalgia Funny Car at this race was a 6.78/206 by Mike Klontz in his ’79 Mustang.
Aircooled VW
Engine Interchange
Manu...
Keith Seume
New $17.13
Speed 6000 Auto
Drag Racing Decal
St...
SPEED UNLIMITED
New $6.99
Motegi Racing
MR116
New $107.64
Glen Copley used a .004 RT to win over ‘Dak” Spears' '54 Chev.
Privacy Information
Words by Jeff Burk - Photos by Jeff Burk and Donna Bistran
One problem, maybe the major problem,that many so-called nostalgia races have is that a
majority of their “nostalgia” Funny Cars and Dragsters simply aren’t. Most of the vehicles we
see racing at nostalgia races are at best a period-correct body painted to resemble a famous
vintage race car, bolted on an up-to-date chassis. Other than the body style often there is
nothing nostalgic about most these so-called nostalgia Funny Cars.
But over the Aug. 6th weekend I actually had the opportunity to see a few authentic vintage
Funny Cars race other real nostalgia funny cars. I mean cars that were built back in the day
(30-45 years ago from 1965-1979) race each other at historic Marion County International
Raceway in Ohio.
Each year for the last four Dennis Salzwimmer and his Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car
Circuit have joined with the owners of MCIR to host an event just for these cars and their
fans. This year DRO was invited to cover the event by race organizer Salzwimmer. When he
said there would be 30-35 injected and supercharged nostalgia Funny Cars in attendance, I
knew I had to be there.
So I opted to hitch a ride with my racer pals, car owner John Troxel, driver Chris Schneider,
and their crew, Justin Craig and Noah Sommers, who were taking Craig’s absolutely period
correct 1970 Della Woods Challenger to the event. To make the event more interesting
legendary owner/tuner Roland Leong was flying in to tune the alky-burning ancient Donovanpowered flopper.