The Drag Nationals: 1955

[Jive-Bomber]

In late 1954, with organized drag racing still in its early years, a group of California racers, supervised by the NHRA Safety Safari team (just back from its 12,000-mile journey across the country) had staged the inaugural California State Champio...

To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

[JeffreyJames]

Holy shit!!!! The '34 3w that comes up at 3:28




As well as the '32 3w at 3:38





Are ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!!!!



Where are those cars today? The '32 has a Lloyd Baken vibe going on but less show and more go! I would love for my '32 to end up looking close to this one day. I think this era of early drag cars is so precious and definitely my favorite. I used to dig 40's lake cars more but there's still that unfinished look to these as well as having a lot more personality. I know know....I love them all!!!!


Thanks for sharing!

[JeffreyJames]

Damn it I can't help it. Look at the stance on that '32 3w!!!!! I need to know more about this car. Are those chromed 16" wheels front and back? The level stance is spot on for car, the color, the wheels.....damn it everything!!!!!

[JeffreyJames]

The white coupe at 8:26 is pretty awesome as well.

[Dean Lowe]

This has to be the best post of the year! Every great car I was seeing in magazines back then is on that wonderful piece of film. Thanks for making my day!!!

[Asphalt Outlaw Hero]

Cool pix! Open wheel cars, sports cars. You can see how undefined itwas then.

[G V Gordon]

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=278071

You can see my little keepsake from that event here.

[NoSurf]

A local guy won gas class dragster at the inaugural event.

[Don Moyer]

Great stuff, thanks for posting it!

[HEMI32]

Jive-Bomber Jay - Fantastic Post! ... the "home film" is just outstanding! ... can't believe I've never stumbled upon it before ... thanks for sharing!


EDIT: I see now that Choptop posted the video earlier this year in his Billetproof and Don Garlits team up again! thread ... and that jlow posted it last year in his cool video watch thread.

[AnimalAin]

Wow. I don't know how you keep doing this, over and over. Really, really bitch'n. Thanks so much.

[wbrw32]

I cant see the videos,thanks to dial-up connection..However,I was lucky enough to have been there in person...Great racing in those days..

[autobilly]

Many of the usual suspects and all in glorious colour, terrific!

[sololobo]

Omaha was well represented by Mr. George Roseland who is still puttin the pedal to the medal at Bonneville, in a Forty Studebaker coupe with a 200 mph. goal, came close last year in the 190's. We where lucky enough to be on the Saftey Safari tour at our local strip in Grand Island, Ne. in 1954. I bought my first N.H.R.A membership from Wally Parks in the flesh. We where in awe of these guys, they were just terrific . A real rare treat that I will always treasure. Thanx for the terricfic film, rocked my memory lane big time. ~sololobo~

[Payne]

killer footage, thanks for sharing.

[Terry O]

J-B,
Thank you man for the early Christmas present. Outrageous.
.....and the Vicky @ 1:07 just sweetens the pot.

Terry

[shmoozo]

I looked up the location on Google Maps. It looks like they still race there.

Zoom in on the map linked HERE and you can even see the black streaks left on the track by the racers.

How cool is that?

[Drewfus]

Hey Jeff, what about the black 3 window at 2.01...

having seen this clip a few times my mind still finds detail that blows me away each time, as there's so many great cars and interesting elements that make the brain go into overload.

Like (insert random thoughts here...)

* where's the engine on that 3 window (@3:37) wow

* whats the deal with that ardun powered roadster with the removable body that is more show car (ironic for the period of time) than race car, with full crew in matching uniform and crazy hats?

* similarly, the Fiat topolino on the butchered ford chassis with edelborck & Isky details on side, with the massive engine setback, and the diff mooved forward so much, then where's the driver sit, and how scary would it have been at speed?

* the footage of the tow cars and trailers, neat

* the offy 606 car, wow, what happened to this car, and where is it now? (and details dmarv?)

* The 'green monster' transported on a rigid swb single axle trailer....wow

* at approx. 8:10 (later shown as a side shot at 8:42) it shows the 3/71 fed flatty in what appears to be a black 32 3 window, with numbers 98 B/C on the door, did anyone recognise this car? as this would have been fairly wild and different in that period of time? (looks better with the ugly hood off it)

* the 'bean bandits' car certainly travelled alot


Great footage, awesome cars, lots of details in most frames of the clip, hard to absorb, but great (and refreshing) viewing.

Cheers,

Drewfus

[Bugsy]

Very cool footage. There's a lot of drag racing history at that strip and yes, they still race there!!! http://www.srcadragstrip.com/OldSite/index.html

"Great Bend Army Airfield" was a bomber training base during the war. The military pulled out completely in 1951 which left a lot of concrete for drag racing!!

[296ardun]

Originally Posted by Drewfus

Hey Jeff, what about the black 3 window at 2.01...

having seen this clip a few times my mind still finds detail that blows me away each time, as there's so many great cars and interesting elements that make the brain go into overload.

Like (insert random thoughts here...)

* where's the engine on that 3 window (@3:37) wow

* whats the deal with that ardun powered roadster with the removable body that is more show car (ironic for the period of time) than race car, with full crew in matching uniform and crazy hats?

* similarly, the Fiat topolino on the butchered ford chassis with edelborck & Isky details on side, with the massive engine setback, and the diff mooved forward so much, then where's the driver sit, and how scary would it have been at speed?

* the footage of the tow cars and trailers, neat

* the offy 606 car, wow, what happened to this car, and where is it now? (and details dmarv?)

* The 'green monster' transported on a rigid swb single axle trailer....wow

* at approx. 8:10 (later shown as a side shot at 8:42) it shows the 3/71 fed flatty in what appears to be a black 32 3 window, with numbers 98 B/C on the door, did anyone recognise this car? as this would have been fairly wild and different in that period of time? (looks better with the ugly hood off it)

* the 'bean bandits' car certainly travelled alot


Great footage, awesome cars, lots of details in most frames of the clip, hard to absorb, but great (and refreshing) viewing.

Cheers,

Drewfus

Couple of answers, but first, thanks for posting...these days are gone forever but they live on in videos like this.

The removable body 32 roadster was owned by Dave Marquez of Ventura, CA, they lost class but won best appearing car & crew, Ardun-powered, HRM cover car, car apparently wound up in Alabama but Dave never found it before he died in the 1990s.

The Fiat coupe was run by Jim (Jazzy) Nelson (not the Jim Nelson of Dragmaster fame). He ran an Edlebrock equipped flathead on '34 rails and often set low et and won top eliminator, he was one of the first guys to realize that et and not top speed won drag races...the car was run later with a small block, but, as far as I know, has also disappeared.

Not sure on the 606, but some guys at Offut AFB equipped an old indy car with a turbine engine, was featured in HRM ... the turbine inlet may be that thing poking out of the hood...someone else may correct me on this.