Brooklyn, NY Infamous Street Racers Back in the Day

Me thinks you already know

 

The Brooklyn Heavy Dodge was sold to whiskey millionare son of Bell whiskey industries, but he soon found out he couldn't handle it so it sold to Sweden, where it still is, now beeing restored. My absolute favorite drag car of all time

 

That's Nunzi Romano

 

lol i remember fountain ave in the 80s on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon it was like englishtown, people were showing up on trailers and tow bar pulling changing tires etc. as far as Boston. i could swear these folks thought this was a legit race track. this was the water hole then after late night the big guys went to settle their difference at the conduit.

 

i would have to agree with you on that comment, i estimate that 75 percent of the big money guys with those fast cars the money was not tax or reported. is an expensive love. and those that finance this sport with out of pocket cash are still paying their creditors I'm one of them...

 

Here's a picture of Mitchell's Drive-In from April 1969...

 

Here are some pictures I took back in 1966 at NY National Speedway when I used to race my 1960 Bonneville....

 

Another picture from 1967

 

KOOL POST....

 

I was involved in the scene towards the end of its hey days in Upstate, NY. It was no joke. Every Friday and Saturday night a parking lot in Albany was FULL back then... I mean in excess of 100 cars, all looking to run. I'm not exaggerating and I was there every weekend I could. Assembly began about 9pm. Racing started to go down after midnight. OT muscle cars, old school hot rods, a few heavily modified later models. No rice. They had not become popular yet. Most were 12 and 13 second rides but about 30 were 11's, 10's, even several in the 9's (on the street). Seeing cars pulling wheelies on the street past the starter was something I'll never forget. This was truly "no prep". No VHT or "pimp juice" during burn outs - just sticky tires and concrete. Serious, well organized, and respectful. Most races were for bragging rights. Only a few times did I see money exchange hands. Always heads up, from a dig, 1/4 mile.

At the end of the summer during the Adirondack National's it was common to have guys there up from NYC looking to compete with our Upstate cars in 1/4 mile grudge races on a stretch of I-87 north of town. Everyone gathered in a bowling alley lot to match up the serious cars.

Best damn days of my younger life. I'd rather be involved in that than chasing skirts or drinking at some dive. Girlfriends would get pissed because I didn't care and that was all I wanted to do. I'd get home as the sun was coming up, grab a few hours of sleep, tend to chores, wrench like mad, and roll out for the next night's action.

When I moved away in 2001 it was all at it's end. The NYS Police had finally cracked down on it all hard.

 

I used to go the Lake George Addy Nats for most of 2000-2010 and had a TON of fun up there. It would get very rowdy at night. We would stay at the camp ground right across from the bowling alley. I would still see the guys set up the races in the parking lot, head out and then come back a while later. Good times!

 

Back in the early 60's Salina Kansas we use to hang out at a place called Sandy's Drive Inn on Santa Fay and get the cars all matched up then head out to a black top road call Solomon road and have some killer drag races. We had a painted starting line and finish line. Sat. nights this section of road was packed with racers and people watching. Tons of good times and never any law. We always had both ends blocked off.

 

Westhampton was the first drag strip I ever went to and where we raced as kids. We also raced on Friday nights at the Islip Speedways 1/8 mile strip and the Montgomery County 1/4 strip. Surprised no one mentioned the Big Bow Wow drive in restaurant on Crossbay Blvd. The Conduit was the place to go. Like posted it was were the Big Boys raced.

Gary

 

My uncle , Carmine ran a 57 J2 Oldsmobile at connecting around 1960 or so , dechromed , he was known as Cowboy because he was pistol packing......saw a pic of the car when I was a kid. Like to have it now......great thread......also..anyone remember Nemos speed on 21 st near Astoria park....I would walk past there , I was 10 years old and he always had race cars there....another friend of mine Ray Pickering ran a 69 Nova in the early 80s ..it was known as Puppy...at connecting and Crossbay boulevard , car was brown .....one of the nicest guys I've ever known.....got lots more stories.......stay tuned

 

Islip had to be the craziest place ever. They ran right through the pits and behind the main grand stand. It drew some crowds, they had that wood snow-fence up to keep the crowd contained and people were right up on it.

 

anyone still around that remembers Carmine Vitagliano from Astoria.....aka Cowboy

 

Probably half the guys in Astoria are named Carmine. Don't know Carmine Vitagliano.

Gary

 

Growing up the Albany NY in the 1970's I remember a bunch of street racers. Up town was mostly White guys and down town (near the Port of Albany) was mostly Black guys. I lived on the border of down town and hung out with both crowds. The uptown guys met at Neba Mike's sub shop on Central avenue. Downtown was the Port road or Mokibers Liquor store.Some of the uptown guys started Capital Area Rods (great spring swap meet every year). I learned most of my mechanical ability from Old Joe Torre's gas station of Morton Avenue (in the "black" section of town) and the Edmonds brothers (John Sr. and Jim). They built an airplane in the early 1950's and crazy ass John drove in down Clinton Avenue, got it airborne and flew it across the Hudson river crash landing in downtown Rennselear !! Newspapers called him the Black Baron !! His son Johnny "No Joke" Edmonds was the only person I know of who was banned from Lebanon Valley speedway for being to fast. No one ever asking Johnny to drive them across town a second time. Here is a photo of No joke (with dreads) and a friend at our swap meet this spring. Looks great for pushing 65 and still buying and building.
Man I missing his dad and uncle every day.

 

Anyone remember Nemos speed shop on 21 st in Astoria ..Queens...

 

Don't remember Nemo's. How about Square Speed in Floral Park.

 

spoke to senior family member and the name was Doms speed shop///not Nemos , on 21 st Astoria queens

 

Funny , some of the comments....astoria was a melting pot...gateway to the USA.....I built a chopped 36 Buick coupe in 92 , 423 wedge , 373 s. and drove to the Goodguys in Carlyle PA..got to meet Gary Meadors AkA Goodguy himself....raced a 3 window channeled coupe in Nassau county on the back roads behind Republic airport same year , Ben Ferracane built that 32 from a basket case.....by the way i ate his lunch......

 

Any Hambers remember 3 window Ben from Levittown...

 

Anyone? Old post...I heard he just passed...

 

It's been a VERY,VERY long time since I've been here, but I figured I'd come by & see what, if anything, was new. Not much I see, but I do see some guys are getting into restoring some old P/S cars & reminiecing about the "good 'ol days"............Just in time too, as myself & another local gearhead (from Phoenix) are looking at starting a nostalgia P/S group. While everyone is focusing on the tube-chassised cars, we're developing a system that'll allow the old guys (myself included) to run the cars many here love so well. Suffice to say the rules will allow all the cars to run against each other for a P/S Eliminator "title" (there's 2 categories of P/S planned) with no weight breaks, electronics or any of the modern BS allowed. We've presented the (tentative) rules to several local racers and (surprise !!) not one complaint. For those that are interested, please PM me and I can fill you in.

 

Was at connecting the night it was there, but didn't run it. Acid dipped body If I remember right.

 

I'm very late to the party but Cross bay in that time had some serious accidents involving family's leaving to travel home to Brooklyn from the beaches in Queens. Usually a group of cars who knew of a match would slow to a stop to allow the the race a dead stop. Unsuspecting drivers would not realize the stopped cars and slam into them at speed. That pretty much was the end of Cross Bay in the late 60s early 70s. From there everyone flocked over to Fountain Ave. I ran both in the mid 70s. Most of that group were cars in the 12s with some mid 11 cars. Thanks.

 

The Gremlin you mentioned spent time at Petes head service shop at the end of Cross Bay Blvd. approaching the Cross Bay Bridge to Queens.

 

Again I'm very late, I just found this site. I remember a shop by the Triboro as Charlie's. Might be the same garage I remember in the 70s.