History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Tom Walsh at Bakersfield, 62 or 63 I think. This Fiat "roadster" was actually a coupe with the top cut off...This fire landed Tom in the hospital...later raced Bonneville...the car was sponsored by S&S Automotive, which later sponsored Rich Santos, who won the NHRA national championship in alcohol dragster class.

 

Hey Gary like the pics but this thread is for drag cars.

 

I know!!! Mistake fixed!

 

These were the best years in drag racing in my mind.

Some how the magic and excitement just appear to be missing from today's shows for me.

Thanks Gary for reminding me of just how much drag racing has changed.

I miss all the old car car-actors and car names that really made drag racing so great.

Just my opinion. Jimbo

 

I think that this shot is from Paradise Mesa, which was an abandoned military airstrip outside of San Diego. The "?" roadster was the Nicholson Brothers, which at the end of 1950 was the world drag racing speed record holder with a 120 mph run. Harold and Don were some of the first guys who figured out that light weight (which didn't matter at the dry lakes where most guys raced) mattered a lot in drag racing. Thus the frame of the '34 "roadster" (0nce a coupe) was hole-sawed, along with a lot of other parts. "Dyno" Don went on to stock and funny car fame, but Harold lost his life at San Fernando, maybe in Pat Akin's flathead dragster (?) I am embarrassed to note that I don't know whose car the "Blair's" sponsored roadster is, because I worked there, but note the independent front end. Don Montgomery or Jimmy B might know. I think that the '34 coupe sponsored by Clark Headers might have been Joe Mailliard, but I'm not sure. Great picture, thanks for posting all these!

 

The Smothers Brothers sponsored this fueler, which was run by Jim Busby...who was really "the Beach Boys." Busby and I went to school together and he had neat cars even then (started out with a sbc street roadster pickup), and after drag racing (also with twin Indy Ford car), he went on to race at Le Mans (won at least once), and now runs a shop in Laguna Hills restoring old hot rods (the Ruddy & Weinstein Bonneville/drag roadster was his latest masterpiece, along with the Chuck Porter push truck, that won the Bruce Meyer preservation award). He also restored the Jim Khougas (sp?) lakes roadster, and lots more.

 

Note the aluminum heads on the 554, Al Sharp made them, I think he may have been the first to make aluminum heads for Chrysler hemis...probably one of the reasons why this car was so competitive despite its weight, along with Gene Mooneyham's tuning ability and Larry Faust's driving. Hawkins and Webster also ran a set on the 15oz coupe. After Gene stepped out of the cockpit, Jungle Larry was pretty much the only guy who drove the car, except for one night at Lions Gene and Al let Frank Cannon take a ride. Frank was an experienced fuel dragster driver, but all he could say after the pass was "spooky!!")

 

Not true. When Gene quit driving, he hired Ron Di Cicco to drive. Ron drove in '61 and part of '62. With Ron driving the coupe ran low 10's. I was at San Gabe the first time Larry drove. His first pass was in the 9.70's. I talked to Gene in '96 and asked him what gave the car the big ET drop. Gene smiled and said "I found a driver that wasn't scared of it"! This shot at Pomona shows Al, Gene and Ron. Note "Ron" lettered over the door.