Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Movie of the Week: 1958 NHRA Nationals in Color! Continue reading the Original Blog Post
@Jive-Bomber Jay - Thanks for highlighting Alex Xydias' documentary film in today's TJJ Blog! I too stumbled upon this excellent back in late November … and of course, eventually got around to adding it to my The 1958 NHRA Nationals thread. Note that Joey @J.Ukrop included this same video in his January 6th TJJ Blog entitled The Coffin ... for its cool footage of Don Mitchell & Jack Karg's #320 "M & K Special" A/Modified Roadster at the 5:42 mark. - @HEMI32
Thank you so much for showing this video! Arkon Brothers ran the Green Monster. I was there and the Highway Patrol had a field day after the races. Bill Daniel
Hello, Nice film from the Nationals in 1958. We have associated with the So Cal locals that took the trip East to race in the Nationals. They all came home with great experiences and awards of some kind. Junior Thompson was nice to my brother/me during the time we met and knew him at Lion’s Dragstrip. We read about his exploits at the Nationals and he continued the winning races back at his home track Lion’s Dragstrip. The film shows the Speed Engineering logo on the side of doors. That was a small speed shop just blocks away from our own Westside of Long Beach house. We were in the residential neighborhood and they were across PCH the industrial tract. So Cal drag racer Junior Thompson’s 41 Studebaker from Speed Engineering, located in the industrial Westside of Long Beach. The hot rod shop was created by Tom McEwen and Ronnie LeGrand. Two Bixby Knolls guys that knew “a little” about racing cars of all kinds. Ronnie LeGrand in a 1955 Chevy and his business partner/friend, Tom McEwen in a 1956 Chevy. The advertisement says so… that they have the Home of the “World’s Fastest “D” Gas Coupe/Sedan Chevy…” Tom McEwen Marauders Long Beach 56 Chevy D/Gas Winner 1957. and… Butch Taylor, a record setting 56 Chevy sedan in G/Stock Then, in 1959, we saw it at Lion’s Dragstrip almost weekly as they were at the Speed Engineering Shop to get some upgrades and race tune ups. The shop was in the same neighborhood as Venoia Pistons, Clay Smith Cams and other speed shops in the race car world. The black Studebaker was filmed in silent mode at Lion’s during the Spring/Summer of 1959. But the digital sound of the same pattern of acceleration, shifting and full power blast during the races came from the U.S. Nationals in 1959, Detroit, of Junior Thompson racing in the B/Gas Class.
The Jalopy Journal
