Event Coverage Texas State Championship will be last Traditional Drag Race of 2009

TTA's Texas State Championships​

The Texas State Championships will be held Sunday, November 1st, at Northstar Dragway on I-35 in Denton, TX. It is the revival of a famous event first held at Caddo Mills Dragstrip more than 50 years ago. It will be an all-inclusive major drag race embracing every traditional style of drag race car: dozens of street-driven pre-'64 Traditional Hot Rods (a la the HAMB Nationals, the Day of the Drags, and the Texas Thaw), plus all the Gassers, Super Stockers, Altereds, Fuel Funny Cars, Junior Fuel Dragsters, and Top Fuel Dragsters it takes to make this the don't-miss-it final national event of the season.​

The Texas Timing Association is reviving the Texas State Championships at the suggestion of several friends who are traditional hot rodders, long-time drag racers, members of hot rod clubs, plus the owner and operators of Northstar Dragway. This will be a yearly end-of-the-season national event, scheduled after every other vintage or nostalgia race around the country has been run, and all the important regional racing circuits (Outlaw Fuel Altereds, Southwest Junior Fuel, Central States Gassers, Nostalgia Super Stocks, Southwest Superchargers, Texas Blown Fuel, etc) have concluded their seasons for the year. TTA's vision is to bring cars from each of these groups, plus every traditional hot rodder and drag racer for hundreds of miles in every direction, to meet at Northstar for this annual season-ending event.​

The Texas State Championship was once the biggest race of the year in our state. We want to make it that again. The most famous names in drag racing used to come from both coasts to race the best in Texas. Don Garlits won Top Eliminator in 1957. Don Prudhomme won it in 1966. Legendary Texas drag racers Bobby Langley, Vance Hunt, Ed Mabry, and Eddie Hill split up the victories amongst themselves many other years. The fastest cars in the nation always flocked here to run the very best that Texas had to offer at one of the biggest races of the year anywhere in the country.​

The Texas Timing Association's mission is to promote traditional drag racing. Over the past several years, the TTA has cooperated with race track owners and major car clubs of Texas hot rodders to produce some memorable traditional drag racing events. The TTA has worked with the Kontinental's Car Club in Austin, bringing dozens of our traditional and historic competition cars out to race at their Day of the Drags, and still more for displays and cacklefests at their Lone Star Rod and Kustom Roundup. The TTA also worked with the Torques Car Club of Dallas in planning and presenting the Texas Thaw for the first time in 2008, and returned with them again this year to make the Texas Thaw the kick-off event of TTA's 2009 traditional drag racing season here in Texas.​

With the help and support of like-minded traditional hot rodders and drag racers, we are organizing and reviving the Texas State Championships. Our vision is to re-establish an event with the same kind of camaraderie, cars, and competition that the original Texas hot rodders enjoyed at Caddo Mills in the earliest days of our sport. Class and eliminator winners of Texas State Championshiptrophies are invited to return to the track in 2009 and join the Texas Timing Association in reviving the traditional final event of the season.​

All cars will run on an index system for 1/8th mile racing with breaks every 1/2 second from 5 seconds to 10 seconds. There is also a bracket class for those who want a second chance at winning, or prefer not to run an index. Gates and classifying open at 9AM, time trials begin at 10 AM, and eliminations are at noon. $10 at the gate and $10 to race. As is customary at large national events, there will be assigned pit area or parking spaces for featured cars and their cacklefest, all other racers, clubs, vendors, show cars, and spectators.​

When this thread was first posted last week announcing the race, it was turned into a personal vendetta by people who were upset over the parking policy at the Texas Thaw last winter and had never told me that they were angry or holding a grudge. I certainly did not mean to offend anyone by the parking arrangements, or anything else, and would like to make it right to anyone who has decided to feel offended. All I ask is that you contact me directly with a PM, and not trash the thread. I hope we all love traditional hot rods and drag racing enough to deal with our own feelings and find some common ground to work this out so that we can have a good old-fashioned big, happy end-of-the-season traditional drag race.​

Live history, and come with us "forward, into the past," at the 2009 running of the Texas State Championships at Northstar Dragway in Denton, TX on Sunday, November 1st.​

 

You said in the other thread that non-racers will not be able to park in the pits. So, has this changed? Will hot rods get to park in the pits in a special area?

 

The best thing would be if you brought your hot rod out and raced it. We have some slower index classes, and a bracket class that you could run in without being a hardcore guy like DW and chunking a pinion out on the ground. Either of these options would put you right where you belong in the pits as a contestant. Or maybe enter your rod in the car show.

If you just really don't want to be a contestant at the event, then, yes, we will provide a spectator parking area on the pit side of the track for traditional hot rods (probably near the show car area, depending on what the track manager wants us to do).

Please note that the Nostalgia Super Stocks will be running some cars as late model as '72, but for the most part we want to stick to the standards of the Day of the Drags and the HAMB Drag Nationals and ask that all cars in the pits be pre-'64.

 

Good luck on this event,Giles.......or is it Ed

 

Good to hear. I'm glad that more race events are showing up all across the country. Sounds like this one has the potential to be a first class deal.

 

I hope others are as excited about this as we (mrt) are. It's been a long time coming.

 

its a real bummer that you went ahead and had it the same time as the csga nostalgia gambler race at noble, kinda wanted to race at yours myself, I think you will still have plenty of gassers to take up our class, good luck with it...

 

Sunday, huh? What about Saturday? It'll be a long drive home on a Sunday evening for some of us, and I really wanted to see this one.

 

Sunday is kind of a bummer for us also. I'll see if my racing buddy can get off Monday. Sounds like a fun deal.

 

Yeah, Sunday is a tougher day for all of us. Sorry. The reason it's on Sunday is that we wanted to run at Northstar because it is a really cool track way up in far North Texas that puts the race closer to the rest of America, and that's the only day that was still open when we began planning and booking this race last spring. Same reason that the Gambler Shootout is on the same day --- advance booking on the only available date that Sam could get. We truly regret the conflict.

The good news is that we have an old school radio commercial for the race being played up in the Denton area. You'll remember it if you've been racing for a while. It starts off with "Sunday! Sunday!" and ends up with "Be There!" Buzzard said he was gonna help get the MP3 of the recording up on line, but he hasn't had a chance to do it yet. Maybe soon. But if the race wasn't on Sunday (like they always used to be back in the day), we wouldn't be able to start the spot out yelling "Sunday! Sunday!"

 

HELP Needed.......

We will be coming back through Dallas/Fort Worth area on Tuesday October 20th from Bakersfield. We need somewhere to safely store two cars on trailers (The G-Hopper & the Ranchero) until the 31st. We are going to attend the Texas State Nationals, but would like not to have to tow the cars to Houston and then back again so soon. Anyone have a place???????????????????

Call me at 281-687-1071

Thanks,
The GizzleHopper Gang

 

barring some sort of miracle I wont make it to the Day of the Drags, I pretty much knew this all along. However, the progress I have made on the house to date I should be able to make it to the State Championships, barring some sort of disaster.

 

Want to keep everybody up to date on the plans unfolding for the Texas State Championships. Texas Top Fuel legend Bobby Langley has agreed to be the Grand Marshall of the event. Bobby won the Top Eliminator trophy many years at the Texas State Championships in one or another of his string of famous Scorpion dragsters. One of the only times he was ever beaten at that event was by Don Garlits, and Bobby went out and bought a chassis welded up by Connie Swingle in the Garlits shop for his Scorpion 5 car that won the national championship in 1964. Scorpion 5 will be at the Texas State Championships as the backdrop when Bobby Langley is awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the Texas Timing Association. The award will be presented at noon on Sunday, November 1st, just before the nitro cacklefest on the starting line.

We're still booking the other Top Fuel dragsters (Floyd Head's beuatiful 1970 front engined dragster is already confirmed), as well as the Nitro Funny cars, the blown fuel altereds, the unblown junior fuel dragsters (Steve Dunkin confirmed) and many others. A lot of the guys are still on the road back to Texas from last weekend's CHRR race in Bakersfield (including the Gizzlehopper, confirmed) and the Jungle Jim Fuel Funny Car (still in negotiation).

Dozens of street driven traditional hot rods that ran at the Day of the Drags last weekend at Little River Dragway near Temple told us that they were coming. Don't miss it. Make your plans now to BE THERE!!

 

PM sent and will call ya in the morning

 

After a minor wreck in Montgomery a few weeks ago, we are thrashing to get our ole 63 Ford NSS car back together...will try and make the TMCC race in Denton on the 25th and the Biggie on the 1st......

Mark

 

Ed: Have a couple of oklahoma guys wanting to come down, what class's and pay out do you have for the dragster's

 

Eddie Hill is not far away. Wonder if he would come ?

 

Eddie Hill! Now there's a name out of the history books. I think may have he won the Texas State Championships a time or two back when he was running those terrible twin-Pontiac-engined FED's back in the days. I've heard tell that he's running mostly motorcycles at Bonneville or something like that now. He'd sure be a hero to have with us there at Northstar if anybody knows how to get in touch with him.

 

The GizzleHopper gang is back from Bakersfield and the GizlleHopper herself is stabled at Big Tony's in Lewisville, TX just South of Denton. She is waiting for the 1st to come around.

Thanks Big Tony ....

 

What's the answer to Robs question?
Cash,Trophies,Braggin' Rights or What?
Just curious in Ok.
I need a decent excuse to come down there.

 

Sorry, Yo Baby, I got mixed up and PM'ed the answer back to Rob. I'm still just a FNG, and am not real smooth with all the HAMB ways yet. What I told Rob was:

Rob,

The class info is explained in detail on the TSC page of our website at www.texastiming.com.

We do not have a sponsor this first year, so there is no cash payout. Please ask the dragster guys to contact me. I've got a little expense money I might be able to share with them if they need some help getting to Denton.

Thanks.

Ed

So, yes, you get bragging rights to winning at the Texas State Championships with a nice traditional wooden drag racing trophy that has a gold hot rod on the top of it, and the chance to come have a real fine time racing alongside some very cool cars.

Hope that's a good reason for you to cross on over the Red River next Sunday 11/1.

 

Ed, remember to call me if you need anything. This event is going to be way too cool!

 

This looks fun!!!

 

HHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Noble-Sanger,Noble-Sanger,Noble-Sanger,Noble-Sanger??????????????????
Sam Ed Sam Ed Sam Ed Sam Ed Sam Ed

Anyone else notice a resemblence to the smileys here or is it just me?

 

That's what we want it to be, is cool. Fun. Happy. Exciting. Memorable. Kool, with a Kapital K. But not out of control. Not menacing, or rowdy, or unreasonable. I'm concerned about what happened overnight Oct 17-18 at the Day of the Drags. If you don't know, check out:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=410324&highlight=texas+state

On another thread, the Kontinentals reported that their big race banner was stolen from right beside their Airstream trailer. We have similar TTA banners, and they cost a hundred bucks or more, easy. That's a big hit.

Steve's been real good to the Texas Timing Association. Hutch is a hardworking small businessman. Neither of them deserve what happened out there. Nobody should put them, or me and the management at Northstar for that matter, in a position where one of us has to call out the law on our own people to maintain a safe and reasonable event. It is not okay to go out of control. I'm sorry if you never had a chance to get drunk and stoned and wallow naked in the mud at Willie's Picnic, but this ain't that. This is a piece of drag racing history. Some people who think it's all right for them to act out of control are putting our whole thing of traditional hot rodding and drag racing at risk. Please stop it! And please don't come up to Denton on Sunday November 1st to get wild and crazy. Come have fun, spin your tires, smell the nitro, cheer the winners, and have a good time, but let's don't end up with problems caused by some people's irresponsible behavior.

We're just bunch of ol' drag racers. We've been drunk or stupid (or both) plenty of times. But we're drag racers. We don't get that way at the race track. It's a race track. We go there to race. It's not a place to throw a wild party, and let little kids roar wide open through the pits on mini-bikes, or do huge burnouts after the races are over and the track is closed, or get drunk. No gunfire. No provocation. No stupid people tricks. Just right behavior and good karma, please, so we can have a big time drag race that will restart the tradition of having an annual national event here in Texas to end each year's traditional drag racing season.

 

Dude you been mixing your nitro and bong water again

 

What time will the races run?

 

Read the thread and all will be revealed.

 

The Tri five kings are gonna be there!

 

Sweet ... I love the home erotic grey 55