When was your first time at a dragstrip?

me too I was 18 and saw John Bradley''mr.flathead' beat Cook & Bedwell, that time. Saw a lotta big names there.

 

my dad was a hot rodder til I was 7. He destroyed a nice 63 impala SS, 327 4spd. He forebade me to "fool with race cars". Therefore I was 19 before I ever got to a drag strip, 1982. 3 years later I built my drag car, been racing ever since.

 

First time was Santa Ana in 1954; I was 14. Saw Art Chrisman's 25 car, Jack Chrisman's '29 sedan, Mickey Thompson in an early slingshot with skirted rear fenders. Watched Chet Herbert mix fuel with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

 

1961 Atco, New Jersey

 

Yep I was there in the back seat.... Mama liked PBR and fast cars! LMFAO
We had a dual quad Buick, THE DODGE lol, 63 Impala...... hell i cant remember them all.

 

Well growing up my dad took me to stock car races but I don't remember going to any drag strips as a kid. We lived by Chicago and US 30 ran those SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY adds all the time but I never got to go.

My first trip to a drag strip was Stanton MI in 1983 for our high school drags. I didn't have a car worth racing then but it was fun to watch. I've been hooked ever since.

 

1955 Salinas Ca Alisal Drag strip. I was 17. The guy I went with had a new 55 ford
f100 with a new 55 cad engine. 90.91 mph on his first run. I've been hooked ever
since.

 

It was 1968 when I was 15 yrs old, at Dragway 42 in West Salem Ohio. From that day on, my life time love of cars and drag racing began. After that first exposure, regular visits to Dragway 42, Norwalk, Thompson, and Quaker City followed. Northeast Ohio is a great place to live when it comes to hot rodding and drag strips. Dragway 42 has always been special to me because "it was my first"! Many years later I ended up living just down the road from Dragway 42, where we still live today. Some years ago my Son worked the starting line at Dragway 42 for 3 seasons. It's in my blood, it's in my Son's blood, and we both have Dragway 42 to thank for it.

 

Look to the left, This is me at Quaker City Drag Strip Salem Ohio photo dated Feb. '64 but in the old days you waited until the roll of film was full before you sent it away to be developed. probably summer '63 also my first time at a McDonalds on the way back home was shocked that you could get a burger and fries as soon as you ordered them 15 cents for the burger 10 cents for the fries! I remember that as we drove up near the track that the cars seemed to be going slowly. Watching racing on the street up close and in the dark the cars seemed a lot faster!

 

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The Ford Coupe was my friends cousin, Ted Cigna...... that was a street car for many years. If you could descripe the Camaro better, maybe I have a photo in my limited collection. I worked at Ispip Speedway, raced there now and again as well as National Speedway. Never went to Westhampton 'till Islip drags closed after the '72 season.

 

Early 70s. CT Dragway. Saw the Snake set a new funnycar record of 6.16 and was amazed at how fast they tore the engine down & rebuilt it so they could make another run to back up the record. First time at a race of any kind is a whole nother story. Dad raced sporstcars and had a 56 Jag XK140. I was born in 56 and was at the races in Sebring Fla before I was born & every year after for many years. Back in those days him & mom would load up the Jag, toss me in the back (no back seats in those & carseats weren't invented yet) & drive from NH to Fla. Unload at the motel, stick some numbers on the car & go racing. Hope nothing got tore up too bad because they still needed to drive 1500 miles home after the race. Was also at Daytona the only time they ever ran Indy cars there. 1959 I believe and I have old 8mm movies of it somewhere. The track was so fast the Indy cars were getting airborne & George Amick was killed and they never did it again. My avitar pic is taken at Daytona in 1959. Jomar racecar built in Manchester, NH. Dad is on the far right.

 

My first time was 1964 some friends took me to Dover Drag strip . I was 14 at that time ,saw Helzapopin dragster run and just knew I had to have a dragster ! Started racing one around 1969 and still at it today

 

I was either 12 or 13,my brother brought me to Minnesota Drag Strip(Long Gone Now) and we saw the Bill Mavericks Little Red Wagon Dodge A-100 doing a full length 1/4 mile Wheel Stand. He made 3 passes that day. I had a blast seeing everthing you could imagine in 1967.

 

Rode to the Gator nats with a friend and his dad in.....I dunno, 1972? We were in third or fourth grade. Big deal to go on a trip that far from home without mom and dad, when you're maybe 8 or 9.

Had a lot of pics of the trip and the cars but can't find them now.

 

1967 IHRA Spring Nationals, Penwell Raceway, Penwell TX. Motown missle, Piranah rear eng funny, Back up Pickup, Drag on lady, 16 yrs old

 

I saw him do the same thing at Lime Rock in CT at a Busch North race maybe 10 years ago. Got talking to him and he said the engine hadn't been rebuilt since the 70s..

 

It has been a while since this thread made it to the top. Anyone else got any "first time at a dragstrip" stores to add?

 

First Drag Race I attended was at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho. I was 8 years old in 1963, and there were a shitload of early 60's (new) Super Stocks at that race. The first actual Drag Strip I visited was Thunder Ridge Raceway at Star, Idaho. That must have been about 1967. My Brother raced his new 390 Mustang in one of the stock classes (no brackets in those days).

 

1965 for me at National Trail Raceway to see nitro burning AFX cars. It was also my first nitro blast as my older brother set me up to be next to the cars when they warmed the motors. I will never forget he and his freinds all cracking up laughing at me with my eyes burning and not knowing if I was going to die or not! I was 8 years old and when I look back on it, that day set the hook in me for life! I am still sniffing nitro whenever I get a chance, I guess im an old burnout from the 60's........LOL!

 

1991 i was 2yrs old

old time drags at Edgewater in southern,OH

 

WOW!! It was Hallsville Texas in about 1960. Watched 1960 Impalas and Bel Air w/ 348 tri power race similar 390 Fords and Pontiacs for top time of the day, which was in the low 14s, and it was a downhill strip with a pretty short shut down area. Went with my buddy's big brother and his friends '55 Ford with a 3x2 bbl 312 and 3 speed.. He went mid-high 15's as I recall, but it didn't matter...I was HOOKED!! Made my first pass at the ol Yellow River Drag Strip East of Atlanta in a 1961 Pontiac 389 Catalina and went a 16 something....MANY, MANY passes and burnouts since them at OCIR, Lions, Irwindale, Pomona, Fontana Carlsbad all in California when I wasin the Marines. Also Ran a Memphis, Dallas and ALL the Atlanta area strips over the years and Moroso/Hollywood in Florida...Been slow as the 21's and as fast as the 10s...10s are way more fun!

 

San Fernando as a toddler with this car.

 

around 3 my oldman would push me around new england dragway all day in the stroller

 

1969, on my 11th birthday, at Kansas City International Raceway. Saw Big Daddy run in a 16 car top fuel field.

 

I was 9 years old.Englishtown New Jersey.1973.The sights the sounds the smells.all very vivid to this day.

 

1966, puyallup. was pretty much hooked after that

 

1956 to Orange, Massachusetts.

My two friends and I took one of the friends father's 1936 phaeton with a 53 flatmotor. What a ball.

We met a father son there who had just moved to New England from California. They were racing an F-100 with a hemi in it and a new 56 Ford hard top. The F-100 was white and the 56 was white and orange and both had pin striping done in Calif. We also hung out with them several times that summer at Orange and in Charleston Rhode Island.

I still remember the ride to Orange in the phaeton going thru all the small towns early on a Sunday morning. It's always been about the ride.

 

1956 Albuquerque, NM. Not a real strip but blocked off by the police so people could race. South Eubank Blvd.
Went with my cousin Dick Harrell to watch him in his Caddy powered 56 Chevy 2 dr hardtop. Black in color.
Larry Morrison

 

1965 my dad took me to the NHRA World Finals at what was then Southwest Raceway in Tulsa Oklahoma. I started racing there in 1974 & have run at least 3 weekends ever since.

 

Winfield,WV 1968 I was 16 yrs. old. Me and my buddy both had 305 Suziki motorcycles. Mine was red,his was blue. We decided to go to the dragstrip to find out which one was "officially" the fastest. I made a couple of time trial runs,learned what this prestage,stage thing was all about. It came time to race,they call the bikes up first. Me and my buddy are the first pair up. Get'in ready to heat the tire when in the background I hear the loudest cars I have ever heard in my life. The starter has me and my buddy move to the grass beside the starting line. They bring up the only 2 dragsters that were there that day. There we are sitting on our bikes,8 ft from the starting line with the best seat in the house getting to watch 2 fuel dragsters run.
Seems they were having a local guy named Jim Minnick from Nitro match racing with some guy they called Don "Big Daddy" Garlits.