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

Bowers, Paris, & Reed, second shot is probably Irwindale, though it could be San Gabriel. These guys first ran a really clean Fiat with a blown Desoto, and then this roadster. They didn't win as much as the better known AA-FA's but they had really well finished cars...and obviously not afraid to do some serious bottom end work.


Someone said that if Roland Leong put all his Hawaiian drivers in a stadium, they would fill it...the late Mike Snivley, 3rd from left, is the driver when this picture was taken.
The "Fugitive," owned and maybe driven by "Broadway" Freddie DeName. Don Ewald has the full story on Freddie, he was apparently a gangster who packed a '30 cal. pistol on an ankle holster when he met Don...he raced a funny car (that he apparently did a burn-out on Broadway in), and this dragster, which has made contact with a cone at Bakersfield. This car is/was for sale in its engine-less latest form on this site.


M&S at San Gabriel...can't have enough pictures of this classic.


Golddigger A/FD from Texas (I think?)




I have never gotten a good answer as to why these guys ran their blower scoop backwards, also did it on their twin engined car...really a well finished car...ran well too.




early Randy Walls, still nostalgia racing...

 

I think this is Jim Herbert in "the Lizard" at Bakersfield


Don't know who, the furry helmet might be a clue to someone...taken at Fremont.


Ouch!!


Probably a good thing that this was a rear-engined car...accidents like this were one reason why tracks stopped push starts. This is Pomona.


Might be John Bateman's "Atlas Oil Tool" car closest to the camera


no caption necessary..

 

Been hot rodding since i was a kid, now 67,and still bringing smiles to my face.
thanks,Paisano

 

That shot of the 554 is my favorite version. Still had the dropped Ford I beam and split bones.

 

View attachment 2777736
Probably a good thing that this was a rear-engined car...accidents like this were one reason why tracks stopped push starts. This is Pomona.

Strange thing about this pic is there is no push bumper on the wagon. Makes you wonder.

 

Been hot rodding since i was a kid, now 67,and still bringing smiles to my face.
thanks,Paisano

What he said

 

I was there also, if I remember Ivo won

 

I looked it up on the Cacklefest site, you're right...I was wrong about the year, and misspelled Palamidies...

Here is the full story:

At Bakersfield early in 1963, Tommy talked with Romeo Palamides about setting up a match race between his new dragster and the Jet Car, which was driven then by Glenn Leasher. The race was booked into San Gabriel but before the race took place, Leasher lost his life in an accident at Bonneville. Bob Smith (aka Jet Car Bob) drove the jet against Ivo and after the match Palamides offered Tommy the seat, but he declined and stuck with the Top Fuel car. Smith stayed with Romeo for years to come. The success of this race prompted Ivo to arrange with the San Gabriel track operators to host a match race between Ivo and Greer-Black-Prudhomme shortly afterwards. After the successful match race with the Untouchable, Tommy was booked back to San Gabriel for a match race with Greer, Black and Prudhomme. Ivo and Prudhomme were now fierce rivals, where they had once been close friends.

and the posters and the match:

 

Golddigger A/FD above, is Willard Buff- father of current Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel Driver Troy Buff.

 

Here's a few

 

Weekly and Rivero in the far lane (not sure if Fox and Holding were with them at this time)...but not sure who is nearest the camera..I think it might be Ivo?

 

Some Texas drag racing from Facebook...not all in motion ...





















Many of these photos are blurry, faded color, and, for the most part, I can't caption them...but all these cars are a part of our history, I would appreciate any identification....Texas guys?

 

I was looking for a picture of Fritz Voight's car on Don Ewald's site, and came across another picture of this car, so the caption is: "Lyn Burris - Burris & Huiet - A/FD"

 

More Texas drag racing:







Mackey & Veselka


Buck and Bohls Olds-powered roadster vs Top Hat coupe




Really early Texas drag racing

 

I think this is August Hartkoff (aka Hands) 56. A real terror in gas class.

 

More Texas drag racing:

Don't know the dragster ID, in the far lane with the wheels up is Willis Ragsdale, from Pasadena, TX. This photo from the George Klass collection; the rest are from Facebook.


Don Steelman from Dallas, owned the Buckeye Liquor store on Harry Hines, car built by Wayne Calvert, Denton, Texas





Buck & Bohls, before lettering. Carbureted Olds, featured in HRM


I think that this is the CKC car






Interesting configuration...a "roadster" class car would have the driver sitting in front of the rear axle, so I'm guessing that this car would have been classified as a modified roadster




More August Hartkopf










Olin Davis, passed away recently


Big in Texas. Not sure, but this may have been Freeway Drag Strip in Houston, where Garlits raced and beat 3 cars from California in late '58 (Jack Ewell, Romeo Palamides, and Red Case). This was perhaps Garlits' first out of many trips to Texas.



Probably August Hartkopf in the near lane




OK, I'm a native Californian who grew up on California drag racing...but always admired Texas drag racers as some of the best in the country, hope you all enjoy the memories...

 

I've never seen this shot of Big Mike Burkhart. Notice that one side of the car was painted red and the other was blue. People used to think he had two cars because "he brought out the blue car this time!"

 

SOHC Ford on Fuel.

 

Long built DeMateo Bro's beautiful car.

 

Second photo in post #38134 above is Don Steelman from Dallas,owned the Buckeye Liquor store on Harry Hines,,Car built by Wayne Calvert,Denton,Texas

 

Thanks for the info, I am going to add that information to the photo, (I was wondering why "Buckeye," this explains it)

 

The Photo under the one saying more "Hands" is the "B"roadster (being pushed by a 58 Chev)of Carl Stone also of Dallas,,
Carl also raced a full fendered 32 Roadster (The Rollin Stone).The Rollin Stone was featured on the program cover for one of the CCHR reunions in Bakersfield..dont remember the year without digging out my old copy

 

I posted a picture of this hiboy roadster pushed by the '58 Chevy above earlier...



Bob Wolcott identified it as Carl Stone's, noting that Carl's street roadster made the cover of the NHRA Reunion program, and sent me a copy:


Carl was one of many Texas racers who went on to fame, very familiar to HRM readers and those who followed NHRA nationals drag racing, as Carl was a frequent and successful competitor.
Thanks to Bob for sending me this picture...he was a crew member of Bobby Langley's Scorpion I...lots of memories of great Texas drag racing!

 

and while searching for pictures of Carl's roadsters, I came across this album memorializing Buddy Anderson, who ran the "Little White Wabbit" Fiat C/A with Chev power...here are a couple of pictures from that album...have to post separately for some reason, they won't space??

 

More pictures from the same album, captions above pictures:

Art Chrisman, Chrysler powered, at the '55 NHRA Nationals

 

Ed Losinski, same meet:


Ollie Morris



Mickey Thompson:


Unknown competition coupe

 

One more from the same collection, unknown street roadster:

 

This pic is almost certainly at Caddo Mills, about 20-30 miles east of Dallas.
It was (still is) a large WWII triangle shaped concrete military airport.
Great traction but hell on the tires!
I believe it was the first NHRA strip in north Texas.
Great memories of seeing Buddy run there (sponsored by Calverts in Denton) and "Hands"
in his wailing '56 Chevy gasser.
That was late 50's to early 60's. Bobby Wolcott remembers.