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

I believe the name on Ron Abbot dragster used to be "Hellsapopin" if my memory is correct.
Jimbo

 

Just want to note that is one righteous 60 Impala push car right there!
Very nice Marty, was it yours?

 

I agree. That '60 drew me right in! Way cool!

 

The '60 belonged to some friends, we thought it would be a great match, since the "Coleman" was "Worlds Fastest Chevy", for a time in 1961. My Brother bought the '60 shortly thereafter, and I pushed Goob Tuller in the Albertson Olds the following year. He has since sold it back to those folks.

 

Exactly correct Jimbo!

Pat

 

Hello,

The Hermann Brothers Olds powered roadster at Lions in1960 ran with the best of them. They raced against all types of competition. Here they are racing against the all- powerful 29 sedan from Reath Automotive. Sedan or roadster? 1960 Lions dragstrip…

Jnaki

 

Hi Marty, sorry, I'm not familiar with Duane Reynolds. Earl is still involved with motorsports, with his daughter driving his twin-engine Allison V12 pilling tractor. Chase

 

From George Klass: John Saur's deuce coupe, Dodge powered, from the San Bernardino CA area, and sponsored by Scotty's Muffler (Charles "Scotty" Scott). This photo does not look like it was taken at a SoCal drag strip, so wonder if John towed to one of the Midwest Nationals meets?


Also just posted by George Klass: I have no idea who ran this Bantam-bodied competition coupe, though the body looks like it might have been the old Lakewood Muffler-sponsored Watson & Callahan fuel coupe. Running here with a Potvin-blown Chevy, the pits looks like Lion's....anyone recognize it?

 

Hello,

Much has been written about Creighton Hunter, his 24 T roadster, and the history of Santa Ana Dragstrip. Thanks to 296ardun: “One of the fathers of organized drag racing, Creighton Hunter in his roadster at Santa Ana. Creighton was the money guy and partner to C.J Hart at Santa Ana. One story going around is that the eyeballs on the side of this car were the inspiration for Dean Moon's Mooneyes logo....I think that this roadster has been restored, anyone else?”

From Dean Lowe: “The Hunter roadster was displayed at the NHRA Museum a couple years ago. It's not really restored. Just cleaned up and touched up a little, and put in running order. Creighton sold it to Hill Alcalla who drag raced the shit out of it for years, always with the flathead motor. It's still in the family. Hill's son now owns it, and is the one who got it back in shape.

Here's a photo I took of the roadster at Pomona in 1959. The car has not changed!”
Great photo Dean…the “Brownine Camera Pro,” better than all of us…Thanks…

From Greg Sharp:
"…Still, in little more than a decade, Hunter and Alcala collectively amassed more than 200 trophies, beating everything from blown-overhead street roadsters to mid-engine modifieds, running in the high 10s at nearly 130 mph.

Racing the roadster was an Alcala family outing. Hill did the tuning and driving, but he always had a substantial pit crew headed by his brother, Ruben, wife, Frances, daughter, Rosalie, and lots of uncles and cousins, including uncle Julian Alvarez."
The following photos are from a Hot Rod Magazine photo story on Creighton Hunter’s car owned by Hill Acala.


Finally, I just happen to have taken some movies of the Hunter/Acala red roadster at Lions Dragstrip in 1959-60 racing well. But, it was not as pretty in the 1960 Bakersfield Smokers meet: The Flathead against the all powerful and fast Speed Sport Special Roadster. But, that took a lot of “chutzpah” in the elimination race… what a cool 24 T body race car and racer…

Jnaki

 

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Jesse VanDeventer in the first race?


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As short history of "The Nationals" prior to Indy which became the home of the nationals. And the men and teams who were the winners

1955 and first


The first race, then simply known as the Nationals, was contested in Great Bend, Kan., in 1955. The event moved to Kansas City, Mo., the following year, then to Oklahoma City for two years and Detroit for another two before moving to Indy. As we gear up for another Big Go, this week’s Throwback looks at the drivers who prevailed at the non-Indy Nationals.

Calvin Rice, near lane, became NHRA’s first champion when he outlasted Fritz Voight at the inaugural event in 1955. Though the event was slated to run in its entirety in Great Bend, Mother Nature had other plans with the worst rainstorm in 30 years hitting the area on Saturday night, washing out Sunday’s competition and pushing the final three rounds to Phoenix a couple weeks later.

In Phoenix, Rice and Voight worked their way through eliminations to meet up in the final (pictured). It took the pair four tries to get the title round in with three foul starts waving off the first three attempts. On the third try, both drivers jumped the flag start, and Rice’s transmission blew. Because the race had already been waved off by starter Paul Wallace as another “no-go,” Voight could not claim the trophy by default. Officials gave Rice and his crew, led by Chuck Webster and Mel Dodd, 30 minutes to repair their entry.

The team jumped into action, bolting in a new transmission, which didn’t fit. A reworked Ford tranny was bolted in, and the team just made it to the line in time, not even having time to adjust the clutch linkage. Rice had to scoot down deep into the seat and work the clutch with the tip of his toe to make the shift in the final, in which the 25-year-old California resident ran a 10.30 at 141.95 mph to defeat Voight.




1956


The Nationals moved from Great Bend, a venue that the event had outgrown, to Kansas City in 1956, and the date also switched from late September/early October to the now traditional Labor Day weekend, running Aug. 31 through Sept. 3. Reigning national champ Calvin Rice made the official ribbon-cutting run in a stunning 9.99 seconds, a time that was not bettered during the course of the meet. However, when all was said and done, it was Melvin Heath who came out on top. Heath, a known holeshot artist, clocked a 10.49 to defeat Don Little in the final and lay claim to the second NHRA championship trophy.




1957

The Nationals moved to its third different location in 1957, being contested in Oklahoma City’s spacious State Fairgrounds that featured ample paved pit areas, separate spectator and participant parking, a cafeteria, and more. Despite the newly instituted fuel ban, the event still drew 450 entrants, including Buddy Sampson, who took top honors at the event, which was again held over Labor Day weekend. Sampson drove the 462-inch Olds-powered, aluminum-bodied Money Oldsmobile Special past LeRoy Mackey in the final, clocking a 10.42, low e.t. of the meet, en route to victory.




1958


Oklahoma City was once again the location for the Nationals in 1958, and the event was so popular that entries had to be limited to 500, a number reached a month before the race’s start. The 1958 event also featured two eliminator categories with Little Eliminator, which pitted the winners of the A through E Gas classes against one another, being added to the rotation. Junior Thompson was the winner. However, the big draw was Top Eliminator once again, and Ted Cyr was the big winner. Cyr’s win was an interesting one because of the somewhat quirky path that led to the victory. Cyr and partner Bill Hopper brought two entries — a new lightweight nine-second entry, painted orange and powered by a GMC-supercharged Chrysler-powered machine, and their old, reliable Isky Cams-sponsored unblown Chrysler dragster, painted blue with shoe-polished “For Sale” lettered on the nose and
driver cowling — to the event, and Cyr drove both. The orange car was considered the primary entry for the team, and though the blue entry was officially entered as well, it was considered spare parts. Both entries advanced to the semifinals in A Dragster, but Cyr was only able to wheel the blue one to the final. Cyr defeated Jay Cheatham in that title round and earned the right to face the winners of the next five fastest classes for the Top Eliminator championship. After working through the first couple of rounds, Cyr faced B Dragster winner Albert Ishenbaugh in the Top Eliminator final. Cyr powered to a 10.04 to defeat Ishenbaugh and win the title.




1959
“Never before had so much high-level attention been focused on the drags. Top leaders in the auto industry stood shaking their heads, some stating, ‘I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it!’ Not only impressed by types and performance of the vehicles, and the obvious investment in time and money, they were even more amazed at the hardworking, dedicated enthusiasm of the contestants.” That was the description NHRA President Wally Parks, who was still serving as editor of Hot Rod magazine at the time, wrote about the 1959 Nationals, which was contested in Detroit. In fitting fashion, considering the proximity to the car manufacturers, Top Eliminator was a three-way shootout between cars powered by Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors engines. In the end, bragging rights went to General Motors when Rodney Singer, the AA/Dragster winner, drove his 480-cubic-inch supercharged FOMOCO machine to the Top Eliminator title, running a 9.76 to easily defeat Jiggs Shamblin, whose mount shattered the clutch.






1960
Leonard Harris was the final non-Indy Nationals winner, taking top honors at the 1960 event, which was again held in Detroit. The caption that accompanied this photo in the archives offers an apt description of not only what this photo illustrates but also how Harris landed in the winner’s circle: “Californian Leonard Harris, kneeling, left, received the Champion Spark Plug Trophy, emblematic of capturing the National Championship, after winning the 1960 Nationals in Detroit. Champion Spark Plug Racing Director Don Garner made the presentation. Harris’ Albertson Olds entry ran 9.81 to defeat the A/Modified Roadster of class champion James Red Dyer and the Cadillac-powered Tennessee Bo-Weevil for top honors.”

 

Hi Dave,
Yes...Jess Van Deventer from San Diego, at Lions. Initially, I thought it was Gary Cagle, ( as the Newhouse roadster looks the same...) but was told otherwise. The early roadsters look very similar. Thanks for all of your help.

Jnaki

 

In the 70's (IIRC) Bill Wendt had the baddest of the bad street cars too, basically the Winged Express with licence plates.
Having photo transfer issues, sorry.

 

Someone was looking for info on this car, I think he found it and probably looking to sell it. On the Devin bodies thread. Some thought the car he had might be the Lunati car but I believe it turned out to be the Olds powered one pictured here. It's amazing how threads seem to disappear.

Pat