A little wind. No rain. Racing resumed quickly. If drag racing was easy everyone would be doing it. The heat is part of it.
Despite the extreme heat, it was a great event! I plan on being there every year if possible, had a blast!
was Hot but we were there. got to meet racer-x. we stayed until around 3, the wife was a little overheated, the daughter even more so ( teenagers don't listen to parents ). drank lots of water. only downside was only had half a burger..... was too full of water.
Was able to make it up Sunday with my oldest son. Not a lot of racers left, but those still there put on a great show and we really enjoyed the day. Special thanks to the guys with the Famoso Speed Shop Chevy coupe. My son was thrilled for the opportunity to sit in the drivers seat for a photo opp. It was one of those moments that make a permanent impression.
OK,..so the first Glory Days event is history, no doubt one we won't forget due to the extreme heat wave,...hope everyone survived with out any major problems. I think the track did an excellent job of taking care of things at this event with the weather they had to contend with. All the counts were down,...the racers, swappers and spectators, but it was still a nice event and a great tribute to the Meltdown crew who started this whole shebang. Thanks to everybody who supports these events,...even in that heat, you all are true gearheads.
Jay breaking in his new S.B.F. 427 crate engine, it ran a best of 11.42 @ 118 mph Took a picture of his picture
great to see this event carry on! could not make it therethis year, but will continue to support it in the future!
I thought the Glory Days event was overall a pretty good deal. BJ at the drivers meeting mentioned that over 200 registered participants cancelled at last minute due to the heat, which we all know would put a good dent in any event. I also believe the track did an admirable job in calling the classes to the lanes so that we did not have to sit for really long stretches. The heat was pretty oppressive no question but making runs was still a good time. We lost power at our house/farm so I had to cut my time there short as the waterers to the barn and the fans were out of commission so I drove the 7+ hours home just in case and sadly had to miss most of Saturday and Sunday. Even with the heat I would have stayed as it always seems to be a good time. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and realize the heat put a pretty big dent in the car count and hopefully the car count and support will return in 2020. As an aside, I see Tickety Boo uploaded a picture that was similar to those offered in the past at the Meltdown. Were these offered by the track or another group and are they available? I can always find wall space in my shop for memories. A bit of driving for one day, but I still had a great time visiting with old friends and making a few passes and watching a bunch of cool cars bring back old times. Kudos.
Hey Jim A photographer at the track came to your trailer during the event and asked if you wanted to purchase your pic. Guessing that it was Simmons (The logo on the bottom right of Jays pic)
I figured as much but I left early so such is life. I have other photos in the shop that bring back good memories so I suppose I am a sucker for a photo here and there of these cool events. Thanks.
Thanks for posting the 59 Impala. That is my big brother driving. This was his first run at the strip in 52 years. He quit in 1967 to buy a farm and raise a family, but he was in it long enough to infect his younger brothers. Finally, it’s his turn to have some fun. We got the car together with only about 4 hours to spare. I don’t know who had the best time him, his kids or we brothers. No matter, we all had a blast!
Did any one say the Glory Days drags was hot? Hell yea it was, but it sure was fun. That being said, it was very different atmosphere then the Meltdown. The heat was a big factor on the car count dropping, but that was not the only reason. It was nice to see so many familiar faces, but we a lot of those who couldn't make it. Here is Dad taking the Dodge on its first ever pass. before the weekend was over we got it to run a 12.70 @ 96 mph, cutting out in the upper rpm's. Lots of tuning lift to do on this one. Dad snapped this picture of me getting a little sideways against Furious Bob. He got me on this pass, but i returned the favor later. We will continue to support vintage drag racing at Byron weather its the Meltdown or Glory Days. we already cant wait for next year.
Yes, we all had a great time. However, brother Larry probably had the best time of all of us. Several times he mentioned that being back at the drag strip made him feel like he was 23 years old again. His reaction times backed this up, too. He even dug out his old pipe and, (40 year old?), pipe tobacco out.
The Jalopy Journal
