J.Ukrop submitted a new blog post: Dueling at Detroit Dragway, 1960 Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Cool! @ 4.39 is "Digamus" a PNW car originally ran by the Nelson brother's, and then by Kalivoda and Hamlin. That car is now in the NHRA Museum I believe. I saw the car make a pass at Seattle International Raceway at a nostalgia event; it ran intentionally "out of the groove", to not get traction and break something. I am Butch/56sedan
Hadn't seen that video before. My brother's truck is racing at the 7:52 mark. Wish the track was still there. The truck currently resides about 2 miles from where the track was.
Your killing me with this stuff. I keep telling myself, move on, you can't relive the past. Then I see this. So many of those cars I saw in Hot Rod magazine. Here I am stuck again, thinking of those great years.
Typical time of the year in the Motorstate. Weather is shit so our minds drift away. Lately there's been a bit of a rash of later "Dirty D", Detroit Dragway pics on FB and IG. Feels pretty good to see "theHIGHLANDER" on the side of that thing. Decorum prevents me sharing a pic, but it's green (go figure) and has a flat white hood, hint...hint...if you're into checkin that sorta thing out. That same weather misery is why we cherish the Detroit Autorama as we do. I used to call it "cruisin 'graph on foot." Nice hit Joey.
Just recently found some Otie pics I'd never seen before on the Petersen Automotive Museum Archives website https://archive.petersen.org/pages/home.php They have over 2500 1959 pics and 1700 1960 pics for the Detroit Drags, awesome stuff. These are all of the same Chassis Research car that's in that cover shot. View attachment 4542721
Spotted the Kalivoda and Hamlin car at the 4.39 mark. Cool article by Hot Rod Magazine about this car. It was eliminated in the final round at Detroit. https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0107sr-kalivoda-hamlins-roadster/
Man....every pic I find, every post I read...makes me really miss this place...spent plenty of fun night out there as a Teenager....it’s one of those places ya thought would always be there...for awhile we all heard “ they’re building another track down the road at 75 and 275”...then it was “by the airport”...well none of that ever happened..so now we have Milan..and I have to admit..I got hooked on drag racing again..now I don’t have the time, money, or desire to build anything like these guys are running today...but you’ll find me out there on the first Friday of every month watching the heads up, and 10.5 tire guys doing incredible things with cars...going to Detroit as a kid the big class was “Super Pro” the 9.90 cars were the big dogs...now if your running in the 10’s it’s yawn city...I guess another reason I go is because today is someone else “my time at Detroit Dragway” and these days too could be gone...I take my Nephews, we get there at the beginning , eat at the track, and stay there way too long..but man do we have fun and I hope they will remember those times like I remember the Dirty D..
I went there in the early 90s and the track was already sorta on its last leg. But there was so much history there, sacred ground I guess. The racing was still exciting and they raced late in the dark which made it even more romantic. Every time I drive past the Sibley Road exit on I-75 I think about the place.
I swear my dad would take us to the Sears parking lot in lincoln park to see the funny cars displayed. I think I still have a few hand out pics. Does anyone remember that?