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

Howard Cross's Cross & son Fiat from Bakersfield racing Butch Blair, in his "Fugowie" '34 coupe. Blair would buy a used Joe Amato fueler to race TF later...

 

Freeman & Son sbc near lane, racing Gary Cagle ... looks like Bakersfield

 

Hollish Brothers loading up...this car was runner-up at the '59 NHRA nationals and has been perfectly recreated.


Charlie Wilson's "Vicious Vette"


Don't have an ID either car


Nomads Car Club from Austin, TX


OCIR, no ID on car


Ohio George, Cad powered...George was a mechanical genius, built it all himself.

 

Funny cars at Carlsbad...it lasted longer than most SoCal tracks, but did not survive in the end


Jr Thompson, not sure where, maybe NHRA nationals


Ferd McLemore...this was the old Buck and Bohls Olds powered roadster from Texas


Steel-bodied Fiat...


Dragmaster Hawaii, Danny Ongais, second from left, Roland Leong, next to him. Winternationals


Big end at Ontario, no ID on either


Pete Robinson, near, racing Mooneyes...could have been '61 NHRA Nationals


Sometimes these photos show up with no information...anyone?


Ramchargers...I liked it better with the fenders on, like this.


Santa Maria, leaders below this 'vette suggest it is full completion, beyond street-use


No ID


Arizona's Steinegger & Eshenbaugh...they had a Fuller car and later a Stuckey car, this might be the Fuller car.


Either a hole shot or a red light...Pomona

 

Professor, nice group of photos. Odd, there are not more shots from Ontario days. I guess its short history made for fewer photos. Thanks for your postings, Dick M

 

Dick, you're right, there were some good meets there....Dave

 

US 131.

 

The same car after I finished the body restoration. I saved the forward upper panels but had to build a new cowl and body sides


Roo

 

Some shots from Fremont, some from the Fremont FB page...I never raced there but spectated several times when in the Navy:


Sumner, Bert, and Mews, still in carburetors -- it would later get a 6-71.


Chuck Flores in the old Safford, Ratican, and Gaide "shark car" top fuel car.


Ambassadors Car Club twin from Orinda, CA...Algon injectors


No ID on this A/A


Steel-bodied "Hairy Canary," yes, it was yellow, yes, it was loud, and yes, it didn't handle all that well


and yes, it had opening doors and door handles...hope that fire-resistant boots came with the firesuit


Fremont was their home track....went off the end at least once, Dale Emery almost drowned in a ditch at the end until the Del Rio crew got there and righted the car.


No ID...if you ever went through one of these, one of the things you never forgot was the smell, burning oil, gaskets, aluminized fire suit, plastic windscreen, and, if it got really bad, skin. All fires were bad, though bottom end fires were worse as they were often fueled with oil that stuck to everything.


No ID


Burkholder Brothers, still Olds powered here, later went to Chrysler power


No ID on either, anyone...fans really loved the gassers, just listening to them shift was a treat...

 

Here is another shot of "The Shoehorn" taken at White City,Or in 1960.

 

Not knowing any history of this track.
Is this in the pit lane of a super speedway?

 

Yes, the drag strip was actually the pit lane of the Ontario Motor Speedway, now roughly the site of Ontario Mills Outlet Mall. The Super Nationals and later the World Finals were run at Ontario.

 

Great color pic of the Vicious Vette! Fog rolling in, must be Lions?

 

It was Lions, fog usually started to roll in around 8:00 in the evening, the flare at the nearby refinery blew over, so you knew that cooler moister air was coming in off the Pacific...then you could lean out your motor a little and try for a top-end record....(or wind up with a bunch of burned out pistons)

 

Great pics Johnny Steele! Keep em coming!

 

Irwindale

 

You did a great job on that old war horse Rooman. Belongs to our friends, Rip and Nat Wiley.
We hope to see and hear it for real one day!

 

The class designations visible on several cars are AHRA formula classes. About eight rows over, dead center of the picture is Carl Swift's orange '50 Ford flathead Formula 8 car. The number circled on the back windows of some of he cars represents the handicap allowed that particular combination during eliminator racing. Handicaps were calculated in car lengths with the highest number of each pairing being lined up down track for the head start. Class and Eliminator champions were part of the 1966 AHRA Winter Nationals held at Irwindale.

 

More Fremont:


I thought this was Dick Kalivoda's "Joker" but afan can see better than me, it is "Kansas John" Weibe, that's him pushing it...thanks for the correction!


Well, not at Fremont, but this car did run Fremont...John Batto's Crosley, blown Buick...saw it run at Bakersfield, it won a lot, as the trophies indicate. John would go on to top fuel.


Gotelli "legs under" car that Denny Milani lost his life in, Half Moon Bay. I think that this was Tom Hanna bodywork...Gotelli always ran first-class cars.


Larry Dixon in the Howard cams "Rattler" before the fancy paint...


This steel Fiat got a spread in HRM, really well engineered


Pretty early Fremont, before they painted the tower...no stands, either


Hawaiian, Roland Leong pushing, Mike Snivley in the firesuit...


This is Kingdon, Glass Slipper near side racing Hank Vincent in the "Top Banana."