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

Day One of organized drag racing, Goleta, 1948...up the road from Santa Barbara, airport and buildings are still there.


Westenberger and Bill, first a flathead dragster, then a Chevy dragster, and then this sharp modified roadster..in the M/R class you didn't need a stock grill, but these guys added one for more authenticity. This is Ramona



Don't have a positive ID, could be Jim Davis, the high cowl was characteristic of cars he built


Ronnie Hampshire, not sure whose car this is


If anyone can read the name on the door, please post it....Bernadini Brothers? (I think so but am not sure)..they ran a street roadster that has now been restored, this could be it without fenders or other street equipment. Not sure why X/G, "G" for gas but "X" was for 4-bangers. Photo taken at Santa Ana


Gas Ronda, before the funny cars.


Jerry Ruth, or so the caption says...Ruth usually ran full bodies, this may be an exception. Notice the somewhat hastily constructed wall behind, drag strips were under increasing pressure to keep the noise down, not sure this would have worked all that well.


No doubt here...Ruth raced a lot of cars, a Studebaker gasser, gas unblown dragsters, and later a funny car.


Not sure who or where?


Kenny Safford in Gotelli's fueler, given the expressions of the people behind the car, this is a warm-up on a full nitro load. The good news was that you could get right next to a nitro warm-up in the pits, the bad news was that, like these folks with no ear protection, you wound up asking "what??" a lot. (well, the caption says "Gotelli," but if I remember correctly, Gotelli ran Isky Cams, so not sure what the "Engle" decal means, maybe caption is wrong? I know that Kenny Safford drove once for Gotelli because I saw him at Half Moon Bay, but it could be the wrong car...anyone?) (caption was apparently wrong, as I suspected, afan says: "This is Kenny Safford in Larry Bowers' Top Fueler, 1971." Thanks! (Lee Owens, behind the motor, next to Ted Gotelli, in cap).


Two dragsters leaving the line at Santa Ana


Caption says "D.A. Santucci." He was a very well know east coast guy who started out in roadsters and progressed to a series of fast dragsters...I think he was from Pennsylvania, corrections always welcome!


Shrank Brothers make the cover of Drag News. Originally from Texas, they migrated to Northern California and ran a number of hard-running dragsters. Not many builders got as much out of a Desoto as they did.

 

I am going to build one of these

 

Carson Hyman at Jackson S.C. 1963.

 

HALF MOON BAY the EL Camino The Shy One 409 algon inj the 42 ford coupe belong to John Aspostoli Kentfield Ca he was a good friend of the family hemi power hilborn inj. My father inlaw painted it with powdered bronze john had the Kentfield Garage for years.

 

We lost another legend last night. See Junior Thompson passes thread. RIP old friend, and Thanks for the memories.

This pic reminds me of when I was organizing and promoting a national event for The Mid America Willys Club (Barb and Greg Dummer). When I decided to use Bandimere Speedway in Denver, we added Anglias, Austins, and Henry Js, in hopes that would help pay for it. As I was running around inviting legends and handing out World Gasser Championships posters, I stopped in to see Johnny Loper. He took one look at the poster and said, "Boy, You sure F---ed Up here!!! I don't see Studebakers mentioned anywhere." He was right and the above photo proves it.

 

Thats pretty impressive. I would imagine that it is a NHRA S/S which would mean a 421" maybe dual quads and about 3400#

Pat

 

Lions Drag Strip

POV of Top Fuel dragster driving slowly to start line, then racing (cam mounted on dragster), parachute deploying, car coming to stop, driver getting out.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/v...tart-line-then-news-footage/125748429/license

Anyone know who this is?

J.S.

 

Jim Bucher, last Top Gas national event eliminator.

 

These are pics of my friend and mentor Tom's 1968 Mustang. He mentions Tasca alot when he talks about this car. Not sure if it was bought at tasca ford or what.

But boy you oughta see his face light up when he talks about the 1,200 dollar loan he took out to buy the intake and Weber 48IDA carbs. Looks freaking awesome! These pics would be from around 1973 at a drag strip in NY. Evidently the car was stolen not terribly long after.

 

Could be a Tasca connection, that last picture is Dover Dragstrip in Wingdale NY. Many Tasca cars ran there.

Pat

 

HALF MOON BAY Stoke and Azevedo San Rafael Calif Romeo P chassis . Fred Stoke is the guy who had the bad shop fire in Santa Rosa this month. Same car that was on the cover of Hot Rod mag with blown cad. Lorry Azevedo owner of H.A.T Racing Ent. in San Rafael . Lorry ran the AFC Drummer 72 Camaro. E Town 1972 summer nats comp elim winner . in the 60s 70s we had a lot cars that ran out of the shop fun times. Lorry and the shop is still going strong today.

 

Please forgive my ignorance, what's with the Chevy 2's with fastback roofs?

 

I believe these were all built by Bill Thomas Race Cars.

www.georgeklass.net

 

The caption that follows the footage says that it is from Indianapolis Raceway when it is obviously from Lions. Maybe the pedestrian bridge confused them. Also the chance of shooting any drag racing footage at IRP on January 1st (again as per the caption) is more than slightly remote. Snowmobiles, maybe.

Roo

 

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Caption says "D.A. Santucci." He was a very well know east coast guy who started out in roadsters and progressed to a series of fast dragsters...I think he was from Pennsylvania, corrections always welcome! You are correct, Domenic Santucci at Indy, 1969, Top Gas winner.

Also very prominent in funny cars in later years after the NHRA nixed the Top Gas category. Probably best known for the Black Magic cars that he ran after purchasing the Vega and name from Bob Beattie in the late 70's. Dom passed away in late 2002. His widow Barb is still involved in the sport via the Racer's Reunion Radio program.

Roo

 

Correct George. Bill Thomas built four of these cars intending to run them in SCCA road course competition (B Production) but the powers that be nixed that idea. Three of the cars then went drag racing and the fourth was rumored to have been converted to street use. Dick Harrell had earlier purchased what amounted to a mechanical prototype for the fastback bodied cars and had run it as Retribution 11 and it was via his connection with Thomas that CKC purchased one of the cars. As shown in the photos two of the others went to Dick Milner (the Alan Green Chevrolet car) and Houston Platt.

Roo

 

George and Roo, thank you.

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