Hi guys! My name is Valtteri and I'm a gasser/nostalgia drag racing fan from Helsinki, Finland. I am taking a roadtrip with my girlfriend Heli from Miami to New York on Jun 26 - Jul 8. We don't have a definite plan for the route we're going to take and that would be where you guys could come in: Do you guys have any suggestions on nostalgia drag racing events, swap meets or any other cool places we could visit on our trip? We're trying to stay off the beaten path (in this case the highways and big cities) in order to see more of the local, smaller types of places and people. I would really like to attend some local drag meets and just basically see what the regular guys are doing - and if I could see a couple of Willys coupes along the way, I think I'd be in 7th heaven! ( I've seen a Willys gasser in real-life only once at a car show as they are super rare over here so seeing one cackling would be simply awesome.) Anyway, if you have any suggestions or ideas at all, I'm all ears! Valtteri
Darlington SC race track has a Nascar museum that's open year round, including about a dozen or so cars on display. Then you could go to Hartsville for some Yogi Bear's Fried Chicken and take route 15 to continue northward from there.
I live in so FL and made this trip many times you must go to big daddy don garlits museum in Ocala FL from there you can head north a few miles and hit 40 east . it is a scenic rd. thru the national forest heading to Daytona .the speedway is just a few minutes east of 95. from there take 95 north to Florence for the museum. don't forget to stop at Pedro's south of the border .depending on where in NY you can head either 95 north or head over to 85 north for a more scenic ride
if you decide to take 75 north from Ocala you can go to Summit racing . it is a huge speed shop in McDonough ga. you can head to many great driving roads on the way also depending on your route
Thanks a lot for the tips! The Don Garlits museum is an absolute stop-over - I would've missed it without the tip, thank you Sir. I don't think I can stop over at Summit though, I will stuff my bags so full that the flight back to Finland would cost a fortune!
Where in NY are you heading to? "Off the beaten path, away from big cities" . Come up the Hudson River Valley all the way to the Adirondacks and Lake George. Plenty of scenery and car events to go to. Pat
The Eastern Museum of Motor Racing (where the annual Jalopy Showdown is held) is in York Springs, PA. http://www.emmr.org/
If you like old race cars, I recommend stopping at the Simeone museum in Philadelphia. It's located just minutes from I-95, maybe 10-15 minutes from the Phila. Airport. It's about 2 hours south of NYC. Have a great trip! http://simeonemuseum.org/
Thans for the tips guys! Pat/1934 Coupe: we're staying in Brooklyn and might not have time to drive up. Thanks for the tip though, that sounds great! Tomorrow we'll visit the Don Garlits museum and I can't wait! We're trying to hit Piedmont dragway in North Carolina on Saturday or Sunday for some IHRA drag racing. We got a Ford Explorer and it feels great on the highways. We just drove out to Key West which was way more touristy than I ever realized - but now it's time for the smaller roads! Any ideas for seeing nostalgia drag cars in action on our way from NC to NY? I am not sure if the IHRA Pro-Am tour (in NC) will have any and I'm just dying to see some in the flesh!
If you google search race tracks you can find quite a few drag tracks in addition to the ovals. I noted several in my research for a trip to SC last year. You may want to swing west below Baltimore & Washington and kind of go around all that sprawl on some other roads, just because of the traffic you're liable to run into.
I've been googling a fair bit already and so far haven't found any nostalgia event during late June/early July (until the 8th) on the East coast. I was kind of hoping that there would be someone in here that had the inside scoop and could point me in the right direction.
two other places in miami for you . miami auto museum at the Dezer collection - fairly new in north miami packard auto museum in ft lauderdale
The trip has been GREAT so far! The Don Garlits museum was a dream come true: what an amazing place. I didn't want to leave. You can see photos here: http://instagram.com/valtteri That night we also found Bubba raceway in Ocala and saw some great dirt track racing. What an experience! Didn't manage to get to the drags in Piedmont. I'm hoping we'll find some of that though. We're currently in Jacksonville and headed to Savannah for the night. Any suggestions for the Carolinas?
It not a car museum but still cool check out. http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com/. Also Charleston South Carolina is a good place to stop in for dinner one night. I recommend the duck club sandwich at the Tattooed Moose.
Get some great BBQ pork and ribs at the Georgia Pig, Exit 1 off I-95 in Georgia. Then, Darlington Stock Car Museum off I-95 near the North Carolina border. Also, Kenly, NC has a tobacco farm museum, not car related, however something you will not see anywhere else. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
previously mentioned Darlington museum is in South Carolina. A couple oval tracks not far off I-95, too, Florence Motor Speedway off US-76 and Dillon Motor Speedway a ways further north. Asphalt tracks. If you go to Florence, beware that thing on the left in the mens room isn't a handrail, it's the pee trough.
Don't know where you are but US 15 is a good alternate to I95. It parallels I95 and has become the road less traveled. It is mostly a separated dual carriageway but with grade level intersections and it passes through towns rather than bypassing them. It a good highway all the way through NC VA and southern PA. You may also want to check out some sections of the Skyline Drive in Virginia, This Road is a scenic highway that runs along the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains. It is all posted at 45 MPH but there are lots of get on and off points along the way, Thomas Jefferson's Home Monticello in Charlottesville Va. is worth a stop if you have the time.You probably want to head east to go to Brooklyn before you get to Harrisburg PA. Lots of Historical stuff to see Gettysburg Civil War Historic site, and up the road a bit in York PA. there is a Harley Davidson Assembly plant that does tours and has a small museum. Also the York Bar bell factory and the Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Near York is Boiling Springs Dragway, and in New Jersey is SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY, AT RRRRRRACEWAY PARK!!!! in Elizabeth town NJ. (http://www.etownraceway.com/) I lived in Brooklyn 45 years ago and much has changed but much stays the same. There is a recently opened Scenic Park on the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory has a shop in an old Coast Guard life saving station and light house close by and a walk on the Bridge Promenade is a pleasent activity for an early evening. Maybe take in a Brooklyn Cyclones Baseball game. The Cyclones are a AA professional league stocked mostly by College age players trying to make it to the Major leagues. These AA and AAA teams are know as farm teams and are usually affiliated with major league teams where they are developed for potentially moving up. they have a very neat waterfront stadium ad it a great activity for a early July evening. And maybe catch the Independence Day Fireworks Display at the Statue of Liberty. Have fun and welcome to the USA.
Thanks a ton, again! We passed by Savannah and totally loved it: what cool place with lots of character. Went to Vinnie Gogo's and Tubbys and had some local beer & these crazy vodka based slushies. The real highlight however was taking the 321 north and spotting Wally's Collectables in Fairfax, SC by pure chance. Wally has a huge and simply amazing collection of old memorabilia-type stuff from Coke bottles to gas station signs. Some photos in instagram.com/valtteri but I was simply so struck by it all that I just didn't take a lot of photos. Anyway, this was exactly what I'd hoped for: just stumbling into something cool on the back roads! We took the Blue Ridge parkway today and are staying in Roanoake for the night. We need to be in Brooklyn on Monday so for now there's no hurry. The NJ dragway would be pretty good for Sunday though!
Englishtown nj is a very active and historical dragstrip as is atco in south jersey or maple grove in pennsylvania
Actually I think Atco will be even better location-wise since on Sunday they seem to have a Summer Shootout Series race there. I will be there!
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