Many gone out here in Ca., just go out there and listen...Fremont (Baylands) Like the beginning of "12 O'Clock High"...Kurt Jergens stands and watches, the ghost B17s appear, coming back from a sortie over Germany's bearing factories... I think I could hear Big Daddy Don Garlits firing up the old 'Swamp Rat' FED... Ghost sounds...
[QUOTE View attachment 3828714 View attachment 3828715 View attachment 3828716 View attachment 3828717 View attachment 3828718 View attachment 3828719 View attachment 3828720 View attachment 3828721 View attachment 3828722 View attachment 3828723 View attachment 3828724 [/QUOTE] I made a few passes down this strip in 63 and 64. Also the new castle drag strip. Seems like eons ago.
Of course it would be a Hudson guy... Lol I've got a stock 30 Essex coupe and a 308 Twin-H powered 49 Commodore. Small world... I'll ask the guy with the Duster if he remembers,but it sure looks like it.
Surprised someone has't stolen the sign from the garage building. I have a fairly large Pennzoil, "Bremerton Raceway" sign from my time with the track. Had a Canadian fella offer me $500.00 for it; I still have it! Sort of a fitting name for SUNSET Drag Strip. Really too bad. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I won my first trophy there. B/S, the summer of "65". Dog leg shut off area. They held some of the best funny car meets. I remember Kosty Ivanoff telling how his family got from east Germany to west Germany. Good memories. They even held reverse drags there. Now that was scary.
We ran there about 1980 in a 8 car match race. We had just completed this build, it was some of the first runs on it. Finders had lost a leg a year or two earlier in a crash so he made a peg leg out of a pc. of chromoly for his clutch leg. It fit into a larger pc. of tubing on the clutch pedal. He does a long burnout and once he come off the throttle I see the car making a slow drift to the left until it just touches the grass and rolls a while. I wasn't sure what happen because he was so far down track. After a minute he starts backing up and we line him up and makes the run. At the end of the track I ask what happened there. He tells me Oh, the peg leg fell out of the clutch pedal and I was trying to get it back in.
The first time I drove this car was at Sunset probably spring of 1984. It had a tunnel ram small block with a 3 speed lenco. We got there early before it opened and were parked at the road. Someone who worked there came along and opened the gate and told us to go in and park and they would be back later. We unloaded the car and since I had never driven it before, my dad gets the idea to let me test. We had the tire pressure too high, wheelie bars set too low, cold track and tires and no rubber down. I revved it up and dropped the clutch and it shook the tires and veered right violently. I got out of it and just cruised it down the track. Turned around and came back up the track. My buddies who were there were laughing at me for getting out of it. I turned it around and did it again. The exact same thing happened but this time I stayed in it (I'm no wimp) and grabbed second gear and it started to whip as I was overcorrecting and it got so bad it was up on 3 wheels as it went back and forth taking up both lanes. It finally got in the grass and I saved it and turned around and came back up the track again. I shut it off and coasted up to where my dad was standing and nobody was laughing this time. My dad broke the silence by saying " what were you doing in the grass?". We took it back to the trailer...lol. We dropped the tire pressure and raised the wheelie bars and once they opened the track we got it going low 6s that day. It's a day I'll never forget. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
New guy here, I know this thread is old, but I am searching for info and/or pictures of my recently acquired 1967 Plymouth Belvedere II. It came with a small plaque the reads "Sunset Drag Strip Class Winner". I was told it was from 1968, but that info is second (or third) hand. Any info is appreciated!
Is there anyway possible to get a copy of this CD? I live near New Castle, PA and I worked at both Dragstrips from the late 60's into the Mid to Late 70's [email protected] ?
Hi Jay, I’ll burn you a copy tonight. Can either drop it in the mail or I can swing by, we’re often over there for chili dogs PM me your info or how you’d like to get it. -Karri
Karri, I remember Sunset very well. Ran there in the mid 60's. Remember Art Arfon's bringing his jet car to the strip. Every time he ran it, he blew down the fence behind the starting line. Also, I would love a copy of the CD. Let me know if you can still do that and how much I owe you. I live now in Sarasota, FL. Thanks, Bill
Ha neat story Bill! I have a copy ready I can drop in the mail this weekend for you. I'll send you a message & you can reply with your mailing addy
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