When was your first time at a dragstrip?

I was 19 years old and knew a girl from Ashburnham Mass. that lived near Orange Mass., where they held airport drags on Sunday afternoons.
I picked her up in the morning and off we went to my first (with many more to come) drag race.
It's her fault. She led me down this road.

 

Pismo Beach Sand Natls in '73 & Irwindale Raceway the same summer for the Funny Car Natls !!! I was 16, Dunn & Reath won at IR. Don't know who won at Pismo.

Ric

 

1964 Niagara Dragway Niagara Falls N.Y. With my older brother,hooked ever since.

 

First time I was six years old. Went to the Legendary Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove Wisconsin.

Last time I was there was in September... Labor Day weekend, at the Time Machine Nationals... I guess you can say I was hooked ever since.

-Joe

 

Around 1962 at the San Gabriel drag strip. Don't know why it was called that because it wasn't in San Gabriel. They had a flag man (the name Larry Sutton rings a bell) and sometimes ran 4 cars across depending on their time schedule. I was just a spec-tator then, but after that made sure I always had a car to run in the 60's and 70's at Irwindale, San Fernando, OCIR, Long Beach, and a couple other strips.

 

14 yrs old and in Oklahoma City, Okla
2nd track was in Ark City, Ks
3rd was in Ringwood, Ok
4th was in Wichita, Ks

 

...was on crutches due to skateboard accident.
Car crazy in a family that wasn't.
Convinced Dad to drop me off for the day.
Next summer, I took Honda 90 out to spectate at outlaw drags.

Famoso was relatively unused in those days,
and was little more than big patch of pavement.
Locals cut the fence and every Sunday,
hooligans would go drag racing.
No sanctions, no safety, no authority, no timing.
Also no rowdies or drinking I saw.
Just pull to the line and go with next guy doing the same.

Went on most of summer, then some dildo crashed
and cops it shut down.
Amazing it went on as long as it did,
since it was visible from the road.

 

Santa Ana 1954. I was 9 years old. Scarred me for life. But what a beautiful scarring!

 

i was there but didn,t start raceing till 63 a 55 chevy and a 57 chevy conv sat was old brigde and sun was inland till e-town open in 65

 

You're very welcome. Love sharing old memories.

 

........12 old at union Grorve, Wisconsin........

 

1973 Thompson Drag Raceway- Match race Sox and Martin and Grumpy Jenkins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FQdJy7zsz0

 

I was 16 the first time I went to the drags at Oroville, Calif. The drags were run by an Oroville car club called the Ophir Coachmen. The following month I took my parents new Barracuda and ran it there. It ran J/SA. At the time all you needed was a seat belt. Ran against a 1955 Oldsmobile, which I beat and against a 1957 Plymouth that red lighted. Got me a trophy but couldn't take it home, so I left it over at my sisters house. A couple of days later my parents went to visit her and asked her where the trophy came from. She told them that I won it racing their new car. After that I was regulated to driving the old 56 Ford 4 door that burned more oil than gas.

 

It was the dragstrip that used to be in Coon Rapids in 1966, I was 7. Lots of fun and very loud, I loved it.

 

I was 10 years old. My dad took me to Orange Airport in Orange ,MA. They ran twice a month on the runway organized by the New England Timing Association.

 

M first time at the strip was in 1962 when I was 12 yrs. old. My first time racing was in 1973 with my '71 427 Camaro. (which I still drive!)

 

Sept. 15, 1968. MY dad was in the finals at the OKC Fairgrounds drag strip and my mom went into labor. She said I got excited and decided it was time.

 

1963, Baylands RaceWay Fremont California, saw a top fuel car race a jet car after they chained a junker to the jet and burned it to a crisp! P.T
Barnum could not have put on a better show. Full quater mile tire smoke and a jet blast with after burner I was hooked for life!

 

Great Lakes Dragway Union Grove WI at age 6. Met Broadway Bob for the first time. Memories. Sunday,Sunday,Sunday!!!!!!!!!!

 

Atco Dragway, New Jersey, early sixties, saw Don Garlets run.

 

Odena dragstrip Sylacauga AL 1984, I was old, 21. My dad forbade me to race but I was street racing anyway up til then. Been drag-strippin ever since. peace

 

67 @ york us 30, 8 year old 3rd grader, buddy in schools dad took us a coulpe times a summer for about 6 or 7 years,went to the last funny car nats,in my old van backed right up to the fence at about mid track ,the camper truck beside us had 4 hippy type hillbilly's that had a pipe they called a steamroller with alot of tennese wacky weed, had a real good time,man I miss that place!!

 

Grew up with a stepdad that raced but, being a girl, was never allowed to go. First time was only 3 years ago and only once since. I'm hooked now and trying to get tickets to Winternationals in a couple of months in Pomona. Hope to keep learning and enjoying the strip.

 

I'm guessing about 4 or 5 that i remember. My only memories are walking through the pics with my dad and holding on for dear life to the ear muffs that engulfed my small head. Seriously i was probably there prior to birth or younger than 4 or 5. My parents like to tell the story about about how they were too broke to get into the races so they scrounged around the couch and couch seats to find entry money, that was before i was born!

 

I was 12, went to the Winternationals with Grandpa...been hooked since

 

Suuuunnndaaaay!!! Niaaaaagraaa!!!- 1966

BTW, the long-closed Vacaville strip was still there until a few years ago- I was scouting for dumpsites up there, drove over the overpass, and there it was- it had been overgrown with grass for years, but someone had scraped the grass off in prep for pulverizing it to recycle the asphalt and base rock- gone now. The fence was open, I went in and drove around on it- even the old light post on the return was still standing

 

Probably the strip at the Carlisle,Arkansas airport. That's the first one I remember along with I-30 Dragstrip in Arkansas. Also went to State Capitol,Houma, and LaPlace in Louisiana when I was little. Prescott Raceway opened up in '78 here,and it's still going. I haven't been in quite some time though. They raced at the airport there before the strip opened also.

 

O was around 15 and it was at OCIR, Wednesday night Grudge nights!

 

My first trip really was an exciting experience for an early teen. I was about 13. Parents took me to Ardmore OK to see my aunt,uncle and kids. Our mom's were sisters. My uncles cousin was JR Shaw and ran the dragstrip at the time. IT was the only time I would ever see him. He said he had to go open the strip up and would I like to go. HELL YESS!! The next part was a surprise. He opened his garage doors, may have been at the house or his shop....not sure. He backed out a 63 black max wedge Dodge and said hop in. Red interior no radio open headers etc... and a sticker that said not for highway use. We drove to the track...I was hooked. A few years later I got a job where my Dad worked and met a guy that worked for Bill McClure at Green Valley dragstrip in Smithfied Tx. He ask me if I would be interested in working at GV...HELL YEAH!!!! So all you guys that raced there in the late 60s..around 67 maybe earlier..it's been over 40 years, I probably looked your car over at the scales..I was part of the tech crew. They use to make one of us ride back to the scales from the far end when someone won eliminations. I remember riding back in Butch Leals California Flash.

 

when i was about 11 over at assumption in illinois. also see my first realnice set of b**bs that night, ahhhh the memories
whitey