22 replies to this topic

[Dave Crevie]

My heart cries for all the younger guys who never had the chance to experience the car culture that blossomed after the Second World War.
 
The nostalgia events being held these days just can't replicate the aura of hot rodding in the three decades that followed that war.
 
The all in competition, the taunting, having that special girl riding shotgun as you took on the hot shoes.
 
They were the showdowns of the old west, only with bigger, more powerful weapons. 
 
Time Travel to a ’60s Dragstrip on Your Lunch Break
 

[Martin]

Great video, Dave. Thanks for sharing.

[Bill from NH]

Nice video, Dave!

 

Growing up in Maine, we had two dragstrips (Sanford Airport & Winterport) as well as numerous small ovals. I didn't participate at any of them. In the late '50s and '60s, I became very interested in cars through my model building and the many automotive magazines on the newsstand at the time.

 

Thanks for sharing this video.

[Bill Seitz]

Dave's from the right part of the world to likely remember Lion's Drag Strip. I've very limited exposure to drag racing and hot rods, my interest was sports car road racing, but my uncle took me to Lion's a couple times. In later years I've learned about Lion's place in drag racing history and acknowledge my fortune to have witnessed what little drag racing I've experienced at that hallowed ground.

[Dave Crevie]

Dave's from the right part of the world to likely remember Lion's Drag Strip. 

 

Right. But it wasn't the only one back then. And of course, there was the "street is neat" crowd. Some history on Lions:

 

 

I'm from the Chicago area, but with relatives on the west coast, I had the luck of spending a lot of time out there. I got to see hot rodding on both side of the Mississippi. Proof it was going on everywhere.

[Dave Crevie]

The time of our lives.

 

[Bill from NH]

I haven't seen a live drag race in 25 or 30 years. I used to live closer to New England Dragway in Epping, NH. I got to see Tommy Ivo and a bunch of other top funny cars of the day.

 

The last race I attended was a night race for jet-powered Peterbilt trucks. It was amazing to see something that big go well over 250 MPH. They ran one at a time in exhibition runs. At the starting line, they acted like the world's largest leaf blower. At the 1/4 mile mark, they sounded like a freight train.

[Phil Hackett]

It's ironic that everyone In Socal, at the time, longs for Lions Drag Strip but never says anything about Orange County Raceway "just down the road". Both were victims of the land being more valuable than being a drag strip.

 

Lions was and is owned by the Port of Los Angeles and they needed the property to expand the port for containerized cargo operations. Orange County was over run by the southward expansion of Irvine's business district.

[Dave Crevie]

Many tracks of the 1950's and 60's were built on leased land. As soon as the owners saw how much the property was worth to the housing developers, the leases were terminated. In the case of Lions, the track was built by the Lions Club on leased land that had great commercial value, and they were given the boot.   

[Phil Hackett]

Lions Drag Strip today (2024).... taken from Google Maps. It's quite clear where Lions was. I wonder if the neighbors of the rail yard wish the old drag strip were back. I doubt many 1970's residents are still there (much less alive).

 

[Dave Crevie]

Some snippets from the nostalgia drags at Byron, a somewhat local strip near Chicago.

 

 

The dragstrip doesn't actually run downhill. Just an optical illusion created by the camera angle. The shutdown area does run uphill, which adds to the confusion.

[Bill from NH]

There are some neat cars in this video, Dave.

[Dave Crevie]

They were neat times. How lucky I was to have grown up then. I wish nostalgia drags could gain the same popularity as vintage racing. The X, Y, and Z'ers should have the opportunity to experience it.

[Tom Eatherly]

Lions was awesome. As was Irwindale Raceway and OCIR. All gone. Many a good/fun day at Lions.

[Dave Crevie]

Let's not forget the track at the L.A County Fairgrounds. Home of the NHRA Winternationals for years. 

 

 

[Dave Crevie]

Here ya go guys. Some old films from Orange County International ,  The quality is not great, but the memories are;

 

https://youtu.be/uv7...wxz-2tMd4&t=206

 

https://youtu.be/SfR...VxJlG8GHUK8DOIP

[Bill from NH]

Those two videos show a good variety of drag vehicles. Thanks for posting the Dave.

[Dave Crevie]

My pleasure. I was so lucky to be growing up back then. Just think. Back in the days when you could walk right up to cars idling in the staging lane, imagine being a 15 year old, immersed in the sights and sounds of that sport. I can watch these old movies for hours. 

[Dave Crevie]

Some old video from U. S. 131 Dragaway. A little blurry, but good enough to bring back some old memories of forgotten names and cars, like Shake, Rattle and Run and Kohler Brothers. 

 

https://youtu.be/gjt...edEYyCqrus9FAIq

 

This track was directly across Lake Michigan from Chicago.

[Bill from NH]

Nice video of still photos & some of actual drag racing Dave. It was amazing how quick some of these cars came off the line. A few of the cars I recalled from reading the old drag magazines, but many were new to me also. Thanks for sharing. One of the most unique drag strips I attended was located west of Spokane, WA, maybe in Airway Heights. They had a 1/4 mi. strip & a 3/8 mi paved oval separated by a mound of earth. They held special drag events, but weekly on Sat. nights they ran both tracks at the same time. One ticket got you in to see both events. If you got bored watching one event, you walked over the mound to see what was happening on the other side. This was about 40 years ago when my brother was stationed at Fairchild AFB.

[Dave Crevie]

What do you do on your days off while in the Army? This.

 

https://youtu.be/loW...pKqBcy065QfJGX-

[mike1972chev]

I still have hope of getting my drag machine back up, and running again soon...     

[Dave Crevie]

Found this little video. Thought it did a pretty good job of telling the story of the people we came to call "back-up girls". These were mostly wives and girlfriends of the racers. And though most would not be considered supermodels, they performed a function that added to the sport of drag racing. They deserve to be honored. 

 

https://youtu.be/fxq...ePm5pDnWMRCm882

 

 

Then there was back-up girl extraordinaire, Jungle Pam Hardy, sidekick to Jungle Jim.;

 

https://youtu.be/Gqe...xHS1rYl7YpgILTv

 

 

I was lucky enough to have a pretty hot girlfriend during my street racing period. She didn't directly serve any purpose with car prep, but she would dress very scantily, and wander around among the other racers, distracting them, asking dumb questions, and keeping them from working on their cars. I was used to seeing her dressed like that, so I spent my time between races changing jets and timing, trying to squeeze that last bit of speed out of my car. Worked pretty well in that capacity.