Bristol

[Cliff]

Following Bristol on line. Noted race conditions; temp 89, humidity 50%, track temp 135. Arghhh Just for yuks & grins, in Phoenix it is 109 "feels like 113", 7% humidity. Tue is supposed to be our killer day, forcast of 119 or 120 (pick one).

By the way, note that I'm NOT saying who won which round.

 

[SundayNiagara]

Glad I'm not there.

 

[junglevsbrutus]

Following Bristol on line. Noted race conditions; temp 89, humidity 50%, track temp 135. Arghhh Just for yuks & grins, in Phoenix it is 109 "feels like 113", 7% humidity. Tue is supposed to be our killer day, forcast of 119 or 120 (pick one).

By the way, note that I'm NOT saying who won which round.

Cliff, was there a rain delay? I'm just seeing the TF semi's at NHRA.com, 1:40 in Calif.
Going by your comment we are not to discuss race results here, right?
Well, I'll just say that the TF final is an ideal pairing for my tastes and I'll be very happy w/ either winner!

 

[Cliff]

Yes they had a rain delay. I'm following Drag Race Central for results. Whoever wins this race earns it! Oh, I was kinda kidding about not posting results, but a couple of Maters said they wanna watch the race on delay & I spoiled it for them. So, I ain't sayin' nuthin".

 

[junglevsbrutus]

Yes they had a rain delay. I'm following Drag Race Central for results. Whoever wins this race earns it! Oh, I was kinda kidding about not posting results, but a couple of Maters said they wanna watch the race on delay & I spoiled it for them. So, I ain't sayin' nuthin".

Yeah, yeah, we'll just tease 'em w/ bits of inconclusive notes, right?
TF will clearly be the most exciting final but the other 2 aren't bad either.
Regarding Bristol itself, I've been wanting to go there since it opened. I was a wee lad when I saw a gorgeous color panoramic in Drag Racing Magazine, taken at the inaugural event, the '65 NHRA Springnationals. The view was from the top of the 4 story tower looking towards the finish line, w/ big green mountains surrounding the shut off area. I groaned when NHRA left in '68 and AHRA took charge. Then in '71, Bristol founder Larry Carrier decided to be 100% responsible (meaning no $ pie to split!) for the events by creating IHRA. Some of those early IHRA events featured the biggest names in FC. You may recall the Aug. '71 All-American Bristol event where Jungle Jim and the Blue Max-Tharp switched lanes after their burnouts by making U turns at mid track—2 of my all time favorite FCs having some silly fun in the middle of a serious national event!

 

[Cliff]

The "old" Bristol was different from the one there now. Used to have a shut down area that curved to the right. Never been there, but saw lotsa TV with IHRA at Bristol. Remember Don Prudhomme won T/F there with that front engined Ford SOHC engine, 1967. Ran 6.90's, which was pretty quick then.

 

[Cliff]

Aaron Stanfield won T/D, running 6.30's. His father is former Pro/S racer Greg Stanfield, who was runner up in S/S. Glad Greg is still racing. He had retired from Pro/S & I'd thought he had quit driving. Aaron raced a bit in Pro/S as well, was a good driver.

 

[junglevsbrutus]

The "old" Bristol was different from the one there now. Used to have a shut down area that curved to the right. Never been there, but saw lotsa TV with IHRA at Bristol. Remember Don Prudhomme won T/F there with that front engined Ford SOHC engine, 1967. Ran 6.90's, which was pretty quick then.

Yeah, I used to think that curved shut down area was such a neat thing as a kid. I grew up on a dead end street and we used to have Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle drags. The finish line was a manhole halfway up the street. Then—just like Bristol—it curved to the right at the top of the block. So of course, I pretended we were racing at Bristol.

Regarding the '67 Springnationals, NHRA's last visit to Bristol for several decades, did you know it hosted NHRA's second ever FC eliminator? Between the '66 World Finals and '69 Winternationals NHRA offered 3 FC eliminator titles. The 3rd event to host a FC eliminator was the '67 Nationals, won by Doug Thorley's gorgeous Corvair.

Getting back to the '67 Springnationals at Bristol, the FC winner was Tommy Grove in his '66 Holman-Moody stretched Mustang. It was the blue and gold metalflake "Ford Charger" which today's fans might find amusing. But the actual Dodge Charger also debuted in '66 so the name wasn't so closely associated w/ the fastback Dodge just yet. Anyway, Grove beat the STP Cougar in the final. The short field also included the Comets of Dyno Don, Eddie Schartman, Jack Chrisman and Kenz & Leslie. Plus, the Calif. Flash and Lime Fire Cudas, Tasca Ford Mustang and maybe a few more. The amazing thing about Grove's win was that he was also the Competition Eliminator champion at the '66 Springnationals-----driving the very same Mustang!

 

[Cliff]

Yeah, I think my Garlits story was the Grand Premiere, but maybe 1973, the year that John Stewart beat Big round one. Stewart was like 17 years old & it was a hugh upset. I have another Garlits story, but this one was scary. I was at Lions in 1970 when Garlits had the accident that cut his car in 1/2 and took off part of his right foot.That scared me bad; thought Garlits had been killed. I was in the spectator stands, top row, & it happened right in front of me. One year later, I read in Drag News that Garlits has built a "back motor" car. He came to Lions with that car & everyone thought he was nuts. Rear engined cars never went straight. Garlits slowed the steering & the car worked. He got runnerup at that meet. Oh yeah I was there! Went to Pomona & Garlits won there, then Bakersfield. A year later everyone was running rear engine cars. Tragedy to Triumph....

 

[junglevsbrutus]

Yeah, I think my Garlits story was the Grand Premiere, but maybe 1973, the year that John Stewart beat Big round one. Stewart was like 17 years old & it was a hugh upset. I have another Garlits story, but this one was scary. I was at Lions in 1970 when Garlits had the accident that cut his car in 1/2 and took off part of his right foot.That scared me bad; thought Garlits had been killed. I was in the spectator stands, top row, & it happened right in front of me. One year later, I read in Drag News that Garlits has built a "back motor" car. He came to Lions with that car & everyone thought he was nuts. Rear engined cars never went straight. Garlits slowed the steering & the car worked. He got runnerup at that meet. Oh yeah I was there! Went to Pomona & Garlits won there, then Bakersfield. A year later everyone was running rear engine cars. Tragedy to Triumph....

Cliff, I'm going to move your story over to the Photography, Art, etc. thread and reply there.
That way this Bristol thread can remain about Bristol (current or historical). Thanks!

 

[Reese]

Aaron Stanfield won T/D, running 6.30's. His father is former Pro/S racer Greg Stanfield, who was runner up in S/S. Glad Greg is still racing. He had retired from Pro/S & I'd thought he had quit driving. Aaron raced a bit in Pro/S as well, was a good driver.

Aaron runs super stock and Top Dragster(I think he finished #4 in the world). Greg still build motors and the camaro he was driving is for Stephan Bell. Greg built the motor and it was a stocker running super stock class this pass weekend. Stephan and David Barton were trying to be the first stocker in the 7's late last year but no luck so far. Trying to break 7 seconds on a 9 inch tire is pretty impressive.