Does anyone have a Time Machine?? - I want to go here...... (1 Viewer)

[Randy]

Here's a link to some of the cars that ran there back in the day.
Orange County International Raceway, Circa 1970. album | Drew Hierwarter | Fotki.com

Those are the cars that ran OCIR once in a while. How about the guys that ran EVERY weekend like me and Mike English? I was talking to Rick Schute (Auto Imagery) about the days of Drag Scoop Magazine, Johnnie's Speed and Chrome located under the grand stands and other memories of OCIR, like it was a track that had actual permanent rest rooms.

Everyone remembers the Last Drag Race at OCIR with the funny cars and all, but only the OCIR diehards remember that the following Saturday was the real "Last Drag Race." There were so many race cars there that the line just for bracket one, when called to the staging lanes, went all the way back to the Eucalyptus trees on the return road beyond the time slip booth/water hole. The finals for all brackets finally went off at almost 4:00 in the morning on Sunday...and then it was really all over.

I have a shoe box crammed full of my time slips with personal notes on them from the girls in the tower. As they wrote the slips they would wish you good luck, tell you what a great run you made or draw a smiley face or sad face on them depending on how you did. Some day I'll get million$ for them on eBay. LOL.

Randy

RG

 

[Mr. Jean]

It was only a link Randy, from 1970. There not mine either. We could take photo's and tell about it all, but as you well know, you had to be there.

We are the lucky ones, to have been there, lived there and most of all raced and made great friends there. I'm grateful for them all.

The closest I'll ever get to back then again, will be the 50th March Meet and I'm going.

PS... Notice mine wasn't in there either.

Look familiar?

 

[d'kid]

I'll always remember my first pass at the County.
Was a Wednesday night, Nov 72

Red lit, blew off the tires, missed the 2-3 throw and generally felt like an idiot. And the VW in the other lane was past me by the tree.

oh, well.

d'kid

 

[Randy]

I'll always remember my first pass at the County.
Was a Wednesday night, Nov 72

Red lit, blew off the tires, missed the 2-3 throw and generally felt like an idiot. And the VW in the other lane was past me by the tree.

oh, well.

d'kid

There was a guy out there with a white stock looking VW bug that had a mid engine 427 Chevy in it. He usually blew by most things. LOL.

My first pass was one evening on the return road when I was 15. Because I worked every day and night on my friends race car, and even though I was too young to have a drivers license, he let me do a long smokey burn out in it. Not too long after that he parked the car and I started hauling it out to the "County myself when I was old enough.

 

[Mike]

Randy, that was Sammy Boyd. Races super comp these days.

 

[Randy]

I gotta get a scanner so I can post some stuff.

Mary Langdon, Jessica and several others were usually in the tower writing the slips on the machine that transfered their penmanship to the time slip booth and on to time slips.

Mary still pops by my trailer at the races once in a while for a much needed hug.

RG

 

[Randy]

Check this out:

Remembering Orange County Int. Raceway

RG

 

[Sandy]

I've got some night time pictures I took from probably that same event. I used to get a press pass. I have a neat shot of the Radici and Wise FC shot from the rear quarter, staged at night, header flames and full grand stands in the back round. I have a day time shot of the Soapy Sales Duster completely sideways on a burn out with the rear slick tucked under the rim. I need to scan and post them.

You can see that was a later photo of OCIR as evidenced by the Perfect Circle win lights. Each side was a large compass lit up in neon and probably 25 or 30 feet tall not counting the pole. In the early days each lane had a huge "Mr. T" where the "T" lit up like a Las Vegas casino in the lane that won.

Mike English and I learned to duck when the marines drank too much. One night it was the marines against the bikers, or better yet, the pit side grand stands against the spectator side grand stands with beer bottles flying back and forth over the track. One guy got killed. Then there was the streaker that jumped out of the back of an El Camino near the starting line. He ran toward the finish line waving his hands and everything else loosely attached. The guy in the El Camino followed him as if to pick him up when he reached the finish line, but changed his mind at about half track and left for the pits leaving the streaker on his own. Instead of hitching a ride back in the El Camino, the streaker got a ride in a police car.

With all the stories out there, they could make a movie like "American Graffiti."

RG

Dont forget the guys at the top of the first set of bleachers betting the dollars. They were there like clockwork

 

[Nick Name]

Dont forget the guys at the top of the first set of bleachers betting the dollars. They were there like clockwork

That was the best place to sit. You got to see all the blower explosions and see the Beach City Corvette come by on fire again.

 

[coyotedale]

Randy,

you are so right about the regular bracket racers at the track. That was one outstanding track for local racing. My dad was Pres of Wilson Ford Drag Club up till 79 when we moved back east. Hardly a Wed or Sat went by that we were not there; for me it was my neighborhood as it was for a bunch of us other second gen types.

You should have seen the look on Ma Green's face when I told her about myself and Randy Whitcomb riding his 100 cc dirt bike in the sand trap at night; so dark they couldn't see us LOL.

There were a few times the local clubs would get together and rent the track for a few hours before the gates opened. Wilson Ford, OCBRA, South Bay Racing, etc. All would get together around 7 a.m. and have interclub racing. As a early teen punk, I got to write the time slips up in the tower,, pretty neat deal that machine was. A few times I got to play 'starter', along with working the waterbox, timeslip booth, etc.

Some great times at that place

 

[Toejam]

I always heard that OCIR was HUGE in drug traffic! The cops didn't look for drunks, they looked for Drugs! If that wasn't the case, that's just what I heard from someone that went there quite a bit around '75-'79.

 

[Randy]

I always heard that OCIR was HUGE in drug traffic! The cops didn't look for drunks, they looked for Drugs! If that wasn't the case, that's just what I heard from someone that went there quite a bit around '75-'79.

News to me. Of course, where weren't the drugs in the '70's, or today for that matter.

 

[unclebob]

Then there was the streaker
RG

Randy; over a two or three year period there were several streakers. One night we were at the north end against the rail of the top end "Non qualifiers/1st round losers club" grandstands, when this dude runs the entire track, then jumps the fence and comes over to the back of those stands where he has his clothes stashed between the consession stand and the bleachers, turned out it was a bad place! As he started to get his clothes, about 50 people started pouring beer and soda on him!

 

[Randy]

Randy; over a two or three year period there were several streakers. One night we were at the north end against the rail of the top end "Non qualifiers/1st round losers club" grandstands, when this dude runs the entire track, then jumps the fence and comes over to the back of those stands where he has his clothes stashed between the consession stand and the bleachers, turned out it was a bad place! As he started to get his clothes, about 50 people started pouring beer and soda on him!

That streaker didn't happen to also be a San Diego area chassis builder, too?

 

[d'kid]

I always heard that OCIR was HUGE in drug traffic! The cops didn't look for drunks, they looked for Drugs! If that wasn't the case, that's just what I heard from someone that went there quite a bit around '75-'79.

What?
All the fun happened while I was out of the Country? Got back to the World late 77. I'm gonna guess there was, but I think Huge is an overstatement... don't think there was more than anywhere else with a younger crowd during that time frame. You could say the same thing about the Big A, Knotts, or even the mouse house on a Friday or Saturday night.

d'kid

don't ask me about the candy dish on the living room coffee table at Tom & Larry's apartment next door to me. (and those guys wouldn't know a drag car if it was parked in the kitchen)

 

[meathead]

it wasnt 64 cars, but every year from the late 60's into the ealy 70's New England dragway would have its annual 32 funny car battles..... even now
I would love to see a 32 card field....

 

[Randy]

What?
All the fun happened while I was out of the Country? Got back to the World late 77. I'm gonna guess there was, but I think Huge is an overstatement... don't think there was more than anywhere else with a younger crowd during that time frame. You could say the same thing about the Big A, Knotts, or even the mouse house on a Friday or Saturday night.

d'kid

don't ask me about the candy dish on the living room coffee table at Tom & Larry's apartment next door to me. (and those guys wouldn't know a drag car if it was parked in the kitchen)

Well, I can say with 100% accuracy I was at OCIR every weekend it didn't rain from 1972 to 1983. I mean EVERY weekend. I was either racing my car or helping Mike Buonocore and Greg Oliver with theirs. If there was drug trafficking going on I must have been been in the staging lanes while they were under the bridge at the creek. I won't say some of it didn't take place, but this is news to me.

 

[Randy]

it wasnt 64 cars, but every year from the late 60's into the ealy 70's New England dragway would have its annual 32 funny car battles..... even now
I would love to see a 32 card field....

Go to the Bakersfield March Meet in a few weeks.

 

[James]

it wasnt 64 cars, but every year from the late 60's into the ealy 70's New England dragway would have its annual 32 funny car battles..... even now
I would love to see a 32 card field....

New England ran their 32 car show in standard elimination format, took 5 rounds to win. The cars that lost in the first or second round would come back to make consolation runs to get their three round booking fee. Made for one hell of a lot of Nitro FC racing in one day. The NED race didn't recieve the ink of some of the other big FC shows as most of the Drag press was located in the West.

 

[Mike]

Joe, I'm with Randy on the drug deal. I spent a lot of weekends at OCIR in the 60's, 70's and 80's chasing the points for the track title and I dont remember the drug deal at all. Keep in mind that there is a lot of stuff in the 70's that I dont remember(LOL)


BUT! I sure do remember the FOX HUNTS and the naked women but thats another story.