How did you become interested in drag racing? (1 Viewer)

[Hutch]

l've been interested in drag racing since 1965, while serving as a Medic with the Royal Air Force in Libya. l was looking for something to read and on the front of a magazine titled "Hot Rod," which l had never seen before was a funny looking car with skinny pram wheels on the front and big fat tyres on the back, which was a typical front-engined dragster, after reading the mag l was hooked. In 1971 l began working as a track official for the National Drag Racing Club (the NDRC didn't have a permanent drag-strip), at Blackbushe airport, RAF North Luffenham & Elvington when Dennis Priddle & Clive Skilton were the big names in drag racing.

On leaving the RAF in 1971 l joined the North East Hot Rod Association (NEHRA) in Newcastle Upon Tyne, we held monthly eighth mile drag races at Felton, Northumberland. They were Run What Ya Brung events for cars and motorcycles.

Then l started going to events at Santa Pod Raceway (can't remember the year - Priddle ran the first 6) , when it was owned/run by Roy Phelps. When Shakespeare County Raceway opened l also started going there.

l've been friends with an American family since 1977, they live in Youngstown, Ohio. l've stayed with them several times on my holidays to America. Buddy qualified his AA/D dragster for the 1960 Detroit Nationals. He designed his car on Ivo's single-engined car. He's a member of the Road Knights Of Ohio, there 50th Anniversary was in 2005, according to the NSRA they're one of Top Ten oldest street rod clubs in America. There club garage is in a predominantly black area of town, but they've never been burgled in 50 years. l'm still very enthusiastic about drag racing, last year l only managed to attend one British meeting as l spent approx. £2000 on an American holiday (my fourteenth since 1978) in May to visit my American friends in Youngstown, Ohio. l also attended the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway, near Columbus where Tony Schumacher driving the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster set a new national speed record of 336.15 mph.

 

[rollemup]

.........I was fortunate enough to live across the street from Larry Dixon Sr in the late sixties and early seventies so naturally me and Larry Jr would hang out in the garage watching Dixon Sr work on his hot rod, I was hooked from there on and have been ever since

 

[Jer]

Was born into it,dad was racing a 10 sec car. Just wish it got to the pro level hehe

 

[BlueStangGT]

My intro to drag racing was actually drag boats. One of my friend's father built motors for several and was the head wrench for the Blown Fuel Hydro called Shazam. He'd would take us to the races in Oklahoma City back in the 70's.

 

[MM]

born into it.....my dad and grandfather were racing funny cars long before i was born

 

[The Counterfeiter]

One of my neighbors when I was in Jr. High was Herb "Mr. 4 Speed" McCandless. Used to make a pest out of myself hanging around (the pest part hasn't changed!). Herb invited a friend and me to a race - been totally hooked for 45 years!

 

[Mooseman]

I became interested in drag racing by being interested in another sport actually , every year here in wanganui they do time trials on the river for the grand prix hydroplanes and since its free to watch id go down and walk around the pits and usually sit next to the methanol tanks and watch the boats in action . Earlier this year I started an automotive course and I had to find somewhere to do work experiance once a week , so I went and asked the guy who builds the engines for the local grand prix hydroplane team if I could do work experiance at his shop and he said yes . When i started work experiance I realised that this guys passion was drag racing , he had an alcohol funny car that he raced sitting in one corner of the shop and the walls were covered in drag racing posters . I was only doing work experiance there for a couple of months because once the seasons ended he didnt really have much for me to do , but it was being there that got me interested in drag racing.

 

[Joker]

When I was born my dad was hot and heavy into the racing scene and still is to this day so I was pretty much raised at a drag strip.

 

[Rich]

I lived in California for a few years in the 60's when I was a kid. When I was seventh or eighth grade I had a couple of buddies that used to like to go the local dragstip to watch the races. And even know Laguna Seca wasn't too far away, I just prefered the drag racing to road courses and went to the drag races whenever I could. When my family moved back to Washington State in 1969 I continued watching races in Spokane. But it was only after I moved to the Seattle area in the early 1980's that I saw my first NHRA national event. Since moving to my present location in 2003 I've also come to appreciate and enjoy watching the 410 and 360 sprint car races at our local dirt track. Even so, I wouldn't think of missing the NHRA Northwest Nationals or some of the Lucas Oil events.

 

[.]

I wasn’t born into it like others on here, I had to wait until junior, senior high school. I had a few friends who were into it and once they were able to afford their own cars they started actually racing instead of just watching. I would go to the track with these guys whenever I had the chance and it just snowballed from there.

 

[Suzanne]

My dad loved all kinds of racing. Lucky for us kids, my dad also enjoyed taking us with him. Motorcross, Speedway Bikes, Drag Racing, Boat Drags, and even went to the defunct California Speedway in Ontario a few times to see Nascar. We frequented, Costa Mesa Speedway, OCIR, Lions, Long Beach Marina, Ascot Park. My dad is gone now, best times I spent with him!

 

[Demon]

I've liked cars as long as I can remember,and my Dad was into cars,but he started drag racing in 1970,and that's how it started for me.

 

[fotoboy]

Had a bunch of rice when I was in HS and then found out what my mom and dad had when they were young! My mom had a late 60's Impala ss, and among some of the cars my dad had was a 63 split fi Vette. So i decided no more rice and bought a 69 Camaro 396 whn I was 22 and it was all over from there.

 

[cstarns]

I grew up in San Diego in the 60s and 70s. There was all types of racing going on every weekend within about a 25 mile radius. We had pavement circle track (Cajon Speedway), dirt track (Speedway 117 including World of Outlaws, Moto Cross, ATVs) and drag racing. They used to run eight mile drags at the SD Stadium parking lot and then there was Carlsbad. When I was 16, we used to go up there on Saturday nights and we always smuggled one of our buddies in the trunk. A year or so later I would run my 12 second small block 4 speed 68 Chevelle. More than once I had to pay a tow truck to haul it back to my home 25 miles away in Pacific Beach with a broken rear end. (I thought that I knew how to set up a 12 bolt... obviously I didn't)
With the exception of SD Stadium, all of those venues are long gone. There is an eith mile track at Barona Indian Reservation. San Diego could certainly use a quarter mile and a sand drag track, but with the price of land here in SD, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Dave]

My cousin did some writing for Super Stock magazine and other publications. He also did photography work for Milan and Detroit dragways. I would get press credentials with him for the IHRA National events and help him out on the starting line. I've been hooked ever since. I've been attending for 30+ years. However It's just not the same from the stands as it was from the starting line!

 

[onfire]

At the time, my soon to be brother-in-law had a 57 Chevy convertible he ran in H/S at the local 1/8th mile track in '66 and I always went with him/them. A year or so later, I walked in on something my sister and he were in the middle of, and needless to say, I was granted pretty much anything I wanted to keep my silence. What I wanted was my first trip to INDY in 1967. Having said that, a little blackmail is not necessarily a bad thing!!!!!

Late.......................Mitch

 

[vegasnitro]

My dad is a big fan, and he would take me as a kid. As I got older and we moved out west, our passion got bigger. From 1997-2003 we attended every event at Pomona, Phoenix and Vegas.