Mario Andretti drove a dragster once......

[Cliff]

Mario Andretti says he'd have loved to try Top Fuel; well, we have this photo ...

As a guest on a recent FOX iRacing broadcast of a dirt-track race that included NHRA star Ron Capps, motor-racing superstar Mario Andretti said he'd have loved to try Top Fuel. He didn't but he did drive one of Mickey Thompson's dragsters, and we have the photo to prove it.

www.nhra.com

 

[TopFuel@Lions]

He took a ride with Mary Rife in the "Proud Mary" Blown Fuel Hydroplane at Long Beach marine Stadium, I was there, think he was passenger on a 180+ ride.



[email protected] Gary Scow's the "Beast at Long Beach Marine Stadium..the Lions of water drag strips!

 

[Skip]

That ride Mario took in the "Proud Mary" had to be one of the scariest things that he ever did. It scared me, standing there and watching it. A local DJ by the name of Machine Gun Kelly also took a ride, but that might of been in Bill Harrison's Hemi Engineering Special. That was around 45 years ago. Wow, time fly's.

Saw Gary Scow take one of the worst crashes that I have ever seen at Marine Stadium. The boat went upside down at about 190+ and flew. It landed upside down with Scow still sitting in the seat. Open cockpit, no capsule boat. He got hurt, but managed to survive.

 

[mgty3whlr]

Doing 50 mph on the water is fast. I can't imagine what 180+ is like.

 

[Butch]

The last time I saw Mary Rife in Proud Mary was when she and Jack Ostrander in The Guzzler raced at Columbiaville, MI. That was the run Jack crashed at the top end. Aug 78 ?

 

[TopFuel@Lions]

Gary Scow was one of the first if not thee first to run 200mph. What was so dad gum cool back then at Long Beach Marine Stadium is how they would launch the boats in the pits, then fire up and at some point just gas 'er up and haul the mail to the holding rope. Dennis Pollacha was a friggin' animal when it came to do that.


TopFuel@Lions..... or Dwight Warner in the "Nitemare" workin' over the Blown Fuel Flatbottom division.
or Joe Babel in the "Running Bare" Unblown Fuel Hydro at Long Beach Marine Stadium!

 

[Butch]

Yep now days they have too dam much down time with towing out to the holding rope. Used to be fun seeing who
could do what we called a burnout heading to the rope. I remember a BFF stuffing the bow heading to the rope.

 

[Skip]

What was better at Marine Stadium? Watching the races, or watching the girls? You guys are making me feel really old with these Long Beach topics. 1965 to about 1975 had some of the best drag racing ever. It was a sport back then, now, it is a business. Sure kept a lot of young people out of trouble, working on cars and or boats.

 

[TopFuel@Lions]

Skip, boy o boy were the ladies plentifull and way attractive! My brother worked for the ambulance company that was contracted for the races and I got in free a lot. When they would have the NDBA Nationals in August the pits were closed to the fans but I was in there as a employee of the ambulance firm...…..cough cough.

Once again the ladies were epic. A race around 73 we were there for the weekend. We met some "slightly" buzzed gals, partied with them till the end of the races, then asked em if they wanted to go to Irwindale for the Funny Car races that night. They were all in. They/us, really had a great night at Irwindale. When we left the track that Sat night, we/them had more than a slight buzz, they said they would see us on Sunday for the Drag Boats, they were almost no-shows as they had hangovers, looked a little worse for the wear. At about 3 they were ready for adult beverages and we had a great time. Next time we saw em at the boat drags, they had boyfriends, dang! Bummer, they were knockouts and were stupid hot in their bikinis.


[email protected] how it was to be young and able to recover after adult beverage saturation,lol