Return to the "good ol days" of drag racing??? (1 Viewer)

[J.C.]

The economy stinks and it will only get worse in the coming years. We americans have dug ourselves into a deep hole of debt that will take years to get out of.

That said, does anybody remember when drag racing was a hobby and those of us that participated did so purely out of our love of racingand going fast????

- We built our drag cars ourselves, either modifying a street car or maybe even having a chassis builder get us started with a chassis. You couldn't purchase a turn-key race car unless you were born with a silver spoon.

- We paid for our car as we built it. I knew of nobody that financed a race car with credit cards, home equity loans, etc...

- We built our engines ourselves. We purchased the parts from our local speedshop, used the local machine shop and put em together ourselves. We learned what worked and didn't work through trial and error. I don't recall being able to purchase a mail-order turn-key engine for any amount of money.

- We either drove our race car to the track, flat-towed it behind our daily driver or, if we really saved, got an open trailer and proudly hauled it out in the open. Enclosed trailers were for the few real professionals that raced full-time for a living.

- We stayed at cheap hotels and had a blast packing 8 or 10 or 12 of us in a single room. Bathroom sink made a great parts washer. No $500k motor coaches for us to stay at the track in.

- Sponsorships consisted of free oil and maybe a little gas money or entry fees. Our cars were all painted to match our personality and didn't have a single corporate logo on them.

Hey, I'm only 48 years old and already talking about the good old days, lol. Just sitting here reminiscing about how we raced 20-30 years ago and have a big ol' smile on my face. Maybe it's time for drag racing to go back to it's roots and the only people competing are the ones that love drag racing for nothing more than the thrill of it. We used our own hard earned money to do it and enjoyed every second of it.

I, for one, would be tickled pink to see drag racing return to it's most basic level and might even be able to afford to compete again.

Just my thoughts for the day....

 

[Mooseman]

You could do that in any class of drag racing today , from a street car to top fuel , every part you need is fully available for the public to purchase . It just depends on what you want to race and how commited you want to be and how much you wan't to spend .

 

[Toejam]

JC I think plenty of Sportsman racers still operate that way out of necessity simply because they are on a budget. Pro racers well that's a different story.

 

[Mooseman]

I just don't understand why people seem to need to take their house to the races , its like people think big trailers and motorhomes are a necesity . I can understand the big trailers and stuff in the pro ranks with all the stuff they have to carry but its seems a bit much for anything less then top alcohol .

 

[Mouse]

That's the way i race.

 

[J.C.]

JC I think plenty of Sportsman racers still operate that way out of necessity simply because they are on a budget. Pro racers well that's a different story.

Joe - Did you check out the sportsman pits at a national event the past few years? $100k S/C dragsters hauled to the track with $500k haulers and trailers seemed to be "the standard". It turned into a "who could spend/borrow the most and look the best" rather than "let's race and have fun". Most of these "racers" wouldn't know what a piston or cam looked like, they bought their engine "turn key" via mail order and ran em until they broke then shipped em back to the shop.

That was my point, it didn't use to be that way. We used to race what we could afford (today, not on money borrowed against future) when we could afford it.

See you at Phoenix in a 12 days ?

 

[SAS]

In the mid 70's at New England Dragway, most of the Funny Cars would show up on the top of a roll back open truck. And even at the 32 car Funny Car Nationals, very few had enclosed trailers. When the real Big guys like Garlits showed up his car was in a simple trailer being towed by a pickup, driven by Don. With lower costs, there were more cars.
At speeds of 225 or 250, they were safer, and every bit as exciting

 

[Raconteur]

JC, the closest to what you seek can be found at Auto Club Famoso Raceway at the 51st Annual March Meet... March 6 - 8, 2009. And there will be more nitro cars there than at the Pomona Winternationals!

 

[Toejam]

Joe - Did you check out the sportsman pits at a national event the past few years? $100k S/C dragsters hauled to the track with $500k haulers and trailers seemed to be "the standard". It turned into a "who could spend/borrow the most and look the best" rather than "let's race and have fun". Most of these "racers" wouldn't know what a piston or cam looked like, they bought their engine "turn key" via mail order and ran em until they broke then shipped em back to the shop.

That was my point, it didn't use to be that way. We used to race what we could afford (today, not on money borrowed against future) when we could afford it.

See you at Phoenix in a 12 days ?

J.C. yes I will in Phx next weekend. As for your comment, Your always going to have the high end racers in any class! But there are plenty of S/C-S/G and down racers that have a 28 ft. trailer that's over 20 years old towing with a Pick-up or Dually. Not every Super class racer has a $20,000 motor that I will bet.

 

[Super Mod]

That's the way i race.

Which part? Staying at cheap motels. There are more motorhomes in the sportsman pits than there are in most state parks.

These are the good old days.

 

[GregM784]

I race on the cheap. No credit cards on the car. If i can't swing it, it doesn't happen. I have an enclosed trailer, but i sleep on the floor of the trailer when i race. make friends with the big RV guys and wala, you have a shower!

Eating hot dogs and cup a soup, but driving a blown alcohol FED!

 

[blackbeard]

Joe - Did you check out the sportsman pits at a national event the past few years? $100k S/C dragsters hauled to the track with $500k haulers and trailers seemed to be "the standard". It turned into a "who could spend/borrow the most and look the best" rather than "let's race and have fun". Most of these "racers" wouldn't know what a piston or cam looked like, they bought their engine "turn key" via mail order and ran em until they broke then shipped em back to the shop.

That was my point, it didn't use to be that way. We used to race what we could afford (today, not on money borrowed against future) when we could afford it.

See you at Phoenix in a 12 days ?

well aside from the blinding generalizations there, all i will say is, if you can afford to buy a hauler, why sleep in the back of a pickup? doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Toejam]

Lets face it, racers will do whatever it takes to compete. The only racers who have those $150,000 Motorhomes are the ones who can afford them. I took this pic at Phoenix last year!

 

[preacher]

Lets face it, racers will do whatever it takes to compete. The only racers who have those $150,000 Motorhomes are the ones who can afford them. I took this pic at Phoenix last year!

We have a couple of teams that have the same rigs for thier kids Jr. Dragsters, one only commutes about 30 miles

I'm not sure what it's teaching thier kids but my 8 year old who races asked "when we were going to get one "

 

[Mooseman]

Lol Its funny comparing racing here in new zealand to racing in america , here in new zealand not many people have motorhomes and nobody gets paid anything to race

 

[HEMI6point1]

I don't know about anyone here but that's a pretty damn impressive rig! Talk about hauling in comfort! Probably is a handful around sharp turns, though.

 

[mw6789]

Oh well, money seems to screw up everything (especially if you dont have a lot). Several years ago, I was passing the dirt track in West Plains Mo. They were having a big IMCA race (you know, the starter class for dirt trackers). They were hauling these "cheap" race cars with tractor trailers and toter homes. Go to any NHRA points meet and as someone said earlier there are more motorhomes than at a park (more EXPENSIVE ones also). My new dually and 30 ft aluminum enclosed was a nice rig when I got it four years ago, but now it is a piece of junk compared to most in the pits. Makes me wonder what in the h*ll some of these folks do for a living...and what am I doing wrong???

 

[J.C.]

Oh well, money seems to screw up everything (especially if you dont have a lot). Several years ago, I was passing the dirt track in West Plains Mo. They were having a big IMCA race (you know, the starter class for dirt trackers). They were hauling these "cheap" race cars with tractor trailers and toter homes. Go to any NHRA points meet and as someone said earlier there are more motorhomes than at a park (more EXPENSIVE ones also). My new dually and 30 ft aluminum enclosed was a nice rig when I got it four years ago, but now it is a piece of junk compared to most in the pits. Makes me wonder what in the h*ll some of these folks do for a living...and what am I doing wrong???

Your rig is probably paid for. They probably owe about twice what their stuff is worth today. I used to have a bumper sticker on my first car, it said "don't laugh, it's paid for". Still rings true today for me, lol.


BTW - I don't see that rig being legal in most of the 50 states, waay tooo long. Probably playing the "registered as RV" game and that won't work in most states anymore.

 

[Mooseman]

Oh well, money seems to screw up everything (especially if you dont have a lot). Several years ago, I was passing the dirt track in West Plains Mo. They were having a big IMCA race (you know, the starter class for dirt trackers). They were hauling these "cheap" race cars with tractor trailers and toter homes. Go to any NHRA points meet and as someone said earlier there are more motorhomes than at a park (more EXPENSIVE ones also). My new dually and 30 ft aluminum enclosed was a nice rig when I got it four years ago, but now it is a piece of junk compared to most in the pits. Makes me wonder what in the h*ll some of these folks do for a living...and what am I doing wrong???

Don't worry about that man , just shows those guys where they should really spend there money and woop their butts on the track , whats that old saying you dont race trailers

 

[FABMAN]

I remember racing mid to late 70's most races paid 1000.00 to win not to many enclosed trailer mostly open, hell it was cool to show off your car to the public, it really drew the looks and thumbs up. Heck Drag Racers were paid good, stock cars maybe a hundred to win and trophy, and a wrecked car. Long haul to Bryon Ill for a big race Labor Day 25k to win. Trace Atkins song "Your Gonna Miss This"
says it all.