Anyone like racing?

[USMCDOC]

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Use to love drag racing. Not anymore it got too commercialized. The 60's and the 70's were the best times for the sport. I was lucky to be a gopher on Jim Wemett's nitro Mustang II and his later Corvette funny car in the summer of 76 and a few races in 77. That's when they use to have match races all the time and 32 funny car shows. There were something like 571 licensed nitro funny car drivers in the 70's and there were a ton of guy's mostly weekend warrior's who use to work all week at their regular job to get money to run their funny cars during the weekend or sometimes match races usually on a Wednesday night. All that is long gone. Some of these guy's were my hero's and here I am seeing them all the time like TV Tommy Ivo, Pee Wee Wallace, and Bruce Larson. We raced against Jungle Jim Liberman and his girlfriend Jungle Pam Hardy all the time and Jim was a wild man and such a great guy. Pam well she was HOT. Those halter tops and those hot pants and cut off jean shorts and sometimes those lace up high boots were a site to behold and she was 22 years old and I was 19 in 76. It was really sad when I heard that Jim got killed when his street Corvette plowed into a city bus in his hometown of West Chester, PA. in September of 77. Another driver that I was close too was the late Paul "Dodger" Glenn who drove the Frantic Ford Mustang II. He got killed in 78 when the car went off the end of the track at Maple Grove Raceway in PA and he crashed into some trees. I mean some of these guy's were nuts. Ivo especially when he was racing. I remember one time him and his crew members went inside of Al Segrini's trailer and took the body off his funny car and put it in the pool at the Hotel. OMG that was too funny. Al didn't think so. I found a few pictures of my Funny Car summer. First and 2nd pictures shows me on the left torqueing the right head at New England Dragway in Epping, NH in 76. 3rd picture is me seated in his Vette bodied car at Lebanon Valley Dragway in NY in 77 waiting to have the motor started to check it for leaks and to seat the clutch. Last picture is his Vette and my name at the bottom of the car which I thought was cool at the time. I'll tell you what. It was hard work, not what I expected, but I got to meet a lot of famous drag racers and it was worth it. View attachment 1172982 View attachment 1172982View attachment 1172982

i used to know Shirl Greer and his son Van.. used to hang out with Van when we were younger!

 

[Drop Port]

Used to drag race bikes, in a former life (late 80's through 2001). Wouldn't trade the experience for anything. My last bike was the 1400cc turbo Kaw KZ shown in the pic. It would run high 7's @ 167 -170 mph.....all day long.....if I did my part

Mike

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Did you ever run it at Riverhead?

 

[USMCDOC]

Nothing like Le Mans at night!

 

[AlNyhus]

One of my older race cars: '67 Camaro SS/IA

My current race car: '68 Chevy II, NHRA Stock Eliminator G/SA class. 327-275 combination.

 

[USMCDOC]

or how about the Bathhurst 1000 or the 12 hour

 

[Mikey_P]

Did you ever run it at Riverhead?

No, although I live in eastern PA, I never made it out to Long Island. Locally, I raced a lot over in NJ at Atco, Englishtown, and Island Dragway. Also, ran the Prostar races which covered pretty much all of the east coast, Gainesville, FL to Epping, NH and as far west as Indy. A lot of hard work but some great memories...

Mike

 

[Drop Port]

No, although I live in eastern PA, I never made it out to Long Island. Locally, I raced a lot over in NJ at Atco, Englishtown, and Island Dragway. Also, ran the Prostar races which covered pretty much all of the east coast, Gainesville, FL to Epping, NH and as far west as Indy. A lot of hard work but some great memories...

Mike

Nice, I'm sure you ran against a friend that built and raced at ATCO and Englishtown. He ran Suzuki based off stuff he could get his hands on and copy from Vance & Hines. Good times! we were more road race, lived near Jimmy Adamo (RIP). He was always willing to help and mentor. Can still hear his TZ-250 ripping through town!

 

[dedeadeye]

Next to hunting and shooting, drag racing was my early PASSION. Pictured here is my NHRA legal stock 57 Chevy. 283 inches bored .060 over with Duntoff cam and 2 4 barrels. Engines had to be to be built to factory specs and this was Chevys 270 horse version built by famed builder Lee Crupi of Reading, Pa. Car became an NHRA world record holder and the first to run in the 12 second bracket at over 100 mph. Really haulin back in the 1960’s. Never forget all the people I met running at the Great Meadows, Maple Grove, Englishtown, York, Cecil County, Pocono etc.etc etc. Sweeeet
Roger Gower
PS: I am the skinny guy in white shirt.

 

[Chuckhunter]

View attachment 1174046 Next to hunting and shooting, drag racing was my early PASSION. Pictured here is my NHRA legal stock 57 Chevy. 283 inches bored .060 over with Duntoff cam and 2 4 barrels. Engines had to be to be built to factory specs and this was Chevys 270 horse version built by famed builder Lee Crupi of Reading, Pa. Car became an NHRA world record holder and the first to run in the 12 second bracket at over 100 mph. Really haulin back in the 1960’s. Never forget all the people I met running at the Great Meadows, Maple Grove, Englishtown, York, Cecil County, Pocono etc.etc etc. Sweeeet
Roger Gower
PS: I am the skinny guy in white shirt.

You never told me you knew Buddy Holly!

 

[Medic505]

Nothing like Le Mans at night!

That's hypnotizing....even though the Mulsaane straight isn't all that straight anymore, it amazing how fast 3.7 miles flies by.

 

[USMCDOC]

That's hypnotizing....even though the Mulsaane straight isn't all that straight anymore, it amazing how fast 3.7 miles flies by.

yes.. in something like 3:20 minutes to complete a full lap.. that is 8.3 miles i think it is..!

 

[USMCDOC]

That's hypnotizing....even though the Mulsaane straight isn't all that straight anymore, it amazing how fast 3.7 miles flies by.

and what really impresses me is how fast they go through the Porsche curves now a days.. i would love to see a F1 race on the Circuit de la Sarthe

 

[dedeadeye]

You never told me you knew Buddy Holly!

Ya, knew Santana also

 

[Tricky5225]

This is what I did in the '70's. Picture was taken at the second Mile High Nationals in 1979.

 

[22turborimfire]

I grew up in a drag racing family . My father toyed with racing with a very limited career . Dad's brother continued forward while the average guy with alot of luck could afford to drag race . Here's a couple pictures of dad's brothers cars . . While I remember him starting in nitro in the late 60's it was a way of life work locally and race on weekends or during the season quit work for the season . While Pee Wee had a very good career in racing during the 60,70s and early 80's we where glad to see him stop . Pee Wee set many track records during his successful career was East coast champion 74,75 and 76 in division 1 in funny car for the North East. Here's just a couple of his cars . He built them wrenched them and drove them . During his career the majority of the car where named the Virginian , I do remember The Black Stang and the Alabamian also that he drove and wrenched.

 

[JimT]

Nothing like Le Mans at night!

True, true!! But it really should sound like this!!

 

[USMCDOC]

True, true!! But it really should sound like this!!

indeed!

 

[Daddymac]

Posted early on, but thought I would come back and post up a pic from the glory days. Yep, that's my noggin.


I believe it was Dick Trickle that said "Driving fast in a straight line isn't hard, it's turning around and going the other way that's hard."
Just a little racing humor, don't take it personal drag guys, always picked at my drag buddies that I drag race twice every lap with ten other guys.

 

[Medic505]

917's were beasts.

 

[USMCDOC]

917's were beasts.

When there was no chicane