The First Time I .......
 

Remember the first time you ran down the strip ?
First time you trophied ?
First engine build ?
First time you failed tech ?
First "real" racecar ?
Any "first time " relevant to the topic of drag racing.

(no pit girl stories please)

Share your pics and stories with readers that can relate.

Re: The First Time I .......
 

First engine build: age 16

Engine: 396/325 big block out of friend's 1967 Chevelle SS. Stock rebuild w/hi-po (I forget the specs!) solid lifter cam added. :)

Place: Auto shop - New Brunswick Technical & Vocational High School.

M68

Re: The First Time I .......
 

Great thread. I had been a Drag Rat since I was 8 yrs old, my brother had initiated me with Jr Stocker, so I thought I was pretty smart when I attended my first race,with my 1970 Mach 1 390 cubic in. 3speed auto street car. My blood pressure was pounding through my head when I pre staged and stage all at once, I was ready, rev the engine just right, lights come down, and bang I step on the throttle, Oops I forgot to put in gear! Lucky for me the car next to me was trying to dig itself to China, so back in gear and Wamo I'm an addict for the rest of my life. CR

Re: The First Time I .......
 

Whats wrong with pit girls, Charlie??
There used to be a girl at old Puyallup Raceway Park in the early '70s that would dress up the then hand written ET slips with little smiley faces and hearts on them for me. We celebrated our 35th anniversary earlier this year! Of course, I've always told her the reason I really married her was that she made better fried chicken than my mom and could drive a stick shift,,, I had my priorities!
Danny Durham

Re: The First Time I .......
 

THAT is a great life story.

You already know I am trying to avoid an "R" rating. :)

Fried chicken better than mom's?

NO way to pass that up!!!!!

Re: The First Time I .......
 

Irvington Nebraska,1963, Stock Model A ,one other car in class , VW bug. I won a foot tall trophy. 21 seconds and change,15 years before I won another one,go figure.

Re: The First Time I .......
 

Oh boy do I remember the first engine we built in high school automotive shop class...lets just say things didn't go too good, It was a GM product anyways, lol. :confused:

Re: The First Time I .......
 

:eek::eek: The first time I won money at a Drag Race was in 1973. I had a street driven 1971 Torino 500 with a 302 and C-4. I was at Puyallup Raceway just making a few runs with my buddies (they had faster cars). That night I was approached by officials and asked if my car was stock. I told them "stock as a rock", the only mods are the Cragar S/S mags and nice tires. Well they said they needed another car for the stock super/stock combo and would I like to enter. I said "O.K. sure what do I do". Let's get your car classified and then you make a run to qualify.
Here's the fun part. My car is classified as an O/SA and the index is 14.35 (if I remember correctly). I make my run and go 17.25. First round I draw one of the big guns. He doesn't know my car and he redlights. I lose 2nd round, but win $25 for the 1st round win. I was hooked and started spending more money, but was on cloud nine that night.

Re: The First Time I .......
 

My first run was at Thunder Valley in SD in the summer of '73.... trophy stock with an O/SA classed '66 Fairlane 289 against a buddy's O/SA '68 Torino 302. I had a fender on him at the start, and that was my margin of victory. Sure wish things were that simple now!

Re: The First Time I .......
 

I worked at the dragstrip (Thunder Valley Dragways) before I ever made a pass down the track, and after all these years, i still have only made a handful of real passes, but...


Years ago, thinking I was "all that" in one of my first '69 Camaros, I pulled up into the staging lanes to make a pass. I ended up at the line against Omaha's Tom Kocanda and his little green Colt (pro stocker, if I remember correctly). I was so nervous, and in awe of the car beside me, I couldn't hear, nor even feel, my car at the line over the music his Hemi was making.

My car didn't even have a tach, so I waited for him to disappear before I even took off, because I was afraid I'd blow the thing up when I didn't shift when I should.

I think it ran a 13.75 or something like that at 104mph. I am sure I have the time slip somewhere. Again, I thought I was "all that".

Geez, that Colt was noisey.