Well, there was nothing odd about the car. But I'll bet I had an experience that nobody reading this has had.
The year was 1978. The track was the front straight of the circle track, on the Louisiana State Fair Grounds, in Shreveport LA.
So, are ya'll with me, so far ? Anybody else here drive in an organized drag race on the front straight of a circle track ? This was not some sort of special one time gimmick race. The guy running it also held regular races on an air strip in Haynesville LA, where we also raced. So, he set up his timing equipment on the circle track, hoping it would catch on & make him a few bucks.
Well, it wasn't as successful as he'd hoped. I think we ran 4 races there. The last race was a doubleheader, one Fri nite, one Sat. It was advertised in the Shreveport area as an 18-wheeler truck race, hoping to get some fans in the stands.
Not many trucks or fans came. But, all the regulars came. And a radio station had a remote truck there. My girlfriend(now wife) won Fri nite & I won Sat. She had a radio interview. We tied with another guy for 2nd place in points, for that 4-race season.
BUT, I haven't yet mentioned the oddest thing that happened. During a round of competition, I ran a Mopar. It was a small one, either a Cuda or Challenger. I was driving my '69 GTO. Apparently the Mopar guy cut a real bad light, cause I was able to brake just before the finish line & get the easy win.
But wait ! Just when I thought the race was over, the Mopar roared by me ! Don't think he ever let off. I remember thinkin: I wonder if he can make the turn ? The answer was NO !
When he hit turn 1, the Mopar flipped up on it's top, slid for a while, then stopped, upside down. I didn't know if the guy was hurt or what. So I jumped out of my Goat & started over to see if I could help. Just before I got there, he crawled out the window & began cussin up a storm. He was obviously drunk, which had caused the problem to begin with.
So, any of you guys have a experience like this ?
While I have the floor, I'll relate one more experience. Back in around 1973, I was racing my '69 Goat in Stock, at the Haynesville airport. The promoter didn't have any timing equipment, yet. So, we had flag starts. Well, for the shorter, reasonable spots, they had the spots marked off on the track.
But, for the long spots, the flagman just guessed at the correct distance. I drew a little pinto. Can't remember it's class. Maybe V/S ? I was running D/S. They looked up the spot & said it was 410ft, IIRC.
So, the flagman sat down on the front fender of the Pinto & they drove off down the track. He had the Pinto stop, where he THOUGHT 410ft might be. Hey ya'll, that's more than a football field away. I could barely see the flag.
Well, I don't know how accurate the spot was. But it wasn't quite enuff. I flew by JUST before the line, at over 100mph. He was only going what, maybe 50 mph. He had won several races in a row, so the promoter had put a $25 bounty on him. So, I won the $25 bounty & IIRC, also won the race that day.
And, the fans there really loved the Goat. I remember seeing them jumpin & clappin & wavin as I drove back down the side of the strip, to the pits. They were in the back of pickups, which were backed up on a hill, overlooking the track. They started arriving just after Church, on Sundays.
And after my girlfriend started racing, they loved her & her '68 Bird, too. Pontiacs were very popular with these folks. There were more fans at that track than any other track where raced bracket. I suppose it was just a rural area where there was not much else to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Hey, if you go to enuff races, you can experience lots of stuff. We saw some stuff & had lots of fun !
Really wish we'd taken more pics, especially of those fair grounds races. Have not been able to find a soul with any pics from there.
PS: Since Mark mentioned seeing a Cadillac racing, I'll mention this. While we were running at the div 4 bracket finals, at Green Valley, back in '77-'78, we saw a big 2-door Caddy. It looked stock, from the outside, except for racing wheels/tires. Had a 500 cube Caddy engine, with 2 x 4 carbs. Ran mid 11's. Only one we ever saw.