how was stock/super stock ran in the 60's and 70's?

Dick Butler · 03-09-2010, 01:58 PM

Some here discuss the excitement of running off records... Obviously many do not remember the EAST coast WEST coast Stocker record battles. We in the midwest were killed by record dial in at a 1000 ft track at 90degrees and 90% humidity. If you raced a popular combo in Ohio versus a combo not hitting records every weekend you were in the hole before the light changed. Only good part was most of us were learning and fighting the weather together....Kind of evened it up.
Index system created to make it so ALL racers could dial in and become a big Bracket race even if you had a class car you drove to the track. Good and Bad things about it.
I rarely saw any form of Class racing outside a NHRA Nationals. That made it a MUST to attend. Then with explosion of numbers OF classes the cars werent plentiful enough to populate many. classes and due to time NHRA cut the entrants which made Class bye runs ....sad...
Want to have fun again. Cut classes to 12 Stick and auto classes and see 20 cars per class EVERYWHERE to have fun and entertain spectators.Gives back the drive to run fast and still can race eliminations if 64 car fields...

Robert Swartz · 03-09-2010, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick Butler

Some here discuss the excitement of running off records... Obviously many do not remember the EAST coast WEST coast Stocker record battles. We in the midwest were killed by record dial in at a 1000 ft track at 90degrees and 90% humidity. If you raced a popular combo in Ohio versus a combo not hitting records every weekend you were in the hole before the light changed. Only good part was most of us were learning and fighting the weather together....Kind of evened it up.
Index system created to make it so ALL racers could dial in and become a big Bracket race even if you had a class car you drove to the track. Good and Bad things about it.
I rarely saw any form of Class racing outside a NHRA Nationals. That made it a MUST to attend. Then with explosion of numbers OF classes the cars werent plentiful enough to populate many. classes and due to time NHRA cut the entrants which made Class bye runs ....sad...
Want to have fun again. Cut classes to 12 Stick and auto classes and see 20 cars per class EVERYWHERE to have fun and entertain spectators.Gives back the drive to run fast and still can race eliminations if 64 car fields...

Another point Dick. Under this old system. How many cars were turned into junk overnite, when your record got bombed? Unlike today when you can move a combination around to at least take advantage of the class to make the car run. Back then, the car factored where it lit. If a combo didn't at least get close to the class minimum. You might (more often than not) have a real hard time getting a car to run, much less be competitive.

Yes, the index system, at least allows us all to come and play. The system as it is today, lets you work with a car to make it run the class minimum. Just like my boss says, "no matter what you do, somebody's not gonna be happy"!

oldskool · 10-10-2021, 01:47 PM

Found this in a post on this old thread. It really brought back memories of when I first raced my '69 GTO, in D/S, back in '73. It was describing racing with a flag start.

"...The spots were actually painted off in the center of the track. Both cars pulled to the line and the starter (flagman) would gesture to the slower car to pull forward. He'd find the appropriate line on the track and stage the slower car there. The fast car staged on the starting line.

...Since the flagman had to be ahead of both cars sometimes the fast car at the line was squinting to see the flagman way down the track..."

A guy would rent an area airstrip & hold Sunday afternoon races there. A little Pinto had won the 1st several races that season. So, they offered a $25 bounty to anyone who could beat him. Well, sure enuff, I drew the pinto. IIRC, his spot was 410 feet !

The shorter spots were marked off on the track. But there were no marks that far down track. So, the flagman sat on the front fender of the Pinto & rode off down the track. He had the Pinto driver stop where he ESTIMATED 410ft to be. Nobody, including him, knew exactly how far it was from the starting line.

Well, that word "squinting" reminded me of that day. I really didn't think I had a chance of catching the Pinto, which was starting that far down the track. So, just for spectator entertainment, I got out of my Goat, shielded my eyes, & looked off down the track, as if trying to focus in on some far away object.

I could just barely see the flag good enuff to tell when it was raised. Although I didn't think I could win, I went ahead & made a full pass. To my surprise, and probably to everybody else's surprise, I passed him right at the line ! I was probably going at least twice his speed.

I don't know if I won because the estimated spot was too short, or not. Anyhow, I got a standing(jumpin & hollerin) ovation as I drove back down by the spectators, & won the $25 bounty.

Yep, this is a true story. It really happened.

This is a pic of the car, in 1973. You can see the tow bar, & the tail end of the '68 Caddy I'd bought to tow it with. Slicks weren't allowed that year. The hard rubber street legal M&H tires I ran are on the rear. I'd removed the narrow fronts, for towing. Hey, I had to start somewhere.

Pvt Parts · 03-13-2010, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick Butler

Some here discuss the excitement of running off records... Obviously many do not remember the EAST coast WEST coast Stocker record battles. We in the midwest were killed by record dial in at a 1000 ft track at 90degrees and 90% humidity. If you raced a popular combo in Ohio versus a combo not hitting records every weekend you were in the hole before the light changed. Only good part was most of us were learning and fighting the weather together....Kind of evened it up.
Index system created to make it so ALL racers could dial in and become a big Bracket race even if you had a class car you drove to the track. Good and Bad things about it.
I rarely saw any form of Class racing outside a NHRA Nationals. That made it a MUST to attend. Then with explosion of numbers OF classes the cars werent plentiful enough to populate many. classes and due to time NHRA cut the entrants which made Class bye runs ....sad...
Want to have fun again. Cut classes to 12 Stick and auto classes and see 20 cars per class EVERYWHERE to have fun and entertain spectators.Gives back the drive to run fast and still can race eliminations if 64 car fields...

It's always been interesting to see the East and West coast guys come to Bowling Green and The US Nationals in 90 degree heat and wonder why their cars slowed down 2 tenths.

Hemi Moose · 11-03-2011, 12:27 AM

Just read some of these, thanks for the cool stories!

Rich Biebel · 11-03-2011, 07:24 AM

It's always been interesting to see the East and West coast guys come to Bowling Green and The US Nationals in 90 degree heat and wonder why their cars slowed down 2 tenths.
__________________
Scott Wilcox 2193 3x National Champion
SS/A, SS/B, SS/K, SS/L, SS/AM, A/SM, C/SM, B/A, C/A, G/A, H/A

You are right about that Scott....

When we went to Indy in 1966 our car was running very slow compared to what we were used to running locally around here in NJ.......It was pretty warm out. We went to Munice dragway one night to try and make some runs and maybe get it faster but were not able to get any runs in there.....the place was jammed!

Jim Woods · 11-10-2011, 09:19 AM

Tom, the track you refer to north of pence was called Kettlersville Dragstrip. It was owned by Ted Jones who later was with IHRA and Masters entertainment. He also built Van Wert Dragway in ohio after closing Kettlersville. Kettlersville was an 1/5th mile and and ran a lot on thursday nights as I remember , i ran a n/ps 56 chevy there when I was just 14

03-09-2010, 01:58 PM	#1
Dick Butler VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Richmond Indiana Posts: 1,196 Likes: 5 Liked 32 Times in 19 Posts	Re: how was stock/super stock ran in the 60's and 70's? Some here discuss the excitement of running off records... Obviously many do not remember the EAST coast WEST coast Stocker record battles. We in the midwest were killed by record dial in at a 1000 ft track at 90degrees and 90% humidity. If you raced a popular combo in Ohio versus a combo not hitting records every weekend you were in the hole before the light changed. Only good part was most of us were learning and fighting the weather together....Kind of evened it up. Index system created to make it so ALL racers could dial in and become a big Bracket race even if you had a class car you drove to the track. Good and Bad things about it. I rarely saw any form of Class racing outside a NHRA Nationals. That made it a MUST to attend. Then with explosion of numbers OF classes the cars werent plentiful enough to populate many. classes and due to time NHRA cut the entrants which made Class bye runs ....sad... Want to have fun again. Cut classes to 12 Stick and auto classes and see 20 cars per class EVERYWHERE to have fun and entertain spectators.Gives back the drive to run fast and still can race eliminations if 64 car fields... Last edited by Dick Butler; 03-09-2010 at 02:01 PM.

10-10-2021, 01:47 PM	#3
oldskool VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: The Land of Bayous, Boudin & Crawfish Posts: 1,668 Likes: 223 Liked 747 Times in 362 Posts	Re: how was stock/super stock ran in the 60's and 70's? Found this in a post on this old thread. It really brought back memories of when I first raced my '69 GTO, in D/S, back in '73. It was describing racing with a flag start. "...The spots were actually painted off in the center of the track. Both cars pulled to the line and the starter (flagman) would gesture to the slower car to pull forward. He'd find the appropriate line on the track and stage the slower car there. The fast car staged on the starting line. ...Since the flagman had to be ahead of both cars sometimes the fast car at the line was squinting to see the flagman way down the track..." A guy would rent an area airstrip & hold Sunday afternoon races there. A little Pinto had won the 1st several races that season. So, they offered a $25 bounty to anyone who could beat him. Well, sure enuff, I drew the pinto. IIRC, his spot was 410 feet ! The shorter spots were marked off on the track. But there were no marks that far down track. So, the flagman sat on the front fender of the Pinto & rode off down the track. He had the Pinto driver stop where he ESTIMATED 410ft to be. Nobody, including him, knew exactly how far it was from the starting line. Well, that word "squinting" reminded me of that day. I really didn't think I had a chance of catching the Pinto, which was starting that far down the track. So, just for spectator entertainment, I got out of my Goat, shielded my eyes, & looked off down the track, as if trying to focus in on some far away object. I could just barely see the flag good enuff to tell when it was raised. Although I didn't think I could win, I went ahead & made a full pass. To my surprise, and probably to everybody else's surprise, I passed him right at the line ! I was probably going at least twice his speed. I don't know if I won because the estimated spot was too short, or not. Anyhow, I got a standing(jumpin & hollerin) ovation as I drove back down by the spectators, & won the $25 bounty. Yep, this is a true story. It really happened. This is a pic of the car, in 1973. You can see the tow bar, & the tail end of the '68 Caddy I'd bought to tow it with. Slicks weren't allowed that year. The hard rubber street legal M&H tires I ran are on the rear. I'd removed the narrow fronts, for towing. Hey, I had to start somewhere. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by oldskool; 10-10-2021 at 01:52 PM.

11-03-2011, 12:27 AM	#5
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Re: how was stock/super stock ran in the 60's and 70's? Just read some of these, thanks for the cool stories!

11-03-2011, 07:24 AM	#6
Rich Biebel VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern New Jersey suburbs Posts: 2,320 Likes: 25 Liked 553 Times in 216 Posts	Re: how was stock/super stock ran in the 60's and 70's? It's always been interesting to see the East and West coast guys come to Bowling Green and The US Nationals in 90 degree heat and wonder why their cars slowed down 2 tenths. __________________ Scott Wilcox 2193 3x National Champion SS/A, SS/B, SS/K, SS/L, SS/AM, A/SM, C/SM, B/A, C/A, G/A, H/A You are right about that Scott.... When we went to Indy in 1966 our car was running very slow compared to what we were used to running locally around here in NJ.......It was pretty warm out. We went to Munice dragway one night to try and make some runs and maybe get it faster but were not able to get any runs in there.....the place was jammed! __________________ Rich Biebel S/C 1479 Stock 147R

11-10-2011, 09:19 AM	#7
Jim Woods Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: celina, ohio Posts: 623 Likes: 4 Liked 12 Times in 7 Posts	Re: how was stock/super stock ran in the 60's and 70's? Tom, the track you refer to north of pence was called Kettlersville Dragstrip. It was owned by Ted Jones who later was with IHRA and Masters entertainment. He also built Van Wert Dragway in ohio after closing Kettlersville. Kettlersville was an 1/5th mile and and ran a lot on thursday nights as I remember , i ran a n/ps 56 chevy there when I was just 14 __________________ Jim Woods