How did you get started in Drag Racing?

[Tom Goldman]

I grew up around two uncles who were drag racers .One a Stock elim racer and the other a Comp eliminator racer.
I've been told my first drag race was when I was 2 years old. My mom took me to see my uncle race at the NHRA airport drags in '55
I was going with my uncles to races at Vargo , Hatfield, Pocono Drag Lodge, Numidia ,Island ,Maple Grove Cecil ,Capitol from the time I was around 10 years old in '63. Went to my first Indy in '66.
My first trip down the track at 16 in '69 was in my '50 Olds convertible with a stroker ,roller cammed '57 Olds J2 and a hydro . 13.0's on Bucrons
It was heavy but with a 4.10 rear and the Hydro it rarely spun the tires on the street and nocthed a lot of wins over more than a few Z28's 440's and Vettes when they struggled to hook up on the street ..
Got a lot of tickets for loud pipes but somehow never got nicked for street racing.
with heavy influence from racing with my uncle, John Troxell ,I've been addicted to Stock/SS racing for life.

[BRETV]

In the spring of 1971 I was 5 and my dad took me to Midstate Dragway in Havana, IL to see my uncle Jeff Velde race his 69 Mach 1 428 SCJ in SS/G. My uncle told me to jump in the car and ride up to the staging lanes with him to get teched. I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever done. The sound of that CJ with open headers got me hooked. I've had the disease ever since. Absolutely love it!!!




Bret Velde
2003 I/SA

[Tim Barrett]

When I was 15 a friend and I hitch hiked over to our local Dragstrip,,South Glens Falls Dragway. That was back in 1969,,we peeked through a fence and that's when I fell in love with the 69 Camaro Z/28. In 1972 I purchased my brothers 1969 Z/28 and that's when I first started Dragracing. The same Camaro I'm Dragracing today,,but not with the 302 and 4 speed. They are in my basement waiting for me to retire so they can go back on the street.

[DG]

How did you get started in Drag Racing?


I want to hear from the Emmmons Brothers, I am sure they have an interesting strory. I heard they got started around 14 years old.

Darin Grossi

[SGSST109E]

1970 Wednesday night at Englishtown in my father 1968 6 cyl. Chevelle. At a lighting speed of 85mph.

[Keith 944]

Originally Posted by DG

How did you get started in Drag Racing?


I want to hear from the Emmmons Brothers, I am sure they have an interesting strory. I heard they got started around 14 years old.

Darin Grossi

I would like to hear from everyone there are some good stories here. It looks as though family has a lot to do with how you got involved and for the older crowd when stock was the norm it seems that that’s what class you stuck with. Billy Nees, we are waiting for your story….

[Larry Hill]

I always liked the feeling of the seat pressing against my back in a car and I’ve never outgrown that feeling. First real track I went to was Lakeland just outside of Memphis. That nite in 1967, I think, was a Funny Car match race between “Brutus”, 65 GTO and “LimeFire” 67 Barracuda . Also there was a real clean 67 GTX with “Mr 4 Speed” on the doors, Herb McCandles.

Halls Tn was a great place to see class racing in 1966. 62 Bubble tops, 413’s, 406,427 Ford and Chevy, 59 Fi cars. It was a flag track at the start and the finish line. All handicap spots were a car length between classes. The A/S would have to spot the B/S one car length. The B/S would have to spot the B/SA a half a car length. So racers being racers a couple of racers figured out a way to use the rules to their advantage. The two of them both local fellows bought Art Graham's 61 Dodge wagon. they ran it as a 6 passenger or 9 passenger 383 w/ two four barrels, or one four barrel. Could have run it as a 361. Because the car was slow and ran way down on the class scale it received a big spot every round. The spot was so big that they just geared the car for the 1/8 mile. One of the team was a transmission specialist, and was one of the few people to have a 2.77 low gear and a 069J converter the other guy was a well dressed car salesman. Y'all may have seen the car it was brown and double ugly, the trans guy was Ronnie Veatch RIP, a really good racing mind, and the other wrench and driver was Jerry Bennett

[scott gray]

Sometime in the mid 80's I saw this 57 Chevy with 2 four barrels and a 5 speed lined up against this red Falcon with a SBF and a 5 speed and they were absolutely punishing those things , they were loud and violent and looked really cool to drive . Shortly after I put 1n1 together and realized that Stock and SS cars without the "A" after their class were stick shift .I saved my money and I ordered a Jerico trans from Adco Int , they were 200 cheaper than Jerico direct , bought a Dana rear from strange and proceeded to beat on my Camaro till I built my Chevy 2 . Still Jerico shifted can't imagine anything else .

[Don Kennedy]

In 1963 I bought a 55 Chevy for $600, took the air conditioning off the continental kit off took out the automatic trans out replaced it with a three speed and started racing it as a stocker .I really did not know exactly what I was doing had a friend of mine kind of guiding me as I was Young energetic and aggressive, stubborn ,trying to learn by trial and error wow that was a long time ago

[Mike Pearson]

When I was young I aways liked car racing. My dad would take me to the little round track near our apartment in Milwaukee. As I grew up I was a motor head. I had a mini Bike. Then a dirt bike. My first car was a 1968 Musang with a 302 4 barrel and a 4 speed. I made my first pass down the 1/4 in that car. Bone stock it ran 14.90. I kept thar car trough hi school and ran it at the track a few times at Bradenton.
During High school I met some friends that introduced me to NHRA class racing. We went to the Gators several years and after I graduated I built the 1968 Camaro that I still race today. At 19 years old I Made my first pass in that car at Orlando. That was 1979 in November. The car was built to the C/SM rules and had a high winding aluminum rod 292 cubic inch small block with a super T-10 trans, Dana Rear with a 6.17 gear. It wasnt fast but it was a thrilling ride. I think it ran 11.00 on those first runs. I transitioned the car from modified to Super stock in the early 80s and I have been class racing exclusively ever since.