And, before leaving the '69 GTO, I'll have to include mine.
NO, it would not have been competitive at any big races. But, I didn't go to big races. The first 2 seasons I raced it were '73 & '74. Raced at 2 local tracks. One was called Harmon Raceway, near Monroe, LA.
The other was just an airport runway, in Haynesville, LA, where they still ran off a flagged start. No timers at all. That was some very interesting racing. Slower cars got a "spot", of so many feet, as specified in the NHRA rules. If neither car jumped the start, the first car to cross the finish line was the winner.
That was not the 1st time I'd raced on an airport runway. When my '69 GTO had 500 miles on it, my girlfriend(now wife) & I went to the local airport race, just to watch. But, the local guys would not let that happen. They ragged me & said I was afraid my ole Goat would get beat. Well, I stood it long as I could. They ran classes first. I was in the same class with several big block Chevelles, & at least one 442. Didn't have any trouble with the Chevelles. But there was a 442 which had headers & slicks. I had hard street tires as well as factory exhaust manifolds & dual exhaust pipes, all the way out the back. I ran the 442 in the finals. With the slicks, he pulled me good out of the hole. But, I caught him & passed right at the line. Picked up my class win trophy & went back to my parking spot to watch the rest of the race.
Back then, fans could pull up close to most tracks & watch from their vehicle. At Haynesville, we had lots of Pontiac fans who watched the race from pickup beds, parked on a hill overlookin the strip. I remember them clapping & waving, as I'd drive back past them, after a round win.
I especially remember one particular win there. I ran a 4cyl Pinto. The spot was 410ft. They didn't have that many feet marked off on the track. So, the flagman just sat down on the front fender of the Pinto & road off down the track. He just guessed at the distance. The Pinto was undefeated that year. So they had a $25 bounty, for anybody that could beat him.
Well, it was real close at the line, but I got there 1st. It was a real popular win. The loyal Pontiac fans were jumpin & hollerin & goin wild. That was without a doubt, the best reception I ever got for a win. The Pinto was a street car. So, after he lost, he kept right on driving, right out the gate, & we never saw the car again. I know that story can't compare to the wins some of you guys have had, at big races. But it was a big deal to me.
At the Monroe track, they did have timers. It was the 5-amber tree. They didn't give out any RT's or 60ft times, just 1/4 mile ET. They ran off track records, for each class. I ran D/S. My track record was real soft. After I lowered it a couple of times, most other D/S cars that ran there could not run the track record. My record ended up being quicker than the C/S record. My main competition was a Stage 1 455 Buick that ran C/S. I suppose it was similar to bracket racing, except that you couldn't dial your own ET. Your dial was the track record. For '75 they switched over to the NHRA index system. More about that later.
Anyhow, I won quite a few races with my '69 GTO. And it could have been much quicker. I only had 3.90 gears. And the engine was bone stock, with just over 60k street miles on it. Hey, it wasn't quick. But it won lots of races, gave me LOTS of pleasure, and got me started in drag racing. Everybody has to start somewhere.
Hey, its the off-season, it's almost Christmas, and in some parts of the North, it's cold outside. So, some of ya'll didn't really have anything better to do than read some of my ancient history.
In '73, I pulled my car to the tracks with a '68 Caddy & a tow bar. When pulling more than about 10 miles, I'd use some old junk tires, then change 'em at the track. Began with a scissor jack I borrowed from my Dad. Sometimes the winner's pic would make the Monroe newspaper. For '74, we could run some M&H "cheater" tires. They were soft compound, but had a couple of small grooves. I've included a pic of the tread. How many ran & remember those ? As I remember, they were only used one year. At least, '74 was the only year we used 'em. In '75, we could run 9" slicks & headers.