Irwindale Dragstrip!

[Mike Gray]

Originally Posted by Floyd Staggs

I ran at the old San Gabriel till the night it closed.

I was at OCIR for "the last drag race" we ran way into the night. A fun but also sad ending to a great tack.

[Frank Castros]

Do you remember all the the photos in the magazines of the Funny Car shows at Irwindale and OCIR?
My favorites were Fred Goeske's Road Runner and Mike Mitchell's Vette!

[Frank Castros]

I wish that Rick Vogelin of Car Craft Magazine would post on this forum.

[Mike Gray]

Another Irwindale story - I’m sitting at the front of the staging lanes on a grudge night, I think it was Wednesday night and they hold me and motion for someone to come up in the empty lane next to me. I’m looking over to see if they’re pulling up a car for me to race and I see the Army funny car of Don Prudhomme. They proceeded to fire up the car right next to my mustang with me sitting in it waiting for my turn. I’m watching header flames right next to me and I realize MY PAINT! I was worried it was going to get scorched or damaged and I couldn’t move my car. They pulled him out and sent him on a test pass and then I got to follow. Back in the pits I was relieved to see no damage to my paint.
Quite a different prospective being in your car right next to a running funny car.