History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Rich Guasco

 

And a Muttley sighting!!! This week we're getting almost all of the royalty!

 

First, a new shot from George Klass...I'm not 100% sure, but think that this is Colton, CA's Archie Ary. Archie was one of the founders of the Colton drag strip (with Charles Scott and others), and ran a severely chopped Crosley sedan as a fuel coupe before switching to dragsters.


Gil Hayward's "Monkey Motion" at Lions


Hdruka Brothers Willys panel, strong Ohio runners


Cerruti, Mooney, and Zitto (think I got that right), at Fremont...from Jim Sorenson's altered site.


Not much more needed, think that they were from Mesa, AZ...I remember this car (or an earlier Turk car) racing Art Chrisman in a final fuel dragster match at Pomona...3 false starts (you didn't get disqualified then, just had to run again...Turk lost a close one, strong running Pontiac


Jerry Ruth


Davis and Ingram, Jewel T, not sure who they are racing...


Les Shockley & Sons...not sure where. Les sat in front of me in junior high English at McKinley Jr High in Pasadena, CA, a very skilled mechanic, I learned a lot from him, later moved to Kansas and raced jet cars.


Garlits and Malone...someone can correct me but I think this was the original "Swamp Rat" that Don used to run 176 in '57...Malone took the seat after Don's bad burns at Chester, SC...


Ted Cyr in "Ole Blue," his '58 Nationals-winning carbed Chrysler on gas...not sure who is in the other land, Phoenix (?), AZ


Just had been in motion...the original "Panic" with Howard Haight, after winning a 16-car fuel altered meet. The guy with grubby clothes and glasses is Don Wilson. Wilson and I started "Panic" before it was called that...Les Hawkins welded up the chassis, and the original engine came from the 15oz coupe. I had to pull out, and Gary Hazen, behind Howard, took my place. Hazen has since passed away, after building newer "Panic's".....and where did the name "Panic" come from? False rumor is that it was the usual state of panic during pit work....no, if you look hard at the original car in Don Montgomery's fuel altered book, it says "Panic (it's Don Wilson!)"...Wilson had polio as a child and was lame from that time on...suffice to say that his driving style was unique!...He and I started before Panic with a gas altered, and when Wilson did drive it was guard rail-to-guard rail...so the idea of Wilson driving did cause panic!....he did not ever drive Panic, though, though I was fortunate to take a few rides in it...(guard rail to guard rail, it was a fuel altered, after all......Wilson was a good guy, later partnered with Tom Topping on the "Bad Habit" fuel altered...sadly has since passed away a few years ago....another Blair's alumnus.

 

I also believe that's Archie Ary in the Colton pic.

And that is SR I with Malone in the seat. That is exactly how it looked a few months earlier when I saw it at Famoso. Except it still said Isky Cams on the body.

 

Post 42570. Les Shockley still lives in Kansas and is only about 10 miles from me he is a real nice guy and very intelligent I have spent many an hour listening to him tell stories from the old days while runnin this altered and other dragsters as well thanks for posting this pic I'll make sure he knows about it

 

Deuce coupe at the first NHRA Nationals at Great Bend KS...this car was from nearby Salina....X usually meant 4-banger.

This coupe belonged to a local hot rodder Gary Wooster from Salina, KS that is still into 32-'34's almost pushing 80 yrs old. He was was over joyed with excitement when I showed him this picture of his old racer. Thank you for posting this picture it made mine and his day... he won his class with the car at the '55 nationals.

 

Ivo vs Albertson Olds.