Post by dragnews on Apr 16, 2009 21:38:35 GMT -5
You know it's real impressive to look out and see the big Toter homes coming in the gate with their three car stacker's, and the crew cab dual-lies pulling 40 foot trailers. But if you eat more Baloney than Red Lobster then this story is for you.
I can remember back around 65 my dad raced a J/S 55 Chevrolet.
265 cubic inch motor and casler cheater slicks. We would head out on Saturday morning with our good friend Glen Self and his in-line Big 6 Chevy two. The tracks we raced were Amarillo. Tulsa,
Willowrun, SandValley, Whitesboro, Green Valley, Fredrick, Wichita Falls, and many others.
Now in those days there was no I-35 highway. Just old Scenic 77
around the Arbuckle Mountains. Stop and get gas in Purcell at the rock filling station, with the talking Mina Bird, and head on.
Our tow rigs were a little less than spacious. No air, 3 speed on the column that mom held into gear most of the time or Glen
would use a bumper jack so his truck didn't jump out of gear. The only car seat Kevin and I ever sat in was the one in the race car,
other than that, it was my mom and Linda's lap. We had no money to by food at the races, so the ladies fried chicken early in the morning and wrapped it in foil and thats what you ate all weekend. You never lived until you and your mother hid under a blanket in the floor till you got in the gate cause we could not afford to pay. Both Glen and dad were mechanics by trade in their own garages at that time, and the didn't make $65 an hour like my techs today. None of us had a trailer and you would tow your car in neutral on a tow bar. No not a three axle throw down stacker, a tow bar, Dad and Glen welded together from strap iron.
Now we were big time. Neither of us pulled the drive shafts cause
we had towing hubs on the rear. These were free spinning 4x4 type hubs, you unbolted the slicks, bolted these baby's on then the towing tires and off you went. They only weighed about 100 pounds a piece. I know I dropped one on my toe at Ardmore one Sunday and they had to haul me into the hospital. Now we ran a three speed in the 55 which came in convenient. One 100 degree Summer day coming out of Amarillo. Glen's pickup trans locked up snapping the bumper jack holding it in 3rd and almost killing brother Mack. So dad pulled the 55 trans out. They put it in Glen's pick up, and on to Oklahoma we came. Do you think any if us would work that hard on the side of the road today? I am worried about a flat tire! Now the trick to the Tow bar was it had a long rod slid through the race car and tow bar that locked the two in place held together with a safety key... A Cotter Key is the key word here.
One Sunday after we lost at Willowrun my dad was hooking up the car and, I told him you forgot the key! We will stop down the road now get in he said. Yep we stopped on the road ok, after the race car passed us. Jumping I-40n and coming to a stop out in a field.
Now this was a lesson not to leave mad. Any way, some how we all survived, Glen went on to win Indy. We can afford to eat Red Lobster now, but as Kevin will say (remember Rob we don't race trailers)..........See you at the drags! Rob,
( story and photo's courtesy of the Ragland collection 2009)
I can remember back around 65 my dad raced a J/S 55 Chevrolet.
265 cubic inch motor and casler cheater slicks. We would head out on Saturday morning with our good friend Glen Self and his in-line Big 6 Chevy two. The tracks we raced were Amarillo. Tulsa,
Willowrun, SandValley, Whitesboro, Green Valley, Fredrick, Wichita Falls, and many others.
Now in those days there was no I-35 highway. Just old Scenic 77
around the Arbuckle Mountains. Stop and get gas in Purcell at the rock filling station, with the talking Mina Bird, and head on.
Our tow rigs were a little less than spacious. No air, 3 speed on the column that mom held into gear most of the time or Glen
would use a bumper jack so his truck didn't jump out of gear. The only car seat Kevin and I ever sat in was the one in the race car,
other than that, it was my mom and Linda's lap. We had no money to by food at the races, so the ladies fried chicken early in the morning and wrapped it in foil and thats what you ate all weekend. You never lived until you and your mother hid under a blanket in the floor till you got in the gate cause we could not afford to pay. Both Glen and dad were mechanics by trade in their own garages at that time, and the didn't make $65 an hour like my techs today. None of us had a trailer and you would tow your car in neutral on a tow bar. No not a three axle throw down stacker, a tow bar, Dad and Glen welded together from strap iron.
Now we were big time. Neither of us pulled the drive shafts cause
we had towing hubs on the rear. These were free spinning 4x4 type hubs, you unbolted the slicks, bolted these baby's on then the towing tires and off you went. They only weighed about 100 pounds a piece. I know I dropped one on my toe at Ardmore one Sunday and they had to haul me into the hospital. Now we ran a three speed in the 55 which came in convenient. One 100 degree Summer day coming out of Amarillo. Glen's pickup trans locked up snapping the bumper jack holding it in 3rd and almost killing brother Mack. So dad pulled the 55 trans out. They put it in Glen's pick up, and on to Oklahoma we came. Do you think any if us would work that hard on the side of the road today? I am worried about a flat tire! Now the trick to the Tow bar was it had a long rod slid through the race car and tow bar that locked the two in place held together with a safety key... A Cotter Key is the key word here.
One Sunday after we lost at Willowrun my dad was hooking up the car and, I told him you forgot the key! We will stop down the road now get in he said. Yep we stopped on the road ok, after the race car passed us. Jumping I-40n and coming to a stop out in a field.
Now this was a lesson not to leave mad. Any way, some how we all survived, Glen went on to win Indy. We can afford to eat Red Lobster now, but as Kevin will say (remember Rob we don't race trailers)..........See you at the drags! Rob,
( story and photo's courtesy of the Ragland collection 2009)