Post by dragnews on Dec 5, 2010 10:03:22 GMT -5
Whether your a avid racer or occasional participant at Ardmore Dragway you are a part of the on going evolution the track has
experienced in the last three years as the Carrell family have transformed a dusty Cowpasture into a premier race facility. Even after all the convenient enmities and improvements that have been made, There is still a constant complaint lingering for over 50 years about one thing. The Win Lights. Now I will be the first to agree that they are far from perfect. They are hard to read, they don't give out the OU-Texas football score, nor do they display Jungle Pam's phone number. But One thing they are, Win Lights. They hold no mystical power on why you didn't win the points championship and there is no connection between them and life from another planet. So with that said lets go back in time. A time win win lights were----NONE!
If you raced between 1955-1962 you raced with the most advanced set of timing equipment and winning detection available -------Flags! That's right, two participants would line up on the yellow starting line, some 35 feet in front of them Joe Dean McReynolds or Bobby Rose would drop a red flag and raise the green, and off they go. Now some 1320 feet down track ,sat Bill Page in the back of Joe Niel Carrells 50 Chevy pickup. Once the cars roared by, Bill would walk out and raise a white flag in the Winners lane. Pretty high tech don't you think? In mid 62 when Mr. Shaw Purchased the first set of Chrondex timing equipment, racers were also introduced to the first set of electronics win lights. Once the cars roared across the finish line, Dennis Lavers would turn on the proper side blinker on his new Chevrolet Corvair displaying the winners lane.
(Are we looking better yet?)
Now in the 70's when Johnny laird and Lonnie Sears took over, electronic wizard Jerry Mathews actually invented the first set of working win lights at Ardmore Dragway. For those old enough to remember, I think the flag style actually worked better. These 100 watt light bulbs were mounted on top of two poles located on either side of the starting line.
The racer that crossed the line first would have their light turned on. Great in theory but remember we are still in the 70's, and electronic technology is still years away. On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon the lights were to dim to see. The biggest problem of all was the static interference they endured. No matter which lane won, the left lane would all ways come on first then go out and the true winning lane displayed. This led to a little blood shed one Sunday afternoon between the Kirkendalls and the Garrisons, but that's another story for later. In the late 70's Johnny and then partner Jerry Mathews installed a new state of the art Chrondex win light system. The system is so good, that it is still used today not only at Ardmore but most tracks across the country.
Rick and Jerry have insured me that the win lights will be more politically correct for next year. But just in case, watch out for Mr. Bill Page waving a white flag in your lane. Till next time see you at the drags.
Oh by the way no part of this story can be used without the permission of Bud Garrison, Garvin Kirkendall, J.R. Shaw,
Bill Page or Jungle Pam. Especially Jungle Pam....................ROB!
experienced in the last three years as the Carrell family have transformed a dusty Cowpasture into a premier race facility. Even after all the convenient enmities and improvements that have been made, There is still a constant complaint lingering for over 50 years about one thing. The Win Lights. Now I will be the first to agree that they are far from perfect. They are hard to read, they don't give out the OU-Texas football score, nor do they display Jungle Pam's phone number. But One thing they are, Win Lights. They hold no mystical power on why you didn't win the points championship and there is no connection between them and life from another planet. So with that said lets go back in time. A time win win lights were----NONE!
If you raced between 1955-1962 you raced with the most advanced set of timing equipment and winning detection available -------Flags! That's right, two participants would line up on the yellow starting line, some 35 feet in front of them Joe Dean McReynolds or Bobby Rose would drop a red flag and raise the green, and off they go. Now some 1320 feet down track ,sat Bill Page in the back of Joe Niel Carrells 50 Chevy pickup. Once the cars roared by, Bill would walk out and raise a white flag in the Winners lane. Pretty high tech don't you think? In mid 62 when Mr. Shaw Purchased the first set of Chrondex timing equipment, racers were also introduced to the first set of electronics win lights. Once the cars roared across the finish line, Dennis Lavers would turn on the proper side blinker on his new Chevrolet Corvair displaying the winners lane.
(Are we looking better yet?)
Now in the 70's when Johnny laird and Lonnie Sears took over, electronic wizard Jerry Mathews actually invented the first set of working win lights at Ardmore Dragway. For those old enough to remember, I think the flag style actually worked better. These 100 watt light bulbs were mounted on top of two poles located on either side of the starting line.
The racer that crossed the line first would have their light turned on. Great in theory but remember we are still in the 70's, and electronic technology is still years away. On a bright sunny Sunday afternoon the lights were to dim to see. The biggest problem of all was the static interference they endured. No matter which lane won, the left lane would all ways come on first then go out and the true winning lane displayed. This led to a little blood shed one Sunday afternoon between the Kirkendalls and the Garrisons, but that's another story for later. In the late 70's Johnny and then partner Jerry Mathews installed a new state of the art Chrondex win light system. The system is so good, that it is still used today not only at Ardmore but most tracks across the country.
Rick and Jerry have insured me that the win lights will be more politically correct for next year. But just in case, watch out for Mr. Bill Page waving a white flag in your lane. Till next time see you at the drags.
Oh by the way no part of this story can be used without the permission of Bud Garrison, Garvin Kirkendall, J.R. Shaw,
Bill Page or Jungle Pam. Especially Jungle Pam....................ROB!
