Awesome Historic Drag Photos: Super Stock Nationals At York US30 Dragway Circa 1972/73


Awesome Historic Drag Photos: Super Stock Nationals At York US30 Dragway Circa 1972/73

(Photos by Thomas Sayers) – York US30 Dragway stood as one of the great hot spots of the drag racing world for a period of nearly 20 years. The track was an airport that would suspend operations during race weekends and it is one of the rare cases of an airport becoming a drag strip and then reverting back to an airport again as it is today. The same pastoral hills that echoed the sounds of top fuel dragsters, pro stockers, and door slammers of every size, shape, and color stand today. There are parts of the original drag strip facility that can be seen like the staging lanes but tightened security around the place prevents you from actually driving on them as was possible in years past (we tried).

The track really burst into the public consciousness when it held the massive Super Stock Nationals in the middle 1960s and its popularity really went on from there. Over the years it carried NHRA and AHRA sanctions but the Super Stock Nationals remained the track’s signature event. These photos are from one of those races and according to the man that took them, Thomas Sayers we’re talking the 1973/73 timeframe. This is fantastic stuff. 

Our favorite aspect of these photos are the pro stock cars. This was when the class was still gathering a ton of steam and the guys racing in it were rock stars. You’ll see Jenkins, Ronnie Lyles, Gapp and Roush, Sox and Martin, Don Carlton and all the big heroes of the day in here. To us, this represents a golden era in the class where the stuff was factory appearing, the engines were factory based, and the original ethos of the class had not been twisted into a pretzel quite yet. It wouldn’t take too long for it to get there but in these images time stands still and we can admire it.

There are also funny cars and lots of super stockers shown here. The super stockers are awesome because of their raked stance, classic lettering, and the fact that many of them were cars of only a couple years vintage when these images were taken. The vintage funny cars are cool, because vintage funny cars.

We think you are going to love these. Click the images below to expand ’em and see them full size!

Click on the images below to expand them – Some of the coolest cars ever here!

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