Jim Amos of Bee-On Video has been producing some of the best vintage drag racing videos for as long as we can remember. One of his newest is a feature length piece on Super Stock racing in the 1960s. The 15-minute clip below is a little chunk of awesome as compared to the two-hour full-length piece. Suffice it to say that this is 15-minutes of the neatest and most interesting footage you’ll ever see if you are an old school drag racing dork like us. Rarely seen and long dead tracks like Charlestown Dragway in Rhode Island, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and a load of others.
Along with the obscure old tracks there’s the 1961 Nationals from Indy and action from places that are still high profile and in operation today. If it is possible, the stuff away from the track may be the best content in the entire film. There’s footage of a team rebuilding the engine in a 1963 Z-11 Impala from the comfort of a gas station parking lot. There are loads of insanely awesome tow rigs that range from 1950s sedans to old school ramp trucks.
Lastly but not leastly, there’s the cars. The Tasca Ford Thunderbolt, Dyno Don Nicholson in the wagon, Dave Stickler, Malcom Durnham, and the list goes on and on and on. Now, the genius of Jim’s video approach is that he dubs sound onto these otherwise silent films and damn if it isn’t pretty great. Jim also provides expert narration of the film so you’ll know what you are seeing and at what location you are witnessing the racing.
Roaring engines, awesome old tracks, and the history of the sport of drag racing brought to life. Yes, this is THAT good.
