Lots of times we feature videos that have splashy action, effects, or stuff happening that is mind blowing for one of a million reasons. This time we’re showing you one of the most straight ahead and simple videos of drag racing ever but we think you will dig it. Basically you are going to take a glimpse back into the drag racing world about 30 years and follow some guys with a nasty four speed Pontiac GTO racing at the now dead Hampton Dragway on Long Island and at Englishtown, New Jersey.
In today’s world of electronics, advanced speed parts, toter homes, of carts, UTVs, and every other bell and whistle people have managed to tack onto the simple experience of going to the track, this video is a throwback. A little Toyota truck pulls a rented Uhaul trailer with some tools and a coupe of gas jugs in the back. Take that formula and ad some friends or racing partners and you have the basic formula that has sustained the sport of drag racing for way more than half a century.
We sent this video to Lewis Bloom over at NHRA because we thought for sure that he was the announcer you hear at E-Town right around 11:00 but he was actually not sure himself. He said it could either be him or his late friend Sean Leary as both were mic jockeys at E-Town at that point.
We love this stuff!
BangShifter Tom Loreto Jr. sent us the video along with this great note:
This is old school video, is straight out of someone’s home video camera. Probably mid 80s. There is some good shots of the now defunct Westhampton Dragway in Westhampton, Long Island, NY. Westhampton was the most last drag strip on Long Island, closing in 2002 ish. The ’68 GTO that’s featured sounds pretty damn snotty, like a beast just waitin to be released. A pretty radical car for that time. My favorite part of the film is where you get to see the Goat get towed by a 2wd Toyota mini truck of mid 80’s vintage on a Uhaul trailer thats almost too small for the Poncho.
On my way to e town right now.
FAIL!
Not Pontiac powered. like many others thru the years, he lacked the skill to compete with a Pontiac and so resorted to big block corporate power. In his defense, it would be another 20 years before the real Pontiacs had any strong aftermarket support.