There is likely no more romanticized closed drag strip than the famed Lions Drag Strip that operated for more than a decade in the Long Beach, California area. Operated by guys like Mickey Thompson, CJ Hart, and Steve Evans, it stands as a near mythical place for guys like us who were never there to experience it. Certainly not a “super” track by any means, it was a sea level facility that was fast and epitomized the rollicking age of the sport in the 1960s, hosting near weekly match race and exhibition action for rabid fans in the LA area. It was AHRA and NHRA sanctioned over its life and many remember it was the scene of Don Garlits’ horrific transmission failure in 1970 that cost him about half of his right foot.
This film has no wreckage, no crashing, and we’re not entirely sure what we’re seeing other than an awesome test and tune session at Lions Drag Strip. There are s TON of people at the track for something that may just have been as informal as that but either way, it is an awesome watch. You will see gassers, early pro stockers, dragsters, and more. The sheer diversity of stuff running next to each other leads us to believe that this was sort of a testing day or something along those lines.
Between the cars, the fashions of the people walking in the pits, and the rest of the scene we really liked this video. The front engine top fuel guys likely did not know that they were driving obsoleted pieces of pipe when this was made but it didn’t take long for that message to spread and the rear engine dragster to take root and rule the roost.
Enjoy the heck out of this video, we sure did!
