(PHOTOS BY JOE GRIPPO) – It is a kind of cool split to have this great collection of photos that look back into the history of drag racing while just last night the NHRA crowned all of its 2014 champions and starts to look toward the 80 days off they have before the 2015 campaign officially kicks off at Pomona for 2015. Some of the cars you’ll see in these photos have run at Pomona in various different classes and the names on many of them are familiar to drag fans as well. Wayne Jesel, Wally Booth, John Dianna, etc. Those are the kinds of cars in these photos. Some are restored, some are in as raced condition, and some look like they could be fired up and run in their respective eliminators today.
The fun thing to think about regarding all of these old cars is that at the time they were on the track many of them represented the pinnacle of technology for their classes. The Gremlin X pro stocker below had some of the brightest engine guys of the era working on it. The stockers had a mix and match combo of factory parts, that “should” have been legal by the rules. Maybe most were and maybe some weren’t. It was an era where the tech inspectors were checking things as detailed as dome light covers in cars like those, so to “get something by” was a real accomplishment.
The York US30 Muscle Car Madness weekend is designed for these types of stories and memories to live on. Joe crushed the photos and we’ll have more tomorrow.
