I’ve never been lucky enough to fight my way into victory lane at a race track. My several year bracket racing career was marked with a couple near misses, but no race wins. On one such near miss occasion, my dad and I were running at the Super Chevy Show at New England Dragway in May of 2000. It was Sunday afternoon and I had somehow managed to string together several good rounds of racing and I found myself in the quarter-final round in the footbrake category running the 1970 Nova my dad still races.
Back in 2000 the car had a mild small block in it and was running in the high 12s. By comparison, the thing goes into the high nine-second range now with an alky swilling 406ci SBC providing the umph.
Anywho, back to the story. So in the quarter-final round I pulled a real rabbit out of my hat and cut a perfect light (which at the time was a .500 not like today’s .000 starting line numbers). That was the one and only perfect light of my illustrious career and it could not have come at a better time because the car ran way off the dial and without it I would have been toast.
It just so happened that Don Garlits was at the track that day shooting for Inside Drag Racing and not one to miss an opportunity he was signing autographs and posters and stuff. I got in line, handed him my time slip and asked him to sign it. The Swamp Rat carefully studied the slip, confirmed that I did in fact cut a perfect light and then signed it.
That’s my most cherished pieces of personal car memorabilia…what’s yours?
Scroll down to see the actual slip that Big Daddy signed
During the Ford 100 year celebration, I volunteered and got some cool signatures, Dyno Don, Shelby, Parneli Jones, etc. Mom Framed them all for me with the front page of the Detroit newspaper commemorating the event.
It’s not signed, but somewhere in a box of goodies I have a chunk of the original surface of Heartland Park Topeka mounted on a granite block. This is the surface that gave us Scott Kalitta’s 308 (when 302 was big news), and the first 5 second Funny Car and 300MPH Funny Car made their passes.
Talladega 2001 garage pass signed by Richard Petty and AJ Foyt. They were the only legends I met in Talladega that day.
I have a nice chunk of John Force aluminum block from a boomer at Topeka back in the early 90’s.
Budweiser low qualifier check presentation pictures of my son and I with both John Force and Blaine Johnson.
my autographs from George Barris, Gene Winfield, and Jay Leno
A side panel from John Smith’s car when he and Gary Scelzi got together in Brainerd. It’s a tad beat up as one might suspect and John signed it. Also a 4 ft’ trophy from a funny car meet at Lions from the mid – late 60’s. Pretty Cool !!
Cool story! The dash in my 67 Mustang has autographs from all of the JFR drivers – John, Ashley, Robert Hight, Mike Neff, and departed local hero Eric Medlen. Another guy is down in bottom right corner of it, Chip Foose.
I have a clutch disc given and signed by MIKE DUNN off the NY Yankee TFer after the 331.61 pass when he signed the disc was still hot as h377
I have a two one off Duntuv cames from when they were building the first v8 corvettes when he would come to the Tonawanda engien plant to test he
H used to go th the dealer my granpa and dad worked at and my granpa got to be friends with him in the mid to late 50’s
The lanyard and goody bag from I got from Power Tour a few years ago. I’ve been to a bunch as a spectator but this was the first time I went as a participant. What really makes it significant to me is I went with my brother in his car, which had less than 9000 miles on it after the few stops we were able to make it to. It’s been rough couple of years for both of us but for a few days we were able to forget all things that were wrong and enjoy being a couple of gearheads cruising in a cool car with a couple thousand other car nuts.
Nothing fantastic, no big names involved, nothing rare or even that unusual, just a great memory from a time when good times were not that common.
Mine’s a rod and piston that Big Daddy autographed with an electric engraving pencil.
To me, Big Daddy is the Holy Grail of drag racing. He is it. Without him, drag racing would not be what it has become. Others are welcome to their opinions, as I am mine. But to me, no one will ever match Don Garlits presence in the sport.
I have autographed GTX banner from Bill Barny and Gary Ormsby and a John Buttera chassis that was Pabst Blue Ribbon funny car Russell Long
I also have a R/C dragster body that i had painted up just like the YANKEES T/F Dragster and the crew freaked out on it and one of them took it in the trailer and it came back with DARYL GWYNN,JERRY GWYNN,MIKE DUNN,GEORGE STIENBRENNER and as well as DARYLL RUSSELL,JOHN FORCE,RON CAPPS,and another i cant read well but i think its AUSSIE DAVE GRUBNIC