{"id":735175,"date":"2019-01-04T01:09:18","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T09:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bangshift.com\/?p=735175"},"modified":"2019-01-03T04:28:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T12:28:16","slug":"straight-axle-mafia-and-bracket-racing-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangshift.com\/bangshift1320\/straight-axle-mafia-and-bracket-racing-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Drag Racing Gallery: Straight Axle Mafia And Bracket Racing Fun At Thornhill Dragway In Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) –\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>As we\u2019ve stated before, Thornhill Dragway is the oldest continuously-operated drag strip\u2026period.\u00a0 Some can dispute that (like me or\u00a0people that raced at Pomona, Bakersfield, and Redding, California, etc before 1953…BL)<\/strong><\/em>, but none can claim they\u2019ve kept operating with only six hours in which to hold an event each week April through October.\u00a0 This comes courtesy an injunction from a neighboring county that is recognized and enforced by the county Thornhill resides in.\u00a0 So since the early 1970s this track has only been open from 6PM till Midnight on Saturdays.\u00a0 Hard to argue with the tenacity of the locals to keep this piece of history operating.\u00a0 It was an airfield used by bootleggers during prohibition and began hosting dirt drags in the early 50s.\u00a0 Bit by bit the track was paved.\u00a0 Elmer Trett even called this his favorite track.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bit off the beaten path, but has a feel all its own and the local racers are absolutely devoted to it.<\/p>\n

We usually get up there a few times a year and this particular event featured the Straight-Axle Mafia and regular brackets.\u00a0 If you are into new cars then this might not be the track for you.\u00a0 They\u2019re there, but scarce.\u00a0 Now if you like late-model performance placed in older chassis then it might be right up your alley.\u00a0 LS and Coyote swaps are regularly sighted and generally running strong.\u00a0 Pintos and Mustangs dominate the Ford camp most days unless SAM is there then the popular Falcons and Comets can really add up.\u00a0 Nearly every Chevy platform that has been popular with drag racers is represented in significant numbers.\u00a0 There\u2019s a whole slew of Mopar racers that let themselves be known, but there weren\u2019t many in attendance at this event.<\/p>\n

This gallery and the next are showing the photos I selected in the order they were taken.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t group them by car, class, or otherwise.\u00a0 Maybe I just felt lazy.\u00a0 Anyway, I\u2019ll mention just a few cars.\u00a0 The red fox-body Mustang is a LS swap featuring some exhaust-driven boost.\u00a0 The car is exceptionally clean, but is sans any safety equipment because they say it\u2019s a street car (with bull horns).\u00a0 It\u2019s a strong runner and was having a little trouble putting all that power down.\u00a0 The others I\u2019ll mention are this pair of 74 GTOs.\u00a0 One is stronger than the other and actually participated in Hot Rod\u2019s Drag Week.\u00a0 Both of them are super-straight and gleaming examples of a car rarely seen or appreciated.\u00a0 Most folks don\u2019t even know a GTO was offered through 1974 with \u201974 being the one-year-only Ventura-bodied version.\u00a0 Think of what could have been if GM had allowed the SD-455 to be sold in them.\u00a0 Some were put together, but never offered to the public and were reportedly crushed.<\/p>\n

One more quick note.\u00a0 See that Tony McConnell\u2019s yellow Anglia (Ford six-powered and the slowest in SAM) was again my best chance at getting a good wheelie shot from the straight-axle cars.<\/p>\n

Check back for part 2 of our coverage from Thornhill.<\/p>\n

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