Now thats enough of that. I was racing a 71 duster pro et car with "movin on" on the side of it. Sure do miss those days.

Damn guys, you just made me remember why I miss it ALL! Lions, Irwindale, Fontana, San Fernando and even Carlsbad! Most all of those tracks you could see a 'Pro' show EVERY week. Many times it was Lions on Saturday night and San Fernando on Sunday...for Top Fuel. Give me that freakin' Way Back machine Mr. Peabody!

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NHRA Photo of the Week, Beebe and Mulligan. Now this is cool. Just the look of the front engine dragster is ultimate cool to me. I may be a little biased after racing with my dad. This is what I want to use the time machine for. I want to go back and see the FED's in the hay day.

Not really back in the day, but still pretty damn cool...

YouTube - Beebe & Mulligan AA/FD March Meet 2007

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Steve, that little clip will give ya' goosebumps!

riding in the push truck is the next best thing to actually being in the dragster. I've had the privilege to be in that truck at the patch. Such a *****en sound hearing it come to life while you are right behind it.

I've got some night time pictures I took from probably that same event. I used to get a press pass. I have a neat shot of the Radici and Wise FC shot from the rear quarter, staged at night, header flames and full grand stands in the back round. I have a day time shot of the Soapy Sales Duster completely sideways on a burn out with the rear slick tucked under the rim. I need to scan and post them.

You can see that was a later photo of OCIR as evidenced by the Perfect Circle win lights. Each side was a large compass lit up in neon and probably 25 or 30 feet tall not counting the pole. In the early days each lane had a huge "Mr. T" where the "T" lit up like a Las Vegas casino in the lane that won.

Mike English and I learned to duck when the marines drank too much. One night it was the marines against the bikers, or better yet, the pit side grand stands against the spectator side grand stands with beer bottles flying back and forth over the track. One guy got killed. Then there was the streaker that jumped out of the back of an El Camino near the starting line. He ran toward the finish line waving his hands and everything else loosely attached. The guy in the El Camino followed him as if to pick him up when he reached the finish line, but changed his mind at about half track and left for the pits leaving the streaker on his own. Instead of hitching a ride back in the El Camino, the streaker got a ride in a police car.

With all the stories out there, they could make a movie like "American Graffiti."

RG

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Randy,

Remember the gravel lot behind the top end bleachers? I have very great memories of that lot and the back seat of my old 61 Valiant...

d'kid

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We just gotta stop this. I am getting all seized up thinking about the top end grandstands.

This was absolutely the best place to watch old school drags. You could watch the drama of a top fuel team trying to get ready for a last minute push down the fireup road. You could hear the "tink tink" of magnesium parts landing in the gravel behind the grandstands. I can't think of how many times I burned my little 11 year old hands carrying coffee back from the concession area for my dad. (didn't those cheese burgers taste great after dark)

My dad was loosely affiliated with Ken's Automotive (sponsor on the bracket car) and I got to go down the fireup road with The Odd Couple T/G car once. We shot bottle rockets from those grandstands. I froze my little butt off in those grand stands on those 11p.m. semi final rounds.

I envy you people who have a track nearby that you can call home. Calif. Speedway, while I am thankful for it being there, doesn't have much of a homey feel. Maybe if they hire the right manager.

Mark

Here's a link to some of the cars that ran there back in the day.
Orange County International Raceway, Circa 1970. album | Drew Hierwarter | Fotki.com

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Mr. Jean
#7897 Comp.
Old Comp Racer

Those are the cars that ran OCIR once in a while. How about the guys that ran EVERY weekend like me and Mike English? I was talking to Rick Schute (Auto Imagery) about the days of Drag Scoop Magazine, Johnnie's Speed and Chrome located under the grand stands and other memories of OCIR, like it was a track that had actual permanent rest rooms.

Everyone remembers the Last Drag Race at OCIR with the funny cars and all, but only the OCIR diehards remember that the following Saturday was the real "Last Drag Race." There were so many race cars there that the line just for bracket one, when called to the staging lanes, went all the way back to the Eucalyptus trees on the return road beyond the time slip booth/water hole. The finals for all brackets finally went off at almost 4:00 in the morning on Sunday...and then it was really all over.

I have a shoe box crammed full of my time slips with personal notes on them from the girls in the tower. As they wrote the slips they would wish you good luck, tell you what a great run you made or draw a smiley face or sad face on them depending on how you did. Some day I'll get million$ for them on eBay. LOL.

Randy

RG

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It was only a link Randy, from 1970. There not mine either. We could take photo's and tell about it all, but as you well know, you had to be there.

We are the lucky ones, to have been there, lived there and most of all raced and made great friends there. I'm grateful for them all.

The closest I'll ever get to back then again, will be the 50th March Meet and I'm going.

PS... Notice mine wasn't in there either.

Look familiar?

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Mr. Jean
#7897 Comp.
Old Comp Racer

I'll always remember my first pass at the County.
Was a Wednesday night, Nov 72

Red lit, blew off the tires, missed the 2-3 throw and generally felt like an idiot. And the VW in the other lane was past me by the tree.

oh, well.

d'kid

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There was a guy out there with a white stock looking VW bug that had a mid engine 427 Chevy in it. He usually blew by most things. LOL.

My first pass was one evening on the return road when I was 15. Because I worked every day and night on my friends race car, and even though I was too young to have a drivers license, he let me do a long smokey burn out in it. Not too long after that he parked the car and I started hauling it out to the "County myself when I was old enough.

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Randy, that was Sammy Boyd. Races super comp these days.