One could certainly make a case for Drag Racing’s golden era taking place in Southern California in the month of March in 1970. Thanks to Drag News Archives from that era….

Orange County International Raceway
March 1-AA/FA ($300 to win), BB/GS ($100 to win)
March 8-Open Gas Supercharged, Injected Funny Cars
March 14-Funny Cars ($1200 to win)
March 21-Corvette Funny Car Champs. (very interesting event in light of Phil Burgess’ wonderful series on Cursed Corvettes), Corvette Drag Day
March 28-16 AA/FC, 16 AA/FD

Lions
March 1-
March 8-AHRA Grand American Top Fuel and Funny Cars(Garlits, Prudhomme, Mulligan, WCM, Jim Dunn
March 14-A/FD, AA/GD, AA/FA (Combo Eliminator)
March 21-8 AA/FC, Injected Gas Dragster
March 28-AA/A, BB/GS and Injected Funny Cars

Irwindale
March 1- Fuel and Gas Motorcycle Nationals (32 T/F bike field)
March 8-8 AA/FC
March 14-AA/FA, BB/GS, Injected FunnyCars
March 21-Booked in AA/FD field, match race Charlie Allen vs. Willie Borsch
March 28-Little Guys Meet (big bracket and bike event)

Oh, there was that little meet in Famosa won by Tony Nancy.

Your average admission was $3-5 and kids under 12 were either free or a buck. Pit passes (remember those stick on OCIR pit passes) were a buck.

Mark

Mark,

little problem with the Lions entries for the Grand American. That was 5 1/2 months after John passed away.

At 2 bucks a game umpirering little league and paper route money, you'd be surprised how many races baseball and the Garden Grove Evening News paid for me to attend a year. At least 2 a month, sometimes 3... Nitro Almost every weekend... and that coming fall we had OMS for the first time...

d'kid

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You are absolutely right and I am wrong. Allow me to take out Mulligan and add John Weibe, Jim Nicoll, Chris K. and the Adams and Enriquez Double Eagle.
Being a Garden Grove guy, you surely would know that.

Mark

Gotta miss Steve Evans screaming Sunday Sunday Sunday!!!

But most of those listed were Saturday. Sunday we went to San Fernando.

Jay

Mark yer right, that was the golden age. Today there are too many Natl. events. A local track can't book shows like those anymore. Lets face it not many of us went to a Natl. for their first time at the track.

You heard a radio ad, (Steve Evans) with yer buddys, and said hey lets go check this out. Then you were hooked on the sport.

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Rules creep and unrestrained technology have vastly diminished the number of cars in a region. Losing race tracks to shopping malls doesn't help much either(I still can't make myself go to the mall that replaced Riverside, even though it is 10 miles from my crib).
In the golden era, a couple of guys could throw together an injected funny car and run a couple of times a month within a reasonable distance from the homes and not spend a great deal of money. Today, we have gobs of 700 cubic inch dragsters running super comp, top dragster or quick 8 and frankly, they bore the hell out of me. As much as I love dragsters (and I even own one), they can't hold a candle to a car running all out in terms of crowd appeal. As good as the super classes have been for the sport, even Steve Evans up in Heaven could not promote a spectator event with these cars.

As much as I dislike NAPCAR, they seem to have a better understanding of what unrestrained technology and rules creep can do to a series at the sportsman level.

Mark

Hey Mark- you have the entry lists for the BB/GS cars in that archive?

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Don Montgomery, Pacific Speed, Mel Marrs, Neil Stein, Don Toia, Don Vance, Fentress and Jones, Cook and Stewart

Mark

Thought so... I was at a few of those... Check the avitar- stepdad driving

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I'd love to see an entry list for the ahra grand american race at new england dragway in august of 1970

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"A Friday night run in a Funny Car is just really intense" - Whit Bazemore

No entry list for that event, but....

July 25, 1970-Steve Carbone displayed his "World Champion" form through five rounds of torrid top fuel competition to claim the prestigious U.S. Pro Dragster Championship. (Gene Conway won funny car and Don Enriquez won junior fuel)

Mark

Yeah, I was there... Gene had a quick hot rod, and the White Coupe was much nicer than the burnt orange roadster... beat Ray Alley in the finals, that was a pretty ride.... as far as Gene and Don, I loved watching that lil injected car run... The Nitro meet a month earlier was awesome too... and had AA/FA...

d'kid

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