Drag Racing 1963

this man is an electrical engineer from Marion Indiana this man is a truck driver from Portsmouth Ohio this man is a policeman from Pomona California these men are building contractors from Odessa Texas this man is a city councilman from the City of Industry California this man is president of an engineering firm in Atlanta Georgia they've all come together at one place for one purpose drag racing the story of this year's Nationals begins on a warm Wednesday morning late in August at the speedway shopping center near Indianapolis Indiana this is where competitors from 36 states the District of Columbia and Canada find out whether their cars qualify as entries in the 1963 national championships the field is limited to a thousand but there are many more applicants standing by hoping for a chance if any of the entries are disqualified the ages of drivers range from 16 to 60 170 classes of cars will compete for 70 class Awards and the class winners for six Eliminator titles more than $50,000 in prizes await the big go winners the idea in drag racing is to get into the lowest competition class with as low a weight to horsepower ratio as possible and with most of that weight on the rear wheels it's like a fighter sweating down until he's all muscle no fat but with the punch where it counts this is a bee dragster and will run in the bee dragster class if it wins a class it will run for the competition eliminator titles but dragsters no matter how lean have to be a certain size length and weight to carry certain types of engines there are set limits this car is in the factory experimental class and the driver from Pennsylvania always has one of the top cars in the nation because some of the equipment is not generally available this car is assigned to the a factory experimental class stocks and dragsters representing the extremes of the drag racing scale are relatively easy to classify but the modified the cars in between are hard to assess inspectors really have to know automobiles to know how to classify cars like this one it has a modified 1949 Fiat body and a hybrid Chrysler engine the verdict it will run in the a altered class the Hurst shifter hospital provides technical and mechanical assistance to anyone who needs help many contestants take advantage of this friendly service but the National Hot Rod Association inspectors aren't concerned with a running gear alone the drivers search for more speed has to be equated with safety and car handling roll bars must be a specified thickness on this C dragster they must be one in 5/8 inches in diameter if everything is a-ok the next stop is the pit area of Indianapolis Raceway Park in broad general terms cars are either hot or snot they're either factory assembled or showroom available or they're modified in some specific way time for repairs and last-minute adjustments not much there are two days of practice and 999 other guys who want time on the strip to at best a driver and crew may have four or five chances to practice a total of forty to fifty seconds of running time to find out what's what dragsters have to be sharp they have to know their cars inside and out Walli parks National Hot Rod Association president checks to see if everything is going alright there is always something that can be done or redone better some minor adjustment or finishing touch that they feel may make the difference between winning and losing the body maybe in early 1950 vintage but the power plant this year's latest model look like a parachute it is at a hundred and eighty miles an hour Plus which is the speed some of these rails hit you need real stopping power or you run out of Road now the staging area official checks the lineup of waiting cars he relays word to the timing tower and gets the signal that the strip is ready for action a pair of dragsters are first up and like all entries without self-starters they must be pushed up to the line when the cars cross the starting line they will break the light beam and start the electronic timers in the timing tower ready in the right lane ready in the left lane keep your eyes on the Christmas tree the electronic starter the sequence of lights takes two and a half seconds from top to bottom and they're away practice or not it's all out all the way it's only four hundred and forty yards from start to finish when the cars cross the finish line they break the finish line light beams and stop the timers the first car to cross the finish line also checks the lane lights which are provided to tell the spectators which lane 1 when the figures are relayed to the record keepers a card is filled out that tells you your speed and a elapsed time accurate to the thousandth of a second runs are often so close that only the electronic clocks can separate the winner and the loser here's a speed merchant from another racing circuit enjoying the proceedings Parnelli Jones the fastest man in Indianapolis Speedway history with JC agajanian his car owner here's Herman Moser in a Dodge against a Pontiac convertible leading off a stock car practice session but Pavel in a 62 dodge blows off Carmen Falcone in a 63 Plymouth bill golden in another 63 dodge takes Tom Steiner in a 61 Chevy Corvette in the near Lane it's Charlie Smith the leader in the world point standing his eighth altered we'll run the distance in a little over ten seconds so don't run at all and have to be pushed away from the starting line others jumped the start better not do that in competition or the red light will disqualify the car when you think of the imagination that created these cars cars of all shapes and sizes when you think of the ingenuity that turned a dream into hurtling metal you realize that the national championship drag races are perhaps the world's greatest display of automotive ingenuity in action run move up run move up go go go Jamie Parkhurst runs off the strip and cartwheels into the air he scatters parts all over the area luckily all he got was a scratch on his forehead Saturday morning early the Sun is hardly up but the crowds are pouring into Indianapolis Raceway Park some have stayed all night they'll get a good seat the crowds wait anxiously for the big go to start more eager fans jam into the park by 9 o'clock the parking area is full and there isn't a seat left the crowd this year is estimated to exceed 75,000 Jim Johnson later won the B stock automatic class for their 62 dodge leads off with a promising practice run Milo Colvin takes on the D star trophy with his little Lord POTUS Jim Thorpe last year's runner-up for mister stock eliminator heats dodge hope very much alive with another impressive run now here comes the factory experimental classes Dave Strickler wins the a factory experimental class and receives a gold wristwatch awarded to all 70 class letters by George Hearst to Pontiacs duel in the bee factory experimental class with Jim Wangers a number 926 winning it another dodge winner Ron roof-top sassy factory experimental class but a class winner comes off the strip his car is weighed inspected again and given another fuel check if any infraction is found he's disqualified this year 7 class winners were disqualified for a variety of reasons the dodges had no trouble dr. Dean Hill a professor from the chemistry department of New Mexico State University supervises the National Hot Rod Association fuel checks owned a service station pump gasoline available locally may be used sunday is another a day of more class eliminations a day of more fun the golden shifter girls and the Canadian Indian Bob beater parade up and down the strip to the delight of the fans George Hearst president of first performance products incorporated has never missed the national championship drag races this year again he and his men are on the scene where they can personally talk with the participants and gain first-hand information about their needs now it's time for action ed Eaton National Hot Rod Association Event Director checks with the cameraman and the starters to make sure everything is ready Don Garlits leads off in his Dodge Power double a dragster against Ron Abaddon hellzapoppin it's gone it's all the way another Dodge powered machine Jim Parsons a street roadster with a 63 dodge engine wins easily more dodge winners driven Moser takes a superstar automatic run as the big stalkers take to the strip and Jim Thornton in the companion Ram Chargers Dodge wraps up the Superstock automatic class trophy dodge is going great at the national bill Abraham from Akron Ohio wins the a stock automatic crown in a 62 Pontiac and here comes one of our high points of the whole meet the stone was cook entry in the Far Lane and George Montgomery in the near Lane it's California versus Ohio in a battle of the casters cook dared Montgomery to run against it this is the chance he's been begging for but Joe Murray walks away with the run and later the a gasser trophy next it's the f gasser trophy

Channel: Leif Eriksson

Views: 154,282

Rating: 4.7850876 out of 5

Keywords: Drag Racing, Cars, Car, Mustang, Burnout, Automobile (Industry), Model (person), Burnout (vehicle), Race, Turbo, Exhaust, Camaro, Street, Corvette, Cobra, Muscle, Mile, Supra, Paradise, Pontiac, Shelby, Dodge, Twin, Drag Race, Stock, Mazda, Burnout Paradise, Drag Race (album), Boost, Run, Ls1, Holden, GM LS Engine (Engine Type), Nitrous, Z28, Raceway, Loud, Rx7

Id: 0sZ-UV67h4M

Length: 14min 51sec (891 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 05 2013