The Hot Rod Story Drag Racing

hello I'm Ken Berg welcoming you to the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside California some of the fastest racers in the world will roar down this track today and before the day is over you'll get a chance to meet some of them drivers like Chi Cobra skini Tony Nancy in the gas trike stirs Don Prudhomme Connie Kalitta in the fuelers bill raking the Modifieds just to mention a few now these racers and their teams have spent a great deal of money hundreds of hours building their racing machines machines capable of going from that start a standing start down this quarter-mile track and speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour and times of less than eight seconds today we'd like to show you all faces of hot rodding the people involved the way they worked a tear machine down and build it up between runs the stringent rules they race under the safety devices they've developed safety devices you and I use on our cars today we'll see how they time the race is in the difference between ET or elapsed time and top speed and we'll wind up with some of the hottest drag racing in the world but to give you a better understanding of today's racing techniques and machines let's go back down hot rod Hey drag-racing actually got it starred in the late 1930s in southern california when the group of would-be racers discovered that the smooth surfaces of the mojave dry lakebed for ideal brought a motive speed contest racing was certainly different during those history-making events first owned as timed acceleration contests later to become known as drag races after the war the cars had changed but here's a pretty fast chassis that hasn't changed since Adam the need the big difference between now and the early days was in the engines or Mills as the inset column and some of the machinery making assaults on the lakeshore and look strange and the drivers veterans of the sports such as Vic Edelbrock Stu hilburn Fred Offenhauser Dean moon and escandarian and hundreds more who became a part of the present-day multi-million dollar speed equipment industry another outlet for the burning desire for speed and competition was the oval track roadsters raced in fierce competition on dirt and paved track usually occupied by sprints and race guards roadster racing eventually spread all corners of the United States and it's still running today under the classification of super modified a new concept of racing for the hot rodder was born in 1949 Bonneville born of necessity for the better dry lakebeds in the Southern California area were being used by military services the Ford flathead engine was the most popular mill for years some equipped with special art and overhead conversions for increased performance here's a fuel that's familiar to all present-day racers tech and safety requirements were just as severe in those days as they are now the first events at bonneville bound cars of every shape size and description running for the record you supercharges were even given a try in those days with a great deal of success to get a record at Bonneville a car was required to make a two-way run within a period of one hour and the average speed of both runs had to better the existing record to be considered a new mark after making his first run down the course the driver is met by his crew they quickly service the car cool it off and they're ready for the return run structural failures such as these prompted the development of the high-performance engines used in the cars we drive on the streets today it was either gonna blow or go and when it blew it was commonly known as a basket case when you ran at Bonneville you had to have a good supply of spare engines they were expendable car number 15 was driven by AK Miller today a performance advisor for the Ford Motor Company and many times a champion of the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb streamlining was inevitable if the riders were to reach higher speeds on the salt the first single-engine liner to exceed 200 miles per hour in the flying mile was built by Alex Nick sidious of Southern California but the holder of the streamliner record for many consecutive years was this twin engine for power creation entered by the Ken's Leslie team out of Denver Colorado this car had to be pushed by a red-hot street road purchase over 100 miles per hour before it would start and Ana California takes credit for having the first organized drag strip in operation in this country it opened in July of 1954 the first race is on a paved quarter-mile long course suddenly there were drag strips all over for this outgrowth of racing activity came out rash of speed and custom equipment manufacturers and a new magazine flourish carrying nose of the fledglings for its name Hot Rod Magazine today the world's largest automotive publication the need for better organization of the racing events existed and the National Hot Rod Association was founded by hot rod magazine whose editor at that time was Wally Parkes based on rules set for partially timing Association the NHRA established a universally accepted set of classes and racing rules one of the top runners of the quarter-mile in those days was the bean bandits dragster from San Diego California which held records as high as 134 miles per hour for several years now the exhibition stock cars go that fast you more and more people line the quarter-mile sidelines each weekend one week a spectator the next weekend a participant who could resist trying his hand in a sport open to everyone who's bigger to race a car or motorcycle the formula simple see a race rush home strip the vendors off a cooper roadster tune up the engines and back to try it out that's of course as the safety inspection more classes were added to accommodate the more varied field of cars lined up at the pit gate anxious to try out drag racing stock cars were smash it for the enthusiasts only means of transportation could double and weekends as a racing entry and if you had a car that would go 100 miles per hour man that was big time in those days the urge for faster speeds prompted more rails or dragsters improved roll bars were seen as part of the safety equipment for speeds with these machines were well over 100 miles per hour with the 150 mile an hour market drivers goal in these days the most critical element of drag racing elapsed times were being watched to a 10 second plus et by one of the rails was really getting down there and during the early 50s a high 9 second elapsed time was recorded by one of the early dragsters featuring a full body at eg by one of the pioneer racing teams gave notice of future elapsed times in the quarter mile from a standing start these were the early days a form of racing soon to grow and become one of America's most popular automotive sports well now we talked about the history of hotrod racing let's examine the dragster of today you might recall one of the names we mentioned was that of Wally parks well Wally today is president of the National Hot Rod Association and he's here now talking with Chuck Griffith about this fine rail job Wally come over and chat with us nice to have you with us today Thank You dick glad to be here Wally we talked about the history of this sport is there anything you'd like to add at this point well I just like to add that I think it's not only the noisiest sport in existence but certainly the fastest growing one I understand the Detroit is taking a close look at the young men that have come up through the ranks and have styled these machines and made improvements that all of us are taking advantage of right now well Detroit has been active as far as watching a sport for a long time but today we find that an awful lot of the people have graduated from the hotrod ranks into the automotive industries and we find also that many the manufacturers are taking active part in producing equipment the runs awful good Wally and the evolution of the sport this is one of the things that has developed the rail job it's the fastest of the machines is it not yeah that's kind of like the the quarter horse is in the autumn allure in the horse world it's been developed for the purpose of going as fast as possible in a quarter of a mile Wally I know since the formation of the National Association you've emphasized safety I'd like perhaps at this time for you to point out to the people though what are the safety features on this machine well this one most of the safety is built around the driver's cockpit we start out with a roll bar on the top which has been a standard requirement in hot-rodding since the early 40s this one in cases the driver's head which is in a helmet and you'll notice that the thing is padded we have a requirement that states that the cockpit has to be properly padded for insulation for the driver down inside we've got shoulder straps seat belt on a quick-release basis there to hold the driver firmly on the seat most of this is inherited a will protect him in case he gets on a rough course more than capsizing because we sell them have accidents I'm happy to say we have a parachute release ring down in the bottom at the driver uses and pulls just as soon as it completes his quarter-mile run and this pops the parachute out the back which unfolds and brings him to a stop in a that of course he has his his break here that he uses for additional stopping and very fine disc brakes mounted on the rear wheels so he is well protected indeed yes he is well II I'm amazed at how simple the controls are in these machine well the driver is pretty busy in there running for about seven and a half seconds actually it's as basic as you can get you've got a clutch pedal on the left which he releases you got a fuel pedal on the right that he presses down in the steering wheel that he holds on to actually there are no gears to shift in the thing this is a hand brake for stopping in addition to the parachute and then of course he has the switch kill button and the parachute release in there and that's all you don't have any instruments to read that he pays attention to because in that 7.5 seconds he's uh he's a pretty busy man Wally let's move from the cockpit to the engine this is the baby that makes the money for the driver tell us a little bit about the engineering of this machine well the engine basically on this one is a Chrysler which is one of the very popular engines in modern drag racing sitting on top of the engine here is what we call a blower which is a GMC supercharger such as is used on trucks and excavation diesel equipment on top of that's what we call the bug catcher generally it's actually the air induction valves here listen happens to be a hilburn how about these tubes down here now those are the zoomy that's a new tower style exhaust that's been developed and it kicks the exhaust up which gives some downward thrust on the car also helps clear the smoke from the tires away from the driver and then we get on the back well this is the good old mag that provides the ignition on many of these cars and over here is the fuel shutoff valve the driver uses when he completes his run to shut the fuel off from the engine Wally I noticed the tires do not have tread isn't that unusual well it looks unusual but actually this type of tire has been developed purely for drag racing and the purpose is to get just as much rubber on the asphalt as you can for traction you'll notice the little holes in here these are simply inspection holes so they can tell how deep the tread is but basically this type of tire with its soft rubber compound is the thing that gets them off the line and puts them through the quarter mile as fast as they go these long pieces of metal here undoubtedly that's where the machine gets its name the rail job well originally those pieces of metal were Model T frame rails and they have developed into the fine tubing instruction we have now that's where it got the rail name and up front the wheels up here like bicycle wheels they they appear to be bicycle or motorcycle wheels and they again have been specially developed here with wider and stronger hubs and spokes and the things they carry very little weight most of the weight is on the back of the car and they simply serve to steer the thing with a light touch by the driver so only very interesting you've pointed out the safety features the engineering features of this rail job let's go out to the track and see them in action thousands of fans throng the gates of a drag strip on Sunday afternoon in all parts of the country the reason symbol who can resist those tire burning dragsters in the closely matched contest between the ever-popular stalkers it all adds up to a guerrilla second spectacular the pits too are of interest to the spectator for here he gets a close-up of the machinery so to be seen in action and he might sneak a peek inside one of the machines while it's torn down being readied for the next race mother often gets into the act he mixes the critical blends of fuel as if preparing baby's formula these exotic blends of high-energy fuel are a vital contribution to those unbelievable speeds drag racers travel all over the country to compete in major events drivers like Joe shubik from Lakewood Ohio travel from coast to coast in a few months time to compete in the big races such as hotrod magazines second annual championship here at Riverside shubik is one of hundreds of professional drag racers in the unit all of them make their living by driving the fast rails for prize money first job for crewmen after the cars rolled off the trailer is a complete preliminary check out of all components including spark plugs valve settings tire pressures and countless other areas of importance drag racing in this category requires continual attention to every working part of the engine and chassis before racing all cars must complete a technical inspection and classification wait plays an important part in racing for determines into which class the car will compete in relation to the cubic inch displacement of the engine or its horsepower thus all cars are classed for the fairest competition within a given category more than seventy six classes of competition are offered at a major drag race there's a place for everyone to compete if one engine won't do it try to that framework holds a streamlined body when this car makes all-out speed runs by mid-morning the pits buzz with activity classification inspection repair and tune up the pattern parachutes play an important part in stopping cars to travel more than 140 miles per hour in addition to the chutes the conventional passenger car brakes are used the chute must be inspected repacked after each run it's a vital piece of equipment on any competition car prior to the actual races drivers get together for the traditional drivers meeting where strip rules are reviewed and the elimination procedures announced white off in the meeting will also find drivers drawing lots to find out who their opponents will be in the first round of racing the starting system is clearly defined as is the file system and strip ground rules these very important rules must be clearly understood for in drag racing the prizes are very generous nobody the car after the meeting back to the pets and ready the car for eliminations there's money to be made with top prices reaching thousands of dollars in value we've talked about the engineering efficiency of the machine itself and the psychological readiness of the driver and that takes us right here to the starting line as they start here and drag a quarter mile down this track the most important device to the driver is this machine it's called a Christmas tree for obvious reasons and that's what gets him or her started and to tell you how it operates let's call in the publisher of hot rod magazine mr. ray Brock right just how does this contraption operate dick we have staging lights at the top of pre stage and a stage we'll turn them both out and then we'll ask a couple of fellows to step in the lights in the pre stage lights fellas okay now we move up into the stage light we have both these lights lit that means they're ready to go I turn on the switch on this box and the countdown starts a half second intervals the green light goes on and away they go now if they happen to go a little bit too early then they're in trouble we'll redo this again and we'll have the fellow on the Left go through the beam a little bit too early and he's in trouble okay fellas here we go and while he's out he fouled out so that's the way the Christmas tree works it's a highly technical electronic system but is also highly accurate array we've talked about elapsed time and top speed could you explain the difference there yes this dragstrip is a quarter of a mile long the elapsed time is at the time it takes to go from the start to the finish and that's it we get some of our hard drives we've done around seven and a half seconds how about the top speed top speed is measured at the finish line with a set of traps just straddling the police line and that gives you the top speed at that point by noon everyone's ready to go and the spectators are treated oh what a tree look at the Queen Joni with Bob Peterson founder of hot rod magazine next comes perky patty the Hurst shifter Queen and there are the beautiful Street roadsters and still thrilled custom car show and race fans of all ages the parade also includes a look at the drivers to be seen in competition here we see the notables of drag racing Duchess Connie Kalitta with his Ford powered dragster Tom McEwen norm Whitley George bolt off Chuck Griffith dannion gaya Toni Nancy Don Prudhomme Carroll Amex in there are hundreds more out of the dozens of Fuel dragsters that enter a major drag racing event only 32 will have a chance at the elimination they must qualify with a low elapsed time to get one of the 32 spots which entitles them to run for the money and there's plenty of it to be won in drag racing even the losers receive some compensation to offset the cost of competition for it costs upwards of 75 to $100 to make a single run in one of today's Fuel dragsters how do you go racing first the car must be registered so that all of its times and speeds recorded our furnish to the right driver and its mechanics later to be used as a guide in their tune-up work and after all of the book work is out of the way trailer it into the inspection area for a wait in line and some bench racing with fellow racers comparing notes isn't uncommon for drag racers or a friendly group eager to help one another with tips on performance and even supplying parts when an opponent gets into trouble with broken equipment first the scale or weight will determine the class trained officials who carefully work the scales to be sure everything's on the up-and-up the car is way both with and without the driver for an accurate measure next the critical safety inspection where experts such as Jim Dale a professional drag racing tech man combs the car to detect the slightest flaw or rules infraction which could be reason for a mishap at high speed if you can't make it through this line you just don't race until everything's fixed up once the tech man signs his name on the dotted line and gives the driver his okay it's time to get busy there's racing to be done there are 13 different categories in which a car can compete in drag racing and more than 70 classes in those categories each car must be clearly numbered and the class and category of competition must be easy to see for the complexities of efficient recording demand quick identification of a car when the car pulls to the starting line recorders quickly enter the class and number on their timing sheet and as soon as the car completes its run the elapsed time and speed are entered the driver receives a copy of this information on a time slip which can be used as the final judge in a car's performance as we've mentioned earlier everything must be checked before a race and since the drag racing machines only run for a short time they carry very little fuel refueling between each rod is usually necessary in drag racing the safety of the driver is of utmost importance here driverless Allen gets ready for a run he must first get into his driving suit which is fully insulated and heat reflective and protect him in the event of a fire drivers must wear leather shoes preferably boots and to complete the protection a fireproof facemask is also used with goggles and then the crash helmet which is jokingly referred to by the drivers as a lid skid seemed like a lot of trouble well imagine traveling at 200 miles per hour and a fire breaks out right in front of you that fire suit could save a life the car too is well equipped for protection the driver's head fits into a compartment just below the roll bar and he's tightly strapped in with shoulder harness and seat belt in case of a rollover into the staging life we followed sixteen-year-old les Allen into Riverside International Raceway since we began this morning he's just completed his first run les you've just turned in a time of 169 miles per hour are you happy with your run well we expect more than that I know you've only had this machine in operation we're a little over a month you yourself have only been driving for four or five months what do you anticipate as being the top speed we're 100 80 should should be the top one hundred eighty-five hundred eighty hundred eighty-five how many times a month you plan to drive this a fuel dragster how many times a month well we every weekend five times they give you you're learning each time you handle the wheel you learn every time what are the things you feel you have to work on most well just controlling the car mostly let's hope we see you soon in the victory circle okay qualifying runs for a place in the elimination finals are as hard on the car is the actual racing equipment sometimes let's go as they say but it's quickly repaired right there in a bit the stock car hundreds of them block into the staging lanes when the call comes for time trials for the stocker like the hot modified cars need plenty of practice runs to the rhythmic pattern continues run after run after run to squeeze every ounce of performance the engine has to offer you got to have a racer to go to the drive if the push truck will go enter it run for a selfie does she or doesn't she only her mechanic knows for sure surely Shane a housewife with three children drag racing enthusiasts big super stocker and just the thing for quick trips to the supermarket now let's talk to the fastest lady on the track today the women as well as the men enjoy the drag racing surely Shahan who has recorded the fastest time and undoubtedly will remain as the ladies champion here at the track congratulations Shirley thank you very much I know this Martin is asking often how does the woman get started in drag racing husband a husband and how do you like it I like it real well you take a lot of kidding from the man quite a bit quite a bit especially when you beat them yeah they get used to it after a while though oh you plan to continue to beat them as much as we can well good we'll continue to look for you than in the victory circle how's the class eliminations are underway the cars are running on a round-robin system of competition two cars at a time run moves up to challenge another round winner until eventually there are just two cars to go to the trophy the Vans really come out of it a shoe big stockers cranked off the line 26 miles per hour in the dragstrip quarter-mile isn't exactly letting grass grow under your feet and many of these cars are identical to the one that you drive daily in addition to the stock glasses factory experimental cars drill the crowd as they lunge off the starting line and blast to 130 miles per hour here's the hot entry the little old lady from Pasadena if this next car looks Tony Nancy a young Southern Californian who's been driving his 22 Junior dragsters for years is one of those who favors the gas dragsters they don't go as fast as the fuelers usually about 190 miles per hour but their show of racing skill as equally as exciting as the Big Brother fuel cars with elapsed times for the 1320 foot distance hovering in the 8 second bracket proudest hence drivers ready all stations go this is more than physical and machine emotion play an integral part as well let's find out what a driver feels as he anticipates his turn at the starting gate here's gentlemen Joe Xu back from Ohio Joe what do you feel as you anticipate your turn well sitting in the staging area waiting for the race to start gets a little nerve-racking butterflies and all that but once you get up there on the starting line a Christmas tree starts coming down I think it all leaves you and so where before you know it and kind of a kind of a funny feeling I like it Don Prudhomme I feel so I've been preparing myself pretty good for this big championship race out here this weekend there's a lot of fast cars out there running we hope to jump right in the middle the best upman win this big meet Tom McEwen well we're really up for this race the car is the new motor new tires we've been practicing as much as we can on it we hold the strip record out here and I feel that we're the one to beat the starting system I feel that I have it down real well and the other drivers are going to have to beat me get them all from Portland Oregon Ned McCulloch there's the big race to get tens before race when the car fires you're ready to go I'm ready when the car fires next thing to do is make a race out of it'll go and a big piece cars run down the drag strip every 28 to 34 seconds upon completion of a run the driver stripped off his helmet facemask and fire suit then he and his crew members will look over the time slip and discuss problems if the readings were bad next back to the pits where the engine is allowed to cool before making another run the chute must be inspected and repack all final adjustments made them back for another run as advertised all the hot dogs are here today here's popular Connie Kalitta with a supercharged Ford dragster all the way from Mount Clemens Michigan Connie's car is one of the nation's fastest and quickest with elapsed times under eight seconds and speeds way over 200 miles per hour Connie is one of the sports superstar like the other Fuel dragsters Bonnie's car weighs just slightly more than 1,000 pounds and the engine puts out more than a thousand horsepower how about cost well these dragsters are valued at more than $10,000 and that figure doesn't include the extra engines that are needed some of the engines are good only for a dozen races watch this rod in the following slow-motion sequence you'll see the smoke boil off the tires and can imagine how quickly one of these drivers must react did you get into trouble the National Hot Rod Association record holder for Speed is Connie Kalitta in the bounty hunter at two hundred six point four four miles per hour Connie just made a run and ran into some tough luck at the start County what happened oh we broke an axle shaft it's the first time I busted one in about three years we have that right behind you let's take a look at it yes here it is right here just sheared it off with a nice clean break you've got quite a bit of traction up here today and it's just giving us a slight problem you said you had new tires and that was part of the problem yes it was you just got too much traction and just cut it right man well it's either too much traction and not enough horsepower one or the other you're not gonna blame it on the driver anyway well that should be part of it too you never know Connie now after you've made a run although this wasn't a completed run what is the process you go through and you go tear down your engine cleaned out completely or is it just a routine check no it's just a routine check we check all the spark plugs and make sure that we had proper combustion in each one of the cylinders there's nothing going on wrong we check whether to make sure we had the proper fuel ratio in the engine in that particular moment we set the lash on the valves to make sure nothing is closed up from the extreme temperature pack the parachute check the tire pressure put a new load of fuel in the car and give it a cold dose of water to get it cool again it is ready to run Connie you are paying a great tribute as the public address announcer mentioned your name and your car moving up into that Christmas tree affair all the people around the track ran to see your run and of course they were disappointed as you were they look upon you as the champion in many regards does this put any added pressure upon you to a certain extent there's a lot of problems involved in something like this it's a big meet there's a lot of tension we have we have the problems to work out with a car last about three days ago we I was running at Salt Lake City and it's four thousand feet up there and this affects the car also now I'm getting the car turn back around for this conditions here and I'll set the car up and not quite sure the next one will be a lot better County Championship racers require top-notch power what's the source of energy for your machine that guy is a brand-new 1965 overhead cam Ford engine this engine has been working extremely well it makes terrific horsepower has been living it's been giving me real good results what's the top notch speed that you might attain with this engine well I hope four to ten and two weeks ago I turned 209 point 78 just one point away from it on the clocks good luck to you Connie I sure appreciate it thank you taking nice talking to you Connie Kalitta and now let's go back out and check the action on the track stopping that dragster is like the days of the Old West at over 200 miles per hour it's shoot first hit the breaks later and they don't always go straight watch it is he in trouble he's got to hold it straight for if he crosses the center line the Kars is qualified the call has come for elimination some cars are still in trouble in the pits are a beehive of activity as mechanics try their best to meet the deadline which may be only minutes away these experienced hands can tear down an engine rebuild it in a matter of minutes if necessary they'll replace an entire engine well after all they usually have at least an hour to change engines and they get lots of practice racing every weekend here's where the right hand has to know what the left hand is doing because teamwork really counts when the chips are down here a car that has been eliminated as being stripped and the rear end is being borrowed to be installed in another dragster one that's still in the running even the spectators in the pits sweat it out with the mechanic it's all together they've changed the rear end can now rush to the staging area to meet the deadline for elimination now the long way the law before the storm look relax but they're plenty worried about the important races that are coming up after all the hot rod magazine championship drag race is one of the big races of the year and these drivers have been preparing for four months at the top strip throughout the country here's Tony Nancy a young Southern Californian who's been driving his 22 Junior dragsters for years he's one of those who favors the gas dragsters they don't go as fast as the fuelers usually about 190 miles per hour but their show of racing skill is equally as exciting as the Big Brother Fuel cars with elapsed times for the 1320 foot distance hovering in the eight second bracket it looks easy racing down the drag strip but for every race dozens of hands shuffle about quickly to maintain exacting records of each performance the Tron deck time clocks speed clocks and the electronic judger all have to be watched and read carefully now we know why they put blinders on horses there's one big feature in drag racing anyone can win it's been proven time and time again as a dark horse entry seldom heard from in previous weeks rolls up to the starting line on the final round of eliminations ready to go for the top prizes but with the case was none too fussy a young driver just getting a start in big-time professional drag racing Nando survived one of the toughest fields of cars ever assembled to emerge the winner of the hot rod magazine championship drag races his consistent performances and dependable engine and car resulted in this young Southern Californians biggest win time for the awards and honors neither hussy and crew chief John smiter receive awards from the Queen Bob Peterson president of Peterson publishing company and publisher ray Brock the winner's circle is filled with excitement and glory for the drivers who claimed the biggest victories of their careers out of 500 entries or even a thousand it can be only about 80 winners someone has to lose but the drag racers never give up they're a determined lot always anxious to go back and try again and they do they didn't win today so they'll take home their cars to try to find out why but they'll be back in the running on the next weekend when the Christmas tree flashes its first countdown to signal the start of another race that's drag racing a sport for everyone from 16 to 60 years old a fun sport which appeals to the youth of America out of an urge to do things mechanical with their own hands to learn about the workings of a car and then go out to the drag strip the proving grounds of their ability you

Channel: King Rose Archives

Views: 287,208

Keywords: Drag Racing (Sport), Race, Hot Rod, Drag Racing (TV Genre), Dry Lakes, speed racing, National Hot Rod Association (Organization)

Id: WcslCXecPG8

Length: 47min 45sec (2865 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 24 2013