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First On Race Day (and in muddy alleys, too)
I grew up with Fords. In fact, the first car I ever drove was this '72 Ford F-250, and I drove it hard. Me and my buddy, Van Tune (who went on to become editor of Motor Trend magazine), certainly tested the Ford…
The Final Fred Files
OK, race fans, here's my final installment of the Fred Files, select images from a CD offered to me by former Division 1 Photographer Fred von Sholly. Fred had only offered them to the National DRAGSTER team as material for our files, and…
The Fred Files, part 3
Based on the volume of e-mails received, a lot of readers of this column seem to have attended East Coast match races in the early 1970s. I'm pretty sure that Fred von Sholly could get elected governor of some Eastern state right now, so popular are…
The Fred Files, part 2
Several of you just about wet yourself when you read about the Fred Files, former NHRA Division 1 photographer Fred von Sholly's collection of late-1960s and early-1970s images that he sent to me recently, covering his travels to legendary East…
Some closure for one of drag racing history's mysteries
Tim Ditt is circled in this famous Jon Asher photo of Don Garlits' trans explosion.
Although he is part of the legend of one of drag racing's great forks in the road, even the most hard-core fan…
The Seattle Time Machine
Al Kean has been a loyal reader of this column from the start and also of National DRAGSTER. The Canadian race fan might best be remembered by his fellow fans for grabbing this amazing photo of Don Prudhomme's Hot…
The Fred Files
Wow, it's been a busy week, and I've been swamped in all sorts of meetings that have sucked away the precious time I had planned to dedicate to a new installment of the Misc. Files for today, but my loss is your gain with an…
Your turn
One of the greatest things about this column – other than getting to dig elbows deep into drag racing history and reconnecting with heroes past who stunningly discover that we still remember them – is the exchange of information between me and the…
The Misc. Files: H is for 'heroes'
Welcome back for another thrilling installment of the Misc. Files, brought to you today by the letter H.
Poor ol' H, often the unforgotten and silent letter in words such as "rhyme" and "hour" and "honest" and even sometimes in "homage," but…
History lesson in a book
Our dear ol' pal Richard Brady, a longtime Division 3 photographer and a steady source of dependable and indispensable help to the National DRAGSTER staff at more than a dozen Full Throttle Drag Racing Series…
More 'Snake' sssssssssssstuff
Longtime photo buddy Tom Schiltz sent along this great shot of "Snake's" truck and the 'Cuda being unloaded in York, Pa., in 1970. Glen Brown shared this photo of "the Snake's" yellow '…
All 'the Snake's' horses
From the cramped confines of the back bench seat, if I squint just right, I can pretend this is my dream come true, that I'm on the road with Don Prudhomme in the 1970s, crisscrossing the country with "the Snake" from match…
The Durachrome Bug
Warren Gunter's Durachrome Bug Funny Car of the late 1960s and early 1970s was emblematic of the class' evolving nature; no experiment or idea was too radical, no gimmick too out there in the pursuit of bookings and fan…
The Misc. Files: The G Force
Welcome back to the Misc. Files, brought to you today by the letter G. Two full file folders awaited me yesterday, and as I began rifling through them, there were so many fun photos and cars that I had trouble limiting it to my self-imposed 10…
Chicago: The Name Game
Well, here we are in fabulous Chi-Town – well, actually J-town, Joliet, just outside of Chicago – for this weekend's United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals. I've been to almost every venue on the Full Throttle Drag…
The Misc. Files: Meet the F Troops
We're back for another trip through the sometimes fractured files of the vast National DRAGSTER photo library, digging into the black hole of forgotten friends who somehow never accumulated enough photos to warrant their own driver folder…
Battling back: How 'the Snake" reconquered Top Fuel
Our scheduled trip to Don Prudhomme's shop Thursday to see his collection of restored Funny Cars was cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled for the middle of next month, kayoing the column I had planned for today.…
The Misc. Files: An E-Ticket ride
The letter E may be among the most frequently used vowels in the English language, but its pickings are a little slim when it comes to surnames in the Misc. Files of the National DRAGSTER photo archives, yet I still found a hardy enough…
It's a two-for-one celebration special
Just in case Facebook/Outlook/your local authorities didn't alert you, today is my birthday. The big 4-9 … woo-hoo! Sunday also will be a huge day of celebration, speeches, and downtown parades hosted by The Society of Friends and Fans of Phil…
Funny Car vs. Top Fuel Showdown revisited
John Force won the historic event in his Superman-themed Castrol GTX Mustang, defeating Top Fuel driver Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the $200,000-to-win race.
This past weekend's ESPN coverage of the NHRA…
The Misc. Files: D-lightfully D-verse
Well, devoted dudes and dames of dragdom's days distant, it's due time to dive back into the delectable depths of the DRAGSTER Photo Department drawers again, digging to discover dandy dragstrip diamonds to digitize and document to delight…
A little piece of her heart
Jack Muldowney bent the tubes and gas-welded together Shirley's first car, this gas dragster in which she earned her license.
Shirley Muldowney has had a lot of memorable firsts in her Hall of Fame…
The Misc. Files: From C to shining C
By popular demand, it's time to take another dip into the Misc. Files of the vast National DRAGSTER photo archives. During ND's 50 years of publication, and even in the years leading up to its launch in 1960, the staff has…
'Snake's' restorations just truckin' along
In the last couple of years, Don Prudhomme has amassed a pretty good collection of the cars that made him famous throughout the years, including the yellow and white Hot Wheels Barracuda Funny Cars…
The Misc. Files: Welcome to the 'A' list
Even in this digital age, my desk is covered with scraps of paper and Post-it notes filled with chicken scratch that sometimes I can't decipher a few hours later. There are random phone numbers without any name next to them, e-mail addresses to god-…
The Misc. Files: The I's have it
I know a good thing when I see it, and last week's first dip into the Misc. Files was apparently a very good thing based on your feedback (and follow-up, as you will see lower in today's entry), so I randomly grabbed another letter from the drawers…
Bob Bommarito, and welcome to the Misc. Files
Tuesday's story about the OCIR Constructors Championship had the desired effect of creating some buzz from fans who remembered it and those who had long forgotten about it, but the most interesting feedback was from a racer mentioned in passing, Bob…
'73 OCIR Constructors Championship: Independents Day
Keith Black Ed Pink Sid Waterman
Today's nitro crew chiefs can almost be as big a star as their drivers, household names…
You know you’re a drag racing addict if…
American muscle is prevalent at the drift races. Here, Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s Mustang leads Daijiro Yoshihara's GTO into a turn at last year's event in Sonoma.
Today is Good Friday and an official…
Pedal power: Mike Dunn's first drag race
Like a lot of you, my first introduction to Mike Dunn came in the movie theater, where the future 22-time national event winner was racing his Schwinn Sting-Ray in bicycle drags, complete with a blossoming chute, in the…