RodneyRodriguez Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Clint I remember being a kid stopping at the PETRO on I-10 heading to Lockhart from SA .. same deal.. racers, truckers, women of the night... great times!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hray Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 1958, Bunker Hill Drag Strip, Peru, IN. Hot wired my mother's 1957 Plymouth which had a Golden Commando V8 (2-4 barrels). No lites back then, just a flagman. Turned 88 mph in the quarter (fastest that nite). I was bit. Took all my money and bought a 1953 Studebaker Commander and made a drag car out of it. Also, May 30, 1958 - Indy 500. Back then you could park on the golf course in the infield. In order to get a parking spot next to the fence you had to line up your car the nite before. We partyed all nite, watched the first 15 laps, then took a nap and woke up in time to see the last 15 laps (back then the race took 4 hrs). Still have all my ticket stubs until 1971. My wife had them framed with the Kincaid 500 100th aniversary painting. In 1961 I went to Univ of Houston and started going to races at Playland Park and Meyer Speedway. Sold the Studebaker, but because of other issues never got into circle track until Jason (my youngest) started racing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neon14 Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 1975 Indianapolis500. I was 4 years old. I remember two things from that race. Bobby Unser won and it rained like crazy. Luckily we were under the main grandstands on the front stretch. I also attended the 71 Indy 500 but I wasn't born yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31Racing Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 SAS was my first track to attend a race at, sometime in the Late 80s. I started going to SAS on a reg basis in the late 90s, helping my brother 33Charlie Earnhardt in the pits with his car, aside from him, a few of my favorite drivers were Danny Margraf, Tommy Beideger, Stacy McMullen, Marcus Bellino. The problem was, u could find almost all of them in the same race, battling it out lap after lap, fender to fender never touching. This made it hard to cheer on just one, but that was some of the best charger racing I remember of my time attending SAS. I bought my first Circle Track car in 2002, and raced SAS here and there in the RoadRunners and Sportsmen classes from then to the last April race. Hope to make it back out soon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinF1 Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 Dirt. Early 70s. Riverside in West Memphis, Arkansas. Lived in Millington, Tn, near Memphis. Pop was in the Navy. Sammy Swindell, Hooker Hood, Alvin Gatlin. First time I saw a racer killed was right in front of us when Alvin Gatlin passed. I was like 5 or 6. Pop gave me racing fever early on & I've been hooked ever since. Now I'm infecting my two young-uns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doitinthedirt Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 1968 or 69 pan american speedway watching my dad run hobby stock. remember him coming to the stands drinking beer in between races.still running his number 5 today when we run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvinmcgee Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 First race at Speed-O-Rama with My Dad and Brother. Sat in the back straight stands because they were a dollar cheaper. Later went to Paramount and then to Longhorn!! same track different names. Once I got my own car and license went to Pan American and then on to Highway 16. Was at opening night at 16 and felt the stands sway back and forth! Sat on top row and watched the drag races!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAPosse Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 OAK HILL DOWNS - 1/4 mi. dirt, just S.W. of Austin, mid - '50's - Feature won by Jud Larson. That's an era I would have loved to witness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrodder Posted August 9, 2013 Report Share Posted August 9, 2013 1956,CC speedway,14 years old, Shorty Rollins won,pits were on the north end.Iremember at the drivers meeting the cop that worked the pits telling the drivers that if there was a fight that night to watch out because he was going to be in it............there was no fight that night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan Posted August 10, 2013 Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 Old Pan American Speedway Austin Hiway think it was dirt early 50's, Thurman Lovejoy{1st Cousin}, Buddy Yantis, Waldo Harper, Don Fowler and many others, ford coupes with flatheads and olds powered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan Posted August 10, 2013 Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 OAK HILL DOWNS - 1/4 mi. dirt, just S.W. of Austin, mid - '50's - Feature won by Jud Larson. That's an era I would have loved to witness. Remember that track, Buddy Yantis, Waldo Harper all the old drivers from Pan American ran there, Thurmond Lovejoy lived at Oak Hills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arob Posted August 10, 2013 Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 In Corpus the post race pit stop was Tipps Cafe.In San Antonio in the late 70's and early 80's it was Casa Dos Pedros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted August 10, 2013 Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 In Corpus the post race pit stop was Tipps Cafe.In San Antonio in the late 70's and early 80's it was Casa Dos Pedros. chicken fried stake ...last time there was the day of walters funeral .walked in in a monkey suit .linda took my order before she realized it was me .lo lknown her 30 years and she never saw me dressed that way .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hray Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 BTW, I forgot to mention, the 1st Indy 500 I attended in 1958 the infield tickets were $3.00 and they stayed $3.00 until 1971. Then they jumped all the way to $5.00 (what a ripoff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 BTW, I forgot to mention, the 1st Indy 500 I attended in 1958 the infield tickets were $3.00 and they stayed $3.00 until 1971. Then they jumped all the way to $5.00 (what a ripoff). Cool! 1958............ Foyt and Larson were rookies in that race. Larson finished 8th, Foyt 16th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hray Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Budman, As I remember no one paid any attention to either at the '58 race. Jimmy Bryan won it. The big names were Jim Rathmann, Rodger Ward and I think Parnelli Jones was also from that era. The cars then were front engine Offenhauser powered. No high RPM scream, just a ground vibrating rumble as they went by. Foyt didn't win his 1st 500 until 1961. In '65 and '66 the Brits invaded with there Lola's and Lotus' with Ford power, but at the end of the '60's it was Foyt, Unser and Andretti battling each year. 1971 was the last year I attended and Al Unser won that one in a car owned by Parnelli Jones. By then they were all rear engine, high RPM cars. During those years I even got to see diesel and jet powered cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 BTW, I forgot to mention, the 1st Indy 500 I attended in 1958 the infield tickets were $3.00 and they stayed $3.00 until 1971. Then they jumped all the way to $5.00 (what a ripoff). looking back at those prices .its a deal now . frank at cc when terry raced there paid me $ 5.00 a night get in free and one free meal for working the pit booth with melton gator ...that was a lot back then i was rich .after the races we headed over to tipps and spent that $5.00 ...i made $1.00 an hour back then at work .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hray Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 You're right about that. I worked at a drug store 4 hrs ea day after school for $1/hr. That was enough to buy a car, insurance, customize it, gas, dates......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 You're right about that. I worked at a drug store 4 hrs ea day after school for $1/hr. That was enough to buy a car, insurance, customize it, gas, dates......... SO TRUE SO TRUE ..FEED A FAMILY OF 8 FOR A WEEK FOR 30 BUCKS ..I KNOW MOM MADE ME DO THE SHOPPING AND THATS ALL SHE GAVE ME .. YOU KNOW ITS FUNNY AND SAD HOW THAT $1.00 MADE US PROUD I COULD GO DRINK TWO PICTURES OF BEER BUY ENOUGH GAS FOR MY GTO FOR THREE DAYS FOUR IF I KEPT MY FOOT OUT OF IT .. AND GET A DECENT MEAL AND MOST OF THE ABOVE YOU MENTIONED AND GO TO THE RACES . . NOW TEN TIMES THAT AND YOU CANT EVEN LIVE ON IT ...WE WORKED HARD FOR THAT $1.00 AN HOUR AND NEVER COMPLAINED .SOMETHING IS WRONG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Here ya go hray. Came across this on the web this morning. A '53 Studebaker Commander! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Jax Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Late 70's early 80's at Longhorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooter48c Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 So lets here where everyone saw their first races at, what surface, and what state? Name the track if you can remember. Mine were when I was about 8 years old at Longhorn Speedway during the last year or two the track was open. I actually still remember seeing the only? or last ROMCO event they had there. Well for me the first dirt races, if you want to them that was tractor pulls (multi engines) Fredricksberg Texas, when I was about 8 years old. I was fresh out of High School when they built Dixie land in Inez Texas. Watched one race and went home and started building our own. Doing it in the dirt just feels right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Here ya go hray. Came across this on the web this morning. A '53 Studebaker Commander! love that car. friend of mine stuck a modified 455 under the hood of his ..that car pulled so hard made your cheeks beat your ears up .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hray Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Looks like mine except it was oldsmobile bronze lacquer, lowered in the front with lake pipes and slicks on the rear. I always wanted to cut the top off and make it into a convertable but never did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumper Posted August 11, 2013 Report Share Posted August 11, 2013 Didnt the Studebaker have a Packard engine option?I remember one of my dads mechanics had one. My first race to attend was Almeda Speedway in 1969.2 weeks later I had my first race car,a VW beetle.I have raced VWs ever since.Am today at STS. As a kid my favorite car was a 53 Ford chassis dune buggy with a 392 Chrysler Hemi.2 speed automatic,I could smoke the tires in low up to 95 MPH.It had part of the front cab and a wooden flatbed.No doors or seat belts.I dont know how I lived through this period of my life.After building a purpose race car I quit street racing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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