techrat77

Pack the Track day at Beaver Springs Dragway brought out everything that is good about the sport of drag racing. Some would suggest the sport is dying out, mainly holding on by a thread because of all the old-timers, but one look around the track on this day would say otherwise. Sure, there were plenty of old guys and gals, reliving the memories of yesteryear and enjoying the sport they’ve loved for so long, but there was also a mixture of people from all age groups. Fans got to see and feel the experience of ground-pounding funny cars such as the Screamin’ Eagle, the Cape Codder, the Frantic Ford, Total Insanity, and the Poison Arrow. Remember those days when the cars had names?

There were also backup girls present who would make Jungle Pam proud. Wicked Altereds laid down some stout passes for all to see. Dragsters, including the famed Hemi Hunter smoked the tires and thrilled the audience. Heck, even a stray Gasser or two showed up. And if all the wild cars weren’t enough, there was a full compliment of racers there to compete for the top spot. Hot rods and muscle cars of all types. And we can’t forget the motorcycles. Or the Jr. Dragster. Or the future of the sport exemplified by the child racing his toy car in the staging lanes.

All of this works together. One big, caring family, held together by the smell of tire smoke and the aroma of racing fuel. As it should be. So if there’s ever another Pack the Track event at Beaver Springs you had better get out there and take it all in. Become a member of the racing family that is beyond anything you can imagine. You’ll be glad you did.

Well, Spring has sprung, and everyone’s getting ready for the new season of drag racing. We’ll soon be seeing what’s been going on in everyone’s garages over the Winter, whether it be a simple refresh or a new engine or suspension setup. There may even be some new cars out there, too. Of course, all track owners will be doing their annual dance with the weather, closely watching the forecast for wind, temperature, and precipitation, all of which do their best to stand in the way of the Test and Tune sessions before the races and events that count start. I watched an old Main Event video the other day and someone described a national event in drag racing as a “Happening.” It got me to thinking how that is so very true even at the local grass roots level. Sure, you won’t find the glitz and glamour of the pro scene, but you will find something even more valuable than winning a “Wally.” You’ll find the track family most have grown closer to than their own blood relatives. Seems like everyone there is willing to share whatever someone else needs. Then the intensity builds as the drivers work (sometimes joining forces) to get the cars ready.

And the fans? They start to find the best position to view the spectacle they came to see. Everyone seems to have their favorite part. Maybe even a couple they can’t decide between. It could be the tire-boiling smokey burnout to heat the tires. It could be the wheelstand coming off the line as the car launches. Or maybe they just like to guess who wins each round before it starts. Whatever it is, everyone in attendance is drawn to this “Happening” that assaults the senses. People in society have trouble getting along. People at the track are a tight-knit group who genuinely bond over this sport. Lots of smiles to be found (unless your car just broke), lots of people happy to share their experience of the day or are there to offer support to those whose day isn’t going quite as well due to some sort of mechanical mishap. For the most part, these are hard-working people. People who go to the track to play hard. People who care about their racing family extra hard. A family that goes beyond blood. A family you’d be happy and proud to be a part of. Whenever you have an opportunity this year, come out to the track, cheer on your favorite driver or car, and become a member of the family.

It’s coming. It’s coming and no one can stop it. What’s coming, you ask? Another season of racing. In fact, in warmer parts of the country it’s already underway. And some may find this somewhat surprising. This is mostly because these days, no matter where you turn, it seems all the media is pushing is the narrative that electric vehicles are the future and it doesn’t help that the government has not only fueled that thought process, it’s jumped right on the bandwagon. As an extension of that, there are many out there who believe all motorsports as a whole are on life support and are on the way out. Others will point to the age of those who are out there racing, and argue the sport will be gone when those folks are. Something oft overlooked, however, is the fact the sport keeps a lot of these folks acting younger than their years. In any American town, you can find old folks sitting on their front porch, in their rocking chairs and discussing their latest illness or surgery and wishing for the good ol’ days. . . or you can go to the local drag strip and find someone the exact same age still loading and unloading a race car by themselves and pushing their cars to the edge down the track or helping someone else in the family to do it. Quite a contrast there, eh?

Seems like drag racing is a magical cure to keep them young. While NASCAR and NHRA are becoming more “politically correct” and losing their most fervent fans, the local dirt tracks and drag strips are still bringing in passionate fans and racers. With the way the economic climate in this country the way it is, we all wonder what 2023 will bring. Early indications are that racers and fans alike are going to keep going after the sport they love as much as they can. In fact, you may even detect an air of defiance in doing so, having a little extra incentive by bucking the government/media system. So far , attendance at the Lights Out race in Georgia saw record crowds. The World Series of Pro Mod (WSOPM) was an incredible event as well. The Gatornationals had huge crowds and huge ratings on TV. I don’t know about you all, but my social media feeds are filled with people getting excited for the start of the season at their local tracks. Some seem to have an open defiance in the face of the current economic climate, showing a determination that nothing will prevent them from racing. Maybe that’s an attitude we all need to have. A defiance, much like our heroes of the early days had when they were pushing the envelope, trying to discover new ways to make their cars faster than the other guys. Face it, we all need heroes. All of us have our heroes in the sport, people we searched for in the magazines in the newstands every month. People who we wanted to be when we grew up. There’s still a lot of those legends out there. If you get a chance, get yourself out to a nostalgia event and seek out those heroes of your youth while they’re still around. You’ll be amazed with the stories they have to tell. You’ll relive that thrill. And so will they.

I’m going to be doing racing articles, stories and other things here just to see how it plays out and how much interest there is in this sort of content. Let me know if you like the content I share here. It may develop into something much larger if there’s enough interest. If not, I’ll be better for the experience and hopefully I’ll make at least one person out there smile along the way. Probably not a full-track smokey burnout smile, but I’ll see what I can do.

We’ve lost more than just a legend. We’ve lost a great person.

I remember the day well. It was a beautiful September afternoon in 2004. Thanks to an act of kindness, I was able to attend the 50^th US Nationals at Indy. For anyone into drag racing, Indy has always been the “big one,” and the 50^th anniversary was quite a bash. To see all those legendary cars from days gone by on display, all the cars most of us could only know by black and white photos in old magazines, was a special thrill. I was taking in all the cars I loved so much when I was a youth, when a brilliant blue Willys caught my eye. There was something vaguely familiar about it, but my memory bank just didn’t remember it quite like the others, yet there was something about it that reeled me in. Getting closer, I could see the paint was flawless, the car pristine. A sweet lady beside the car said, “do you like it?” My reply of, “it’s gorgeous, I love it!” made her face light up in a way that told me she was truly in love with this car. “I built this car. Step behind these chains and I’ll tell you about it.” That was how I first met Barb Hamilton, a true legend. Her eyes sparkled when she told me about how it was all as it was originally built by she and her friend Nancy back in the early sixties. She positively glowed when she opened the trunk to reveal the same old battery that was in there from the beginning (so huge it was probably larger than most modern 4-cylinder engines) and tell me about how it helped get her extra traction. When I told her how I admired how awesome the blue paint was, she told me a wonderful story of how it was painted by a friend with Schwinn bicycle paint and still completely intact. Barb was such a great storyteller, telling me everything about the car and how she had enjoyed building and racing it. When our conversation was over, I thanked her for her time and I could tell she was every bit as thankful to tell the stories as I was to hear them. I left thinking she was such a wonderful lady. I had no idea. No idea that I had just left the presence of the first woman in drag racing to receive an NHRA license for driving supercharged cars. No idea I was talking to the person who won the 1966 NHRA Springnationals and was runner-up at the 1968 Indy Nationals. No idea she was the class C/G record holder. I had just left the presence of one of only a very few women who built, owned, wrenched, and drove her own race car. I’ve had the blessing of being around strong women all my life from my mom and sisters right on down to my own wife, and Barb Hamilton embodied the same qualities of a strong woman those ladies in my life do, the ones we all admire. She loved the sport, she loved to race, and set out to do just that. Nothing to draw attention to herself, no looking for special treatment, no agendas, just going out and getting the job done the way she wanted to do it. She was there to race whoever was in the other lane not to make a statement but because that’s what she wanted to do. And do it she did. All with a humble style and elegance.

I caught up with Barb again several years later and got to meet her racing partner, Nancy. Nancy was the quieter of the two, but very much cut from the same cloth as Barb in her own way. Barb, of course, was still the same as when I first met her. Still all smiles, still humble, still elegant, still as genuine as anyone could be. In this day and age, it’s rare to come across anyone in any sport like that. Especially someone who made history with accomplishments that should be shouted from the rooftops. I last saw Barb last fall at Bruce Larson’s Dragfest. I was going to say hello, but it looked like she and her husband were having a close moment and I didn’t want to interrupt that. I wish now I had circled back, but we never know when the last time we see someone will be. I’m thankful I got to meet that wonderful lady at Indy that day. My life and the lives of everyone who ever met her are richer for knowing Barb Hamilton. For now, I’ll remember my memory of her taking an exhibition pass down the strip at Thompson, Ohio in her beloved “Miss Blue.” Although she’ll be greatly missed, her accomplishments will live on.