Drag Racing's Rebels

Drag Racing's Rebels
Author: Doug Boyce
Publisher: CarTech Inc
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2023-11-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 161325766X

Learn the entire fascinating story of the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) in this wonderfully illustrated color history. When the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was formed in 1951 by Wally Parks, the reasoning for the formation was to "create order from chaos" by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport of drag racing. Some organization was certainly necessary. A postwar boom in automotive enthusiasm was reaching new heights, and Hot Rod magazine and the NHRA were right in the thick of it. The NHRA hosted its first drag racing event in 1953, and in 1955, the organization staged its first national event, which was simply called "The Nationals." The AHRA formed in 1956 as an alternative to the NHRA, where the drivers voted on the rules (rather than sanctioning bodies and tracks), and their influence on the sport was felt almost immediately. When the NHRA denied the use of nitromethane in 1957, the AHRA approved it. When the NHRA banned aircraft-powered dragsters in 1961, the AHRA welcomed them. When the NHRA said no to the emerging Funny Car in 1965, the AHRA said yes. When fans and racers screamed for a heads-up Super Stock category in 1968, the AHRA delivered. The AHRA was called a rebel association. Some say that it was more of an association that got things done—to the delight of fans and racers. The AHRA was on equal ground with the NHRA by the 1970s, drawing enormous crowds and racer entries.

In this fascinating history, veteran author Doug Boyce tells the story of the AHRA, the rise, the competition, the events, and the eventual downfall of the organization. After AHRA President Jim Tice passed away in 1982, internal fighting for control of the association resulted in its doom. Get the whole story here, and add this wonderful volume to your drag racing library.

Drag Racing in the 1960s

Drag Racing in the 1960s
Author: Doug Boyce
Publisher: CarTech Inc
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2021-03-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1613255829

The 1960s were a fascinating decade on the race scene. Relive the memories today through this wonderful new book. Drag racing has a long and storied history. Many have said that the first drag race happened shortly after the second car was made. While that may or may not be true, racing prior to World War II was mostly centered around dry-lake activities and top-speed runs. After the war, drag racing became organized with the formation of the NHRA, and during the 1950s, many tracks were built across America to accommodate the racers. Technology in the 1950s centered on the manufacturers updating old flathead designs into newer overhead-valve designs, and the horsepower race really started to heat up. In many forms of racing, the 1960s brought technological evolution. The decade began with big engines in even bigger stock chassis and ended with purpose-built race-only chassis, fiberglass bodies, fuel injection, nitro methane, and blowers. Quarter-mile times that were in the 13-second range in the beginning of the decade were in the 7-second range by the end. New classes were formed, dedicated cars were built for them, and many racers themselves became recognized names in the sports landscape. In Drag Racing in the 60s: The Evolution in Race Car Technology, veteran author Doug Boyce takes you on a ride through the entire decade from a technological point of view rather than a results-based one. Covered are all the classes, including Super Stocks, Altered Wheelbase cars (which led to Funny Cars), Top Fuelers, Gassers, and more.

Hubert Platt

Hubert Platt
Author: Allen Platt
Publisher: CarTech Inc
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2019-05-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1613253974

Webster's Dictionary lists the term showman as "a notably spectacular, dramatic, or effective performer." In the art of drag racing, Hubert Platt checked all boxes. Known as the "Georgia Shaker," Platt cut his motoring teeth on the long straightaways and twisty back roads of South Carolina while bootlegging moonshine. After a run-in with the law in 1958, Platt transferred his driving skills from illegal activity to sanctioned drag racing and began one of the most dominant runs in drag racing history until his retirement in 1977. After stints in 1957, 1938, and 1962 Chevrolets, Platt's next ride was a Z11 Impala, which carried his first "Georgia Shaker" moniker. Once Chevrolet pulled out of sanctioned racing, Platt found a new home with Ford for 1964 and remained there until he hung up his helmet. Some of the cars he campaigned became icons in their own right. His factory-backed and personal machines included a 1963 Z11 Impala, 1964 Thunderbolt, 1965 Falcon, 1966 Mustang Funny Car, 1967 Fairlane 427, 1968-1/2 Cobra Jet, 1969 CJ Mustang, 1970 427 SOHC Mustang, and 1970 Boss 429 Maverick. A 1986 NHRA Hall of Fame member, Platt's lasting legacy on the sport can’t be denied. Whether he was launching his Falcon with the door open, conducting a Ford Drag Team seminar, or posting low E.T. at the 1967 US Nationals in his Fairlane, Platt's imprint on drag racing was all-encompassing. His son and biggest fan, Allen Platt, shares his dad's iconic career in, Hubert Platt: Fast Fords of the "Georgia Shaker"!

Drag Racing Gassers Photo Archive

Drag Racing Gassers Photo Archive
Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2007-05-01
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9781583881880

One of drag racings very popular classes formed was the Gassers. During the `50s, Model A and 1932-`34 Fords were considered the hot set-up for these gas classes. Using Ford V-8 "flatheads" and later overhead valve engines, Gas Coupe and Sedan classes had to maintain stock wheelbases and the engine relocation was limited. By the mid-60s, it was rare to find an upper classed gasser with any other body make than Willys, Studebaker, Austin or Anglia. They were the stoutest full-bodied cars on strips nationwide. Touring teams ran four to six times every week, often traveling several hundred miles day and night to make their next dates. This was old school racing! However, interest waned as fliptop funny cars took over in popularity. The battles in A/GS (later AA/GS) ranks created many heroes and villains who etched their marks into drag racing history. Gassers shared with fans of the quarter mile one the most thrilling overall racecar types, and for an era that was all too short, they were literally the Kings of the Sport. Enjoy this photo book that takes you back to that time.

The Art of Drag Racing

The Art of Drag Racing
Author: John Jodauga
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9781467983662

During the 1970s and 1980s, John Jodauga was perhaps drag racing's most published illustrator. Not only did his work appear in the National DRAGSTER, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Motor Trend, Drag Racing, and Super Stock & Drag Illustrated, but he also did promotional art for the sport's biggest stars such as Bill Jenkins, Don Prudhomme, Raymond Beadle, Bob Glidden, Don Nicholson and others; commercial artwork for many aftermarket manufacturers such as Moroso Performance Products; and program covers for such major racetracks as Ontario Motor Speedway. During this same period, he performed the bulk of the marketing artwork for the National Hot Rod Association, ranging from posters and program covers to holiday cards. This book is the first official compilation of Jodauga's work performed over a period of 45 years, and contains over 60 full-page, full-color reproductions of his illustrations and paintings that include examples of his most recent efforts. Anecdotes, background information, and an early career retrospective that reflect Jodauga's approach to painting are also provided, along with a forward by longtime NHRA announcer and drag racing historian Bob Frey.

David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower

David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower
Author: David Vizard
Publisher: CarTech Inc
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2010
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1934709174

Extracting maximum torque and horsepower from engines is an art as well as a science. David Vizard is an engineer and more aptly an engine building artist who guides the reader through all the aspects of power production and high-performance engine building. His proven high-performance engine building methods and techniques are revealed in this all-new edition of How to Build Horsepower. Vizard goes into extreme depth and detail for drawing maximum performance from any automotive engine. The production of power is covered from the most logical point from the air entering the engine all the way to spent gasses leaving through the exhaust. Explained is how to optimize all the components in between, such as selecting heads for maximum flow or port heads for superior power output, ideal valvetrain components, realizing the ideal rocker arm ratios for a particular application, secrets for selecting the best cam, and giving unique insight into all facets of cam performance. In addition, he covers how to select and setup superchargers, nitrous oxide, ignition and other vital aspects of high-performance engine building.

Funny Car Fever

Funny Car Fever
Author: Steve Reyes
Publisher: Cartech
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007
Genre: Funny cars
ISBN: 9781932494433

There wasn't always a class for these "funny-looking" cars. In the mid 1960s, many of drag racing's fastest drivers were outgrowing the Super Stock and Factory Experimental classes, building cars that stretched and eventually broke the rules. Promoters discovered they could pair up these altered-wheelbase, injected, blown machines in exhibition match races--and the spectators came running. Rivalries were born, the Funny Car class was created, and the cars kept getting faster and faster. Funny Car Fever is a humorous, heart-felt, first-hand account of the most exciting and memorable years of the Funny Car class. Steve Reyes followed these fiberglass-bodied, nitro burning machines and their drivers from the years leading up to the creation of the Funny Car class through its halcyon days. He's included over 350 of his favorite images and more than a few never-before-heard stories to bring the feeling of the class and the era home to you.

Drag Racing Funny Cars of the 1970s

Drag Racing Funny Cars of the 1970s
Author: Wallace A Wyss
Publisher: Enthusiast Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002-06-10
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 9781583880685

See the cars raced by many of the legendary names in drag racing, including Don Prudhomme, Tom McEuen and Jim Dunn. The authors include action shots, as well as clear, detailed "in the pits under-the-shell" shots. Photographs show various makes and models of cars that have been reconstructed as funny cars, plus everything from stock to modified Camaros, Mustangs, Javelins, Dodge Chargers, and Firebirds, to oddball exhibition cars like the "backwards pickup."

Butch "The California Flash" Leal

Butch
Author: Bob McClurg
Publisher: CarTech Inc
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2022-07-15
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1613257104

Check out the first ever biography on the popular drag racer, Butch “The California Flash” Leal. Born and raised in central California, Larry “Butch” Leal was obsessed with cars from a very early age. What began with field cars turned into hard work and new Chevrolets. This took place when the golden era of drag racing was in its infancy, and Leal joined with enthusiasm. He performed well at the track with his early Chevys and had an impressive number of wins before he was out of high school. His success brought him plenty of attention and collaboration with other big names in the sport. In 1963, GM pulled out of the sport on an official basis. As a result, Butch (at age 19) teamed up with Mickey Thompson and joined the Ford camp, securing a ride with the factory team and its new Thunderbolts for 1964. After his success that season, including winning the Super Stock (S/S) class at the 1964 NHRA US Nationals in Indianapolis, Chrysler came calling, and Butch signed on to race the new altered-wheelbase cars in match races for 1965, as the NHRA did not have a class for these new “funny” looking cars. While Leal dabbled again with Ford and Chevrolet later, his relationship with Chrysler lasted well into the following decades, running both Funny Cars and Super Stockers. Penned by talented automotive historian Bob McClurg, who was there for it all, and featuring full collaboration with the book’s subject, Butch “The California Flash” Leal covers the span of his fascinating career during arguably the most interesting era in drag racing history. Butch was an 11-time NHRA champion and 4-time recipient of Car Craft Magazine’s All-Star Driver of the Year award in a career that spanned the 1960s through the 1990s. It’s all here, the events, great vintage photography, and the stories from one of the best storytellers the NHRA has ever known. Add this entertaining volume to your drag racing library today.

High Performance

High Performance
Author: Robert C. Post
Publisher:
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1994
Genre: Science
ISBN:

What emerges is a compelling look at the men and women who have devoted their lives to this extraordinary pursuit and a sensitive exploration of their motivations.