Don’t cry for me, Argentina, but it has been a super-busy week at National DRAGSTER, and I apologize for missing our usual Tuesday appointment and for a pretty brief (but I hope nonetheless entertaining) column.
Two weeks ago, I showed off the handbill sent by Bill Moser promoting an Aug. 6, 1966, match race between the recently featured Piranha and Darrell Droke's Mustang at Muncie Dragway, where he was responsible for promotions in the 1960s.
It was pretty cool to see the low-buck yet effective form of advertising and inspired reader Rick Rzepka to send a few similar items from his collection, also from 1966, which you can see below and view full size by clicking on the link below each.
Just reading the names of some of the players is enough to give you chills and make me wish fervently for a time machine. The Turbine Dart, Doug Thorley's Chevy 2 Much, Mr. Norm, Jack Chrisman, "Fast Eddie" Schartman, Connie Kalitta, "T.V. Tommy" Ivo, K.S. Pittman, Stone-Woods-Cook, Paula Murphy vs. Della Woods, Green Monster, Terrifying Tornado, the Wagon Master ... man, oh, man. Are your juices flowing yet?
And you gotta love the artwork and the lettering, apparently done in artist's pen. Check out the extra emphasis on some words, either by making them really big or bold, and the numerous font changes and the way that some letters are colored in. They reek of amateurism but also of beautiful nostalgia. Those were surely simpler times. Thanks to Rick for sending these, which will no doubt invoke memories for many of you.
Got old handbills or posters? Scan 'em up, send them to me, and tell me the story behind them. Did you go to those races? Man, I can't wait. This could be fun.
All of this nostalgia and match racing got me to reflecting on the story I did a year ago today when ND Photo Editor Teresa Long and I visited "the Snake," Don Prudhomme, at his Vista, Calif., shop to shoot a feature on his collection of restored Funny Cars. You can read it here; it's one of my favorite pieces.
Anyway, the highlight of that day (other than getting to sit in the white Hot Wheels 'Cuda) was the lunch trip with "Snake" in his restored Dodge ramp truck with the yellow 'Cuda strapped to its back. The truck was one of a pair -- the other, of course, being used by Wildlife Racing partner Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen. I wonder what happened to McEwen's truck.
Prudhomme finally tracked down his, which had remained in Southern California (or at least ended up back there, ironically in the same San Fernando Valley of his youth). Does anyone know what became of McEwen's hauler? If you do, drop me a line. People were so taken by the restoration job that Prudhomme and Willie Wolter did on their truck, wouldn’t it be cool to see both of them together?