Keeping NHRA Fans Up to Date
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When pins were in
I used to have a really nicely organized garage. Really, I did. Stuff was where I put it and stayed there. My tools were all neatly organized, and I could always find the tool I needed. I could walk in and just smile at the neat racks of tools hung…
Still more on Kalitta's wedge crash
Sorry for the prolonged absence, but between travel to and from Charlotte for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, the rain delay there, and a jam-packed issue of National DRAGSTER that not only includes Charlotte results but also our in-depth…
More tales of the Kalitta wedge
I received a lot of great feedback from Friday's column about Connie Kalitta's wreck at the 1971 U.S. Nationals in Robert "Poncho" Rendon's wedge Top Fueler. Despite some effort, I…
The name may not be familiar, but ...
Sad news earlier this week sent by reader Craig Eagle, advertising accounting assistant at The Columbus Dispatch, pointing me to an online obituary for former NHRA event worker Ron Rickman…
Remembering Shirl Greer, and more reader feedback
Notes about the passing of former NHRA Funny Car champ Shirl Greer last week have dominated my Inbox, and there is some cool stuff worth sharing.
NHRA released a statement, lauding the former champ: "One of the true…
More Fan Fotos: The best of the Midwest
Welcome to another installment of Fan Fotos, galleries of great memories hauled from shoeboxes and dusty photo albums to share with your pals here at the Insider. This is always a real treat for me as well, sorting through the various submissions…
A salute to the March Meet
This weekend, the eyes of the drag racing world once again fall on Bakersfield, Calif., for the continuation of the rebirth of the fabled March Meet. This year, the event celebrates its 52nd birthday, and while we all realize it will never be the…
Your heroes, Part 2
Great American humorist Will Rogers once wrote, "We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by." That would be me, clapping on the curb to a parade of drag racing stars, past and present, and, from all…
More fantastic follow-up
It has been a busy two weeks with Pomona and Phoenix back to back, especially with Phoenix's drawn-out semi-conclusion. Don’t cry for me, Argentina, but it's going to be another busy week as we wrap up our Full Throttle coverage, prepare for Friday'…
Feedback, follow-up, and fallen friends
Jan. 18, 1961, at Golden Triangle strip in Florida, according to the caption
Welcome back, my friends, to the nostalgia that never ends, at least…
Of fading friends, heroic moments, kind deeds, and good memories
The news of the passing of "Smokey Joe" Lee earlier this week and the loss this morning of 1974 NHRA Funny Car world champ Shirl Greer was a double tough blow to longtime fans like me and many of you who remember these guys in the nostalgic heyday…
Keeping it in the family
Racers love competing at the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline for a lot of reasons. Eastern-based competitors love to head to SoCal for sun and fun. And the facility is conveniently accessible from several major freeways,…
Your Heroes, Part 1
Way back in early January, I asked the readers of this column to submit their list of racing heroes. (You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you?) Response to my request was a bit overwhelming, so I'm going to parcel these out in two columns.
I have…
Fan fotos: SoCal doorslammers
Long before there were nitro Funny Cars and even what we know as Top Fuel dragsters, door cars and roadsters often attracted the same fanatic love to which we now assign the nitro cars. I know that I have a fuel-racing mentality – particularly for…
Feedback (and rain) by the bucketful
Reactions to Monday's column about Russell Long and yesterday's about Dick Wells came by the bucketful, kind of like the rain we're getting here this week in SoCal. We're getting absolutely drenched, and the biggest storms…
Thanks for the memories, Dick
A few years ago, Dick Wells sent me this great photo of him, left, with DRAGSTER's first photo editor, the late Rich Joy, standing next to a nice sedan delivery with DRAGSTER signage. Wells said the photo was taken by Wally…
It's a Long story ...
Former Funny Car racer Russell Long with orphans in Haiti
"240 Gordie" Bonin and others tipped me off to a great story about former nitro Funny Car racer Russell Long, driver…
More bobsledding fun
The continuation of my diary from the Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering in chilly Lake Placid, N.Y.
Now in its fifth year, the event helps raise funds to build quality bobsleds for the U.S. Olympic team,…
Sledding and sliding, part 1
Yeah, sure is cold and snowy out there.
Recapping my trip to Lake Placid, N.Y., for the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge with Jeg Coughlin Jr.
3:50 p.m.: After an…
Some Christmas wishes
Merry Christmas to the Insider Nation!
In the spirit of the season, I worked with National DRAGSTER staff to create the list below (which also appears in ND's year-end issue, in my Staging Light column), which represents our Christmas…
Fan Fotos: West Coast pits
If you've read drag racing magazines for any amount of time, the name Cliff Morgan should be familiar to you as a regular contributor to various "letters to the editor" columns, including in National DRAGSTER. A…
So long, 'Wooz'
Longevity in any field of work is a dual-edged sword. On the positive, the longer you’re around, the more people you meet, and the friendships you make can last a lifetime. The downside is that the more people you meet, your…
More Fan Fotos: East Coast action
Hey, I'm back. Sorry about missing my usual Friday update, but I got ambushed Wednesday night by the stomach flu and was out of action pretty much the rest of the week -- kind of hard to be creative and do research when you’re subsisting on a…
Fun with Fotos revisited, Part 2
Hello from Pomona, where I'm ringside for the second day of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, and welcome to Part 2 of my reprint of my Fun with Fotos column, which originally ran on the Insider last December and has been…
Fun with Fotos revisited
It's probably every writer's dream to come up with something so cool or so original that it is handed down from generation to generation or becomes so widely distributed to the masses that it takes on a life of its own. Whether it's an oft-quoted…
Presto! Conjuring up 'the Wizard'
I wanted to share what has become a pretty typical thing with this column, and one of the things of which I am most proud. In Tuesday's Fan Fotos edition from Mark Collins, we had a shot of Bennie "the…
The life and times of Jay Howell
For many NHRA fans, Jay Howell may be among the most unsung drag racing heroes they never knew about. Regular readers of this column may be familiar with him from occasional mentions, but those old-time racers we all know…
Fan Fotos: Early Funny Cars
Welcome back, race fans, to another installment of Fan Fotos. We're going to take you back a few more years than past installments today, thanks to reader Joe Kerr, who sent me a bunch of photos from his late-1960s Southern…
Remembering Bobby Rowe
Former Funny Car racer Bobby Rowe, who died late last week at age 64, left behind not just a legacy as one of the many great Funny Car drivers to come out of the early 1970s, but also a story of hard work and perseverance.…
The new National DRAGSTER, Phase 1: In living color
You would have thought it was Christmas around the National DRAGSTER office yesterday when the week's new issue arrived from the printer. Staffers were running around to one another's offices and cubicles like…