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The Misc. Files: Welcome to the 'A' list
Even in this digital age, my desk is covered with scraps of paper and Post-it notes filled with chicken scratch that sometimes I can't decipher a few hours later. There are random phone numbers without any name next to them, e-mail addresses to god-…
The Misc. Files: The I's have it
I know a good thing when I see it, and last week's first dip into the Misc. Files was apparently a very good thing based on your feedback (and follow-up, as you will see lower in today's entry), so I randomly grabbed another letter from the drawers…
Bob Bommarito, and welcome to the Misc. Files
Tuesday's story about the OCIR Constructors Championship had the desired effect of creating some buzz from fans who remembered it and those who had long forgotten about it, but the most interesting feedback was from a racer mentioned in passing, Bob…
'73 OCIR Constructors Championship: Independents Day
Keith Black
Ed Pink
Sid Waterman
Today's nitro crew chiefs can almost be as big a star as their drivers, household names…
You know you’re a drag racing addict if…
American muscle is prevalent at the drift races. Here, Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s Mustang leads Daijiro Yoshihara's GTO into a turn at last year's event in Sonoma.
Today is Good Friday and an official…
Pedal power: Mike Dunn's first drag race
Like a lot of you, my first introduction to Mike Dunn came in the movie theater, where the future 22-time national event winner was racing his Schwinn Sting-Ray in bicycle drags, complete with a blossoming chute, in the…
April Fools ... the aftermath
As you can see, the reports of this column's demise have been greatly exaggerated, but Wednesday's April Fools' stories here on the big .com (more on them later) not only continued an online tradition dating back 10 years but also an NHRA…
The Insider … out!
If you follow this column with any regularity, you probably know that I usually post new columns on Tuesdays and Fridays. So you probably were wondering yesterday where the new stuff was. Some of you might have assumed I was…
Spaced out in H-town
Although I readily acknowledge that I have one of the coolest jobs in the world, the traveling part is not always all that it's cracked up to be. Because we're working on the current issue of National DRAGSTER through Wednesday night, we…
A real Thrill ride, plus more flyin' Hawaiian
Eddie Hill won the 1988 Supernationals in front of his home-state fans in Houston, and while it certainly wasn't easy, it was very thrilling.
What if Bobby Thompson had run out of baseball bats…
Larry Reyes: The flyin' Hawaiian and other stories
Former Hawaiian driver Larry Reyes, left, caught up with his old car owner, Roland Leong, a few years ago. The two made history together in the early 1970s and have remained friends.
As a…
Great Gatornationals moments, part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of Phil's Fabulously Fantastic and Famous Florida Favorite Flashback, recounting some of the most memorable moments from Gatornationals history. My first 20, covering the race from 1970 through 1981, can be found in the entry below…
Great Gatornationals moments? No problem (part 1)
The 2009 ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals will mark the 40th anniversary of NHRA's annual March classic, and looking back over its long and illustrious history, it's safe to say that it's been crammed with well more than 40 years of memories and history…
The return of the Shelby Super Snake
Don "the Snake" Prudhomme poses with his newest hot rod heartthrob, the all-new Prudhomme Edition Super Snake, produced by Shelby Autos.
Auto legend Carroll Shelby, left, signed a…
Going Hawaiian
Later this week, the National DRAGSTER writers will be hammering away on this year's Readers Choice selections, eight article suggestions handpicked from scores of ideas received via e-mail and snail mail from our…
'Ace'-ing the first two races
Ed McCulloch, left, the first Funny Car driver to win the season's first two events back to back (1972) and his current driver, Ron Capps, the most recent to do it, celebrated in the Pomona winner's circle.…
My first Gatornationals
My first trip to the Gatornationals as part of the ND staff was in the cab of a race car hauler in 1984 as part of Jim DePasse's Alcohol Funny Car team. That's me at left, Willie Wolter driving, and Jim DePasse Sr. and Jr.…
Five Fave Fotos with Tom Schiltz and other hot topics
Five Favorite Fotos seems to be a favorite here, so let's rev up another one. This is a special get-well FFF, with a big shout out to my old pal Tom Schiltz, the veteran photographer from Division 3. You might recall his memorable pic of Bill Crites…
Fire in the hole
Generally speaking, unless it's pouring from the pipes on a twilight blast to low e.t., fire anywhere near a drag race car is not a good thing. It usually means that a connecting rod is no longer connected, that your…
Reliving a previous wet and waylaid Winternationals
For those of you wondered why NHRA didn’t just pick up and move the entire Winternationals mess to this weekend, you'd only need one look outside the window here at Chateau ND to know why. It' been pouring this morning, and is not expected to…
Fun with your photos
Response to my request for your Favorite Fotos has been amazing, and I'll present the first of them here. Submissions came from a lot of folks, including some whom I invited to participate instead in a full-blown future Fave Five feature. I was…
The one-day wonder
The 1965 Winternationals was an amazing race. All class and eliminator racing was completed in one day before a standing-room-only crowd.
This was Saturday's…
The Hawaiian's Winters wonderland
It didn't take long for the new partnership of 23-year-old driver Don Prudhomme and 20-year-old car owner Roland Leong to bear fruit as they won the 1965 Winternationals in their national event debut together. Leong's…
The return of Five Fabulous Favorite Fotos: Norman Blake
(Charles Denson photo)
One of last summer's popular Insider features was Five Fabulous Favorite Fotos, wherein I contacted some of the sport's greatest lensmen and asked for their best shots. I'm proud…
Jesus, Crites! Tales of our pal
Tomorrow, in nearby Azusa (motto: "Everything from A to Z in the USA"), we'll say a loving farewell to our old pal Bill Crites, the former ND photographer and art director who died suddenly about a week ago. I know…
A little bench racing anyone?
I had a whole 'nother column scheduled for today but had to move it back for a variety of reasons, but I didn't want to go too long without a new entry lest y'all forget about me. Each column generally takes two to three days to put together, though…
Bill Crites: Gone but never forgotten
This photo, of me and Bill at Griffith Park's Travel Town, tells you all you need to know about the big kid we all loved.
Me and Crites, Montreal…
A Munstrously Good Time
Here's a fun little extended follow up to the Fun with Fotos article that revolves around the '60s TV show The Munsters. Brendan Tobin was among those who chastised me for not remembering that it wasn’t…
Thanks for filling in the blanks
I could have entitled this entry "DRAGSTER Insider readers to the rescue … again" because y'all came through with flying colors following my Fun with Fotos article here a week ago. I had info on some of the pics presented and asked for the DI…
Leonard Harris, drag racing's shooting star
During a six-month span in 1960, there was no hotter drag racing pilot than Leonard Harris, whose career ended with his tragic death in October, just six weeks after his Nationals triumph.…