PILGRIMAGE TO LIONS

file photo by Bob Martin

When I was a snot-nosed 21-year-old punk kid, I worked as the flagman for Island Dragway in Great Meadows, NJ, when it opened back in 1961. I passionately loved drag racing, but the only printed information I could get about the sport (or hobby, or industry) was through NHRA's National Dragster. To them, Jesse Van DeVenter and his injected gas modified roadster was the "king" of the sport because he was their points race champ.

That was back in the days of NHRA's fuel ban, when, according to the "Druids," the fastest cars possible were blown gas dragsters. For all zillions of us drag fans east of the Rockies knew, fuelers simply didn't exist due to NHRA's propaganda blackout of nitro and methanol. One day Pete Van Iderstine turned me on to a copy of Doris Herbert's Drag News, which covered all drag racing, regardless of sanctioning association or what percentage was in the tank. It was like Dorothy opening the front door of her house and finding herself in Oz.

Because there was no coverage from back East, I started writing a column, New Jersey News, for Drag News. That decision changed the path of my entire life for the better. As the strip reporter, I got a chance to go out to dinner every Sunday night after the digs with track owner, the late great Eddie Kowalick, and whoever the booked-in feature car and crew was (i.e. Garlits, Kalitta, etc.).

By far the coolest of these match race stars was Chris "The Greek" Karamesines. When I told Chris I was addicted to nitro fumes and longed to visit California to see fueler racing first hand, he invited me to ride across country on his next tour. It came in January '62 or '63 (the year gets away from me) and I flew to Chicago. Along with Ron "Dingy" Leek of Rockford Dragway and Chris, I rode to Tuscon (Lyle "Speed Sport Special" Fisher's house). Then I flew on to L. A., as "The Greek" had a match race in AZ that weekend. None other than, Tom "Mongoose" McEwen picked me up at the airport in his candy apple red 1959 Caddy 2-door hardtop.

"Goose" got me situated at Don "The Louisiana Lip" Prieto's house, where I stayed for about a month. On Saturday night I fulfilled my dream, making my pilgrimage to the true Mecca of Top Fuel racing, Lions Drag Strip near Long Beach.

That first exposure to Lions was far better than Oz. I was in shock, amazed, and in total awe. Back East, the only time we ever saw a drag car pull high gear only was a AA/GD or hired-in match race Top Fuel car. At Lions, I was totally agog because I saw unblown flathead dragsters, with admittedly narrow tires, pulling high gear. The injected Chevy Heidelberg Speed Shop Modified Roadster, on fuel, pulled high gear, too. That car would have been an absolute sensation back at Eastern strips, but at Lions, it was just another "little guy", lost in the blur.

Back then a typical Saturday night at Lions featured a 16 or even 32 car Top Fuel Show. Eight AA/GD cars like Danny Ongais's Chevy, George Bolthoff's Chrysler, and John Peters and Nye Frank's twin-Chevy "Freight Train", with Roy "Goob" Tuller at the throttle, all completed in Top Gas.

There was also another peculiar phenomenon we never saw back in NJ, eight "Junior Fuelers". These were injected 310-inch maximum Chevy diggers on fuel, with an occasional Wayne 12-port inline 6 mixed in for spice. It seemed every Saturday night there was at least a four car fuel altered field, with Gene Mooneyham's '34 Coupe, sideways Wild Willie Borsche, and with luck, Rich Guasco's "Pure Hell", down from Northern CA to compete.

There was also Modified Eliminator, fuel burning blown Modified Roadsters, like Gary Cagle, or Fiat Competition Coupes, like Frank Pedregon. I'll never forget watching likable Frank rebuild his motor with pistons lying in the dirt floor of the pits, awaiting their turn to be stuffed back in the Chrysler block. To top off the evening, there would usually be a 2 out of 3 match race between two premier Top Fuel stars, like Greer-Black and Prudhomme vs. Garlits or Karamesines.

After the first couple of rounds of eliminations at night when the field got pared down in numbers and things got slow, they would open the gate for self-starting cars and let the "common" stuff out. These were cars that eventually became match race features back East, like Big John Mazmanian's '40 Willys, with Bones Balough driving, Stone Woods and Cook, Junior Thompson and K. S. Pittman. As if these AA/GS cars weren't enough, there were amazing cars like the Mallicoat Bros. BB/GS and Hugh Tucker's Olds-powered AA/SR that ran 150 plus mph. At Lions these guys were treated like rabble, because in that atmosphere, Top Fuel was King. Anything less was considered common.

With press credentials, I had the run of the place and would often spend the afternoon at the pushout road near the finish line. Qualifying was always an unbelievable show. Saturday after Saturday, I'd watch pair after pair of Top Fuel cars thunder by at 200 plus mph, about 70 feet from where I stood. It was heaven.

In later years, I remember incredible major events, like the UDRA race at Lions, where the heavy fog rolled in before the final round. The finals went off anyway. Who cared if the drivers couldn't see the track! I remember in one pairing in the thick fog, where both cars came through the lights in the same lane, one behind the other, both still firmly on the loud pedal!

As far as I am concerned, those years from the early '60s at Lions was the Golden Era of drag racing. It was pure, unadulterated Top Fuel racing. No "slipper clutches", just boil the hides. No "Funny Cars" to share the glory. They had not been invented yet.

If you want to talk to Terry Cook about hot rods, custom cars, or anything else e-mail to leadeast@aol.com

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