THE REAL WORLD SERIES

Notes by Jeff Burk and Jeff Leonard. Photos by Jeff Leonard.

For baseball fans the World Series is held in the fall of the year and is known as the October classic. At that event the emphasis is on ERA's, batting averages, hotdogs and peanuts. But if you're a drag racing fan the real World Series is held in the late summer, hard by the Mississippi river at Cordova (Ill.) Dragway Park. At that event the emphasis is elapsed time, top speed, nitro, beer and brats and it has been happening for 48 straight years on the same piece of asphalt and concrete covered sand.

The annual event is older than the U.S. Nationals and for many fans it is also more entertaining. To many fans, including the staff of DRO, the World Series is an annual rite we attend to see the famous, near famous, and infamous cars, racers and personalities of drag racing. For fans this event it is one of the last going where they can see their heroes and heroines driving fuel coupes, fuel dragsters, fuel altereds, wheelstanders, jets, and almost every other type of vehicle known to man. It is also one of the last independent events where the prices for admission, food, beverages and souvenirs allow a family to attend a race without taking out a second mortgage on the house. In short, drag racing like it oughta be.

NOSTALGIA NITRO ACTION

There were a half dozen nostalgia cars on nitro, including a couple of fuel altereds, Rex Stevens "Speed Sport Roadster" clone (above) and a twin-engine rear motored car and "Nitro" Neal Bisciglia's AA/Modified Fuel Coupe.

In eliminations, Stevens' roadster ran a nearly incredible 7.165/162.84, Tom Motry in the "Drastic Plastic" Fuel Alt ran a credible 6.010/234.37 and Nitro Neal recorded a 6.488/228.34. DRO gives the unofficial Nostalgia Nitro class win to Motry based on his performance, with a gold star to Rex Stevens for just getting into and driving the ultra scary Speed Sport Roadster.

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