Ancient Foreign History

by Chris Martin
Photo by Tom Schiltz

Midwest foreign car racer Norm Dobrino launches the Davis & Dobrino C/Modified Compact Mazda "Racing Beat" at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Earlier this year, NHRA president Tom Compton was on the Detroit leg of NHRA's pre-50th Anniversary publicity tour and at a press conference made some remarks that could be a harbinger of things to come at NHRA national and divisional events. These remarks involved foreign cars.

An article in Speedvision.com's NHRA section stated that Compton said in so many words that "import drag racing is seen by many to be the wave of the future - led by kids who have traded Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros for Honda Civics and Mitsubishi Eclipses." The article went on to say that Compton and his staff have met with the leading import advocates like NIRA and NOPI where this subject was discussed.

In this writer's opinion, you can bet the ranch that in some way, shape or form-probably within the next two years-import cars will be a significant part of the program in either NHRA Super Stock and Stock or within their own separate classes and eliminators. The Asian and European markets sell a lot of these machines and that's strong enough impetus to interest NHRA. After all, using the same logic, look what the association did with American trucks.

For drag racers locked into the world of high horsepower V-8s, muscle cars, and 8-second bracket cars, this might seem an unappetizing prospect. Let's face it, the little foreign econo-boxes don't hit the chord tha the big Detroit factory yachts do. For example, in the Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump fule pump as in Import Tuner Winter 1999 magazine, Alan Sarawateri is given credit for the fastest time by a Mazda RX-7 at 9.63, 139-mph. Times like a 9.63 are run by SS/E-to SS/FA NHRA cars routinely. In so many words, at an NHRA race, those e.t's are a dime a dozen, but in import competition they're a big deal.

To many, this seems an invasion of racing privacy. Drag racing is the private reserve of yankee horsepower and it has ever been thus. However, like it or not, today's kids are overwhelmingly driving jacked-up imports or Ford and Chevy econo cars and are making their street and dragstrip statements with them. But not to worry.

Drag racing has always had room for these folks and the little buggers do have a tradition in the sport.

Looking at a March 18, 1955 Drag News, a full half year before the inaugural NHRA Nationals, we see results from Pomona Dragstrip. Competition was held in A/- and B/Sports Car with the winners being Sam Parriott's Kurtis and Roy Worsham's Porsche respectively at 93.55- and 73.28-mph.

At that first NHRA national event, sports cars were included in class competition. True, in the A/Sports class, Warren Turner's win came with a Chrysler under the hood of a '53 Allard, but the B/Sports win went to Ralph Richter's '55 Porsche with a '55 Porsche engine between the rails.

Since the earliest days of the sport, there were sports car afficionados who didn't want to make turns and, of course, if they wanted to race, that meant a trip to the dragstrip. MGs, Porsches, Volkswagens, Borgwards, whatever, these ranks did produce their share of class winners at pioneer facilties such as Santa Ana in California and Caddo Mills in Texas.

The foreigners were always around but they didn't really make their mark until the mid- to late-sixties. One of the chief wave makers then was Vaca Valley, California's Dean Lowry and the EMPI Volkswagen "Bug." Lowry's car came along when Volkswagens were the rage of Southern California high schoolers and collegiates, cheap to buy, maintain, and own. Its position then among the young players was equal to that a lot of the best selling imports enjoy now (including the current VW which is modeled after the classic 1960s version). The car was a huge seller.

Lowry's VW usually ran in the H/G class, a 13.8-second car, and that meant it got a huge headstart at NHRA national events against the then Street Eliminator roadsters and coupes. The full house crowds would stand and roar as they hung on in anticipation to see if the little "Vee-Dub" could hold off the big bad Chevy- and Mopar-powered machines.

Lowry never won an NHRA national event, but he did win back-to-back Division 7 Street Eliminator titles in 1966 and 1967, and held the H/G e.t. and speed record for most of the years as well.

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