HOOKED AGAIN

Just ran across DRO, and what a nice job you are doing. I really enjoyed reading all your articles. Especially the one about "I was there" (the first 5-second run in a "slammer"). You are right - it is very rare when (more so "if") we get to witness drag racing history.

You probably got a lot of these, but here is my "I was there": Martin, Michigan - probably 1964 (first year of the "Injected" altered-wheelbase "funny" cars. "AFX" cars now that I think about it), anyway, it was the first pass in the 10s (or was it 9s?) by a "full-bodied" car. Now, you would think that even though that was 40 years ago that I would be able to remember who did it. Nope. Too many "heavy-hitters" there that night I guess. Color me Gone, Dick Landy, (the) Melrose Missle, (the) Ramchargers, Arnie Beswick even! And who was that Ford guy? Oh yeah, Don Nicholson. I don't think Sox & Martin had even been "invented" yet, or I am sure they would have been there (and I would have remembered). That must have been the "who's who" of doorslammer racing in '64, and I suppose that any one of them could have done it, but I swear I don't remember who did.

I ran into Ron Mancini a few years ago, and we spoke of that night in Martin for quite a while. He remembered the race (even though he is "getting on"), but he could not remember who did it either (I guess it was not the Ramchargers then, eh?)

Well, keep up the good work, and I will try and get to read your stuff on a more regular basis. I have been out of drag racing since 1991, but after reading all this tonight, I just may get the urge again. Still have the car -- now all I need is time & money.

Dave Grove
Louisville, KY

SOME THOUGHTS ON 10.5 CARS & DRIVERS

I agree that sponsorship in Outlaw 10.5 racing is a necessity if the class is going to grow but I would like to see it limited to certain panels on the cars. I can't speak for others but I myself like the idea that these cars still have some resemblance to "street cars" like having mufflers (although some are questionable), headlights, taillights, etc., or at least they should because if you let things like these slip by the wayside then the class loses its identity to me and they become nothing more than Pro Mods with small tires and more weight.

These cars are the by-product of the early days of "Super Street" racing that the old NMCA use to have and those cars were required to be as stock appearing as possible, that's what made them unique. I think sponsorship lettering should be limited to the rear quarter panels and trunk area and rear glass. I've seen a few Pro Mod cars and some others like those and it looks better than letting the cars end up looking like Greg Anderson's Pro Stocker which is so covered with lettering like so many other pro cars that you can hardly tell what make and model that car is supposed to be.

I think one issue that needs to be addressed is the way these events are run and organized. I've been to many 10.5 races and have been disappointed at the amount of time it takes these guys to get their cars to the staging lanes after being called. I attended the one and only so far 10.5 race at the new South Georgia Motorsports Park a few

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months ago and was completely disappointed with the actions of these drivers.

I'm a chassis builder and tuner on an Outlaw 10.5 car that's currently being finished in my shop and should be out testing within 2 weeks, so I'm no stranger to what it takes to maintain and run one of these cars, but we ran this car all last season and were never once late in getting our car to staging when we were called but at SGMP the track owner was getting visibly upset after making several calls over the PA system for them to get to staging. He finally ended up running Super Pro cars just to keep the action going and keep fans semi-happy. They finally got these guys to the lanes after nearly an hour of asking. Needless to say this particular race didn't end till well after midnight that day so many fans had already left and there was no reason for it to run so late into the night if they would just be prompt in getting to the lanes when called. From what I understand the track owner was so upset with the actions of these racers that he won't be having them back anytime soon, which is a shame since this is a top notch track.

Anyway, I feel this is definitely one issue that needs to be addressed if this class is going to become the next Big Thing and gain more attention.

Dan Neumann