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HOT DAMN DOORSLAMMIN' ,
This video serves as a good introduction. John Gill and Diana "Doc" Thomas, the Drag Racing Underground, have a long video track record on the East Coast and are likely the leading chroniclers of e.t. bracket, hell, make that "doorslamming" action, in the Northeast. For the past decade they've camped out, mostly at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, and made "stars" of hundreds of racers. Well, maybe not stars, but certainly, recipients of their 15 minutes worth of fame. However, in recent years, not a lot has changed format-wise with these guys. "Doorslammin'" looks almost identical to their last few productions, with only a few new wrinkles (former WWF Heavyweight champ Kurt Angle giving DRU a plug) Other than that, though, "the Doc" almost always begins every interview with, "Hi, I'm here with so and so," and she does this dozens of times. The questions are uniformly alike. "Tell us a little about the car," "Tell us about yourself," "Do you like heads up racing?" and "Is there anyone you'd like to thank?" Fine. But very predictable. I'm not kidding here, but the above graph was just about how every interview was handled. After the interview, you'd get a few minutes of the car in action, and on it would go. As someone on the outer edge of "doorslammers," I can say I learned something. I even found a couple of areas that I'd like to know more about and could see being a separate video themselves. How about an hour on the Pro street racers like Al Ricci of New York and Simon of Newark, N.J. (didn't get the last name). Ricci had a white scoop-less '67 Nova that looked like it would be doing well to run 12s, but from what I saw on the video, it's effortlessly a single digit car. Simon runs a '77 Cadillac with a 455-cid Olds, nitrous assisted and says he's run 8.90s. Neither of the pair wanted their e.t.s announced since, as Ricci put it, "I'm looking for a little action." 'Nuff said. So the video is informative and shot well enough, but there's got to be some tuning up in the editing and script department. Nearly two hours of the same format over and over is too long and requires electroshock to make it through the end. Also, neither John nor Diana is a pro announcer, and that counts for something, because at times the delivery on mike was very wooden. To the point (you and your drag racing dollar) - If you race in Pro Modified, especially Quick 8, Pro Street, Nostalgia "doorslammers," and even Pro Stock or are a fan, I'd say pick up the tape. It's a decent howdy to the Northeast scene. However, if editing and a popping script are required and your interest in "doorslammers" is minimal, then, I don't know, find a copy of "Huge Gazongas." One final point, and this is directed to the producers. In all of the interviews, most particularly the answer to "Tell us a little about the car," a lot of area performance shops (trans, engine, chassis builders) got a tremendous amount of hits, i.e. exposure. You guys might be able to work in another camera and editing machinery in your artistic arsenal, (I know you work on a budget) if you worked some kind of deal with them. Something like free racing decals inside or something like that. They pay up a little money for this privilege and the exposure on the tape, and bingo! - a new hit parade. Oh well, just a thought. Drag Racing Underground can be reached at |
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If
there's one area of pro-style drag racing that I wish I knew a little
better, it would be the single digit elapsed time "doorslammers."
Now, Pro Stock's no problem because it was an NHRA and IHRA headliner
for three decades and I got in on the ground floor with them, but
Pro Modified, Pro Street, and creatures like Quick 8 have at times
really eluded my radar. By the time those cars hit their stride in
the mid-nineties I was too locked into NHRA racing to really give
'em a strong once over.
