Your first race?

What was the first race you ever entered at a track? What did you run, and how did you do?

I'm talking about where you paid an entry fee and raced at the track against a bunch of people. Street racing or heads up at the test and tune for a case of beer doesn't count!

early 80's spokane raceway park. they had a class called first timers. my car was 70 challenger with a 340 auto. went 15.05, made the final round and lost to a motor cycle. also the last time i was in a final round LOL. i did not race for many years however, raising the family.

I was 15 in my Mom's '96 Intrepid running Trophy Street on a bracket race Saturday. The class was new and there was only two of us, so my first round of competition was in a final. My opponent went red and I was .012 on the tree for my first race round win. Remember it like it was yesterday. Probably 1997. Oddly enough I can't remember my first race in a real racecar.

1963, I was 17. Raced my brand new 1963 Plymouth Sport Fury Convert Max wedge 3 speed car at Oswego Drag way, Il. With a 3.91 gear and Atlas Bucrons, I went 13.49 @106mph. Fastest stock ( A/S )car there that day. Obviously had some launch problems

Took my sisters 03 Ion automatic to nationals trails on a weds night. Ran 2 time runs without being to hard on it. Rolled up first round against Dana? I think her husband drove a dakota and was killer, I think his name was Ray? Cut an .080 light was cruising on down, never saw her crossed the stripe(had the radio on for the track) broke out by a mile! She cut a .484 light, threw it away bad. Dialed 18.25 ran an 18.03 on the brakes.

17yrs ago in a 71 rr with 383 was in nite under fire race went 14.35 with trans slipping,timing off, plugs not gap right,carb not jetted right. redlighted went home to raise the kids

Friday night bracket race in 2005. I had no idea what I was doing. My lights were horrendous. Lucky for me my opponents either red-lit or broke out, so I ended up going five rounds. I bet they were pissed when they got their timeslip and saw how bad my light was.

I lost on a little breakout, dialed 13.79 and ran 13.78. Total fluke. lol...

late 80s, high school nationals at Milan Dragway in my dads old 5.0 Mustang,
staged first time with the rear tires, no memory of anything else after that.

i street raced my whole life in southern california, but my first real live official race at a dragstrip was just 7 years ago when i moved up here. it was a nostalgia race, and i drove my car to the track. i worked that day (saturday), went straight to the track, and literally drove straight to the burnout box, did a burnout, cut a good light, and ran 8.30 or so in the eighth. it was a hoot. i went out first round. i broke out, iirc. i didn't even have a chance to get nervous.

17 years old, 1964 bug with the stock 40 hp engine. it ran just a little over 22 seconds in the quarter at the original irwindale dragstrip in ca.

1982 yes with my dads 1970 rt/se Hemi Challenger at Milan Dragway In the High School Nationals ran 10:30 @133 In a 4 speed car. Car was called
"Loose Change" Hemi orange with black hood.

Now we still race together and Dad still driving..

1982 @ Milan Dragway 1970 dodge rt/se Challenger c alled Loose Change It was my Dads car ran 10:30 @ 133 Those where the days let the clutch out and shift the Hemi down the track.

Oh boy........not a great memory.........and unfortunately , I have a great memory.
Champion Auto stores season finals at Brainerd International Raceway in 1990.
1966 Mercury Cyclone with a 1970 429 SCJ , auto and 4.11's
Street tires.
Judy was driving ( she is a stone killer on the tree ) and she spun them for an easy 75 feet.
It hooked in third and twisted the drive shaft in half at just past half track.
That shelled the transmission case and tranny fluid hit the headers putting up a smoke screen that would make James Bond proud.
I couldn't tell if she was on the wheels or on the roof.
She did the right thing.......got the car out of the groove and coasted to a stop.
But we were like the third set of cars in the first time trial session.
Pretty good oil down.
45 minute delay.
As you can well imaging , we made no friends that day.
It was a street car till that day.
Next came the roll bar , sub frame connectors and pretty good chunks of my income going into the car every year.
For the next eight years , we raced it a lot and had some success for most of the time......running mostly at Grove Creek ....... the local 1/8th mile.
It had to be love.
Nothing else explains why when she won the season points deal and it paid 500.00 , we were tickled.
That was the year I put 2,500.00 into the rear end and front suspension.
But the joy of a good working race car is worth every penny.
I'm not sure if she will pedal the new car or not.
She'll give it a try , but it will be substantially quicker than the Cyclone was.
And if she is afraid of it , I will have to learn how to cut a light.

Had to be around 1981, my friend let me make a pass in his 69 Camaro @ Island Dragway. I ran 11.70. Hate to admit I popped my cherry @ the track in a cheby. Mopar or nothing...

My first time racing at a drag strip was at Fontana Drag City in Fontana, CA in my mothers new 1964 Dart 270 four door sedan with the new(at that time)273 V8 two barrel single exhaust no less I was put into K/SA Formula 3, 10 or 12 other cars in that class that night, I beat them all This was in the day that they line you up with three other cars and started us with a flag starter, 3 rounds later I had my fisrt trophy racing at a race track, I had whup some other cars on the street for fun before that so the flag starter wasn't nothing new I raced that car twice that year and won both times I've been hook every since EDIT, That 1964 Dart 273 ran 17:70s if I'm remembering correctly, not as fast as my 1971 street Duster

Summer time at Sacramento Raceway Park in 1970 with a 67 GTO 400 4 speed...

Dont remember what it ran...

I was 16 and ran the High School Drags at Kansas City international Raceway in a 68 Mustang with a 302. It ran 14.50's and i thought I was flying

1969 U.S.13 Dragway in my moms 64Buick Electra 225 vert with a 401 nailhead.class was M/Pure stock if I remember right. I ran a 15.30 and thought I was a big dog.

Ray

1968 at Milan,in my new roadrunner 4sp,lost first round,if i remember right.It ran in a/ps,don't know what it ran but it was slow.It just spun the F-70's thru 3 gear's.

First time at the track to race was at E-town in 1979 the last Sunday of the season and it rained out. I didn't want to wait until the following year so me and my friend Norm (we still race together when we can)went to Island the next Sunday. Drove there (probably about 60 miles)in my 71 Cuda with the slicks in the back seat. Changed the tires and opened the headers and made 3 passes 13.78, 13.60ish and 13.47 all around 100 mph. The car was a 4spd. back then and I was only leaving at around 2,500 so it was bogging pretty bad. That was before I learned you actually will break less parts leaving high with a stick car than you will leaving low and bogging the motor. Lucky for me I didn't break anything was able to drive back home. Still have the car and still race when time and money permit.

My first real race was 1985 in a 1970 Plymouth Fury III 4 door, 318 and a 2bbl. I was running 18.0s and won my first two rounds of eliminations in the 14.00 and up money class at Norwalk. I got to the semis and quarters the next two weekends. My first pass ever was in 1982 driving Dad's '70 Chevy Impala convertable, 327 2bbl, ran a spinning 17.67.

my first race was at Lapeer dragway in 2001 I lined up with hopes of racing a mustang that was equal to me but instead a big block nitros pounding nova(Novacaine) pulls next to me drowed my car with smoke from his burout then proceeded to kick my but from the green light to the end. The video is funnier then Hell.

Mine was back around 96,clarksville tennessee,i/8th mile track.I ran my 69 dart street car with a garage floor 318 and a 2.76 gear ,ran 10.65 with a 600 something light,and got hammered.5 years later I won track championship in same car with better 318 and 3.23 gears in street class.Best time in dart was a 9.25

Woodburn, Oregon, in 1978, IIRC. Had my '69 Super Bee 383 4-speed that I drove from Virginia to Oregon when I moved there in '77. It ran mid-to-high 14s at the time and I'm sure I totally sucked when it was time to go rounds. I did manage to actually win a Trophy Class race there either that year or the next, so I suppose I was starting to get the hang of it.

At that point there were no reaction times, 60-ft times, etc. on the time slip... just an ET, MPH and Win / Lose check box written by the person in the timing shack.

My first race was in 94. I had been working on building my Bee for about a year when they opened up a new track locally (Steel Valley Dragway) . Well , I decided that I would take the wifes 79 Trans Am and go give it a try. I had been watching bracket races for more than 10 years , so I had a pretty good idea of how things worked. This was at their inaugural event. I entered the trophy class and ended up winning ! Needless to say that I was "hooked" and spent every weekend, for the rest of that summer, racing instead of working on My Bee. That Tran Am was putting down some blistering 16.5x passes ,lol , but it was still a lot of fun and I went on to win 4 more trophies that year.

Mine was at Milan Dragway in 1977. 73 Gremlin X; 258, 2bbl, 3 speed, 3.54 gear, G60/14's. Car was good for low 15's at about 90MPH. I didn't quite have the "leave on the last yellow" concept down yet! I made it close at the big end though - only lost by about 3 TRAINLENGTHS.

Not counting 1973, when I was 18, and ran an 18 second '67 Cougar going out in the first round... in 1998 I lost the Chicagoland Mopar Connection race at Byron, by breaking out in the final by 0.05. Worst thing was, I had the other guy covered big time.

John

I went with some buds about half a dozen times to KCIR in '76 and '77 with my 70 Challenger I dropped a mild 440 in. Ran street tires, H50x14's, Never go it to hook, but best was 13.16 @ 108. Got three trophies for my trouble. Fun times!

I was 16, and I raced my dads tow vehicle, 95 dodge ram 1500, extended cab, long bed It was the chrysler classic at beechbend in ky. I think I won first round, but lost second. I was only going like 17.60s... .