Very good article,I've been lucky to have a nice balance of win and defeat to keep me hungry and happy. Always trying to go faster and not afraid to let the $$$$ fly when needed but LOVE winning with less. And that is my drive along with helping friends go fast, my car is the slowest car I help with lol. For me it's all about tuning and fun. I will say the disconnect of tuning makes it easier to accept losing tho versus being the driver

Every pursuit has its' share of knuckleheads, but by and large, of all the things I've been involved with, the longest lasting, most valued friendships and the best people I've met - some you've heard of and many you haven't, the best experiences, most rewarding accomplishments, and favorite memories, are the result of my involvement in drag racing.

Unlike some, winning (or losing) mattered a great deal. The challenge of knocking heads with some of the best in the country, with limited resources, was taken seriously. Winning validates your abilities, losing sucks. When we get back out eventually, that will remain the same. Learning, testing, trying new things, validating tuning theories is always a goal as well. We never went for a joy ride. Every pass had a purpose; to learn something or to turn on a win light.

Never built a car to win. Always built cars to have fun. If I happen to win that day, it's a plus. If I don't, it's still a great day away from work. I did start to get miserable when I started spitting parts on a regular basis when trying to get into the 9's. But when I got there, there was never a better day at the races. The Mustang I built for the shop had a stroker bowtie, ran 11.40's. Anyone who helped contribute or sponsor got to drive the car. There was more talk about the Mustang through town than I could have imagined. Was always a great time, and all I did was build and tune.

It's not the races you win but the friends you meet that, is the spice of life.

I've met some great people at the drag strip. Back in the late 70's and early 80's I helped on roundy round dirt cars and there were fist fights on a regular basis. When I started drag racing several years ago I was surprised how friendly (almost) everyone was. Anytime I was having a problem there was always some one offering parts, advice or help. The whole atmosphere was different from what I had been around at the dirt tracks.

I'm lucky that I have good friends that enjoy the racing and are willing to tow my car to the track each weekend, and in turn as a thank you I always buy a bunch of food that we grill up in the pits, it's the most fun I've ever had and although I do try and win I'm still a green horn but wouldn't change a thing.

Thanks for the link. Great reading and true in every aspect.

Bill, you hit the nail on the head, "It's not the races you win but the friends you meet that, is the spice of life."

Thats it in a nutshell and thats to have fun. I figure thats what life is about which is doing what you enjoy and having fun doing it. I cant afford to race much but I live within my budget and even when I cant race I can still take my 63 out to the local cruise spot and bench race and have fun. I love racing and will do it when I can until I die and I will enjoy it all the time.
Its funny as I am only (yea only) 60 and my brother is 65 and I have more health issue's with my joints and my other problems but he races with the 422 NSS club and I would see him go to a race 4 hrs away on a hot July weekend when its 95 to 100 out and humid and it can be so crappy out that I dont even take my 63 to the local cruise if its so hot I dont have fun and I think to myself how can he be enjoying it in this heat ? He always tried to make all their races and run the points and I told him hey just go to the ones you want and have fun and dont worry about chasing the points as I could see him slowing down the last few years. And this past summer I was surprised when he told me a few weekends when he missed their races as he said when its that hot and it just gets me so run down I think I will stay home that weekend or not go to that race. I think he felt it was not as much fun when he forced himself to go racing in such heat that it wears him down and he did not have alot of fun. He even said to me so what if I miss a few races as I want to enjoy the race and have fun when I do go. Ron

As I've gotten older, it's become less and less fun. Not that I don't still love doing it, but life gets in the way most of the time.

This is what it's about......

What started out as a $5000 car towed in a $4000 trailer by a borrowed motor home.

Results after time and effort.....World Championship.

Definitely a good read. My husband and I started off sleeping in the back of the tow vehicle while hauling the Duster on an open trailer, while our pit area flooded at Indy. lol!

My drag race friends are some of the best friends I've ever had. Really really cool people.

My car show friends are just weird, lol.

Having fun is it, winning is great but not all the story.....I had the best time of my life racing from 1980>1990, everyone was friendly, talkative and helpful, on one occasion I was surprised when a FC driver came over to my lowly door slammer and asked what I had under the bonnet...jeez, I don’t know exactly what we did to it but it did sound awesome, gave me Goosebumps every time I fired it up, was only a 340 but sounded totally different to the other motors, he knew what he was listening to no doubt.
I have 2 major memories that stand out from back then, one was when we had a rare evening H-up shoot-out which I won a massive £250 at, I learnt then that being a nice guy and not using my N20 didn’t cut it, I took the entrants down the pub that night on my winnings. The other was at another evening International Heads up race we had once a year called “Gary’s Picnic”. I got drawn against the guy who b/halved my car who was running in the 8’s with an opel Manta with a BBC and me in the ’69 Cuda on only 11.00’s at the time. But I thought I had a chance as he was having a mysterious misfire problem he couldn’t solve, so in went the big N20 jets. We both leave together, I got the jump and I remember looking over at the stripe and seeing him go past me like a rocket, thought I’d lost for sure.
All of a sudden I hear a bang and the hood flew up, a bit scary as it was pitch black and I had no lights, anyhow next thing I got about 10 people all around me smiling and ready to tow me back to the pits....I got the win light, and was told the crowd erupted down at the start line........10 minutes of frantic fibreglass work fixed the hood and we found another top hose, I was ready for the next round, which I lost to a fast Swede. Its moments like that, that are the best, win or loose.....fond memories of great times.......

When I started in the early 80-s I ran a super fast 8.40 in the 1/8 but the super pro bracket at the time was a 6.0 bracket but the guys still helped me with tuning at the track and I used my family backhoe trailer to get the car there.

I still wont buy an enclosed trailer, for me its just more hastle then its worth.

The comments about the parents & kids blowing up after losing a drag race isn't any different than what I've seen happen at motocross races, soccer games, etc. My older son was a good soccer player, but got burned out after a few years when he didn't feel he had it in him to make the next step up in competition. He started wrestling as a high school freshman last year and is totally into it since he's already on the Varsity team. But I expect the reality that he's only talented enough to be "competitive", but not skilled enough to be dominant like some of this team mates, is going to lessen his enthusiasm for going out and getting his butt whipped by somebody who's simply that much better. At that point, it won't be fun to be out-gunned regularly and he'll move on to something else.

Motocross was like that for me, in that when I felt like I wasn't competitive any more (injuries, nothing left in the "talent pool" to increase my speed), I had to make the decision on whether to quit or just race for fun, regardless of how I placed. I raced for fun for a little while, then stopped and only went on non-race rides w/ some friends who were also former or part-time racers, then eventually sold off all my stuff and never rode again. I don't even bother to spectate the local AMA National MX round any longer, although I track the series' results online.

My younger son, to be blunt, simply doesn't give a rat's a$$ about sports: he's the "un"competitor. I'm just happy he stuck it out in Tae Kwon Do long enough to earn his 1st Degree Black Belt (as did his older brother some years earlier), but then pretty much said "That's it!" and quit right after. He's a great kid and a really good student, but we're really wired differently, whereas I have an easier time relating to my older son because our personalities (for better or worse) are more in synch.

Taking my Challenger to the track, as infrequently as that's been over the last 15 years, is now just a "for fun" thing, and is mostly exercising my desire to go faster as an ET Chaser at the test & tunes, or racing the occasional Mopar or street-car event.

Sorry, I'm sure I wandered off topic here and did something of a "stream of consciousness" post.

Great article, I can relate. I've been very fortunate to do well racing in NSS. I have made many friends across the country racing, the camaraderie is what makes drag racing different. I have been helped by many fellow racers in time of need. One example that I still remember, around 2006 I won my semi final round at a nmca race but broke the rearend ( 8 3/4 ring and pinion lol) Many fellow racers helped me off the track and pushed my car up on the trailer. Andy Mays ( bad$ss orange challenger) came over and said "aren't you in the final" I replied yes but broke the rearend, he said I got anything you need and my crew will help! I thanked him but declined the offer figured I damaged the tranny too, but the point is he didn't know me from adam and offered to help. That's how drag racers are.

I never go alone, I'm always with family and friends, because we all enjoy it. Great people, great times.

Very good article, I have met many people since I started racing seriously about 30 years ago. People come and go, a guy will come race a few years then disappear. At my track the core bunch of guys and girls have been coming there for years. I have been very fortunate to have a few mentors that have been by my side for years including a friend that a ran a factory sponsored stocker back in the early seventies ( yes a Mopar ) he still does my transmissions and as a matter of fact is doing some welding for me tomorrow. The way everybody helps each other out is one of the great things about the sport, I can name many examples but a few stand out... a few years ago I had a problem with my car that day and couldn`t race, I was in points, a pretty well known bracket racer/ parts dealer in these parts comes up and says: Bill do you want to use my car?, we can double up, I will always remember that. Another time another pretty well known brand x racer friend of mine broke his car ( he drives it to the track) he was in points also, I unhooked my trailer and he ran my H.Q.C. to get the points. Another friend also broke his car another time , I just happened to have my D150 at the track that day he jumped in going rounds in two classes including going to the semis in one. A few times every season I get down on myself for doing poorly and get upset but I remember and my wife reminds me... this is supposed to be fun, she's right and I remember how much fun I had the race before despite doing poorly and come Monday I am itching to go racing again

Racing is in the blood, everybody at the track has this one thing in common. There will be the occasional a-hole but for he most part we are all just having fun. The thing that supprized me the most was the amount of drivers who could turn wrenches but that was it. Because I knew a little bit I ended working on a lot of cars and I enjoyed it when they performed well, so I ended up with a lot of friends over the years. I guess what I'm saying is you have to get something out of racing no mater what, if you can't it doesn't last long. I've had an ich for some time to go Stocker racing, building the car now and not sure how it will turn out, but I'll be racing again after 16 years which is good. I went to the mopar race in Dinwiddy last fall and setting in the stands while watching the really fast cars, my heart was beating out of my chest and had lumps in my throat, do I have it bad or what?