Vintage race pics

Tried playing aorund with my camera some and thought I'd snap some of the vintage pics I have. Since I don't have a scanner, I'm regulated to taking pictures of pictures, so these aren't the best quality. Sorry.

Outside of Omaha, somewhere around '63-65. Dig the trick starting system at the old air strip.





Fast forward 5 years...High Altitude Nationals at Continental Divide Raceway in Castle Rock Colo.




Yeah, that little dude is me.


Dad's Road Runner in super street. He won the eliminator this year.


Jump forward another decade and I decided to go down a different path. This was back when these cars were cheap and disposable. The red car cost me $50. The blue one was expensive at $200. Colorado Springs International Raceways in the early 80s.

cool pics
those 71's were roundy round cars?

cheapst

Yup, I found out I sucked at drag racing, so I went to the oval where you have multiple laps to correct a mistake.

I chose 71s because of the large bumper area they possesed. That was a nice addition in a bump and grind entry level class. Those are the only two years I ran mopar oval track cars though. I eventually switched to chevy and fords because I didn't want to tear up anymore vintage mopars.

Its too bad the picture of the '69 Cuda didn't turn out better because it has an awesome lace paint job. I migth try fiddling around with my camera setting to improve it.

I grew up in the Springs and remember both the dragstrip and the stockcar track.I went to watch the stockers, but in 1975 I went to the dragstrip for the "Mello Yello Nationals". I remember seeing Don Garlits run. He did a fire burnout and ran 4.10 @ 191. If you go on Google maps, go to satelite, both tracks are still there...corner of Marksheffel Rd. and Hiway 94.

I remember the Mello Yello Nationals. Spent the whole weekend there snapping pics, only to find out later that the film feed in my old Kodak Instamatic wasn't working correctly and all 36 pictures I took were on one frame. I still have a number of autogrpahed driver promo cards from that race including Don Garlits and the Kaiser Bros.

The tracks are both still there but were closed down in, I think, 1990 or 91. The buidings and stands were sold off and it sits. They haven't been used since and are in such disrepair they wouldn't be usable today without resurfacing. The odds of it ever reopenign are zero. Way too many NIMBYs live here now for that to happen anywhere close to town, although we despreatly need those tracks again. We have to go to Pueblo or Denver for racing anymore.

I have the pic of the fire burnout somewhere...... You're right about the track. There's enough motorsports fans in the Springs to support a venue without having to go to Denver or Pueblo.