Rudi wrote in with his footage from a variety of drag races saying, “Don’t know if you are into drags, but I just posted what I shot way back then”. I have to admit that I never really ‘got’ drag racing. But after attending my first drags as a spectator last summer—and starting to learn some of the weird intricacies of the sport—I have a much greater respect for drag racers (who are some of the most colorful and compelling figures in American motorsport today). I’ve also started to realize that much of what I love about classic racing, the grassroots everyman spirit, never really went away in drag racing. You’re just as likely to see a hotted up Ford Focus or GTI as a top-fuel dragster on any given weekend at the drag strip. That alone makes drag racing fantastic.
For those that live their lives a quarter mile at a time, this is absolute gold. The 1959 Nationals at Detroit are particularly great here… Not to mention the Gullwing Mercedes and the Corvette vs. Corvette grudge match starting after the 4 minute mark.
Thanks Rudi!
0 replies on “Reader Film from the Drags ’56—’65”
Fantastic stuff, thanks Rudi!
Drag racing today, like all forms of modern ‘motorsport’ , is useless. However, this…this is fantastic! Thanx for sharing and posting – great images.
[…] match up with the image, but the drag-racing home movie compilation that Rudi Markl sent in to The Chicane this past week almost tops the road racing home movie compilation that the same site ran last week. […]