My family raced top fuel cars during my teens in the 70's - 80's. Switching a few different drivers, we were mostly just regional racers (toured for points in divisions 5, 6, 7) and rarely raced east of the Mississippi.. but what a blast it all was. Always on the go to somewhere. There were so many top fuel cars in those years (some races qualified 32-car fields) and I see several old friends of ours featured in this video. People from virtually all walks of life came together in the top fuel ranks. Herm Petersen was an ocean fisherman, James Warren sold irrigation equipment, Tony Nancy was an upholsterer, John Wiebe raised hogs, and so on down the line. Hardly anyone raced for an actual living. Mostly just people enjoying themselves while being partners in sport and paying little mind to the glitz of it. I remember a night somewhere (Salt Lake, I think) sleeping on a house lawn under someone's funny car body to keep the wind off me while crews from several cars thrashed all night in the garage and driveway for the next day (they actually let us use downtown city streets and sidewalks for all-night thrashing in Amarillo). No one.. not even the elites.. had a friggin' semi trailer full of parts and money. Just a Chevy crew cab with a sleeper pulling a 36-foot Chaparral. I also recall one of my jobs being to locate the best Chinese restaurant in various cities for crews to descend upon after the last day of racing. My mom always picked up the whole tab. We were all family. That was drag racing to me-- the proverbial "gopher" kid who prayed and gave thanks for low ETs and a safe trip home. Today's top fuel story is mostly just a bunch of corporate billboards going down a track-- most operated by huge racing enterprises. Everyone so prim and proper. A fact of commercial evolution, I guess. Bound to happen. All I know is that I was so.. incredibly.. lucky to have lived those years as they were and to have built the friendships I did. Anyway.. thank you for allowing me to reminisce here on that era of life's adventures-- and thank you, Calvin Walker, for posting this really nice video. Be sure to tune in next week when we discuss fire burnouts and oil can spouts-- but I'll quiet down for now :-)

4:10 - That was a cool interview. Don knew EXACTLY why previous rear engine dragsters didn’t handle well and what he did to fix the issue (slowed down the steering ratio). But no way was he going to tell his secret here. He gave some BS answers to the interviewer. Love it! Racers are racers.

growing up in Pomona hearing them practice from my grandmother house through the week and then watching drag on the weekend was awesome. Pomona, Long Beach and Bakersfield, i cant count how many races iv seen at those places. got to meet John Force at his house back in the late 80s. my uncle, dad and i put a fence up in Johns backyard. John his wife and girls, we all ate lunch together, i don't think the girls where 10 years old yet.

so cool seeing the old front engine diggers and the intro of the rear engine dragster, massive thumbs up!

Wow! I'm a 80's Diamond P baby and never seen this footage. Thanks for posting. Great quality btw.

Thank you for bringing back some great memories. I was at a few of these races when I was young. I always thought Don Garlits stopped driving a front engine dragster after his accident in 1969, but it shows him in one in 1970. I never know that.

Fantastic top fuel racing.Brought back great memories!

A very Young Steve Evans. The days when you could actually see the stands full. Great vid thanks.

This was a great time to be a fan. There were a lot of growth in the sport going on.

It is fascinating to see the development in just a few years, from the spindly, front-engined, "Sling-shots" in 1970 to the almost recognizable , rear-engined, cowled and winged cars in '74.

Awesome video! You have a lot of history in this. Most of this footage I've never seen before. Thank you so much for making this!

Remember OCIR. Always will miss it. I was young but I wont forget the best of times with dear old dad he would say. Wish I could go back and touch a lttle bit of heaven again. Thanks dad.

This is the best old school video I have seen on nitro. Those front engines didn't last very long after Garlits.. From the time I was 10 in 1966 I spent the next 5 years having my Dad take me and my buddies to the "run what you brung" drag races for my birthday. Been going on my own ever since. I ended up racing motorcycles instead of cars. A new dirt bike was less than what my drag racing friends were spending to rebuild a motor. LOL

I grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and I am now going on 70. We could hear these cars from our house in Brownsburg sometimes. As a kid we loved to go to the Raceway Park. We were the local kids who snuck in the back fence for free. Sometimes if we had money we would pay to go in and also get a pit pass. I saw all the old greats of the days. I grew up going to Raceway Park mostly in the late 60's and early 70's. Those were great days of drag racing with Rat Finks, Nudenicks and custom T-shirt shops that were so cool. We made those silly hats stretched over coke bottles and had custom painted at the T-shirt booth. Those are some great memories. I had a great childhood growing up in Brownsburg.

Drag racing seemed more of a National Sport back then. Today it's just not the same crowd energy.

i had a 70s a dragster in early 90s n bracket raced it she was a killer bracket car !!!!!

By far the best video quality from old vintage drags of that era. Fremont drag strip native from the 60' - 80's... Thanks for sharing.

man this is awesome, just a car with an engine, 4 wheels and a driver. truly racing at its best

All the Legends one could ask for in one video. Thank You...

Big Daddy Don Garlits the TRUE innovator!! The GOAT!!!🏆🔥🔥🔥🏆💯💪

I saw all the greats in 1971 at Epping, NH's New England Drag way that summer. I was 22 years-young, and loved seeing, Garlits, Prudohmme, Sox & Martin, Shirley, 'Cha Cha' Muldowney, etc.

My father and I use to watch when he was off work and I remember some of these names, races, and cars. I really miss those times.

The car that Garlits is driving (1:21) is the same one that broke in half a year later, hastening the move to rear engine dragsters.

My favorites were the old front motor cars that would smoke the tires the full length of the drag strip. It was a great day when they got a reverse gear so they didn't need a couple of linebacker types to shove the cars back after a burnout.

Very good quality video. It takes me back to the "good old days" Thank you for sharing these videos.

Thank You Calvin...Awesome Video.!!

Ground pounding thunder! To hell with today's electric dragster long live Top Fuel!!!

Now that brought back some great memories! Thanks...

Oh how I miss the glory days !!!

Thank you for the memories ,,,,,did a Super Shops clone Ford courier race truck…..all parts came eagle rock and van nuys shops….wow nice to hear the announcers…..

Thanks for this videos.Wery nice to see and a good quality to :) super nice :) Calvin walker👋👋

That WAS the good old days!

4:03 this man predicted the future in the 70s

Was there in 71' to watch that historic win by Garlits...great race (except for losing Pete Robinson, of course 😔). Thanks for the video (any chance we might see AA/FA's of the 70's video??). ✌😎

The Snake. My favorite driver

I was born in the mid 60's, I remember this era when I was a kid. The reason they went to rear engines in top fuel is dudes were getting their legs blown off when the engine exploded. I remember when they broke 7's and we never thought anyone could go faster then that. How wrong we were.

Hola, genial lo miraba por tv de niño, y los fabricaba en madera .lindos recuerdos. Gracias.!!!

Ah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Raceway!!!! Park!! ❤. I can still hear that voice on the commercial 🎉

memories ... gotta love that era

sitting right behind that engine took big balls

Great job would like to have seen the last front engine top fuel car to win a national event. It was mine. Don Young

Buster Couch 😎

g'day calvin thankyou for posting these love the 70s drag racing,would you have one with the funny cars? thanks again from down under

Great memories.

Interesting that reaction time was always so critical. The underdog still had to guess or be phychic to cut a good enough lite to make up for the power over there to have a chance to move on. Usually didnt work out well for them.

sweet music

Yeah great stuff.

Back when drag racing was cool

A VERY YOUNG!!! Steve Evans !!!!😀😀😀😀🎤🎤🎤🎤🚘🚘🥁🍺🍺🍺🍺

75 they put that gull wing on the front end between the tires..mean looking

At 3:38, Garlits wins the 71 Winternationals, first NHRA rear engine win

Love those HEMI's

Alguém poderia me responder quais os combustíveis usados na época e suas porcentagens Obrigado

3:55 4:06 Note in the background, " Weird Al Yankovic making the Amish Paradise " video.

At 23:23, is that a Honda C/T 70?

This is the foundation.

Shout out to big Daddy

I heard the announcer saying a car was 29th in qualifying

Late '70s and busting into the 5s, oh yeah...

And the best thing was big daddy didn’t hide the secret so all drivers were safer

The beginning of rear drags .they looked meaner

7:12 mark. Why does one need to write RR on right side rear tire. Just an R or L is all this is really needed??

So cool back then to see all the diff style noses,wings,engine combos,etc...cars now days are fast yea but theyr cookie cutters

2:14 them were hand throttle?!

When the world was right. Before the tribes

Started crewing on funny cars in the seventies And owning and building Sent then and wouldn't Traded or anything but but I wish we wouldn't go back in time these new cars are way too expensive for spectator sport to For any spectator to be involved

***CATER***

When hemis ruled any class of racing