Bret made some bold and valid points with his post from page 5-- He said the kind of stuff, that if I dared say it, the bipolar internet blowhards would have me kidnapped and burned alive at the stake... Some of what Bret said definitely holds true in my opinion, especially when it comes to the occasional over-romancing and over-exaggerating tales of drag racing's past, as it's told by some folks... And it's kind of unsettling the way some blowhards on the drag racing internet only "worship" and "romanticize" the racers of the past (1960's-1970's) who were either hardcore druggies, drug dealers, drunks, womanizers/rapists, mobsters/murderers, thieves, child molesters, etc, etc- That kind of creeps me out-- And the same people who romantically wax nostalgia about drag racing's most notorious low-lifes, practically NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER say ANYTHING about the "ACTUAL RACING" of the day?!?-- It's almost like if you didn't know any better, ya'd think there really WASN'T ANY actual "DRAG RACING" going on back then, just low-life debauchery-- That said, I don't believe that's the case, I know that there was lots of real good racing going on back in the old days, and there were lots of good, stand-up people in the sport, like "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, Bruce Larson and Bunny Burkett among others-- And I firmly believe that "aesthetically" speaking, the style and design sense of drag racing in the 60's and 70's is somewhat superior to what we see today-- I do prefer the "old school" style, when cars had names, and more creative paint schemes... I'll have to take on Bret's '95 Mercury Grand Marquis with my new pristine, loaded, black 2000 Lincoln Continental (with its 32 valve V8), maybe it could crack the elusive 17 second barrier-- It's quite a ride-- It's the first car I've driven where nobody ever cuts me off, not sure why that is??... "The Doc" (Celebrity Drag Racing Authority & Visionary)...
Bruce Larson is proof that not everybody involved with drag racing in the 60's and 70's was a low-life... Bruce is one of my heroes of the sport... I greatly admire the man...
Back in the old days, it wasn't unusual for 100-200 Nitro Altereds to show up for open competition at any given drag strip on any given Sunday... Just kiddin' around...