I'm flying to the California Hot Rod Reunion this weekend, and I'm
hoping for a second honeymoon. Anyone who reads this website knows that drag
racing is a major part of my life, but I have a different, more businesslike
feeling about it than I did 20 years ago. Somewhere along the way, I lost
the "magic" and hopefully the CHRR is just the tonic I need.
I'm 42 and I was lucky to be a teenager in those wild 1970s, when Funny
Car racing was at its peak. I enjoyed match races at my home tracks of
Dragway 42 and Thompson Drag Raceway. I then joined the Navy and got
stationed in San Diego for a year in 1977. I made my way up to OCIR every
chance I got -- sometimes with no earthy idea how I was going to get back! I
used to enjoy the show, then start to get butterflies in my stomach towards
the end... trying to work up the courage to ask one of the teams for a ride
back to San Diego.
I missed 'em all one night... my last chance was John Collins in the
number two ‘Goose car. I hit the gate and started walking, about to
hitchhike to San Diego at about 2:00 a.m. Luckily for me, there was a guy in
a pickup truck who got there too late to get in. He had just had a fight
with his girlfriend, so he grabbed a 12 pack and headed to the drags. He
said, "Get in." We cruised around Orange County, talking it out
and drinking beers. Finally, he dropped me off at the local Greyhound
station. I guess I got back some time the next morning or something...can't
remember.
All I can say is that drag racing held the sort of magic for me back then
that I would take off totally without any idea of how to get back just to
see one of those funny car shows. I still love it, but a lot of the mystery
and magic is gone. I know it's partly because I grew up, but I also know
it's because drag racing's not the same, either. I'm hoping the California
Hot Rod Reunion will help me reclaim some of that magic.
Bill Pratt
bilden@draglist.com