A Weekend of Nostalgia

[Djarum]

Was at the NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion this past Saturday and man was it sweet ! I went to it last year and was blown away by all the nostalgic Hot Rods and the history that it has brought this amazing sport.

Upon entering the drag strip grounds in Bowling Green, KY you are overwhelmed by the site of cars, people, and the smell of Nitro. It is a sweltering 102 degrees and muggy from a possible rain, that never came. As you leave the parking lot you are witnesing several hundreds of vintage cars ranging from rat rods, willies, and tons of customs rides. For these cars are competing in the annual SoffSeal Show ’n Shine. The 10 “Best of the Best” winners, as well as the Top 50 SoffSeal Show ’n Shine entries from the Reunion, will be invited to the 55th NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals (Sept. 2-7) at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.



After you have spent hours checking out all these rides you work your way towards the business booths and a swap meet with over 150 tables/spots. You can find every part needed if you were wanting to fix that 34' Coupe to your 69' Camaro. Along all the parts and peices you can find nostalgic books, signs, keys and whatever you can think of when it comes to cars. I myself pick up some vintage Mountain Dew signs to add to my collection.

I then wandered over to the business booths and filled up on all th swag I could get my hands on. From these booths you can pick up parts for your customs or see the newest and greatest products that have come out for your ride. Upon walking through these booths I came upon one that I had to visit. Actress Candy Clark who played Debbie Dunham in the hit film American Graffiti, a role which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, joined the Reunion party along with tributes to two of the movie’s cars – the yellow coupe, probably the most recognized hot rod in the world driven by actor Paul Le Mat in the movie and the black ‘55 Chevy driven in the movie by actor Harrison Ford. Also on display next to her was a tribute to the ’55 Chevy featured in the cult movie Two-Lane Blacktop.

Candy Clark

While all this is happening you can hear the blare of the engines zipping down the drag strip. I picked a great spot at the starting line standing next to the fence just 15 yards from the cars. It was a great oppourtunity for photos from those impressive burnouts before they race down the track.







After watching these cars for awhile I head back to the booths to snag me a few autographs from the drivers of NHRA drag racing history. I picked up autographs of past HNRA legends and HOFers like Bob Nylander who drives a 1932 Bantam Roadster, Robert "Bones" Balogh who has driven dragsters for over 50+ years, Vance Hunt who was a Top Fuel racer who battled Don Galits for years, Amy Faulk who was the first woman to win an NHRA divison championship, Bob Creitz who is known as the inventor of the "Burnout" and a prominent Top Fuel racer, Jerry Baltes who set speed records and won the world Series of Drag Racing in 1964, and Darrell Gwynn who is the Grand Marshall of this event. Gwynn was selected as one of the NHRA's all-time Top 50 Drivers.

I pack all my swag and autographs in my truck and head to the pits to see some of the Nostalgia Top Fuels, Funny cars, Geezer Gassers, and Gas Eliminators.







Upon looking at all the cars I came upon a trailer that had a very noticeable ride. It was "Big Daddy" Don Garlits Swamp Rat !!



After checking out his ride and taking a few pictures I got to meet the Hall of Famer and Legend of Racing Don Garlits. He had time to talk with me about when he raced. He even signed one of his shirts I bought and was glad to take a picture with me.



Exausted from all the walking and sight seeing I wandered back to the track to watch more cars head down the track. After watching these impressive event for the past 12 hours it was time for me to head out and share my experience with my wife and kids. To top this off I got to spend the day with my Dad and enjoy a great Father's Day weekend of cars, history and memories.

[Pheebs888]

A Weekend of Nostalgia
By Dale Griffin aka Djarum

I was at the NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion this past Saturday and man it was sweet! I went to it last year and was blown away by all the nostalgic Hot Rods and the history that it has brought this amazing sport.

Upon entering the drag strip grounds in Bowling Green, KY you are overwhelmed by the site of cars, people, and the smell of Nitro. It is a sweltering 102 degrees and muggy from possible rain, that never came. As you leave the parking lot you are witnessing several hundreds of vintage cars ranging from rat rods, willies, and tons of customs rides. For these cars are competing in the annual SoffSeal Show’n Shine. The 10 “Best of the Best” winners, as well as the Top 50 SoffSeal Show’n Shine entries from the Reunion, will be invited to the 55th NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals (Sept. 2-7) at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis.



After you have spent hours checking out all these rides you work your way towards the business booths and a swap meet with over 150 tables/spots. You can find every part needed if you wanted to fix that 34' Coupe or your 69' Camaro. Along all the parts and pieces you can find nostalgic books, signs, keys and whatever you can think of when it comes to cars. I myself picked up some vintage Mountain Dew signs to add to my collection.

I then wandered over to the business booths and filled up on all the swag I could get my hands on. From these booths you can pick up parts for your customs or see the newest and greatest products that have come out for your ride. Upon walking through these booths I came upon one that I had to visit. Actress Candy Clark who played Debbie Dunham in the hit film American Graffiti, a role which garnered her an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress, joined the Reunion party along with tributes to two of the movie’s cars – the yellow coupe, probably the most recognized hot rod in the world driven by actor Paul Le Mat in the movie and the black ‘55 Chevy driven in the movie by actor Harrison Ford. Also on display next to her was a tribute to the ’55 Chevy featured in the cult movie Two-Lane Blacktop.

Candy Clark

While all this is happening you can hear the blare of the engines zipping down the drag strip. I picked a great spot at the starting line standing next to the fence just 15 yards from the cars. It was a great opportunity for photos of those impressive burnouts before they raced down the track.







After watching these cars for a while I headed back to the booths to snag me a few autographs from the drivers of NHRA drag racing history. I picked up autographs of past HNRA legends and HOFers like Bob Nylander who drives a 1932 Bantam Roadster, Robert "Bones" Balogh who has driven dragsters for over 50+ years, Vance Hunt who was a Top Fuel racer who battled Don Galits for years, Amy Faulk who was the first woman to win an NHRA division championship, Bob Creitz who is known as the inventor of the "Burnout" and a prominent Top Fuel racer, Jerry Baltes who set speed records and won the world Series of Drag Racing in 1964, and Darrell Gwynn who is the Grand Marshall of this event. Gwynn was selected as one of the NHRA's all-time Top 50 Drivers.

I packed all my swag and autographs in my truck and headed to the pits to see some of the Nostalgia Top Fuels, Funny cars, Geezer Gassers, and Gas Eliminators.







While looking at all the cars I came upon a trailer that had a very noticeable ride. It was "Big Daddy" Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat!!



After checking out his ride and taking a few pictures I got to meet the Hall of Famer and Legend of Racing Don Garlits. He had time to talk with me about when he raced. He even signed one of his shirts I bought and was glad to take a picture with me.



Exhausted from all the walking and sight seeing I wandered back to the track to watch more cars head down the track. After watching this impressive event for the past 12 hours it was time for me to head out and share my experience with my wife and kids. To top this off I got to spend the day with my Dad and enjoy a great Father's Day weekend of cars, history and memories.

[Pheebs888]

Thanks for this Dale, we don't get enough racing related article, very nice work with plenty of pics!

article posted: https://www.sportscardforum.com/articles/?p=673

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[Djarum]

Thanks alot Pheebs !!!

Dale