Nostalgia drag racing is bigger than it’s ever been, and nowhere is this more prevalent than at the California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, California. What started as a small gathering to reunite hot rodders and racers eager to reminisce about the good ol’ days has, twenty years on, turned into one of the largest gatherings of vintage front-engine dragsters, racers, hot rodders, and fans; a literal mecca for nostalgia drag racing fans.
Vintage floppers, altereds, diggers, and rails, blown and injected, were packed throughout the grounds, filling the air with open-headered cackle and Nitro. Some have been resurrected, saved from decades-long rafter slumber, while others have been built from scratch with just memory and photographs to go from.
There’s not a lot of things...
There’s not a lot of things cooler that an old truck pushing a nostalgia dragster. In this case, it’s a ’56 Ford mated to the Thunder Chief AA/Fuel Dragster.
But of course, those drag cars don’t push themselves from the pits through the staging lanes to the starting line. Nope, they got trucks for that. And just like they did in the ’50s and ’60s, today’s nostalgia drag cars are supported by equally nostalgic trucks of the era, done up in full race car guise complete with the car’s name, crew members, and sponsors emblazoned upon them. Part utilitarian, part street rod, many of the trucks look like they were culled from show car status to support vehicle by way of a few graphics and a push bar installed. They serve a purpose and complete the nostalgic vibe carried over from the car and driver. Standing in the staging lanes at dusk, watching a crew attend to a 392 Hemi-powered front engine dragster while a ’63 Chevy pickup waits patiently behind, ready to inch the car up to the starting line; it’s like 1965 all over again. That is, had I been around back then. And that’s what the CHRR is all about. Old guys get together to reminisce about the good old days, while the young guys gather to experience the closest thing to actually being there. It’s like one massive show and tell, but ours has smoke, fire, and Nitro!
Speaking of push trucks, there...
Speaking of push trucks, there were plenty to be found waiting in the wings next to their respective pit areas.
This Stepside Cheyenne was...
This Stepside Cheyenne was the push vehicle for the Beebe & Mulligan Top Fuel Dragster that won the NHRA Winternationals in 1969, currently owned by Dave and Charlie West of Paso Robles, California.
Yeakel Plymouth Center was...
Yeakel Plymouth Center was a MOPAR dealer back in the ’60s who’s General Manager, Lou Baney, sponsored a number of great drag cars, including the Baney, Rossi, & Goebel AA/Fuel Dragster. Makes sense then that the team’s push truck is a Dodge done up in period guise.
The Frantic Four A/Fuel Dragster...
The Frantic Four A/Fuel Dragster of Weekly, Rivero, Fox, & Holding set the top speed of the meet at the 1964 US Nationals in Indianapolis with a speed of 202.24 mph. Today, the team takes it a bit slower, touring the country with the replicate of their original car participating in exhibition runs and cackle fests.
The car show continues throughout...
The car show continues throughout the pits and vendor area, where we spotted Rob Baradat’s kustom ’40 Chevy.