National
Hot Rod Reunion
by Vic Cooke
No doubt about it, the NHRA knows how to stage a Reunion and selected a dilly of a location in Bowling Green, KY for it’s Inaugural National Hot Rod Reunion June 20-22, 2003
It’s a story with uncanny parallels in history. Organized drag racing got its start in Southern California over fifty years ago, and the missionary work of NHRA from this epicenter opened the doors to sanctioned events across the nation. Within several years the level of participation and interest was sufficient to support a gathering that was nationwide in scope, and the event known today as the U.S. Nationals was born.
Fast forward to the early 1990’s and the long timers within NHRA got to reflecting on drag racing’s rich history of people, places and events and the realization that the ranks of the pioneers of the sport were inevitably beginning to thin. How about a reunion for old time’s sake? Just a one-time get-together for a little comraderie accompanied by on-track and off-track exhibition of some historic and replica-type racecars. That “one time” event, known as the California Hot Rod Reunion was nothing short of a blockbuster success, and encouraged another and another. CHRR became a full-fledged drag racing phenomenon and continues to grow to this day attracting standing room crowds at it’s Fomosa Raceway home at Bakersfield, CA each October.
On the surface, CHRR seems to be characterized by a “mind of it’s own” and exudes the same atmosphere as a mid-60’s independent race “happening”. A few more gray hairs in the crowd maybe, but the sprit is the same. The hallowed and timeless Fomosa Raceway itself was the launchpad of many drag racing legends, only adding to the “homecoming” effect. The question begged, however, would it work to take this good thing “national?”
There is more to it than appearances, certainly. The guiding hands behind it all are the seasoned folk at the NHRA Motorsports Museum, all of them long-vested racing fanatics with an abiding love of the sport. They’re an open-minded bunch however, and have shown a willingness to tinker with the “recipe” of past successes in an effort to make it better yet. This has led to such things as the wildly popular “Cacklefest,” now a signature feature at CHRR, in which a number of vintage nitro-cars are push started just like old times, then parade past a crush of onlookers to line up on the track and spend their remaining fuel “cackling” in unison. Last year’s “Ring of Fire” event at CHRR was another in the line of experiments, featuring every nitro-burning machine on the property assembled in a big circle and fired-up simultaneously in total darkness! Yessir, these guys know how to satisfy a nitro-thirsty crowd!
The trick though is getting folks there the first time, and therein lay the conundrum over staging a “National Hot Rod Reunion”. Could the success of CHRR be replicated far from California, where a “critical mass” of participants and enthusiasts reside? And how essential is that historic Fomosa ambience? In retrospect, moot questions, as the reputation of CHRR preceded it and hordes of easterners unable to make the journey to California were champing for a taste of it on more accessible terms. Nonetheless, there was considerable risk-taking involved on NHRA’s part, and they deserve high marks for the courage of the undertaking.
Above and beyond the CHRR “recipe,” two factors in particular seemed to have contributed mightily to the resounding success of the inaugural NHRR. That would be the selection of Beech Bend Raceway as the venue and the restructuring of the racing classes to accommodate a more eclectic field of eastern racecars. Every effort was made to accommodate a “run what you brung” (as long as it’s fundamentally safe) mix of racing contestants.
The city of Bowling Green, KY is situated in the southwestern part of the state along the I-65 corridor connecting Nashville, TN (an hour south) and Louisville (90 minutes north.)It’s a land of low-rolling hills, lushly verdant and heavily treed. Gearheads everywhere know it as the home of The National Corvette Museum. NitroGeezers remember it as the site of Beech Bend Raceway, the venue for NHRA Divisional Meets and the “Sportsnationals” of a generation ago.
As reflected in some of the accompanying photos, a first impression of Beech Bend is that (like Fomosa) this is a place where time has stood still. What might be summarized as “quaint” by some is better-described to a NitroGeezer as “Holy Cow, is this the perfect place for a drag race or what?” Keynotes are the shallow-valley setting, the “sunken” track itself, an adjacent RV campground and amusement park, pristine facilities, intimately close placement of spectator seating to the racing surface and those funky, weathered, “tobacco shed” lids over the main seating to keep it shaded all day long! It’s individual “theater seating” in the big stands too, and if its a tad “hillbilly” looking at first glance, sit a spell and discover that it’s remarkably effective in serving its stated purpose as well as in collecting and concentrating all the scents and sounds that any old-school drag fan relishes.
Hard stats aren’t available, but well over 200 racecars of all descriptions made it to the event, and the focus of the accompanying photo section is on the tremendous variety of machinery that partook and the thrilling sights of it all both on the track and the ample pits and “Memory Lane” show area. Additional scores of “cacklecars” and restored/re-created historic racecar entries populated the latter area. Not shown in the photos is the “Show ‘N’ Shine” carshow that also was a major part of the event, drawing over 500 award-quality participants to the adjacent hillsides at the track’s entry.
It would have been a success as a ‘racer’s race” if advances publicity failed to attract a paying gate of spectators, upon which the NHRA Museum relies to pay the overhead and hopefully earn some operating funds for it’s coffers. (The Museum is an independent, self-supporting entity.) Happily, the fans DID show up and in droves! There was still a bit of uncertainty about this on Friday, the opening day of the event. A look around showed only sparsely occupied seating, although many were happily wending their way through the pits and show areas of the facility. Friday night’s Reception at the host hotel in town proved to be a mobscene event, however, and portent of the remainder of the weekend. An absolutely SRO crowd packed Beech Bend Raceway Saturday for the daytime qualifying program and the nocturnal exhibition runs, Cacklefest and final round of Top Fuel qualifying. Like the CHRR, from which it spawned, it fed upon itself and became an indescribably magical “happening!” The ‘after-dark” program Saturday night had the place in a frenzy, and run after run was treated to hootin’, hollerin’, foot-stomping’ standing applause! The crowd was momentarily more subdued as the Cacklefest finale got rolling.....for many it was their first experience and it was a simple case of being appropriately awestruck. Enthusiasm grew with each pushdown, however, and after the last engine fell silent the crowds spilled onto the track in a noisy scene of happy abandon!
Sunday was elimination's day, of course and the only time during the entire event when an air of down-to-business intensity crept in. Although racers everywhere want to win, and achieving a win at the inaugural NHRR would be a career highlight in any racer’s book, these more serious undertones in no way distracted from the overall sharing of a good time that pervaded the event. When it was over, Roger Lechtenberg in the “Orange Crate” took the Top Fuel honors home to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Bob Beedy of Hometown, IL won the Open Fuel category and Pat Malloy of Buchanen, VA took Junior Fuel. Bill Bush of Floyds Knobs, IN drove his Rambler American Gasser to a popular win in the Nostalgia Gas Class. In the Nostalgia Comp category, Don Nave of New Smyrna Beach, FL was victorious, while in Classic Super Stock it was Dave Duell of Newburgh, IN. Gordy Bennett of Pennsville, NJ prevailed in the “Oldies” Eliminator, and Mike Peskar of Ashatbula, OH outlasted the field of qualifiers for the “Quick 64” runoffs.
No need to add that everyone in attendance has to think themselves fortunate for having been part of this fantastic experience. What happens next, now that all doubt about the viability of an event is eradicated, and word of it’s time-of -your-life appeal gets around? We’ll just have to come back next year for NHRR #2 and see! Bet we have a “lot” of company.
Sam Jackson, Steve Gibbs, Greg Sharp and the NHRA Museum staff, together with Event Director Bob Daniels, deserve every accolade for their efforts in making NHRR a reality and a spectacular success. A special “NitroGeezer” thanks to Bill Groak, also, for enabling us to provide this close-up look at the event.
For a more extensive sampler of the sights at NHRR, see the accompanying photo album
on the sidebar.
CLICK HERE to continue to the Photo Album
A Special "Thanks" to
Vic Cooke for his coverage of The Inaugural
National Hot Rod Reunion
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