> I remember as we rolled to the starting line CJ Hart would bite down on
> his cigar just before flagging you off.
Glen and all,
Santa Ana was a unique place. That is where I was introduced to the world
of automotive competition. I remember the starting line was flat on the
left but down hill on the right. A lot of the guys were more savvy than I
was so I usually was lined up on the left.
"Hambone" was another of Santa Ana's starters. The flag start was anything
but impartial. Most everyone had body language that could be read to get
the advantage, but again, I wasn't the sharpest knife in the draw. I won
all my races coming from behind. But that was OK since we had the fastest
car anyway and won our share. I guess I was born to run the lakes and
Bonneville where starting line advantages are not present.
We used Santa Ana's timer and equipment to time Granitelli in 1961 & '62.
Did you know what Santa Ana's time device was? It was a crude device
which was fairly accurate in its day. They used a record player that had
times marked along the outer edge. When the first beam was broken the
record started turning and was stopped by the second beam. A pointer
indicated the time for the run.
Papa Hart also had a unique trophy system. If you won, you could take the
trophy, money, or let credits build up. I think it was three wins were
good for a clock trophy.
Have you seen a dead heat run lately? At San Gabriel, one Saturday Night,
I was running C/Gas with my stick-shift, Desoto powered '34 Dodge pickup.
I was matched up against a Pontiac powered GMC pickup with a Hydramatic.
We ran two dead heats and I won the third. I really sweated it out since I
knew he wasn't missing any shifts.
Those were definitely the "good old days" of drag racing. Its just to
technical and money oriented today to be fun.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/FCC
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