Going To War
You did what? You went where? Once again you spent a Saturday afternoon at a drag strip? Why? What’s the attraction?
I’d have to say that the quarter mile drag strip, 1,320 feet of two lane asphalt is one of the last sane places, where men go to war.
Surely you are kidding, making a joke?
Not at all. From a starting line a driver and crew, match the performance of their car, built expressly for maximum acceleration, — against another car and crew. That is what I mean by go-to-war. The competition in this “game” could not be more intense. There could not be more at stake, more “on the line” so to speak: years of engineering experience, a passion for hands-on mechanical problem solving, and a love for the sound of a big horsepower motor tuned in perfect symphony with air temperature, and with atmospheric pressure… A list of elements of the sport which are points of passion would be very long. I must mention that the visual form of the cars, the brilliant paint treatment expressive of the owners taste and sensibility captures the imagination of everyone standing within sight of the starting line.
Drag racing is a late industrial age expression of man to man combat. Of course there’s much attention paid to safety. Nevertheless, the sport is extremely dangerous. Machines built to produce hundreds to two thousand horsepower and more, are extremely violent. Safety demands unrelieved concentration to do every task precisely, to “do-it-right.”
Is it possible to lose one’s life in the course of this sport?
Yes. Without such ultimate hazard would there be a point?
These photos were captured while walking around the pit at Great Lakes Dragaway. Some are of the starting line, several pics of the wheels up launch of cars likely members of the Midwest Gassers association. Sometimes things “go wrong” at the starting line. One picture shows a Camaro that got sideways on performing his burnout to heat up the slicks. Fortunately the car and driver were Ok, impact with the concrete safety barrier was avoided. The final series of photos are of two Pro Modified 57 chevy race cars. The River Rats car is owned by the Lumbert brothers of Yorkville, Illinois. They are neighbors so to speak as I also live along the Fox River Valley. I enjoyed renewing a conversation with them. The other Pro Modified 57 chevy, Shake, Rattle, and Run is owned by the Dick Messino family. A Pro Modified race car accelerates to the finish line in the mid 5 second range, at over 200 miles per hour from the starting line launch.
