Some time ago I wrote about
fan appreciation and how things were back in "the good ol days" of drag
racing.Unless you're as old as I am
it's hard to understand just how things were back then.The sport was just getting started, so it was
really something new to most people. 5,000
people were considered a "giant" crowd of spectators.Anyway Hank and I had our share of fans, but
our fans wanted us to WIN!!It was
great; we would sign an autograph or two, even back then.
One thing that really
sticks with me from back then was the difference between winning and losing as
far as the fans went.When we would win
a meet the fans went nuts, mainly because the small block Chevy was very popular
among race fans back then and our little dragster (about 1,200 lbs. loaded) was
very fast and quick.Here's how it went:
When we would win there was always a crowd around the pit area both friends and
strangers waiting for me to be pushed back into the pits, and all would
congratulate us on the win.When it was
time to put the car on the trailer, yes, that's ON the trailer, no enclosed "Haulers" here, the fans would help wipe the car down (oil), grab the loading
ramps, hook them up to the trailer, push the car up onto the trailer, grab the
tie-downs, tie the car down, put all the tools and equipment back into Hank's
pickup, pick up any debris we might have left laying around on the ground, hang
around for a little bench racing if we wanted to stay and then send us off.
Sometimes Hank would drop
me off at the tower on the way back from the run (somebody else would steer the
car back), to pick up either a trophy or my 25-dollar bond ($18.75), and all
this loading help would be done before I got back to the car.Boy! That was nice ... however ... when we lost ...
wow! Tommy, Jimmy and maybe Hank's
sister Babe, our volunteer pit crew would be leaning on the fence, or sitting
on the tool box and not a soul around.No win, no fans.No help loading
the car and usually it was dark by then so this whole deal was quite an
incentive to WIN!
That's the way it was back
in the "good ol days" ... what a deal ... see ya' at the races.
