The Story of Pro Stock Drag Racing 1970 - 1972
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- Sixteen minute promo from the 2 hour and 8 minute full length video available through Jim Amos' Bee On Video. The video covers the Story of Pro Stock Drag Racing (1970 thru 1972.) Real car sounds have been added and the video is fully narrated. This Promo is just a teaser. The full length video is an absolute MUST SEE. www.beeonvideo.com
great stuff...when Pro Stock was 'really Pro Stock'...
And the cars were "CARS" real race cars, not like these egg looking things with wheels and computers of today!!!
NHRA Pro Stock has lost its way. Silhouette bodies, complete tube frames, no wheelstands, and a lack of manufacturer diversity. I used to get the best grandstand seats when the pro classes ran. Now I walk around the pits until Super Stock is called. Then I hurry to my seat. Thanks for posting.
It's pretty much always the case in racing, classes go "up" over time. Pro Stock had to keep up with the Jones, as it were, those being Top Fuel and Funny Car. Pro Stock was the third leg of televised pro classes, and they had to keep their speeds moving up, up, to stay somewhat in line with what the other guys were doing. In a sense, not too different from what happened to Funny Car when they stopped being funny and everyone got squinty eyed about it. Super Stock today is what Pro Stock was back in the day.
DIG IT MY FEELINGS EXACTLY
Exactly as I see it .... thanks for saying it like it is ...all of the awesome elements of Pro Stock ...are long gone ..... remember when Oldsmobile/ Chevrolet/ Dodge/ Plymouth/ Ford/ Pontiac/ and even Buick and American Motors duked it out every weekend ..... and they didn't have to write the make of the car on the windshield .... just so you knew ... what kind of car it was supposed to be ... it's beyond lame now ....
When the martians finally land .... at least their spaceships will be able to race in Pro Stock ....'cause they'll look the same ... jus'sayin' .....
Exactly the change I noticed at the last national event I attended four years ago.
Everyone was missing through the pro categories.
They all came back throughout the stock type classes. ProMod seemed it be a big hit.
It was strange witnessing that.
I was in high school in those years. Sure do miss the racing, it's not like that these days. Pro Stock cars were the real thing back then. RIP to all the drivers we've lost over the years.
Pro Stock was hands down the best division of the NHRA.
Jenkins, Socks and Martin, Dick Landy.....Oh, the good old days!
You said it!
Wiley was in the brackets what Jenkins was in PS!.
Until the NHRA stepped in and began penalizing the Mopar racers because they wanted to promote Ford vs Chevy. They later admitted to factoring the Mopars out of competition. At least AHRA was less prohibitive. NHRA lost my attention in '72 - '73.
@Master chief Master chief OMG!!! Will you non-Dodge Boys ever quit smoking crack? It is a well documented fact that it happened. NHRA officials admitted to it flat-out. They changed the rule book to factor out the Hemi cars and even told Chrysler racers that if they won the rules would be further altered to discriminate against them. Pull your head out of your behind and do some historical research.
*sox
Love the paintjobs they did back then
That’s when pro stock was so SO cool to watch the long burn outs and so many cars to see THAT WAS THE GOOD OLD DAYS for sure .......
WOW, I lived in Long Island then and have been to the strip a few times back then, I am 64 so I was 16/17 then, I saw 'Grumpy' and his mid 9 at 135 small block Vega
I saw him turn his first eight in a match race at York Pennsylvania in the early seventies.
It may just be nostalgia, but for me there was something about drag racing then, that is lacking now everything is formulated.
Todd Cott try a day at a Summit race at your local track, I'm sure you'll find it much more what you are looking for.
It was FAR more formulated back in 1972 when they started mixing small block vega’s against full sized Cuda, dusters, demons, Camaro, chevelle, Buick GS, GTO, mustang, maverick and so forth running big blocks and all weighing several hundred pounds more than the Vega because it was a small block. Then Ford tried to use their small block and that started the never changing rules that ALWAYS favored the small block Chevy Vega then Monza. The Hemi powered cars had to weigh hundreds and hundreds of pounds more than ANY OTHER ENGINE which was why they boycotted the pro stock class along with the big name Ford guy’s trying to run a Pinto with their small block. More rules because of the production shaped heads were better than the Chevy, Fords had to weigh a lot more than the Chevy. Then AMC with Maskins and Kanners with their small block show up and after a season more rule changes to slow down another brand of car that could outrun the SBC and the AMC cars got a gift from NHRA just for them at the start of the next season, some free lead weights that they were made to put in there cars. Then 1978-1979 Bob Glidden made the change to Plymouth and ran Plymouth Arrow with a small block mopar and the car was so fast that, here we go again more rule changes to protect the SBC and free lead weights to install. The changed the rules two more times just for that car to slow it down because that motor had a ton of power in it.
I’m so sorry but there were far more formulated changes done in the first ten years of the class just to try to keep anything other than a Chevy in the winner’s circle than was fair or necessary. Sadly the rule changes kept up so the cars look nothing like the stock bodied cars that they are supposed to be and all the other manufacturers withdrew their support from their cars running in pro stock class that all that’s left is an elongated jellybean that they call a Camaro even though it doesn’t look like one. Park a COPO Camaro nose to nose with a pro stock version and you’ll see that there is not a single exterior body panel that could be swapped from one car to the other. At least in the 70’s and 80’s other than the huge rear tires and the big hood scoop the cars looked just like the cars on the dealership lots.
Frank Johnson has i
Frank Johnson has
They have factory tail lights… I pulled off the deck lid to get some water out after a rain; durn things have factory stickers on them and everything 🤷🏼♂️
The best era of Pro Stock Drag Racing...and the best cars. Greetings from Argentina.
Man o Man....Brings back to some super-great memories !!
I sure like those dry hops.
Ronnie Sox R.I.P.
SMOKEYRAY - Had the pleasure of meeting Ronnie at Atlanta Dragway early ‘90s; a real gentleman and a master of the 4 speed..
US 30 dragway, York Pa. Spent a lot of time there. I remember we had to stop racing when the planes came into land.
This is the reason why series like South East Gassers have gotten so popular, back to grass roots heads up racing. It isn't all about money, like it is today.
The big problem that I see with Southeast Gassers is they run too many 1/8th mile tracks. Big wheel stands are due to running such a high ratio rear gear. Just not the way it was back in the day.
@@JC-dt4jq It's a caricature, no different from the "traditional" hot rods and crazy tall hairstyles being caricatures of the 50s.
Unfortunately, I believe there's an easy $100k buy in for that "grass roots" movement to even be remotely competitive.
Man do I remember those glory years.
Saw all these guys up here back on July 5th 1973 (the 4th was rained out) at Cayuga Dragway Ontario Canada at a United States Drag Racing Team event.
I told Grumpy I was wishing him good luck.
He was treed by Sox but later beat Ronald Lyles in the Brooklyn Heavy Dodge and set low e. t. of the meet at 9:14@149.75 in a grudge match.
I was 16 years of age and it was certainly one of the highlights of my youth.
These racers are the best people in the world. I had built a car not knowing how fast it was. Rules said I had to get a shute , the racers in the pits put one on my car for no charge. The car is gone (I got married),but to this day I still have the parachute.
That's freaking sweet man. In my experience such a tightly knit community is the minority big part of the time in drag racing sadly. Ah that's awesome though. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time ( '01 baby), wish I could experience such times.
Love these years best ever... Thanks for the vid
How do you talk about pro stock and not mention bob glidden ?
Exactly. He was there before Pro Stock was even around. And then dominated the sport for years like no other. He was a true Pro Stock champion. Building his own cars, own engines...at his home. Even built a car that never lost a single round for the calendar year it existed....that wasn't just shaped like a box...it WAS a box. Even my Mopar die hard friends will pay respect to Glidden. May he rest in peace.
I was now bored with this video only showing Chevys and Mopars.
@@NeilLB7 And they say that Ford wasn't allowed to win in PS ?
Easy
Great video and history lesson!!!! Thank you so much. I learned so much.
A very exciting time. Herb McCandlis, Grumpy & nobody new what was gonna happen. The 4spd cars were a lot of fun. It all changed in 73 with the Lenco's.
Good times back then , graduated high school in 70.❤😂
I cut my teeth in drag racing at Island Dragway Great Meadows NJ. Great footage!! A keeper to show my friends.
Strange I went to US 30 in 70 a PRO STOCK just beginning, i made a few passes in my 69 dart 340 got drafted all that went away but in 84 i put a 69 RR WITH A 440 6 PACK engine but with a 4 bbl. 800 cfm carb. to a best of 10.69 and pro stockers were first running high 9s they had a lot more motor in the mopars,
I met Bo Laws in Orlando at the World Street Nationals a couple years ago. He stopped by our pit to say hi. I've been buying his parts for years, but was shocked to see him out and about at the races.
NEATO footage. Have a nice day all - stay safe and SMILE. CHEERS from AUSTRALIA.
My home Track...
New England Dragway ( Epping NH ) Spent many Sundays there watching the legends of Drag Racing 😎
( then blasted down the same 1320' with my muscle cars )
I grew up with these sweet rides....
our "internet" in Jr. High School was...
the weekly copy of National Dragster ✌😎
Love the wheels up high RPM launches ! 🏁😁
Island dragway- my favorite track --YEAH
I raced there a couple times in the late 90s.
Cool small track with that cool small track feel.
no frills everyone's there to get it done.
I watched some great match races at York Pennsylvania dragway back in the seventies.
I love how the leaf spring cars launch, AWESOME!!!
It was race on Sunday sell on
Monday and buy the same car u saw race. Went to Connecticut international drag way with uncle was 20 in 1969 and was hooked
The Lenco transmission took the driver out of Pro Stock..
And don't forget all the electronics..
Back then a driver did more than stand on the gas..
they use liberty's
@@MRLUGNUTS they have to shift
The weight difference between those A-Frame'ers and the chromemoly chassis along with rack & pinion vs the "box" not to mention the 4-link vs a pair of slappers brought "driving" back way beyond what was needed then.
Mopar dominated back then until NHRA kept adding weight on them to slow them down. In other words, to make it more competitive for GM and Ford.
Was anyone here when the FORD sponsored guys went out in the field beside the train tracks and picked their Mavericks from the train derailment? I heard the story from Les Ritchie's former associate Cliff Brien when I was apprenticed to him for 2 years 1990-92 building race engines.
So did they race the 70 dart in any of these classes back new ?
I was at York and a spectator came from the stand's bought a pitt pass just to see my car up close.Gave him a T shirt.
What class would these boys be running now days? Anyone know
Back when you could afford to build a pro stock car at home, and be competitive.
You would think watching this video , that Chevrolet was competitive in 70&71 ...... they weren’t. In fact , nhra changed the rules , giving the chevys a weight break ,so they could be competitive in 72. Hemi mopars DOMINATED in pro stock in 1970/71.
Absolutely.NHRA in 1972 told Jenkins to build anything to beat the HEMI car's.Result...you had an full tube frame Vega( less frontal area) plus NHRA gave Jenkins a big weight break for running a SB.
My brother and I went to pick up his new 1969 Chevrolet SS396 in late 68 at Degnan Chevrolet in Philly on Frankford Ave., as I walked into the showroom on the left t was a dark blue 69 Camaro with a sign in front "Blue Max". Little did I know it was the only ZL-1 my eyes fell upon and yrs. Later found out it was the Schmidt's labeled car.
Great video!!
one of the Sox Martin cuda cars sold for $ 412,000.in Jan-2020
Why was there no burn out box’s back then? Did they not have the knowledge of heating up the tires then?
We all agree Pro Stock would be better today with the old rulebook but somehow the NHRA doesn't care. Sad
u should be able to have carbuators or efi any ecu and no rev limiter then it would be way more fun
I don’t know any stock car that comes out this year with a carb… do you?
Without the rev limiter we would blow the motor every run an turn the 5 million into 10 million
As far as I'm concerned when they allowed Grumpy Jenkins to put a V8 in a Chevy Vega Pro Stock went downhill.
Ahh the memorys😭
The good old days..
Was there for most of these shows. The behind-the-scenes action is curiously missing. While we all loved seeing the pro stock cars with stock bodies this class was already becoming a cluster. Mopar and Ford followed the rules, while Chevy drivers bitched every time they lost. And complained until they got what they wanted. ie Gapp and Roush. Grumpy and others said the short wheelbase of the Maverick gave Ford the adv. So G&R built the taxi 4 door Mav. Now GM guys bitched because they said the longer wheelbase gave them an advantage. And when Sox and M were doing great GM drivers complained the hemi design was unfair. When the small block cars came into existence the Ford Clev became the engine to beat. Glidden's Fairmont became unbeatable and retired undefeated, while carrying 300 pounds more than the other teams. It still was an amazing time.
$2.00 admission for the Summernationals. What does it cost today?
like 20+
A king's randsom for a family of 4
@@jackline1255 that isn’t actually terrible accounting for inflation
Anyone remember Billy The Kidd Stepp?
Yes I do
@@williamweir2744 I lived around Dayton Ohio where Bill was from. We're you a local too?
Do you have anything on early 70s U.D.R.A prostockers.
while the rest of the prostock field ran aluminum rods, gary kimball's pro stock camaro 327 had stock rods. even bill jenkins found that unbelievable.
Any footage of dragway 42 back in those days ? I believe they were AHRA
We have some footage of Dragway 42 in our Super Stockers of the 1960's "The Early Years" #024. www.beeonvideo.com/SS60searly.html
Any info on when dragway 42 went to a four lane drag strip ? My dad raced there in 1971 to 74 on the amateur side. I saw a lot of cars there including snake and mongoose and big daddy ! Also I believe there was a summer national meet there maybe 1972 or 73 that was televised on local channel 3 one day.
l was 8/9yr old at SIR in Seattle. Pro Stock and Jet Car's the best.
SIR was the best. Ground pounding 64 funny cars !
It was Puyallup Raceway back when I was a kid in the 60’s. As well a 1/4 mile paved oval called Spanaway Raceway.
Island Dragway still looks the same.
Haha I was gonna say , I could feel the nostalgia stuck to the bottom of my shoe when I raced there back a few times in the late 90s.
Glad to see it's still the same lolol
I started in drag racing at Island Drag way Great Meadows NJ & checkout their FB page.
Back when you didn't need a 5 million dollar budget to run pro stock
PRO STOCK WAS THE BEST CLASS I DONT CARE FOR EIGHTH MILE RACING EITHER
Love this. All racing today is a JOKE. I wouldn't spend the first dollar to see any of it. NASCAR, IHRA, or NHRA. In the old days I traveled and lived at the tracks...
Interesting Jenkins ran faster with his 331 than the 427, yes i know the 331 was in a VEGA. Real cars and real drivers back then
Great to see the original Peo Stockers, E Town and Island were the tracks I raced on, Wish I had a time Machine, just to relive some of these moments. Real excitement
A Pinto in flames...if they only knew. 9:53
Where can I buy this video?
Pro Stock changed but there's Stock Eliminator now. Basically the same as old school Pro Stock. Just a different name.
There was a time !
nice
I loved Sox and Martin. Hemi cudas were "it".
I miss the race weekends some off the best drivers in history and best cars that Detroit made Real HIMIS
You need to show more Bill Tanners Dodge!
Funny how there was later model cars than '72 in there
Video is proof those points distributors will get the job done !
I use to love ProStock before NHRA made it an IROC series
We were lucky back then that pro stock starting at the height of the muscle car era, and to identify with not just the stockers and super stockers, but now with the pro stock professional class with cars that were not that far different from what was selling in the dealer show rooms.
Sadly the New Factory Stock is what Pro Stock should be but NHRA ruined the class by favoring Chevy a few years back with the 10g rev limit.
You may recall that Chevy was also dominant before the change to FI and rev chip.
the rev limit is 10,500 should be no limit
@@eda8877 Just like they factored out rhe Hemi, then the Ford Cleveland when they were killing the Chevys
What happened to all the cars?
Most of them got sold as used race cars, some got cut up and rebuilt, some got crashed out, some are in collections
Georgia had some good drivers a like Platt Bros.Barnett Bros.Larry Lawrence.Bill Tanner etc.
Can I still by the complete video?
Yes at beeonvideo.com
Miss the days of the early racing where you didn’t need a million dollars to play in these classes
Pure stock drags is what I watch now
Adding weight and adding weight to th Hemi Pro Stock cars so the Fords and Chevys could compete only told the tale.....The Hemi IS the King of all engines.......NO CONTEST.
Charlie Christie so true . ronnie sox dominated pro stock in 1971 and then nhra implimented weight penalties on the hemi powered cars for the 1972 season after alot of chevy guys whining about getting owned by the hemi mopars. sox never won a single race in the 72 season due to these bullshit weight penalties making the hemi cars uncompetitive . decades after sox had retired from racing and was finallt inducted into the nhra hall of fame wally parks appologized to sox for screwing the chryslers over .
Overrated tired story
@@CoyoteFTW The ONLY way to see some Chevy and Ford cars in the finals was to force the Hemi cars to add a couple of hundred pounds weight. They did it purposely. It was wrong.......
..nice to see a rambler hornet for a change
I quit watching nhra when they changed all the rules against Mopar because no could beat them .Wally parks was as crooked as he could be.
100% true.
What happened was NHRA brought out a weight-to-cubic inch rule, that allowed lighter cars and smaller motors. Suddenly the heavier cars with big engines, including Chevs and Fords, were no longer the dominating factor. Smaller motors and lighter cars became the way to go.
You need to check your history William. You Mopar fan boys are deluded into believing only the hemi engines won anything. Most definitely not true.
During the time Pro Stockers switched from heavy big block cars to smaller engines in lighter cars, Bob Glidden had a stint with a small block Mopar. It was a Plymouth Arrow with 340 small block based engine, and was very competitive. I don't remember NHRA 'punishing' the Hemi because it was too fast, but I do remember the Hemi slowly losing its win streak because it was no longer competitive against the lighter cars. For the same reason, the 427 Chevs and big block Fords faded away.
Good shit
Corporate manufacturers embattled with the political mindset of the NHRA and sanctioning bodies. Adding weight, adding restrictor plates, limiting cubic inches... All because of politics? Mostly that I think and jealousy over other Automotive manufacturers. The top three were always throwing Spears at each other and the NHRA tried to step in and balance things out, but where they gained one way they failed the other. Glad I grew up in this time though. Really miss those races of the 70s and 80s.
Mr 4 speed, Ronnie and grumpy Bill but where is ole Hugh Baby?
Plenty of him in full production. beeonvideo.com
That is real drag racing no inert gas
1972 rule change gave the class to GM.
for sure I thought prostock meant u could modify what was available from the factory to the general public when did Chevy or ford offer a v8 vega or v8 pinto a lot of whining mostly by gm got these cars implemented in the class before that the hemi mopars pretty much ruled the class.
It’s funny that your video did not mention that the Mopars had ruled Superstock for a number of years, with Nickelson and Jenkins and others threatening to quit as the Chevys and Fords could not run with the Mopars.
To quiet these whiners as well as appease Ford & General Motors, in the New Pro Stock class ( as well as Grand National Stock cars ) the 426 Mopars were required to run restrict or plates, allowing the Fords and Chevys to better compete! Funny that is always ignored!
If you did not purchase our full-length video, how do you know what I said about Mopars?
Who is Nickelson? You probably mean Don Nicholson.
Where is the evidence that Jenkins and others were threatening to quit?
I get it that you are a Mopar fan but get your facts straight when you challenge what is in my video production. I do not favor any brand in my videos I just document the history of drag racing and the people who were part of it.
Perhaps you should produce your own video and tell the story of Super Stock or Pro Stock as you would like it to be told.
GOOGLE : GM3 Z16 427
FACTORY Built TUNNEL RAMMED 427!
𝔾ℝ𝕌𝕄ℙ𝕐'𝕊 𝕋𝕆𝕐🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
So much has changed, cars aren’t cars anymore! No fanfare, no great names, no great coverage, it’s all Fiberglas, tube frames, no real cars running. It’s like nascar(NotAnyStockCarsAreRacing) get it. I really appreciate the nostalgia drags when they are run.ah, the days of gloryin the u.s. drags are gone. Now it’s all funny cars!
actually they are carbon fiber just saying
That’s a fact jack 👍🏻
it is a good video but with inaccurate info .they said one of the camaros had 427 in it .the cubic inch displacement limit was 500 cubic inch,s.the common size of the big block camaro, s was 496 cubic inch,s .i ran 69 427 camaro legal for nhra super stock ss/d .the cubic inch maximum for ihra was 632 cubic inch,s
The 500 cubic inch Pro Stock formula did not start until 1982.
72 they changed the rules so chevy and ford coulf compete.lol
Mopars won 90 % of the races!