and who said they never had drag races INDOORS!
- Thread starter racedodge
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1badgtx
Well-Known Member
Wow thats cool!!
petty blue 67 gtx
petty blue 67 gtx
That's cool! Can you imagine that now- a- days? The EPA would be into it neck deep with all of the indoor air pollution and noise.
D Dodge
Well-Known Member
Maybe Rahm will bring it back when he's mayor...yeah, right.
ram250098
Well-Known Member
I can see a real money maker here...busy as hell when the snow fly's LOL
AL
AL
69clone
Well-Known Member
That's cool I can understand why something like that isn't around now. Can you imagine open headers indoors? Also the burn out clouds would never blow away lol bet by the end of the night you can't see down the track.
Satellite65
Well-Known Member
I'm taking my kid to an indoor monster truck 'thing' tomorrow. Ever been to one of these? By the time it's over, you're nauseas from the exhaust fumes and your head's pounding from the noise.
I don't see the difference. Pretty cool if you ask me. I'd go to an indoor drag race in a heartbeat. Gotta be better than watching a bunch of overgrown F-250's jump through the air.
Ron 73
Deceased, But not forgotton
Dial up sucks, BUT that was worth the wait. That sure would be nice now where im at with all this blankitie white stuff. Thanks, and its been quite awhile MEEP MEEP, so BEEP BEEP to ya!. Ron...
SUPERSTOCKRACER
Well-Known Member
never saw all those pics before. very cool.
I was trying to get one opened up here in NY.
I had a backer to put up the money but EPA, said no way!
I was trying to get one opened up here in NY.
I had a backer to put up the money but EPA, said no way!
Meep-Meep
дворянин
1badstroker
Well-Known Member
Here is an article about the indoor racing in Chi-Town back in the day. Enjoy
The Windy City occupies a special niche in drag racing history. Home base to the Granatelli Brothers, Chris "The Greek" Karamesines, Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick, Don Schumacher and the Ramchargers of Mr. Norm's Grand-Spaulding Dodge, Chicago bows to no city when it comes to the hot rod obsession. But let's face it: Chicago gets cold. Holy freakin' Ditka, it gets cold. When those razorblade February winds blow in from Iowa, and the asphalt strips of US30 and Union Grove and Byron are covered in five foot drifts, even the hardiest ChiTown street racers know it's hibernation season.
Back in '62, though, a dedicated group of Chicagolanders found a way to keep the rubber burning between November and spring pothole patching. Instead of going outside to the strip, they brought the strip inside. The announcement came in a press release from USAC, trumpeting it as the "first INDOOR DRAG RACES ever held, anywhere" on Sunday, December 30, featuring "the fastest drag racing machines in the MIDWEST AREA."
The venue: the venerable International Amphitheater at 42nd and Halsted, amid the Southside projects and just a stone's throw from the old Chicago Stockyards where all that famous hog butchering was done. Originally built as a livestock exhibition building in 1934, the cavernous Amphitheater saw its share of bad craziness before it was demolished in 1999; professional wrasslin', Roller Derby, the Beatles. In '68 it played host to the Democratic National Convention that spurred three days of bloody antiwar riots. But nothing like the mayhem of the midwinter drags.
USAC's press release outlined the dimensions: a 440 foot track, lanes 60 feet wide, steel guardrails, a 660 foot shutdown area. What it failed to mention was that the shutdown lane was beyond a pair of pinned-open gym doors, and the low traction surface meant plenty of puckered butts as competitors struggled to keep their cars straight through them. Hundreds of cars entered that first '62 meet, with Richard Myracle of Melrose Park recording best ET of 5.68 in his U/SA '62 Plymouth. Richard Stroening of Wheaton took top speed of 76.26 in a '58 Pontiac.
The next Chicago Indoor Drags took place on January 5, 1964, attracting top area racers like the aforementioned Arnie Beswick and Mr. Norm, who pushed 100 mph in between the Amphitheater's concrete pylons. Unfortunately it would also be the last. Was it because of insurance? Chicago mobsters? Nobody seems to know, but a few photos remain to chronicle the crazy. Enjoy.
Check out more Indoor Drag Photos
The Windy City occupies a special niche in drag racing history. Home base to the Granatelli Brothers, Chris "The Greek" Karamesines, Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick, Don Schumacher and the Ramchargers of Mr. Norm's Grand-Spaulding Dodge, Chicago bows to no city when it comes to the hot rod obsession. But let's face it: Chicago gets cold. Holy freakin' Ditka, it gets cold. When those razorblade February winds blow in from Iowa, and the asphalt strips of US30 and Union Grove and Byron are covered in five foot drifts, even the hardiest ChiTown street racers know it's hibernation season.
Back in '62, though, a dedicated group of Chicagolanders found a way to keep the rubber burning between November and spring pothole patching. Instead of going outside to the strip, they brought the strip inside. The announcement came in a press release from USAC, trumpeting it as the "first INDOOR DRAG RACES ever held, anywhere" on Sunday, December 30, featuring "the fastest drag racing machines in the MIDWEST AREA."
The venue: the venerable International Amphitheater at 42nd and Halsted, amid the Southside projects and just a stone's throw from the old Chicago Stockyards where all that famous hog butchering was done. Originally built as a livestock exhibition building in 1934, the cavernous Amphitheater saw its share of bad craziness before it was demolished in 1999; professional wrasslin', Roller Derby, the Beatles. In '68 it played host to the Democratic National Convention that spurred three days of bloody antiwar riots. But nothing like the mayhem of the midwinter drags.
USAC's press release outlined the dimensions: a 440 foot track, lanes 60 feet wide, steel guardrails, a 660 foot shutdown area. What it failed to mention was that the shutdown lane was beyond a pair of pinned-open gym doors, and the low traction surface meant plenty of puckered butts as competitors struggled to keep their cars straight through them. Hundreds of cars entered that first '62 meet, with Richard Myracle of Melrose Park recording best ET of 5.68 in his U/SA '62 Plymouth. Richard Stroening of Wheaton took top speed of 76.26 in a '58 Pontiac.
The next Chicago Indoor Drags took place on January 5, 1964, attracting top area racers like the aforementioned Arnie Beswick and Mr. Norm, who pushed 100 mph in between the Amphitheater's concrete pylons. Unfortunately it would also be the last. Was it because of insurance? Chicago mobsters? Nobody seems to know, but a few photos remain to chronicle the crazy. Enjoy.
Check out more Indoor Drag Photos
69clone
Well-Known Member
You got me there.
Ron 73
Deceased, But not forgotton
yep, still kickin just not to high....
Ron 73
Deceased, But not forgotton
Good article, I wonder how many had a problem with those gym doors....
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