John Edwin Mason: Racing Photography

2009 Rewind: Drag Racing, the Democracy of Speed

This post is one of a series that I'm calling "2009 Rewind."  I'm marking time until the racing season gets going in my part of the country by looking at some of my favorite stories from last year.  This particular episode, however, is also "2008 Rewind," "2007 Rewind," and even "2003 Rewind."  That's because, for the last few years, I've been working on a book that I'm calling Drag Racing: The Democracy of Speed.

I could just as easily have called it Why I Like Drag Racing.

Eastside Speedway, Waynesboro, Virginia.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2002-2009.)

Sure, I like it for some of the same reasons as anyone else -- loud, fast, dangerous cars, driven by men and women who do amazing things with them.

But I also like it because drag racing is -- by race, by ethnicity, and by gender -- the most diverse motor sport in the United States.  It's the most diverse by a lot, not a little.  And it's been that way ever since it's birth in southern California, over 60 years ago.

Eastside Speedway, Waynesboro, Virginia.  (Click directly on any of these photos to see larger versions.)

There are a variety of reasons for drag racing's openness to blacks, Asians, and Latinos, and to women of all races and colors.

Early hot-rodders were often rebels, who prided themselves on marching to a different drummer.  If mainstream society in the '40s and '50s thought that the races ought to be segregated and that women were to weak to handle a fast car, that was reason enough for many early drag racers to go in the opposite direction.  After all, what mattered most was the quickness of the car and the skill of the driver.

Eastside Speedway, Waynesboro, Virginia.

The National Hot Rod Association [NHRA], the organization that did by far the most to make drag racing a national sport, also played an important role.  Open-mindedness was a matter of formal NHRA policy.  In 1952, it told its members, in no uncertain terms, that were no color or gender barriers to membership.  It spread its policies through its proselytizing wing, the Drag Safari (later called the Safety Safari).  Beginning in 1954, members of the Safari annually left their home base in southern California and traveled the country, from coast to coast, organizing car clubs and races and spreading its drag racing gospel.

The results of drag racing's gospel of inclusiveness were plain to see.  In the '50s and '60s, at any given event in southern California, you were likely to run into the Bean Bandits -- a popular and highly successful team composed primarily of Latino drivers, but which included Asians and African Americans, as well.  The multi-racial team of Stone, Woods, and Cook might have been on hand with its legendary '41 Willys Gasser.

 

Bunny Burkett, right, in her souvenir stand.  Eastside Speedway, Waynesboro, Virginia.

By the end of the '50s, women drag racers, like Shirley Shahan, were winning major national events.  Many other women followed.  In 1977, Shirley Muldowney won the first of her three NHRA Top Fuel championships (the drag racing equivalent of the heavyweight boxing crown).  By that time, Bunny Burkett, seen above, was one of the most popular -- and one of the most competitive -- racers on the east coast.  In 1986, she won a championship of her own, in the International Hot Rod Association's [IHRA] Alcohol Funny Car class.

Bunny Burkett's team prepares her car for a trip down the track.  Eastside Speedway, Waynesboro, Virginia.

Today, black, Latino, and female racers, such as Antron Brown, Cruz and Tony Pedregon, Ashley Force Hood, and Melanie Troxel, compete at drag racing's highest level.  All have won multiple times.  Both of the Pedragon brothers are former champions.

At the grassroots, drag racing also remains true to its culture of inclusiveness, as you can see in these photos.

No other form of motor sports even comes close to matching this record.  No woman has ever started a race in Formula 1.  Danica Patrick is the only woman to have won a race in IndyCar racing, and she's won only once.  No women have won in any of Nascar's top levels; the last African American to do so was Wendell Scott, in 1963.  (Nascar has historically not been inclusive, to say the least.  Its Drive for Diversity program may be changing things, however.)

You can see many other photos from Democracy of Speed in its photo gallery.  Click here or on the link at the top of the page.

I've written more about diversity in motor sports on my main website.  You can find those thoughts, here.

2009 Rewind: The ADRL's Dragstock VI, a Day (or Two) at the Races

I'm still looking back on last year, while waiting for racing to get going in my part of the world.

ADRL's [American Drag Racing League] Pro Mod drag racing schedule opens this weekend, many hundreds of miles away in Houston, Texas.  I thought I'd honor that event by showing a little bit of what is, without a doubt, my favorite photo story of 2009:  The ADRL's Dragstock VI, a Day (or Two) at the Races.

A fan at the ADRL's Dragstock VI, September 2009.  (Copyright 2009, John Edwin Mason.  You can click directly on any of these photos to see larger versions.)

Dragstock is just what it sounds like -- Woodstock for drag racing fans.  It's an annual event at Rockingham Dragway, in North Carolina.  Each year, hundreds of racers show up from all over the country, and tens of thousands of fans pack the grandstands, the concession areas, and even the pits.  For the fans, it's a party.  Even for the racers, it's a real hoot.

That's motorcycle racer Pumpatina Gilbert under a wild helmet.

It's also a real race.  The ADRL is super competitive.  Just qualifying for the race is a chore.  Only the best 16 cars or bikes make it into the racing field.

Once the racing begins, there are no guarantees, not even for the top qualifiers.  Taming these absurdly overpowered cars and bikes isn't easy.

Doug Winters performs a burnout during qualifying.  Despite a stout run, he didn't make it into the field.

You can see many more photos from Dragstock VI -- cars, bikes, fans (including a pretty young woman or two) -- by clicking on this link to my original report from the race.

Grassroots Drag Racing in the '50s: Life Magazine at Cordova Dragway

Sometime in the 1950s, Life magazine sent photographer Grey Villet to shoot a story on drag racing, at Cordova Dragway Park, just outside of Moline, Illinois.  Life apparently never published the photos that he made that day (they're now available at Google's Life magazine photo archive).  It should have.  Villet produced a terrific photo-essay that captures the essence of early grassroots drag racing.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.  (Click directly on any of these images to see larger versions.  It's worth the trouble.  This photo is amazing.)

Cordova was one of the first purpose-built dragstrips in the country.  At the time, most drag racing was done on airport runways or on the street.  It's not clear exactly when Villet shot these photos, but it was probably soon after the dragstrip opened in 1956.  Grandstands seem to be minimal, and electronic timing and the "Christmas tree" starting lights hadn't yet replaced the flagman.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

Then, as now, drag racing is as much about hanging out with friends and family as it is about the actual competition.  Both are important, but it's sometimes hard to say which comes first.

By the way, the closest city to Cordova is Moline, Illinois, which is just across the river from Iowa and only a couple hours away from Dubuque.  It makes sense that the Slo-Pokes would have made the drive.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

Making a car go fast, using only your own hands and brains (and those of a couple friends) was and is one of the thrill of grassroots racing.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

Drag racing was a new phenomenon, in the 1950s, and the editors of magazines like Life weren't always sure how they felt about it.  In 1957, for instance, Life published "The Drag Racing Rage,"in which it acknowledged that the sport had gained some respectability, but worried that the "glorification of speed" would infect "teen-agers with the fatal spirit of derring-do."

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.  (Remember, you can click directly on any of the photos to see larger versions.  This one's pretty spectacular.)

Villet's photos don't reflect his editors' concerns at all.  He approached drag racing with an open mind--and with a very sharp eye.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

The racing machines clearly fascinated him.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

He understood that a good flagman was also a good showman.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

Like so many photographers, he knew that, in the right hands, speed and danger be combined to produce powerful images.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

Villet had the insight to take his viewers into the timing tower, knowing that there wouldn't be much of a race without the officials.

It's no coincidence that there's a woman in the tower.  While only a few women raced in the 1950s, their labor was vital to the operation of any track.  Still is, by the way.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

At small dragstrips these days, most of the spectators are likely to be friends and relatives of the men and women driving the cars.  I wonder if it was true then, too.

Grey Villet:  Drag Racing In Moline , Ill.  © Time Inc.

Another timeless truth...  Beautiful young women and fast cars go together like peaches and cream.

Life went back to Cordova in 1963, publishing an article called "Man, What a Drag:  Bizarre Hot Rods Go Respectable."  (Click on the link to see it.)  The photographer was Orlando Suero.  None of Villet's photos were used.

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Cordova Dragway Park is still very much in business.  It's best known as the home of the annual World Series of Drag Racing, the oldest continually contested drag race in the country.  Last year, Cordova hosted the event for the 56th straight year.

I'm eager to learn more about these photos.  You know can shed any light on the race track or on Villet's assignment, please comment on the post or send me an email.

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Note, 2 May 2013:  I now close comments on these posts after two months in order to control spam.  But, as you can see below, this particular post has generated a lot of fascinating comments over the years.  If you have something to add, feel free to email me, and I'll add what you have to say to the comments.  You'll find my address in the upper right hand corner of this page.

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2009 Rewind: Dodo Brockman's 1977 Mustang II Superspeedway Modified

I'm spending a wet, pre-season weekend, putting together this new blog.  (I've decided to separate my racing photography from my documentary photography and writings about photo history.)  It's been a chance to go back through my files and find highlights from last year.

Without a doubt, the wackiest car that I saw last year, was Dodo Brockman's ex-Nascar Mustang II Superspeedway Modified.  Oddly (very oddly) enough, Dodo was taking part in the Vintage Racer Group's annual Turkey Bowl, at Summit Point Motorsports Park.

Dodo Brockman flying down the main straightaway at Summit Point Motorsports Park, in his Superspeedway Modified Mustang II, during the Turkey Bowl, 28 November 2009.  (Photo copyright John Edwin Mason, 2009.  Click directly on the photo to see a larger version.)

Light, absurdly overpowered, swoopy Superspeedway Modifieds like Dodo's flourished briefly during the 1970s.  They were designed specifically to allow Modified drivers, who usually raced on short tracks, to experience superspeedways, such as Daytona and Talledega.

The best of the cars were blazingly fast.  Faster, in fact than the Cup cars in Nascar's premiere class.  That was way too fast for Nascar's suits, who rewrote the rule book and legislated Superspeedway Modifieds out of existence.

I told this curiously twisted tale, last year, on my main website, when I first wrote about Dodo and his Mustang.  You can read what I had to say about the Modifieds' demise and the restoration of Dodo's car, plus see additional photos, here.

By the way, even though this Mustang was built for high-speed oval tracks, it looked pretty composed on Summit Point's road course.

2009 Rewind: The Vintage Racer Group's Turkey Bowl @ Summit Point

One of the best races I went to last season was the 13th annual Turkey Bowl at Summit Point Motorsports Park, in West Virginia.  The action on the track was one of the reasons that I enjoyed myself so much.  So was the hospitality of everyone connected to the Vintage Racer Group.  It was also the first time in many years that I'd photographed racers on a road course, and it was nice to discover that I still knew what to do.

Most importantly, however, I was there just for fun.  No assignments, no deadlines.  Just fun.

The GT40 is a heck of a machine, but Robert Andersson had to work hard to get past Fred Pfeiffer in this very quick 1974 Porsche 914-6.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2009.  Click directly on any of the images to see larger versions.)

I'm spending this weekend (with no races anywhere within driving distance) inaugurating my new racing photography blog, by looking at personal highlights from last season.  The racing photos had been sharing my main website with my documentary photography and musings about photo history.  It seems to me that they deserve a home of their own.

No joke, this is the quickest Volvo I've ever encountered.  It's a 1963 122 Amazon, driven by Rich Kushner.  It was very competitive in its class.

But back to the Turkey Bowl...  It was great to be reminded that road racers, like drag racers, will hot rod anything with wheels.  (Scroll down to the next post to see a drag racing minivan.)  I really like the looks of this flying Swedish taxicab.

There was a lot of terrific on-track dicing in every class.  Here Bill Schwacke, in a '55 Corvette, tries to hold off a mid-60s Mustang.

You can read my original write-up about the Turkey Bowl and see many more photos (and many more wonderful cars), here.