Throwback Thursday

aunty dive said:
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You still have to be brave to be a racer and deserving of the respect. But those no cage and only a hoop bar lower than the head racers took it to a different level.

The open wheel pictures and even the full bodied vintage unwrecked car pictures from back in the day are chilling. All of the cars were a beast with very little protection and often racing by guard rails (shreaders).
I might have been too chikenshiet to even have survived as a fan after a tragic day at the track.

All of the above is obvious stuff that most will already understand. But it still is no less captivating and makes one wonder. Sometimes I just google the old vintage race cars and just get lost in the time. It is a better time killer than 99% of the phone Apps.

I never glorified the gore but even as a boy I knew the drivers were real badasses, and not just some scripted TV cowboys. When I went to the races with my dad it was fun but the serious nature of it all insured that I drunk in everything he told me.
It was a simpler time with a lot of home built cars and shade tree tech. Some were brilliant some weren't and the setup differences were more obvious than they would be today. My dad didn't disrespect the ones that struggled but he would explain the differences on the Saturday night drive home. Teaching me what to look for and why the winners won, was some of the best time of my life.
 
1980 Bobby Dotter pictured with car owners Richie & Willie Halligan. That year Bobby won the track championship @ Henry's speedway a 3/8 mile pavement track in Chase IN. In 1981 Bobby won the track championship @ Illiana Speedway a 1/2 mile pavement track in Schereville IN driving for Fred Rompler.
Richie & Dotter.jpg
 
What a great picture!

The only thing that guy didn’t do is change tires during pit stops.
 
Raceway park in Blue Island IL a paved 1/4 mile bull ring that ran from 1938 to 2000.
They paved paradise put up a parking lot.
 

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