VIDEO: Drag Racing’s 1960s/1970s Heyday

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by VM Staff



The Rabbit Hole Garage YouTube channel bills itself as “a channel for all my automotive related shenanigans,” and we’re grateful to its proprietor for uncovering and posting this 1960s-vintage promotional video celebrating the fast-growing sport of drag racing — “Drag racing in its 1960s/1970s heyday, featuring top drivers Gas Ronda, Ed Terry, Dick Loehr and more” although not all are properly identified.

The 26 min film “Performance — On The Line” produced by Ford Public Relations’ Film and Electronic Communications Department, opens with these classic lines: “If performance is your game, if a drag is your bag, if you love horsepower smokin’ speed in a safe controlled atmosphere, then you’ve come to the right place.”

OK, cheesy, but the wonderful, grainy footage will pull you in even if you’re not a big fan of vintage drag racing. Southern California residents will particularly enjoy the footage from the late, lamented Orange County International Raceway which opened in 1967 and is shiny new in this video, choc full of entertaining moments.