Part 3 Drag Racing History Rod Authority Rewind - Diary of a dragster
Passing through different hands, and ending up with a flathead engine, the Scrima-Adams-Smith dragster was renamed the “Antique Doll,” because no one could understand why anyone would continue to race an outdated short wheelbase rail with a flathead, when cars of the day had longer chassis’ and blown Hemis. In 1974, Bill Lazaris, Dimitri’s Dad, bought the Antique Doll for $200 when he was just 17 years old. He preserved the tradition of the flathead engine, and continues to race it to this day.

Today, the senior Lazaris and Dimitri run the dragster at many nostalgia events, sporting a 304ci flathead V8 with mechanical Hillborn Fuel Injection. Dimitri says “The dragster will continue to race, because that’s what it is, a race car.”The provenance of the dragster with it’s tragic backstory, requires careful stewardship and a sympathetic shepherd to preserve the rail for future generations of drag racing fans. In a story with a stroke of incredibly bad luck, the dragster was very lucky to have been found by Bill Lazaris in 1974.With that in mind, the Lazaris’ thought it would be a shame to restore the car back to it’s guise as a Top Eliminator dragster from back in the day, it’s most famous iteration.