{"product_id":"lions-drag-strip-1955-1972-early-funny-cars-1964-1975-2-book-set","title":"Lions Drag Strip: 1955-1972 \u0026 Early Funny Cars 1964-1975 2 Book Set","description":"\u003cp\u003eHot rodders and the “drag” cars that they raced in unsanctioned\u003cbr\u003eexhibitions had become a nuisance with law enforcement\u003cbr\u003ein Los Angeles, California. So, in an effort to make racing\u003cbr\u003esafer, C. J. “Pappy” Hart (founder of the Santa Ana Drag Strip),\u003cbr\u003eNorris Poulson (mayor of Los Angeles), John Chadwick (member\u003cbr\u003eof the Wilmington Lions Club), and others collaborated to\u003cbr\u003ecreate the world-famous Lions Associated Drag Strip. With an\u003cbr\u003eapproved proposal, shovels sunk into the sand in August 1955\u003cbr\u003ein Wilmington, California, christening the birth of the world’s\u003cbr\u003egreatest drag strip.\u003cbr\u003eMickey Thompson was hired to operate Lions Drag Strip\u003cbr\u003e(also known as “the Beach”), quickly turning it into Southern\u003cbr\u003eCalifornia’s wildest venue to watch drag racing. Innovations,\u003cbr\u003eincluding staging lights, track lighting for night racing, and concession\u003cbr\u003estands, made Lions Drag Strip the place to be.\u003cbr\u003eThe world’s greatest drag racers, such as Jack Chrisman,\u003cbr\u003eTom McEwen, Art Chrisman, Don Prudhomme, Chris Karamesines,\u003cbr\u003eConnie Kalitta, and Don Garlits, as well as a cast of\u003cbr\u003ethousands of others, descended upon Lions Drag Strip for exhibition\u003cbr\u003eand match racing. Fabled East-West showdowns, Fuel\u003cbr\u003eAltereds, Funny Cars, and Jet cars broke attendance records\u003cbr\u003eand set national records throughout the 1960s. In addition,\u003cbr\u003ethrill-seeker Evel Knievel leaped over 13 cars at Lions Drag\u003cbr\u003eStrip to the excitement of 14,000 fans in December 1970.\u003cbr\u003eSadly, Lions Drag Strip closed on December 3, 1972, due\u003cbr\u003eto the location being valued as industrial real estate and the\u003cbr\u003eapproaching urban sprawl.\u003cbr\u003eLions Automobilia Foundation Museum volunteer Lou Hart\u003cbr\u003ebrings forth this year-by-year illustrated history of Lions Drag\u003cbr\u003eStrip’s most memorable events with never-before-seen images\u003cbr\u003ein Lions Drag Strip: 1955–1972!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• This is the first book ever that chronicles the entire\u003cbr\u003ehistory of Lions Drag Strip.\u003cbr\u003e• Lions Drag Strip was Los Angeles’s most famous drag\u003cbr\u003estrip.\u003cbr\u003e• Over the years, millions of fans visited Lions Drag\u003cbr\u003eStrip.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlast through the evolving early years of Funny Car drag racing when door slammers morphed into flip-top rail monsters. The era features historic mounts from Arnie \"the Farmer\" Beswick, Al “the Flying Dutchman” Vanderwoude, \"Jungle\" Jim Liberman, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and many more!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe metamorphosis from door slammers to fiberglass flip-top dragsters wasn’t ever a cut and dry plan. As drag racers pushed the envelope for more speed, a series of innovations quickly evolved and refined the genre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFunny Cars cut their teeth in the A\/Factory Experimental (A\/FX) and Experimental Stock (X\/S) classes in 1964 with the 2-percent Mopars that looked funny with their axles moved forward. However, it was Jack Chrisman’s supercharged, nitro-fueled 427 Supercharged Factory Experimental (S\/FX) Comet Caliente that trailblazed the class on which the NHRA turned its back and the AHRA fully accepted. Showmanship became the draw in the dawn of Funny Car with half-track burnouts and flame-throwing headers that packed fans five deep at the fence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy 1969, the NHRA had no choice but to create a class for these nitro-breathing, flip-top-sporting rail bruisers, indoctrinating the Funny Car (F\/C) class at the Winternationals with 40 cars vying for 16 places in the field. The rest, as they say, is history!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• This is the most comprehensive book ever on the early \u003cbr\u003eyears of Funny Car\u003cbr\u003e• Funny Cars are the most popular variation of drag cars\u003cbr\u003e• Tens of millions of fans have seen Funny Cars race\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midlife Classic Cars","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50497434452248,"sku":"KIT9781613258538\/9781613256985","price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/9813\/3831\/files\/kit97816132585389781613256985.jpg?v=1772257052","url":"https:\/\/www.midlifeclassiccars.com\/cs\/products\/lions-drag-strip-1955-1972-early-funny-cars-1964-1975-2-book-set","provider":"MidlifeClassicCars.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}