{"product_id":"lions-drag-strip-1955-1972-hemi-under-glass-2-book-set","title":"Lions Drag Strip: 1955-1972 \u0026 Hemi Under Glass 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\u003eWhile the established stock and modified brackets are\u003cbr\u003elong-recognized as the heart and soul of drag racing, it was\u003cbr\u003ethe wheelstanders that more often than not put butts in the\u003cbr\u003ebleachers. In that category, some of the most well-known\u003cbr\u003enames included Bill “Maverick” Golden’s Little Red Wagon,\u003cbr\u003eBill Shewsberry’s L.A. Dart and Chuck Poole’s Chuck\u003cbr\u003eWagon. Although, most memorable of all was the Hurst\u003cbr\u003eHemi Under Glass Plymouth Barracuda campaigned by\u003cbr\u003eBob Riggle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRiggle started his career in the early 1960s as a car\u003cbr\u003ebuilder and mechanic for Hurst-Campbell and eventually\u003cbr\u003eascended to pilot the Hemi Under Glass. When he left\u003cbr\u003eHurst in 1969, the Hemi Under Glass franchise transferred\u003cbr\u003ewith Riggle. He continued for six more years as the owner\/\u003cbr\u003edriver of a succession of Hemi Under Glass renditions.\u003cbr\u003eIn the 1990s he resurrected the concept of the original\u003cbr\u003ecar—making four different versions (1966, 1967, 1968,\u003cbr\u003eand 1969)—and continued to thrill drag racing fans with his\u003cbr\u003ewheelstanding antics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the time of this writing, Bob’s last run with the Hemi\u003cbr\u003eUnder Glass was in the summer of 2019. He claims to have\u003cbr\u003eretired (he was 83 years old at the time), but he’s claimed\u003cbr\u003ethat before!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is Bob’s story, one that Mark Fletcher and Richard\u003cbr\u003eTruesdell, co-authors of the 2012 book Hurst Equipped, are\u003cbr\u003ehonored to share. They say the story was easy to tell—given\u003cbr\u003etheir unprecedented access not only to Bob but also to\u003cbr\u003ehis vast archive of photos that reflect his ongoing popularity.\u003cbr\u003eMany of the photos in this book are seen in print for the\u003cbr\u003every first time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e• Bob Riggle is recognized as the greatest wheel stander\u003cbr\u003eof all time and as drag racing’s most popular exhibitionist\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Many never-before-seen photos from the Bob Riggle\u003cbr\u003earchive illustrate this history of Hemi Under Glass\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Bob Riggle has made 10s of thousands of drag racing\u003cbr\u003epasses, entertaining 10s of millions of fans\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbout the Authors\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRichard Truesdell is a veteran magazine editor with\u003cbr\u003emore than 25 years of experience. He has written scores\u003cbr\u003eof magazine articles and has been the editor-in-chief of\u003cbr\u003eChevy Enthusiast and Car Audio and Electronics. Currently,\u003cbr\u003ehe is the editorial director of Automotive Traveler.\u003cbr\u003eMark Fletcher has been a regular contributor to several\u003cbr\u003eautomotive websites and magazines. Mark is a long-time\u003cbr\u003emuscle car enthusiast, and owns a Hurst SC Rambler. Currently, he resides in Steven’s Point, Wisconsin.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Midlife Classic Cars","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50495762858264,"sku":"KIT9781613258538\/9781613255612","price":57.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/9813\/3831\/files\/kit97816132585389781613255612.jpg?v=1772256267","url":"https:\/\/www.midlifeclassiccars.com\/cs\/products\/lions-drag-strip-1955-1972-hemi-under-glass-2-book-set","provider":"MidlifeClassicCars.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}