Many fans of drag racing consider the most interesting era to be from the
1950s through the 1970s, the years when the sport really took off. During
that period, so much changed from a speed and technology standpoint that
people often refer to this time as the golden age of drag racing.Drivers
often became associated with a particular manufacturer, such as Chevy,
Ford, or Chrysler through sponsorship, factory team rides, or sometimes
simply their own preference. The more successful drivers became household
names in the drag racing community. Chevy had Grumpy Jenkins, Pontiac had
Arnie "the Farmer" Beswick, Mopar had Sox & Martin and Dandy Dick Landy,
and Ford's most successful driver of the era was the legendary "Dyno Don"
Nicholson.Nicholson's first wins on a national level were actually in the
early 1960s in Chevrolet products. He became extremely successful on the
match-race circuit. Then, in 1964, he switched over to Mercury with the
new Comet after General Motors enacted a factory ban on racing activities.
He won 90 percent of his match races that year. He stuck with Ford and
Mercury products and won throughout the 1960s and 1970s, even after Ford
also pulled the plug on factory team sponsorship. He made it to the final
rounds in nearly 50 national events during that period, in addition to
winning championships, awards, and match races along the way. If you are a
fan of a certain era of racing, a Ford fan, or certainly a "Dyno Don" fan,
this book will be a welcome addition to your library.
