Drag racing fans have a fondness for the drag cars that competed during the sport’s golden era (from the late 1950s through the 1970s). The cars were simpler to understand and, in many classes, were similar to cars that people saw on the street. A Pro Stock car in the early 1970s resembled a street car with big slicks and a massive engine.
Today’s Pro Stock cars look more like fighter jets than street cars. The newer cars just aren’t as relatable as those from the past.
With the evolution of technology and the sanctioning bodies constantly changing class rules, drag cars often don’t last very long before they are no longer competitive or a sanctioning body has outlawed the tech that the car features. So, what happens to all of these old race cars? Some sit in a shed, some are dismantled and parted out, and some still race in small events or vintage events across the country.
In Drag Racing’s Quarter-Mile Warriors: Volume II, prolific veteran drag racing author Doug Boyce chronicles even more of the most popular cars from the sport’s golden era. Rail cars, Funny Cars, Altereds, Junior Stocks, and Super Stocks are all covered here—more than 80 of them in a “then and now” format. A blend of vintage and modern photos tell the story of the racing lives of these cars.
