Chicago Indoor Drag Racing In The 1960s: A Complete History
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2024
- You've seen a couple of photos, you have heard that it happened now and again, but this is the entire history of the now legendary indoor drag races held in 1962, 1963, and 1964 at the International Amphitheater in Chicago.
How did the events happen? Who made them happen? Did you know they ran a sports car race on an indoor road course long before the drags? Why did they get shut down? Did anyone else ever drag race indoors? All these questions answered and a whole lot more here! 
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Brian, your scholarship on Auto racing is TOP NOTCH. -STEVE MAGNANTE
YOU set the bar! The rest of us are just trying to uphold the standard you have created, man!
Steve, you are also an encyclopedia of auto intelligence. ❤
The Carbon Monoxide Nationals. Great work as always Brian.
Hahaah truth!!
cant imagine todays cars doing this. lots of burst eardrums.
The title of Carbon Monoxide Nationals is now held by the Chili Bowl dirt track events. Look up the “chili bowl flu” if you don’t believe me
My Dad raced quarter midgets in the late 40's at the Ampitheater, some great history you cover on your channel, good job!
What a spectacular connection! I am always amazed at how this stuff finds the right people!
They prefer to be called dwarf or little people
@@JamesRockefeller45 I think you have misunderstood. He’s talking about midget cars, they’re small wingless open wheel machines that resemble sprint cars and often race at the same tracks.
You missed the joke...@@TheMNrailfan227
My grandfather was a quarter midget
So this is the actual birthplace of the RC No Prep/Indoor drag racing scene. Complete with Coke syrup as track prep. Allow me to explain. Next week, on February 17th-18 the Motorama car show in Harrisburg, PA will host indoor drag racing in the PA Farm Show complex. There is a scale quarter mile drag strip that will be there next week that will see speeds top out around 100 mph indoors. This exact track and format from the 1960's is still being put in use among us RC guys. If you want an electrified, miniature look at how this track could have worked, please check it out in person next week. Great video and indoor racing is cool and doesn't get enough credit
This sounds awesome!!
It sure is!
@@brianlohnes3079
you should post some videos if you have any that sounds awesome
Thanks Brian. This reminds me of the time I convinced my mom to take me to see the tractor pulls held inside the Sam Houston Coliseum in downtown Houston in the early 80s. The exhaust was so powerful, they’d rattle the giant 4x8 ceiling tiles loose & a few would come floating down to the ground. Not long afterwards, they moved to the Astrodome! I had a blast, mom got a migraine.
You come up with information that I had absolutely no knowledge of, let alone even imagined.
Your videos are a treasury of superior preparation and presentation.
Thank you so much for your efforts.
This means the world! Thank you so much!!
I have listened to all of your content while working over the years (multiple times). Entertaining and insightful. This one is hilarious for the outrageous way we spend our winters in colder areas.
The board track episode is my fave as i live about an hour and 20 min from Altoona and my parents lived there for a few years in the 60's. Thx so much for your diligence while researching the history of our sports. Kudos for everything. @brianlohnes3079
This channel getting me more into drag racing, thank you!
Dude! Your content rules! Have been a longtime watcher of your videos. Wow! Thanks for this!
I was a fan of drag racing as a kid, in the ‘60s, then got away from it. Fifty years later, Roadkill, Brian’s videos, and drag n’ drive events have brought me back to it!
Sir your videos are the best!@@brianlohnes3079
Love to see this coverage, as a born and raised Chicagoan I’ve heard about this many times, every time Shake would run at Great Lakes they’d mention the indoor racing in the 60’s. Another interesting fact about Northern Illinois drag racing from that time was that Byron drag strip would run 4 wide , decades before z-max
I was very friendly with Ron Leek for years before he passed. What a guy! Byron’s greatest four wide race was the contest between the two top fuel cars and two stock eliminator cars!
That sounds like an awesome race ! We don’t get to Byron all that much anymore but I have always enjoyed running there. Please keep up the great content , really enjoying your work
they ran four wide at the Detroit Dragway back in the day as well
Dude - we saw Grand Funk Railroad ~1971 in that very room! They packed thousands of us in there, general admission standing room only. What a blast!
So cool!
Brian, having grown up one mile from the Amphitheater / Stockyards and having raced on 43rd & Morgan behind the Amphitheater in the 80's, this took us down memory lane for sure. Few know much about this history of drag racing in Chicago, and racing on the Chicago Skyway, 107th street in Willow Springs--if it was straight and tires stuck with VHT before the cops rolled up, we were lining up on Friday nights at Duke's Drive-in to set up races at "The Yards" or on "107th" or on "The Skyway". lol Cheers!
This rules! I have a Duke’s shirt that I wear with pride!!!
@@brianlohnes3079 That's awesome! "Fastest Drive-in"--the original location was sold to Panera but they reopened in Mokena IL. and every Friday night during the summer, the car shows for locals still happens.
Names like, Marty Bilecki (RIP), Kevin Lawrence, Mike Alberts, etc. set the bar. Buying the first available BBC 'bowtie' block and stuffing it with AL rods, nobody was fooled when the word got out. Good times for sure. Please keep doing these presentations. They're great!
ps. Kevin drives Red "Shake" and his son-in-law, Adam Drzayich drives the chopped "Shake".
I grew up in Beverly, but I used to go down behind the Amphitheater, Doty Road, 79th and South Chicago/Stony Island, really just all over! I raced my friends red 1987 Mustang GT and his Ninja! I was maybe 15 or 16!
Yeaaaa buddy, I see Brian upload... I WATCH
Thanks for this!!!! Haha
Ditto!
I cannot belive that no one has photos of all the events. The inside road race would have been cool to watch. Ear plugs or muffs would have been needed as the sound would have been unreal. Great story, God has blessed you with great story telling skills. God bless you brother.
Thank you Joe!
Plugs or muffs... what are you 6 or you sit down to pee?
I cannot imagine how loud it would be. The only thing that could possibly compare would be the Gateway Dirt Nationals have a big late model race inside The Dome, however I guarantee a gasser would be a hell of a lot louder than that
@@dadbodiiGassers Rule 😊
We have tractor pulls inside. Can get pretty loud.
Brian, enjoyed this video immensely!
I was 10 in '63, and had heard of Soldier Field from an uncle that lived in Chicago, but never anything about the indoor sports car racing. By '71 I got interested in motorcycle racing, and by '75 I had my own shop, and was running flat track bikes around AMA Distict 16.
Of course when the summer was over, the bikes got put away until spring. That was until I found out about indoor races in the Minneapolis National Guard Armory. They became my favorite races. Only one class, 0-500cc. A typical turnout was 300+ bikes. The first year I ran a 250 Bultaco, which would hold it's own against any 500 twin 4-stroke, but that small of track, it was almost impossible to control, came back the next race with a highly modified 125cc Harley, and never failed to make the main, which always put a little cash in my pocket.
A few months ago, got curious to see if that building still existed, and was surprised that it did, but only because it was declared a historical site. No races are held there any longer, just concerts and such.
What I wouldn't do to run that track one more time...
Some pictures exist on the net, plus I have a coupe.
That building got pretty smoky with a bunch off both 2 & 4-strokes.
I have a few 8x10 pics of those races. I bought them from the original photographer. A good friend of mine said he went once. All the big names were there Arnie the Farmer, The Ramchargers, and so on. He said the staging lanes were outside. And the Recap slicks that they ran back then were as hard as a rock. Some cars did 5-6 burnouts to warm up the slicks. He said they had to leave halfway through. The smoke was deadly in the building.
This is why videos like this are so important. I hope more people come forward with pictures and stories to go with them. It would be awesome to find some cars and parts that were associated with this event.
Recently stumbled across your channel. Pure gold. Thanks for the info and cant wait for drag week.
Thank you very much and amen to that!!!
I live 60 miles from Chicago and never heard this story. Fantastic research!
Glad you liked and learned a new thing!
I hope you bring all the engineering story from Instagram to the RUclips and make it a full informative video and maybe more story. Really love you video ❤
Thank you and I think that’s certainly part of my plan!
@@brianlohnes3079 yes, let's go. I really like the video about the twin Porsche engine racecar that race in Indy 500
Top speed set by the Farmer in a Pontiac, imagine that! good stuff!
Right!?
Your videos are staggering. In the best way. Overflowing with facts. History. Insight. And examples. Found this channel a few months to a half year ago and I’ve never been more interested in drag racing. I always have been. But godamnit if I wouldnt trade today’s life of drag racing for the 50s 60s era! So much cool bad ass inventive and creative stuff back then. Thanks you again so much for diving deep and sharing your finds with us! Brian posts a new video on RUclips. I watch it asap!
Thank you for the kind words and I sure would like a Time Machine one day!
Brian thank you for all you do for our sport.
Love these stories man thank you for not letting these names and events get lost to time
Thanks for appreciating those same things that I do!
Was always curious about these photos. Thank you. Another great video.
Mind-numbing research yet again. You're killing it!
Thanks man. Trying to match your level of thoroughness!
This, RULES. Tons more information on a legendary era from this area. Thanks B!!!!!
Brian, your videos are always must-see - gotta watch this one tonight. I’ve read several stories about the indoor races over the years, and I know you’ll do it justice.
I love hearing my dad's stories about concerts at rhe amphitheater, thanks algorithm for giving me this video! Fantastic work 👍
You did a great job making this video. I hope more people come forward with pictures and history about this event.
Thank you for putting in so much time for these videos! Love learning the history of the sport
A sincere thank you for watching!!!
Dang! I lived just 30 or so miles away from there in 1958 and missed the whole thing! But then, I was only four.
Really interesting how drag racing began in the inside venues? Thanks for the upload! Really enjoyed it! Looking forward to more of these videos!
Thanks to you for giving this stuff a look!
What an amazing legacy. Thank you for opening my eyes to this crazy history.
Thanks for being open to watch it!
Great job as always Brian! Although just a wee little guy of 3&4 I was at a few of the races in '63 & '64. My dad had pictures of him and I with Mr Beswick and some other racers he was acquaintances with. When he passed away about 7 yrs ago all his old pictures were nowhere to be found. Keep up the great informative work your doing by preserving the past and history of this great sport. Again thank you!
Glad you have those memories though!
Best channel on RUclips, I've wanted a deep dive on this very subject for decades, thank you for all your efforts!!
Mike, thank you!!
Crazy & remarkable story of Drag racing history, Brian!!
Well Done, Sir!
Appreciate you watching!!
Brian, you’ve made this my favorite channel on RUclips! Amazing content! I’m always ready for the next video.
Thank you and I’m crackin on some more now
Brian you are the best pervader of drag racing. Thank you so much for what you do. The stories and behind the scenes information all orchestrated by your incredible voice are a highlight for myself as well as the others in the Motorsport industry. I look forward to your stories. Thank you.
Humbling, Al. A sincere thank you.
❤ love your work sir. Best thing on utube . Your love for the subject comes through in the videos and the amount of knowledge you have on the subjects has me in awe
Appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment!
Hell yeah brother!! Been waiting on your take for this. Just about to start it.
Awesome!!! Thanks! Let me know what you think.
@@brianlohnes3079 Very complete! Setting the history straight is important. Man I would love to see some photos of that Ferrari doing 120 down that front straight! Oh the noise! Dick definitely need his own episode, BTW. That may uncover some pictures from then too?
My God-father, was a constant fan at these races...along with his Super-8 movie camera. Although ancient now, mon ami, and residing in "Hollyweird", I shall contact him to see if he still has those films. Keep your fingers, AND toes crossed !
This would be incredible!
Thanks for the outstanding effort to produce these stories
Glad you like them!!!!!
What a crazy story! Thanks so much for posting.
Thanks so much for watching!!
This is the most awesome thing about drag racing ive seen yet. Working in huge places like these ive always wanted to race a car in one! Amazing 🇺🇸💚🏁
And now you know!!
This story is amazing!!! Who knew that racers were just as crazy (maybe more) as the racers today... Great work on creating this content.
Appreciate it and yes they were!
So Good Brian! This was a little before my time, but spent many hours at the Amphitheater at Rod and Custom shows and other events. Shake Rattle and Run was and still is awesome to see at our local tracks... Thanks for doing this deep dive into the craziness of indoor drag racing!
Thanks Ed!!
Once again, great work! Impressive that you tracked down the extant Messino and his 57 chev.! What a trove of info and memories that old guy must be?
Another great video, thanks Brian for all you do.
Very welcome!!!
I hope you're doing nhra again this year?
@@rayleehylton8427 absolutely!!!!
@@brianlohnes3079Great to hear that,you're a big part of the nhra !!!
Thanks for sharing history ❤❤
Fantastic history! Thanks Brian
Somehow, somewhere I heard about an indoor drag race in the Midwest but that's all. Thank you for an excellent piece of investigative reporting. I've learned much.
Thank you Brian, also educating us about our old glory days. 👍👍
Buford T Justice caprice needs a showcase video!
Love the history videos... your personal archive has got to be amazing.
** bangshift regular here **
Thank you!!!!!
I’m hooked on these bio’s. Thanks for sharing the history.
I would like to see some of these made about some of the legends of American kart racing
Sounds like a fun thing to dig into
Good stuff Brian. Like button energized.
Thank you!!
>> AGAIN, ANOTHER GREAT VIDEO... I AM FROM CHICAGO SOUTHSIDE.. NEVER WENT TO ANY RACES THERE. TOO YOUNG THEN
THEN WE MOVED TO SO CAL IN 1964.>> I, JUST ABOUT LIVED AT LIONS DRAG STRIP IN WILMINGTON, CA.. LOVED THAT PLACE AND IRWINDALE AND OCIR TOO.. IRWINDALE BECAME A MILLER BREWERY AROUND 1975..
Just WOW! Imagine the air quality with ethyl fuel and lack of oxygen. Then again I have been to a couple of indoor tractor pulls and monster truck show and the fumes are kind of a bonus. Great video Thank you
Imagine all the extra lead inside...
It really is wild to consider the noise and air quality.
I’ve heard it suggested that crime problems in the 70s could, at least in part, be blamed on the leaded gas exposure from 20 years prior.
@@jimstenlund6017 You can lay a graph of lead exposure in the mid 20th century with crime rate later on and it's shockingly similar. you can just look up the graphs on google, it's crazy
Turns out we just lead poisoned poor people more...
@@jimstenlund6017criminals & defense attorney use any alabi available
Awesome content!
Appreciate it!!! Thank you!!
I grew up in Carpentrsville, Illinois. I lived across the street from Meadowdale Raceway, by the Fox river dam. The track was long closed, but not yet a forrest preserve. We would snow sled, ride bikes, motor cycles, buddys dad would take us for 4x4 off-road fun. Really cool to see what other racing was going on at the same time,
The Amphitheatre is where it all happened, new car shows, custom car shows, Ringling Brothers circus, wrestling Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher, way before Mc Cormick place was built. I believe they might of had tractor pulls there ? Great video.
Interesting and so much research behind every video. 👍👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!!
Heard good things about you Brian, excellent source digging! 👏👏👏
That’s awesome!!! I’ve always had this day dream of building something like that up here in Maine so we could race in the winter. I had never heard of anything like that.. that’s so cool thanks for the content!!!
See, your daydream was legit!
Well done Brian!👏
Thank you! 👍!!!
Great stuff yet again! The video of the steel plate drags at Two Rivers Stadium is awesome! There was a plan for an indoor or covered dragstrip around 20 years ago, somewhere in the Southwest. Seemed silly to me, put it somewhere where rainouts ruin the racing schedule, not there.
It sure is a grand plan we love to talk about at the drags when it is raining!
Three Rivers Stadium.
Two Rivers, Franco Harris just rolled over in his grave.
Thank you, Fantasic
Anyone ever go to the misc indoor AHRA (and similar) tractor pulls, etc. stuff they had in the early 90’s? during the winters up North..?
Awesome, awesome video!!
Thanks for the content, very informative. The only time before this that I heard about the venue was Norm Krause, the owner of Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago. His dealership provided some support for a local super stock racer in the area, in 1962 if I remember correctly 😊
Wow! THE Mr Norm! Thank you for watching.
One of the cars in the video had a Grand Spaulding Dodge sign on it.
Brian, fantastic video as always. If your looking for video ideas, I have one - the most incredible drag racing photo I have ever seen was the photo of 4 jet cars side by side at the starting line (I think at Fontana?) in the 60's. I have never seen any actual information about that incident - I would love to see a video on that; did they actually race 4 abreast? was it a publicity stunt? how fast did they go? why did the drivers agree to that?
What the what? I've never even heard of this, lol. How cool! That had to be the loudest thing ever. Nice!!
Right?!!!
I grew up in Romeoville and never heard anything about this. awesome video about the history
Glad you found it!
Thank you Brian! I love this sh!t....
Indoor Drag Racing??
Damn, 1 day imma die knowing there was indoor drag racing!
Thanks Brian, you are the man on the booth, behind the mic, and on RUclips! :D
Appreciate you checking this stuff out
@@brianlohnes3079 of course!
One day I'm gonna die knowing there WAS indoor drag racing, but I never got to experience it. 😢 There's always indoor pulls, but tractor pulls are not drag races. Damn right you will find me at the Chilli Bowl though.
That's insane! Never thought that would be done.
The picture in my head about that race and hot rod show is better than any real picture ❤wow especially hearing about that British motorcycle lady and her motorcycle shop on the south side of Chicago in the 1950s....I bet she was VERY popular ❤❤❤❤❤wow what a picture
I remember my old man taking me there when I was kid. Great memories. In the 80’s amphitheater would hold truck pulls.
Can’t wait to see a video on Shake Rattle and Run!!!
Awesome!
Amazing info wow
Thank you!!
Watching this while looking at a trophy my father acquired from the Indoor Drags ❤
Get outta here!
Yep and drag racing at US 30 Dragstrip, White's Pit Stop in South Holland Illinois and the World of Wheels custom hot rod show and Mr Norms and Nickey Chevrolet...omg glad I was born in the 60s in Illinois
I had no knowledge of any of this, however me and my buddy once went down there to see pulling trucks. It was wild.
Indoor pulling is gnarly!
I thought I knew a good deal about drag racing history. My interest started by stumbling on articles and lore from first Nationals in Great Bend, KS while racing there myself in high school (in the mid '60s). However, I was not aware of any of the indoor drags. Or of a lot of things in your videos for that matter. Thanks again Brian.
Appreciate you investing your time to watch!
While I knew about the Chicago indoor Drags I never knew the details until today. Thanks for that.
I have heard stories about indoor drags here in Tulsa and the former Douglas Bomber Plant which is about a mile long. If there was a race there, and I am not sure there was, I am pretty sure it was a one time deal.
Wow!!
I raced there! On the dragstrip.
Amazing!!!!
Brian, do a story on Don Garlits when he realized advancing the timing a stupid amount would propel his swamp rat to win multiple events till others figured it out. I learned of this story first hand from him in his shop at his museum, at 12 years old. My uncle Larry, known as “Donut” was the crew chief for the Mongoose. Any questions ask away.. I could put you In touch with Donut if you want. Keep doing what you’re doing👍🏼🤘🏼💪🏼
That is an epic story for sure
Love the hidden history of drag racing!
Thanks for watching!!
That is so damn cool. The sound mustve been painful, but damn cool.
Thank you Brian! As a car crazy kid growing up in NYC I attended a circle track motorcycle race held in Madison Square Garden. Must have been in the early 1970s. The track was tiny, fitting in the same space as a basketball court!
Ok that is wild!!
Just a heads up, The Headline at 30:28 I understand is tough to read due to the terrible image, however I wanted to let you know, the Headline is actually “Scat-Kitty” (S•Kat-Kitty), I only know this because back in the 60’s, there was a company who designed, manufactured and sold a 1-piece poured cast Aluminum framed minibike or mini-scooter that housed a 3.5hp Briggs & stratton engine….. And again, I only know this because I owned one MANY years ago….
Anyway, I’m not here to give you a tough time, things happen, It just hit me a few seconds after hearing you read the headline as “SEAT-Kitty” is when it all “clicked”, and since I know the fact checking effort you must go through for your nostalgic and factual informative videos, I thought you might want to know..
Great content by the way!! Great work!!
Mark it’s a cringe for me for sure! Cannot believe I screwed that up!
Bah, it’s all good, no harm done… stuff happens! But it’s extremely clear the effort you put in, so if it hadn’t been pointed out before, I figured I’d try to break it as humanly as possible…. Considering we’re all just human!
Good job Brian, they tore down the amphitheatre in 1999. It was a popular car hangout until then I went some.
Neat you had some time to hang there!
I saw tractor pulls in the old amphitheater That was intense when those things revved up and the sound bounced off the roof
Wow! Incredible story
I’m from Euclid Ohio just like the guy mentioned in the story
Thanks for sharing
JT: Orlando FLA
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have videos of Byron back in the 60s. Awesome to watch especially all the hair do,s and clothing
So so fun!
Brian - one of the photos in the video showed “Tiger Tom” Pistone in a stock car. He was a REALLY well-connected racer in the Chicago area (mostly stock cars) and certainly knew many of the people you mentioned in the piece. His son is Pete Pistone, who is currently the morning host on SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. A quick search for Tiger Tom indicates that he is still alive at 94 years old. (!!!!) Have you tried contacting Pete or even Tiger Tom himself to see if they or anyone they know has any knowledge about the Indoor Grand Prix? I am fascinated.
Aware of both of their impressive careers but have not reached out. I should! Photo was definitely included because of who was in that car!
Thanks Brian! As a Canadian I never heard about this indoor track. Have you ever heard about that McAnary Ford Thunderbolt appearing in a car show or drag event? A Collector?
I have not!
Dude. Your research is incredible. As much as I dislike the current "take pictures of every single thing" (and I think in the future that will cause the important things to be lost in the current flood of pictorial effluvium) , I wish there was more to be seen of so many of these cool old races.
Could not agree more!
Dick Messino would be a good subject. He was a Chicago cop and cocaine distributor. I'm not positive, but i think the Pro Mod version of the Shake was a different car, fiberglass and tube chassis. There was a story of it being impounded by the feds, they hooked to what they thought was a bumper, but it was fiberglass.
Fire Dept grandstanding , you could have held a indoor massive barn fire safety in the wide open space, the fire that spooked them totally different situation !
That Pittsburgh event with the Backup Pickup (I think it is) looks so cool. There is lots of indoor midget, three quarter midget, and quarter midget indoor race to this day. Not as much as 20 years ago, unfortunately, but still lots. The Chili Bowl being the largest by a huge margin.
100% indoor racing is still alive and well
Drag racing at the “Amp”, I was 19 years old at that time. During the winter it was street racing because US 30 or Oswego weren’t open till April, so it was great except for the carbon monoxide headaches.one of my buddies crashed his 63 Plymouth into one of the steel support columns. Yeah Jack Sharkey ran real strong so did Shake Rattle and Run, it was a blast!
Man the air must have been thick enough to chew.
The only indoor motorized event I saw in the Amphitheater was Evel Knievel promoting his Snake River jump and his motorcycle repair shops(early 70s). I saw him later at an event placing a plaque (in the 80s) next to the bridge that spans the river. Also at that time I met a new girlfriend. She knew Evel, her husband’s (divorced when we met) drinking buddy when he was in Idaho doing his thing.
The main thing that I clearly remember when Evel made his indoor jump was he had to duck to prevent hitting a rafter. @12:15 rafters are shown.