Yeah............a movie chock full of fairy tales..............because everything about this car and the claims made are just that: FAIRY TALES. Absolutely no one knows more about the classic Mopar's than Tony, of youtube channel: Uncle Tony's garage. When he saw the video that featured this car and more importantly, the engine, which was STOCK..............Tony was forced to make a video calling total BULLSH*T. And he went into great detail using EVERY SPEC on the car, the engine, the performance, and how it is/was utterly IMPOSSIBLE. First off, the Chrysler Hemi needs some modifications in order to run better, yet this engine was 100% STOCK. Then there was the owner of the car's "co-pilot"............who says he would tell him when to shift gears in EVERY RACE. Think about how utterly ridiculous that is. Now consider this simply STREET RACING back in the 60's & early 70's. You honestly believe these ole boys "won over 1 million dollars" racing a bunch of street racers using A BONE STOCK car??? It blows my mind how so many people are duped by this nonsense.
Around 20 minutes in Levi recollects "his guys",, then shares "they're all gone now",, I cried. I'm an elder too (77 years old, street raced in the 60's,, ran SG/ProGas mid 80's), I remember all my buddys who are "all gone now" and it hurts. All we have now are memories and a few photos. 'Back in the day' we had to drop rolls of film off to be developed so taking photos wasn't very high on our list of priorities. Ohh if only we could have forseen that we'd still be alive and that they would not,, we'd have taken more photos for sure. I'm a west coaster so don't remember Levi but I do remember almost all the names he recollects racing at English Towne,, Cecil County,, etc. This was a fun video to watch,, Thanks fellas for doing this interview with Levi and Allan,, it was fun to reel back 50/60 years ago an talk about the sport we loved so much as young'ns. 🙂
I'm thankful these stories are on RUclips. And get to live on. I wish I could have gotten into racing. But sometimes life gets in the way. At least I'm lucky enough to have a cool car project ( 72 Chevelle) even if I only get the 454 put together and it makes 400 hp. It will be fun some day
Hang in there... Always have those memories of your buddies... Time sure does fly... Some of the best times back then. I was a kid & my dad use to take me to all of those street races on Sunday @ Ave P & Englishtown... Then as I grew up I got heavy in the street racing in the 80s-to mid 90s... D&D Racing... We made our mark down @ Big Simon spot Badger & Alpine in Newark, NJ... Dam where did the last 30 years go???
@@JoeBilello1969He commented during black history month. And I’m gonna say it, you don’t see a lot of (real) car enthusiasts of color anymore. Nowadays my people like stealing mopars and doing takeovers and it sucks.
Mr Levi was my parents next door neighbor in Newark. He is a true legend I remember all the race stories he use to tell me back in the day a lot of history and a true drag racer Good to see him . Keep up the good work! Peace & Blessing thanks for the video
Mr. Levi, growing up on the Newark, Kearny Border in the 60s I remember when Rt.80 & 280 was being made lots of street races for cash & titles were happening...Raceway Park! ✌️ Respect
I grew up on the east side of Detroit in the 1960's we had a lot of muscle cars in that neighborhood. Especially when the guys were coming home from Vietnam. A lot of black guys over there had some bad rides. Roadrunner super bees hemi chargers. Also a lot of Camaros 67,68 ,69. 350 all the way up to Big Block 427's and a lot of fastback mustangs in 64 galaxie 500 with Ford motor 427's a guy had a Ford pinto And Chevy Vega station with a built 327 dual carburetors Edelbrock tunnel ram. I remember the first time I seen a hemi DeSoto 16 spark plugs blew my mind. The dude had it in a Ford 5 window coupe.Looking back I was so fortunate growing up on the east side of Detroit we're all them cars were made. You guys need to come out to the Woodward dream Cruise. There's still some old timers come out there. I remember you could order a 69 hemi GTX like my cousin had on a Monday and pick it up on a Friday and he would have it on Woodward that evening racing it.
Too my dad wasn't still alive. He would of been great to interview. He had one of the fastest street cars in Northern California during the 60's and 70's and he was KOREAN. Moved to the USA at 15 and fell in love with hot rodding. People use to come out from all over California to race my dad, the oriental who barely spoke English. He told me he would use his broken English to his advantage to sucker people into racing him. When I was born in 78 my mom made him quit street racing. He then built a full dedicated track car and drag raced in the NHRA for over 30 years. We ran super stock, super gas, super comp, and comp eliminator. Miss you soooo much dad!
He was a Mopar man. Although he did have an El Camino before I was born. We had a few dragsters that had sbc and the comp eliminator dragster had a bbc.@@jessevalleau9876
I was born and raised in Newark, and my brother and I used to race on avenue P. It was the real deal. We ran a 1963 split window corvette with a 331 small block. For the time, it was a bad ass street car. Saw Levi the legend there on occations. In the video he mentioned that Brooklyn Heavy had his cars painted by Battaglias auto body in South Orange. We also had a car painted by Tony Battaglia. He mentions Carmen Rotunda many times, Carmen is a freind of my brother to this day. It is an understatement that Levi is the real deal. None of this "Street Outlaw" baloney racing on private property. A true legend. May God watch over him!
Do more black street/drag racers! Look I just got into racing frfr a few years ago. Your original post on Levi made me go down a rabbit hole. I NEVER knew how many OG black racers existed. I appreciate it. Its not too many now, especially ones shining light on past racers or even alive to tell the tales.
Shirley muldowny gets a lot of credit but I just recently found out there was a black female drag racer way before her. Uncle Tony was talking about her in one of his videos debunking that whole black ghost story out of Detroit. That story is BS. This guy is the real black ghost.
RUclips "Mustang Mike" Modeste and Mike Hill. As mentioned above Terrace or Terrance(sp.)Hicks "Hurricane" Mustang. Also Philadelphia Eagles superstar Fletcher Cox. Dwayne "Big Daddy" Gutridge. One of the true pathfinders in the Drag Radial game! There's another guy that used to grudge race an all primer Malibu in Outlaw 10.5 trim think his name was "Tricky Ricky" or something. IIRC had a BIG(for the time) Fulton motor. It could also be said Michael Jordan, as he owns a NASCAR Team. Probably already know this but channels like NDACut are great ways to actually go back and see the history in action. Some of the most hyped grudge races in history were between Mike Hill and Billy Glidden.
Thank you- brought back so many memories I remembered these guys I was about 12yr old would go to Atco drag way and English Town , like he said it was hard for black drivers to get sponsorship. I'm so proud of them ,coming up they were my hero's .Man ya'll got water coming out my eyes!! MS. NANCY WILSON ? Wow, didn't know that. I remember the sister that was running funny car think they were out of Chicago area, thank you so much!!!!
At the 24 minute mark they speak briefly about Big Willie Robinson. He is the President of Brotherhood of Street Racers Los Angeles and opened up the Terminal Island Raceway for us locals from LA. Thank you for mentioning him. He kept a lot of us safe getting us off the streets and helped curb gang violence here... We love you Big Willie rest in peace ✌🏼you are not forgotten and the Brotherhood still lives on!!!!
I remember being in Compton in 75 or 76 and these two brothers had a Cuda in black primer they worked on everyday. I asked them when they were going to run it that said this weekend at Big Willie's lol I was like Big Willie who!
I remember him when i was a little kid one of his superbirds sold for peanuts at Barrate Jackson..nobody there even heard of him and cause it wasnt factory correct noone wanted it. Shows the types that drive prices up. A daily driver survivor COPO Camaro (real one) barely brought 40k
As a NJ native, I heard alot about this car from the old timers in the Bricks aka Newark, NJ. Good to see The Black Knight getting his just due. My generation was racing on Avenue P or shutting down 78 to race. Days long gone.
Man I LOVE this... Great Black History for Drag Racing. I grew up in Baltimore, MD running up and down the road to Capitol Raceway, MIR, 75-80 and Cecil County Dragway!
I remember Levi racing my Uncle Soldier he had a 66 GTO, called buffalo soldier Levi had black Chevy 454 we were at Fort Dix it was old air strip that was one powerful race I never forget it😊
Levi Levi Levi, the cheers in Newark in the late 60's on Springfield Ave, where they closed it off so he could race. He was and still is the man of Newark!
I love seeing the older generations get on RUclips because there is nothing like hearing a story from the man who lived it is way better then hearing it from someone who heard it for someone! Or reading about it just isn’t the same! Plus he is truly hilarious
I drag race in Bristol, Tennessee (Thunder Valley) in my spare time. I don't see many black drivers participating in my area. I appreciate this video because I was ignorant of some major history. Thanks for sharing!
I’m not even a car racing or car guy. I’m a hunter and fishing guy from south Louisiana and this popped up on my RUclips. Very entertaining. I’ve never heard of Mr. Levy Holmes before this. Now I’m a fan. Real history 👍🏿👍🏿
Levi Holmes is a great friend of mine and a mentor the best thing is to hear him talk about the old days .Levi inspired me to go drag racing ,hearing his name on the radio and tv would always get amped up to go see him race
As a Black Brit who has been into Drag Racing for 40 years this was very good interview , at proves that street and Drag Racing is loved by all , you asked the right questions and is a great insight of American street racing. A great History lesson, well done buddy , your channel has great content
VERY historical!!!! If there isn't already a historical society for NHRA and street racing.... There needs to be. It's a very real part of American history for sure!!! Thank you for this vid and thank you Mr. Holmes for all of your history you have told us. It's AMAZING to here all of this!!!
Cool video man you should start an interview show /podcast with old school racers and car enthusiasts it would be really eye opening on what racing was like in the 50s-90s
WOW! this was an honor, my Father used to drag race back in the 60s on the street, and on the drag strip, at Atco, and English town, and we're from New Jersey , so I think these guys may be familiar to him, I'm going to show him this video when I see him, thanks for posting it,👍🏾
Unbelievable history of African-American guys. I was a Mopar man myself , Gtx , barracudas and roadrunners in the 70s unbelievable history I love it. Thanks guys God bless your peace and blessings to all
It is great to hear from and about these old school racers who are still around. RIP to all those who are not around anymore to tell their own stories.
Man this has been a real treat for me! My dad street raced with these people in Brooklyn NY late 60s/early 70s and would tell me so many stories. A lot of what heard here isn’t new news to me but is verification of the history my dad shared with me. My dad(Marvin) “Ray” Parker claimed to have had the fastest “Box Nova” in Bklyn at 16yrs old. My pops was a transmission rebuilder for AAMCO. I had the pleasure of meeting Brooklyn “Heavy” who my dad looked up to and Heavy took my pops under his wing like a son. R.I.P. to them two, Heroes. There was another family related fella “HAM” who drove a Heavy sponsored MC at the time I met Heavy around 2006 🤔r so, don’t quote me Heavy passed shortly after. Just wanted to drop that and this is good stuff keep em coming great history!
Im blown away by the fact that he still has the car after 54 years, and it starts up and runs. And seems race ready. Most guys that have cars like this they have been sitting up on jack stands with no engine, collectingand holding junk in the back of the garage. .
Hey great video. I remember Levi and the black knight. I also was a Englishtown track rat .I went almost every week end, Your name to us older guys still brings chills when people talk about the black knight, the mutt brothers. rapid Ronnie and all the rest of those guys. Later on as the years passed and me and my friends used to watch the pros drag racing on tv we would see all those pro guys doing their thing and I would always tell them I know a guy who beat them all! Mr. new jersey aka the black knight. To Mr. Levi, as we young kids used to call him .thank you because till this very day I'm still a car guy and I'm grateful for the fire you and your guys instilled in me, and it still burns bright. thank you. just another kid you inspired on your way to the hall of fame that you never knew but always followed you and your guys. again thank you.
The BEST part of this interview is talking to a guy that CLEARLY had the TALENT and pathway to the top of the industry but decided to remain grassroots! I don't think people realize how many absolute LEGENDS in racing came from the Northeast in particular the South Central PA area for Sprint Cars and the Maryland area for Drag Racing. Back in the day there was some sh*t track down there in Central Md. that produced 7 World Record Holders for heads up street cars and a Pro Stock Team with major sponsorship in a single year. Pretty sure the current owner of Cecil County Dragway(Think his name is Terrace or Terrence IIRC) used to race the Hurricane car there after he bought it from Elias Deletore. TO THIS DAY racers from that area DOMINATE NO PREP ANYWHERE THEY GO! There's a reason the BIGGEST AND BADDEST streetcar race IN THE WORLD is held at MIR. I'll be looking forward to a Petey Smallblock interview in 30 years!
absolutely awesome watch, im 45 years old never heard of this guy but im a car guy love drag racing and this video was amazing please do more i jujst subscribed. best thing on youtube right now
Dude man, Parker you are killing it with content. You have the most interesting content on RUclips right now. Us car car guys and Drag Racing enthusiasts are praising you. Please keep this up. And people need to wake up and subscribe to your channel. Thank you Parker.
I’m a 53 year old who bracket races now, but grew up watching my dad and alot of his friends race in Virginia. My dad is in his 70’s now and still goes to the track with me. Great interview. Keep them coming!
Thank you for this interview, please bring more attention to this Gentleman, I love hearing about his racing career and everyone else involved, We love you Mr Levi
Great interview. I am a NC boy. And street raced in the later 70s. But no where near what these gentlemen did. We ran for at most $100. Just in town Racing and stop light to stop light action. I really enjoyed the look back at all the history of my favorite pass time. I wondered if they ever ran the Silver Bullet while out on the street scene? I still have two of my 70s street runners. A 70 Challenger and 70 GTX. My best friend had a tubbed out 71 Hemi Orange Pro Street Challenger with a 440 six pack 4 speed. 4:56 83/4 rear end. That was a hoss. Thing had a shaker hood. I hated the day he sold it. These guys were really easy to listen to and brought up so many fond memories of that street life back in the 70s.
My friend bought the siver bullit from Jimmy & painted it white, it was too well known . He got it in the 9s at some point. Yes it was st raced plenty. He was supposed to run the Roush Mustang for big $...Someones pony couldnt make the party for whatever reason. That car was brutal still got some pics of it when it was white. Pics of polaroids lol. Mick passed away a number of yrs back RIP.
What a great video! Thank you for the look into the grass roots of racing. The are the hot rodders that built the sport. You can feel the passion that brought these cars to new levels. The names they raced with are the sport. Thanks again for this. Priceless
Amazing interview ! Thanks so much for bringing this great history to everyone. I lived in Ct until 1982 and went to Englishtown often to race or to spectate. If I recall, it was 1980 and I went to Englishtown to see a match race, best of 3, between Pat Musi in his pro stock Monza against Brooklyn Heavy in a white 69 Camaro named the Hustler, in small blue letters on the car. I believe Levi was driving and I remember he got into the car before they brought it to the starting line and the crew was taping the seams on the doors with 200 mph tape for aerodynamics ! I think the Hustler won 2 out 3 that day. The heavy was there with his boys, all in big hats and long fur coats. Amazing times. Thanks again !
Thank you for another killer video Parker! I am a huge fan of drag racing history and this video was absolutely epic. That Camaro sounded nasty. I loved your response when it started.
Best nostalgic old school racing interview ever.Thanks to you and Mr. Levi Holmes and Mr. Alan cord, fascinating knowledge and memories,Thank you so much.
Big thank you to Mr Larry and his buddy for sharing this amazing Drag Racing History and a big thank you to you Parker for putting this History to video to share with all of us. This was a awesome interview.
Awesome interview I brought his brother Lawrence’s car a Hemi I blew the motor Levi helped me put it back together I would love to see him again and talk about the good old days
The last I saw Lawrence's car, it was in Westfield, I think, the gold hemi car, if I'm not mistaken, I remember he wanted to sell it to me for $1600... It had previously sat at Ms. Wafsies gas station for a good while...There was also an orange RR ther.e, in the garage....right?
Well, that was awesome. I tell you what that is beautiful to uncover something this old and to share it. Thank you brother and god bless the black knight. Beautiful.
Thank you so much. This is such great history. . I heard about black racers from my family members who have past away but I didn't know it was so much more !!!! My God father and cousin own a 68 roadrunner and also had to chargers they would race every weekend down in north Louisiana. I wonder did they get to meet or race these guys . Like wow. Black history for younger black races and everyone. The smiles on there faces going through their memories was worth more than what money can buy !!!
This is awesome. Love hearing the history about our sport. Met the guy who drove the super jeep featured in February 68 Hot Rod Magazine. This weekend has been great learning about the drag racing back then.
This was fantastic to watch and learn,you are respectful and ask all the right questions Parker. Hopefully you get an opportunity to sit down with other legends before they are gone. 👏👏👏💯🇨🇦
Man what a cool interview. My father was a street racer in Philly back in the 60’s. Loved hearing the stories of them buying brand new cars, taking them straight to the garage and going street racing that weekend. Thanks for this interview.
What a great series. Thank you for bringing us this classic drag racing documentary..these boys were the best of their time. And I found out. Chase is a race,is legit and been around since the 60s LO. L.
I really enjoyed the interview that you did with those two gentlemen. Very very helpful and you were very good interviewer. Thank you for putting that out. Look forward to seeing more of your work
So happy to see a interview such as this. As a kid I heard of. East Coast racers I live in the Midwest and I relish the history. Talk to me by my older friends of how they used to race on the streets. And when the u s nationals started here in indianapolis
Hello, these guys are very, very talented. They accomplished a lot of history. They rubbed elbows with a lot of racers. I enjoyed this segment, I can't wait for the next interview. Fellas take care!
Thanks for bringing back some GREAT memories of the days gone by. Those of us that were fortunate enough to be or see a part of that era will always have a smile on our face when we think or talk about it.. We street raced hanging out at Jack in the box in Centerreach and made a trip or two to NYC and Man those guys were BAD to the Bone!! Thanks and God Bless
I tell you what, I appreciate this so much. Videos like this are needed. I wish I had all of our race history on video and all the stories more cataloged. This is priceless
This was a great video..bought back memories for me..I remember as a kid I would go down to The Conduit and 150th st and watch these guys race..I also saw them race at West Hampton and At Englishtown..both of those tracks are closed now..greatest of times
Mann I’m glad this came across my algorithm. I remember as a kid growing up in jersey and my dad and uncles street raced in Newark and jersey city in the 70’s what a time to be alive.
This is awesome. Thank you brother and we so thank these gentlemen for taking their time. This stuff you'd pay to hear wicked coool stuff. You can hear this all day awesome.
Great video thanks for doing it, what an honor it would be to sit down with these men to hear the stories of those days on the street or the track. I would kill to have just about any of those cars shown in my garage. Thank you Levi!
AMAZING, made me smile, laugh and cry. Loved every second. Old heads like Levi really see when someone is very passionate about what they are sharing, his eyes and attention latched on to the cameraman. I greatly appreciate you guys sharing this experience. Best RUclips content Ive seen in a great while.
Amaizing interview, kudos i was very exited to hear this legend talk about the history....personally i could hear him talk all day ....enjoying some 🍻.....✌️
We need a movie about these guys before everyone passes on. This would make a dope movie for the culture.✊🏾
The vultures will if the culture doesn't
@@beforeyourimmigrants8471 My Pops just said the same thing when we were watching this ✌🏾
I'd watch a movie like this and many more great stories but unfortunately yes they will find a way to f it up.
@@beforeyourimmigrants8471it’s attitudes like that, that makes these people disappear stop worrying bout who makes instead worry about if it was made
Yeah............a movie chock full of fairy tales..............because everything about this car and the claims made are just that: FAIRY TALES. Absolutely no one knows more about the classic Mopar's than Tony, of youtube channel: Uncle Tony's garage. When he saw the video that featured this car and more importantly, the engine, which was STOCK..............Tony was forced to make a video calling total BULLSH*T. And he went into great detail using EVERY SPEC on the car, the engine, the performance, and how it is/was utterly IMPOSSIBLE. First off, the Chrysler Hemi needs some modifications in order to run better, yet this engine was 100% STOCK. Then there was the owner of the car's "co-pilot"............who says he would tell him when to shift gears in EVERY RACE. Think about how utterly ridiculous that is. Now consider this simply STREET RACING back in the 60's & early 70's. You honestly believe these ole boys "won over 1 million dollars" racing a bunch of street racers using A BONE STOCK car??? It blows my mind how so many people are duped by this nonsense.
Around 20 minutes in Levi recollects "his guys",, then shares "they're all gone now",, I cried. I'm an elder too (77 years old, street raced in the 60's,, ran SG/ProGas mid 80's), I remember all my buddys who are "all gone now" and it hurts. All we have now are memories and a few photos. 'Back in the day' we had to drop rolls of film off to be developed so taking photos wasn't very high on our list of priorities. Ohh if only we could have forseen that we'd still be alive and that they would not,, we'd have taken more photos for sure.
I'm a west coaster so don't remember Levi but I do remember almost all the names he recollects racing at English Towne,, Cecil County,, etc. This was a fun video to watch,, Thanks fellas for doing this interview with Levi and Allan,, it was fun to reel back 50/60 years ago an talk about the sport we loved so much as young'ns. 🙂
God bless you sir .
I'm thankful these stories are on RUclips. And get to live on. I wish I could have gotten into racing. But sometimes life gets in the way. At least I'm lucky enough to have a cool car project ( 72 Chevelle) even if I only get the 454 put together and it makes 400 hp. It will be fun some day
I got chills! My old man street raced in the 60s and 70s.I’ll always love them old stories
Hang in there... Always have those memories of your buddies... Time sure does fly... Some of the best times back then. I was a kid & my dad use to take me to all of those street races on Sunday @ Ave P & Englishtown... Then as I grew up I got heavy in the street racing in the 80s-to mid 90s... D&D Racing... We made our mark down @ Big Simon spot Badger & Alpine in Newark, NJ... Dam where did the last 30 years go???
they are all gone because they never existed
I tell you as a black former racer and car guy. This is one of the best videos I have seen for the month of February. Thanks for doing this.
Why mention race? What does that have to do with anything?😮
Yea but the White Racers are The Best
@@JoeBilello1969He commented during black history month. And I’m gonna say it, you don’t see a lot of (real) car enthusiasts of color anymore.
Nowadays my people like stealing mopars and doing takeovers and it sucks.
As a asian racer I know we have the fastest cars and it doesn’t matter if you win by a inch or a mile
Mr Levi was my parents next door neighbor in Newark. He is a true legend I remember all the race stories he use to tell me back in the day a lot of history and a true drag racer Good to see him . Keep up the good work! Peace & Blessing thanks for the video
Thanks for sharing the history! Use to go to Atco, NJ! Been to English town once!
Etown was my home track. too bad both tracks are closed now. The racing scene in jersey is weak now. Island dragway is the only one left in Jersey.
Who wants to go damn near New York
What a gentleman! Levi is a legend!
Mr. Levi, growing up on the Newark, Kearny Border in the 60s I remember when Rt.80 & 280 was being made lots of street races for cash & titles were happening...Raceway Park! ✌️ Respect
It is so great to interview these racing legends. A lot of them are not around anymore.
Yup either died racing or old age and prison
I grew up on the east side of Detroit in the 1960's we had a lot of muscle cars in that neighborhood. Especially when the guys were coming home from Vietnam. A lot of black guys over there had some bad rides. Roadrunner super bees hemi chargers. Also a lot of Camaros 67,68 ,69. 350 all the way up to Big Block 427's and a lot of fastback mustangs in 64 galaxie 500 with Ford motor 427's a guy had a Ford pinto And Chevy Vega station with a built 327 dual carburetors Edelbrock tunnel ram. I remember the first time I seen a hemi DeSoto 16 spark plugs blew my mind. The dude had it in a Ford 5 window coupe.Looking back I was so fortunate growing up on the east side of Detroit we're all them cars were made. You guys need to come out to the Woodward dream Cruise. There's still some old timers come out there. I remember you could order a 69 hemi GTX like my cousin had on a Monday and pick it up on a Friday and he would have it on Woodward that evening racing it.
Levi is a great piece of AMERICAN history, great interview !!!!
You can tell he really loved what he did.
This is what is missing in the world today. A real human being from the heart. I could listen to him all day.
Too my dad wasn't still alive. He would of been great to interview. He had one of the fastest street cars in Northern California during the 60's and 70's and he was KOREAN. Moved to the USA at 15 and fell in love with hot rodding. People use to come out from all over California to race my dad, the oriental who barely spoke English. He told me he would use his broken English to his advantage to sucker people into racing him. When I was born in 78 my mom made him quit street racing. He then built a full dedicated track car and drag raced in the NHRA for over 30 years. We ran super stock, super gas, super comp, and comp eliminator. Miss you soooo much dad!
Very Cool
What cars did your dad street race with
He was a Mopar man. Although he did have an El Camino before I was born. We had a few dragsters that had sbc and the comp eliminator dragster had a bbc.@@jessevalleau9876
That’s dope rip your pops you street race and take on the legacy?
@@tayeeinthacut9661 thank you! Of course I’m picking up where he left off
What was his name? give props.
I was born and raised in Newark, and my brother and I used to race on avenue P. It was the real deal. We ran a 1963 split window corvette with a 331 small block. For the time, it was a bad ass street car. Saw Levi the legend there on occations. In the video he mentioned that Brooklyn Heavy had his cars painted by Battaglias auto body in South Orange. We also had a car painted by Tony Battaglia. He mentions Carmen Rotunda many times, Carmen is a freind of my brother to this day. It is an understatement that Levi is the real deal. None of this "Street Outlaw" baloney racing on private property. A true legend. May God watch over him!
19:14 This hit hard. We gotta preserve these old school racers legacy. They're national treasures.
This Gentleman deserves a Movie.
Wrong hue
@@Gorealaracer38Greased Lightning. Richard Pryor.
@johnburton2345 that was about Wendell Scott, round track guy though.😤WHO was born in VA but 'they' say he's 'african' american 🤣!!!! Smh.
@@Gorealaracer38 Wedell Scott also deserves a Movie as well I know who he is. These Men deserve proper recognition.
These guys also need to have their own RUclips they have a lot of knowledge
Do more black street/drag racers! Look I just got into racing frfr a few years ago. Your original post on Levi made me go down a rabbit hole. I NEVER knew how many OG black racers existed. I appreciate it. Its not too many now, especially ones shining light on past racers or even alive to tell the tales.
Shirley muldowny gets a lot of credit but I just recently found out there was a black female drag racer way before her. Uncle Tony was talking about her in one of his videos debunking that whole black ghost story out of Detroit. That story is BS. This guy is the real black ghost.
RUclips "Mustang Mike" Modeste and Mike Hill. As mentioned above Terrace or Terrance(sp.)Hicks "Hurricane" Mustang. Also Philadelphia Eagles superstar Fletcher Cox. Dwayne "Big Daddy" Gutridge. One of the true pathfinders in the Drag Radial game! There's another guy that used to grudge race an all primer Malibu in Outlaw 10.5 trim think his name was "Tricky Ricky" or something. IIRC had a BIG(for the time) Fulton motor. It could also be said Michael Jordan, as he owns a NASCAR Team. Probably already know this but channels like NDACut are great ways to actually go back and see the history in action. Some of the most hyped grudge races in history were between Mike Hill and Billy Glidden.
@active1508 NBA player Larry Nance is a racer and Tom Hammonds also
Look up my boy Boostdoctor a true living legend that’s still racing 💪🏾
@@edwardlawler9487 I know of BoostDoctor, Donkmaster, Macho, Gone Hollywood, & all them boys at Da Pad
Thank you- brought back so many memories
I remembered these guys I was about 12yr old would go to Atco drag way and English Town , like he said it was hard for black drivers to get sponsorship. I'm so proud of them ,coming up they were my hero's .Man ya'll got water coming out my eyes!! MS. NANCY WILSON ? Wow, didn't know that. I remember the sister that was running funny car think they were out of Chicago area, thank you so much!!!!
At the 24 minute mark they speak briefly about Big Willie Robinson. He is the President of Brotherhood of Street Racers Los Angeles and opened up the Terminal Island Raceway for us locals from LA. Thank you for mentioning him. He kept a lot of us safe getting us off the streets and helped curb gang violence here... We love you Big Willie rest in peace ✌🏼you are not forgotten and the Brotherhood still lives on!!!!
THE OPENING RACE IN TWO LANE BLACKTOP. WASNT THAT THE BROTHERHOOD OF STREET RACERS???
I was down there at terminal island drag strip almost every weekend! I actually met my wife there!!
I remember being in Compton in 75 or 76 and these two brothers had a Cuda in black primer they worked on everyday. I asked them when they were going to run it that said this weekend at Big Willie's lol I was like Big Willie who!
@@georgetubbs8211 correct 💯
I remember him when i was a little kid
one of his superbirds sold for peanuts at Barrate Jackson..nobody there even heard of him and cause it wasnt factory correct noone wanted it. Shows the types that drive prices up. A daily driver survivor COPO Camaro (real one) barely brought 40k
As a NJ native, I heard alot about this car from the old timers in the Bricks aka Newark, NJ. Good to see The Black Knight getting his just due. My generation was racing on Avenue P or shutting down 78 to race. Days long gone.
I'm from Newark NJ Those street races on west alpine was the truth
Gone but not forgotten. You should reach out to see if this channel wants to get your story. It's an important thread of racer fabric.
that was good time to be a car guy
I was there ,BIG SIMON, CECIL ,Fish RIP , FRIDAY ,SATURDAY, SUNDAY,RACING SALUTE 2 EARL MICHELL, PATERSON, NJ MY HOMETOWN 😊
Man I LOVE this... Great Black History for Drag Racing. I grew up in Baltimore, MD running up and down the road to Capitol Raceway, MIR, 75-80 and Cecil County Dragway!
I remember Levi racing my Uncle Soldier he had a 66 GTO, called buffalo soldier Levi had black Chevy 454 we were at Fort Dix it was old air strip that was one powerful race I never forget it😊
You are killing it Parker. More of this. Great interview.
Hey, thanks a ton for the awesome comment! I'm stoked that you liked the interview. I'll definitely keep 'em coming!
This stuff...wow man...highly appreciated..the bomb
This stuff...wow man...highly appreciated..the bomb
250K on a freakin drag race!?!?! Gud lawd!! 😮
Levi Levi Levi, the cheers in Newark in the late 60's on Springfield Ave, where they closed it off so he could race. He was and still is the man of Newark!
I love seeing the older generations get on RUclips because there is nothing like hearing a story from the man who lived it is way better then hearing it from someone who heard it for someone! Or reading about it just isn’t the same! Plus he is truly hilarious
I drag race in Bristol, Tennessee (Thunder Valley) in my spare time. I don't see many black drivers participating in my area.
I appreciate this video because I was ignorant of some major history.
Thanks for sharing!
This ol country boy watches a wide variety of videos. I do not recall the last time I watched an hour long video online.
I watched all of this one! 👍
Great video,I could listen to this man talk for days,the stories must be endless
I’m not even a car racing or car guy. I’m a hunter and fishing guy from south Louisiana and this popped up on my RUclips.
Very entertaining. I’ve never heard of Mr. Levy Holmes before this. Now I’m a fan. Real history 👍🏿👍🏿
Levi Holmes is a great friend of mine and a mentor the best thing is to hear him talk about the old days .Levi inspired me to go drag racing ,hearing his name on the radio and tv would always get amped up to go see him race
As a Black Brit who has been into Drag Racing for 40 years this was very good interview , at proves that street and Drag Racing is loved by all , you asked the right questions and is a great insight of American street racing. A great History lesson, well done buddy , your channel has great content
VERY historical!!!! If there isn't already a historical society for NHRA and street racing.... There needs to be. It's a very real part of American history for sure!!! Thank you for this vid and thank you Mr. Holmes for all of your history you have told us. It's AMAZING to here all of this!!!
Cool video man you should start an interview show /podcast with old school racers and car enthusiasts it would be really eye opening on what racing was like in the 50s-90s
WOW! this was an honor, my Father used to drag race back in the 60s on the street, and on the drag strip, at Atco, and English town, and we're from New Jersey , so I think these guys may be familiar to him, I'm going to show him this video when I see him, thanks for posting it,👍🏾
Unbelievable history of African-American guys. I was a Mopar man myself , Gtx , barracudas and roadrunners in the 70s unbelievable history I love it. Thanks guys God bless your peace and blessings to all
Omg I was rolling with the "where's the button where's the button. Thanks to all for involved. We can never have to much history.
It is great to hear from and about these old school racers who are still around. RIP to all those who are not around anymore to tell their own stories.
This is the real street outlaw. So glad to see a interview from him
So true
I'm not even interested in drag racing, but the short that sent me here was just interesting enough. What a cool guy and a nice ride.
Happy Blcl History Month!
Thanks for putting this together guys this is legendary!
Great job! Thanks to Mr. Holmes and crew for telling and keeping thier sttory.
Man this has been a real treat for me! My dad street raced with these people in Brooklyn NY late 60s/early 70s and would tell me so many stories. A lot of what heard here isn’t new news to me but is verification of the history my dad shared with me. My dad(Marvin) “Ray” Parker claimed to have had the fastest “Box Nova” in Bklyn at 16yrs old. My pops was a transmission rebuilder for AAMCO. I had the pleasure of meeting Brooklyn “Heavy” who my dad looked up to and Heavy took my pops under his wing like a son. R.I.P. to them two, Heroes. There was another family related fella “HAM” who drove a Heavy sponsored MC at the time I met Heavy around 2006 🤔r so, don’t quote me Heavy passed shortly after. Just wanted to drop that and this is good stuff keep em coming great history!
My friend is about to convert his Camaro to AWD pretty soon
Im blown away by the fact that he still has the car after 54 years, and it starts up and runs. And seems race ready. Most guys that have cars like this they have been sitting up on jack stands with no engine, collectingand holding junk in the back of the garage. .
He said i beat every sob on the property 😂 i could listen to this all day love the old cars and storys
LOL "sob" such an old man term 🤣
Hey great video. I remember Levi and the black knight. I also was a Englishtown track rat .I went almost every week end, Your name to us older guys still brings chills when people talk about the black knight, the mutt brothers. rapid Ronnie and all the rest of those guys. Later on as the years passed and me and my friends used to watch the pros drag racing on tv we would see all those pro guys doing their thing and I would always tell them I know a guy who beat them all! Mr. new jersey aka the black knight.
To Mr. Levi, as we young kids used to call him .thank you because till this very day I'm still a car guy and I'm grateful for the fire you and your guys instilled in me, and it still burns bright. thank you. just another kid you inspired on your way to the hall of fame that you never knew but always followed you and your guys. again thank you.
The BEST part of this interview is talking to a guy that CLEARLY had the TALENT and pathway to the top of the industry but decided to remain grassroots! I don't think people realize how many absolute LEGENDS in racing came from the Northeast in particular the South Central PA area for Sprint Cars and the Maryland area for Drag Racing. Back in the day there was some sh*t track down there in Central Md. that produced 7 World Record Holders for heads up street cars and a Pro Stock Team with major sponsorship in a single year. Pretty sure the current owner of Cecil County Dragway(Think his name is Terrace or Terrence IIRC) used to race the Hurricane car there after he bought it from Elias Deletore. TO THIS DAY racers from that area DOMINATE NO PREP ANYWHERE THEY GO! There's a reason the BIGGEST AND BADDEST streetcar race IN THE WORLD is held at MIR. I'll be looking forward to a Petey Smallblock interview in 30 years!
Goood information.
Jim Halsey currently owns Cecil County.
We ran the ProMod there 3 times this year.
@@highadventur Good eye sir! I think it was Capitol Raceway and not Cecil County. Might be shut down now but I stand corrected!
What a legend. I appreciate him taking the time to do this. Just listening to him and hearing his story was awesome.
absolutely awesome watch, im 45 years old never heard of this guy but im a car guy love drag racing and this video was amazing please do more i jujst subscribed. best thing on youtube right now
Had the chance to meet him 2 years ago at SEMA. Great Man!!!!
Dude man, Parker you are killing it with content. You have the most interesting content on RUclips right now. Us car car guys and Drag Racing enthusiasts are praising you. Please keep this up. And people need to wake up and subscribe to your channel. Thank you Parker.
I’m a 53 year old who bracket races now, but grew up watching my dad and alot of his friends race in Virginia. My dad is in his 70’s now and still goes to the track with me. Great interview. Keep them coming!
Thank you for this interview, please bring more attention to this Gentleman, I love hearing about his racing career and everyone else involved, We love you Mr Levi
This article more than any, shows the heart of Drag Racing , I thank the old breed, you will never be forgotten
I love hearing about these men of legend in street racing.✊🏾
I could listen to their stories for hours!
Great interview. I am a NC boy. And street raced in the later 70s. But no where near what these gentlemen did. We ran for at most $100. Just in town Racing and stop light to stop light action. I really enjoyed the look back at all the history of my favorite pass time. I wondered if they ever ran the Silver Bullet while out on the street scene? I still have two of my 70s street runners. A 70 Challenger and 70 GTX. My best friend had a tubbed out 71 Hemi Orange Pro Street Challenger with a 440 six pack 4 speed. 4:56 83/4 rear end. That was a hoss. Thing had a shaker hood. I hated the day he sold it. These guys were really easy to listen to and brought up so many fond memories of that street life back in the 70s.
My friend bought the siver bullit from Jimmy & painted it white, it was too well known .
He got it in the 9s at some point. Yes it was st raced plenty.
He was supposed to run the Roush Mustang for big $...Someones pony couldnt make the party for whatever reason. That car was brutal still got some pics of it when it was white. Pics of polaroids lol.
Mick passed away a number of yrs back RIP.
This was awesome I really enjoyed it. Watched from start to finish.
This guy and his crew are such an awesome legend. I remember seeing Ronald Lyles and Lee Edward at Colonial Beach, Va.
What a great video! Thank you for the look into the grass roots of racing. The are the hot rodders that built the sport. You can feel the passion that brought these cars to new levels. The names they raced with are the sport. Thanks again for this. Priceless
Amazing interview ! Thanks so much for bringing this great history to everyone. I lived in Ct until 1982 and went to Englishtown often to race or to spectate. If I recall, it was 1980 and I went to Englishtown to see a match race, best of 3, between Pat Musi in his pro stock Monza against Brooklyn Heavy in a white 69 Camaro named the Hustler, in small blue letters on the car. I believe Levi was driving and I remember he got into the car before they brought it to the starting line and the crew was taping the seams on the doors with 200 mph tape for aerodynamics ! I think the Hustler won 2 out 3 that day. The heavy was there with his boys, all in big hats and long fur coats. Amazing times. Thanks again !
Thank you. I enjoy listening to these old stories from men that have been there and done it.
This was Fantastic! What a great conversation! Such a interesting era. It will never be matched again.
This is great seeing these guys talking about the past,the great times they had,but let's not forget the struggles they had too.
Great interview, I could listen to Levi and Allen go on all night.
Man is sharp as a tack! Great listening to him reminisce!
Just one heck of an interview! Brought back a lot of good memories.
Thank you for another killer video Parker! I am a huge fan of drag racing history and this video was absolutely epic. That Camaro sounded nasty. I loved your response when it started.
Thank you for watching!
Best nostalgic old school racing interview ever.Thanks to you and Mr. Levi Holmes and Mr. Alan cord, fascinating knowledge and memories,Thank you so much.
Big thank you to Mr Larry and his buddy for sharing this amazing Drag Racing History and a big thank you to you Parker for putting this History to video to share with all of us. This was a awesome interview.
Awesome interview I brought his brother Lawrence’s car a Hemi I blew the motor Levi helped me put it back together I would love to see him again and talk about the good old days
The last I saw Lawrence's car, it was in Westfield, I think, the gold hemi car, if I'm not mistaken, I remember he wanted to sell it to me for $1600... It had previously sat at Ms. Wafsies gas station for a good while...There was also an orange RR ther.e, in the garage....right?
You're a good man. Levi was a legend to us young guys. I'm 71 and I'm still racing! Thanks for some great times..
i could sit with these guys forever just to listen to the old school racing scene love it
Great video. Congratulations to Mr. Levi on all of his accomplishments.
Well, that was awesome. I tell you what that is beautiful to uncover something this old and to share it. Thank you brother and god bless the black knight. Beautiful.
Thank you so much. This is such great history. . I heard about black racers from my family members who have past away but I didn't know it was so much more !!!! My God father and cousin own a 68 roadrunner and also had to chargers they would race every weekend down in north Louisiana. I wonder did they get to meet or race these guys . Like wow. Black history for younger black races and everyone. The smiles on there faces going through their memories was worth more than what money can buy !!!
Great job fellows brought back good memories . You can see those guys enjoyed the interview.
History!!!!!! I truly enjoyed this interview.
This is awesome. Love hearing the history about our sport. Met the guy who drove the super jeep featured in February 68 Hot Rod Magazine. This weekend has been great learning about the drag racing back then.
This was fantastic to watch and learn,you are respectful and ask all the right questions Parker. Hopefully you get an opportunity to sit down with other legends before they are gone. 👏👏👏💯🇨🇦
Man what a cool interview. My father was a street racer in Philly back in the 60’s. Loved hearing the stories of them buying brand new cars, taking them straight to the garage and going street racing that weekend. Thanks for this interview.
Incredible. This is history.
What a wonderful video. Absolutely fantastic! Great drag racing history. Super cool and fun to watch! Thank you!
Great video parker. i love these stories, this is how it was back in the day. History at its Best. PRICELESS
Thanks Joey!
What a great series. Thank you for bringing us this classic drag racing documentary..these boys were the best of their time.
And I found out. Chase is a race,is legit and been around since the 60s LO. L.
I really enjoyed the interview that you did with those two gentlemen. Very very helpful and you were very good interviewer. Thank you for putting that out. Look forward to seeing more of your work
So happy to see a interview such as this.
As a kid I heard of. East Coast racers I live in the Midwest and I relish the history. Talk to me by my older friends of how they used to race on the streets. And when the u s nationals started here in indianapolis
Wow!!! So much history! Thank you for sharing! Incredible guy!
Hello, these guys are very, very talented. They accomplished a lot of history. They rubbed elbows with a lot of racers. I enjoyed this segment, I can't wait for the next interview. Fellas take care!
Thanks for bringing back some GREAT memories of the days gone by. Those of us that were fortunate enough to be or see a part of that era will always have a smile on our face when we think or talk about it.. We street raced hanging out at Jack in the box in Centerreach and made a trip or two to NYC and Man those guys were BAD to the Bone!! Thanks and God Bless
I tell you what, I appreciate this so much. Videos like this are needed. I wish I had all of our race history on video and all the stories more cataloged. This is priceless
This was a great video..bought back memories for me..I remember as a kid I would go down to The Conduit and 150th st and watch these guys race..I also saw them race at West Hampton and At Englishtown..both of those tracks are closed now..greatest of times
I started racing at E-Town in 1974. I remember very well the track promoting street racers match racing often. This was a very well-done interview.
This is a great interview. Thank you for the history lesson
Mann I’m glad this came across my algorithm. I remember as a kid growing up in jersey and my dad and uncles street raced in Newark and jersey city in the 70’s what a time to be alive.
Totally awesome interview. We ran big block muscle cars back in the 80s. Brings back lots of memories 😬😎
This is awesome too see a real street racer and too hear the good old stories
Really liked watching this while porting my 454 heads. Great stories! Them guys are family-we motorheads. If you ain't a drag racer you ain't shit!
This is awesome. Thank you brother and we so thank these gentlemen for taking their time. This stuff you'd pay to hear wicked coool stuff. You can hear this all day awesome.
I enjoyed the heck out of this Interview!!! 🇺🇸💪🏼
Levi Thank You for taking the time for this...This was Outstanding...
Thanks for the video. Good history. Enjoyed it, keep up the good work.👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Great video thanks for doing it, what an honor it would be to sit down with these men to hear the stories of those days on the street or the track. I would kill to have just about any of those cars shown in my garage. Thank you Levi!
Thank you Guys for telling these Gentlemens story! I enjoyed it iimmensely!!!❤👊🏾👏🏿🇺🇲
AMAZING, made me smile, laugh and cry. Loved every second. Old heads like Levi really see when someone is very passionate about what they are sharing, his eyes and attention latched on to the cameraman. I greatly appreciate you guys sharing this experience. Best RUclips content Ive seen in a great while.
Amaizing interview, kudos i was very exited to hear this legend talk about the history....personally i could hear him talk all day ....enjoying some 🍻.....✌️
It was a true pleasure meeting him years ago at Raceway Park Englishtown NJ