Thanks for the memory, spent my youth in L.A. area, a Glendale High '64 grad, friends and I at drags often, Lions one of them, also Pomona, Irwindale, Fontana, but a few years later (63-67). Didn't realize how good we had it for our car culture in the so-called "L.A. Basin" as they called it then, compared to now!! Seeing this, can still feel it in my chest, and hear it, and smell it (Good old American rubber and hydrocarbons,.... smoking and burning!!) : )
Spent my teenage years at Lions. I had no money or car but loved watching the races. Great times. I loved watching them pushstart to cars and turn them around in the staging area. this was before they installed the "rollers".
We would always get pit passes so we could get up close to the race cars.I remember watching an exhibition run of Art Arfons Green Monster jet car and a wheel stand race with Hemi under glass and The little Red Wagon.Also loved watching the fuel altereds.except for my impending draft notice,those where really fun times
My neighborhood track growing up....."Drive the Highway.......Race at Lions!" So many great memories about Lions ...First going with my brother and dad in the early 60' and then with my buddy's when I got my licence. If I recall correctly,Tuesday night was Run what ya' brung night.3 trips through the timing lights for 5 dollars....All you needed was a seat belt,crash helmet and to pass a safety inspection.I had a 65 Sunbeam Tiger worked on the motor in Auto shop with the help of my shop teacher...Best time was a 13.40...Man was that fun!Electric maybe fast,but will never replace the sights ,sounds and smell of.....wait for it........the good Ol' daze!
Amen , my dad's friend got me and my brother hooked on drag racing. I still remember my first time there I fell in love with a dragster it was owned by a speed shop from San Pedro, iaconineo's speed shop. They had a matching truck and trailer painted metallic green . I always thought that was the best looking looking
great footage of a great track spent alot of my youth there .That was when Southern California truley was the heart of the car culture now it's the heart of hating cars so glad I no longer live in Cal.
Lived there until my draft notice showed up,I feel the same about L.A.,After my discharge, I never went back.Used to go to Lions on Tuesday nite grudge racing 5 bucks and a tech inspection,you could race the same track as the big guys!..Side note,best time I had 13.02 .Wish I still had the time slip.
Everybody see Garlits at 23:14? Amazing how much innovation there was so early on in drag racing--mid engine, chain drive, twin engines, four engines, aircraft engines, crank-drive blowers--not everything modern is really new. One of my favorites was the sound of an axial-flow Latham blower setup shrieking down the strip. And yes, there still has been no development in recreation that is more fun than was going to the drags in the 1960s.
Sush Matsubara fuel altered, The Hawaiian ,Beach City Corvette ,The Chi town hustler, The yellow brick jeep called "the secret weapon" little red wagon,the back up pick-up,Hemi under glass.I totally agree....Great Memories! Also memories of my dad taking me to the dirt track at Ascot Park !
Watched many races there between Dandy Dick Landy and Butch Leal. Yes those were the days at the beach as we use to call it. Class was A/FX altered wheel base dodges. Kinda the first funny cars.
Lefty Mudersbach in twin injected (inline) Chevy dragster at 25:53 beats Howard Cams Special twin blown Chevy (side-by-side) in big upset that day. Runs are on the Big Sounds of the Drags vinyl record released in 1963 that you can hear...look up BIG Sounds of the Drags and the dragster runs are near the end of the recording that lasts for 25 minutes. Sadly, Mudersbach was killed in a dragster crash at Irwindale. He was one of the best drivers and beat many nitro top fuel blown cars with his gas powered twin Chet Herbert Cams special. If I remember, he even won Bakersfield top eliminator title one year in his gas powered dragster against the nitro blown dragsters!
Those were the days my friend, we thought they were never end! Too bad no audio! Recall the "Le Mans" starts match races they used to have. Drivers put their keys on the roof of their car and had to run to the car, grab the keys, start the engine and then race. Fun.
Your British fan here. I remember seeing such a race on one of my two visits to Lions.(Yes, I deliberately came all the way from the U.K. to visit Lions etc. in 1969.)
I work there with Larry Sutton and CJ heart and fat jack hung out with the qualifier to Club of Long Beach 55 Chevy the zombie little gas T Bird the 1929 Chevy
Were you there when Emory Cooke and Cliff Bedwell blew Pappy's mind with his 100% nitro 176 mph no parachute run that got the nitro ban petitioned for and approved by Wally Parks' NHRA...?
Thanks for the memory, spent my youth in L.A. area, a Glendale High '64 grad, friends and I at drags often, Lions one of them, also Pomona, Irwindale, Fontana, but a few years later (63-67). Didn't realize how good we had it for our car culture in the so-called "L.A. Basin" as they called it then, compared to now!! Seeing this, can still feel it in my chest, and hear it, and smell it (Good old American rubber and hydrocarbons,.... smoking and burning!!) : )
Long live the memories of LIONS DRAG STRIP , BEST IN THE WEST !!!!
Spent my teenage years at Lions. I had no money or car but loved watching the races. Great times. I loved watching them pushstart to cars and turn them around in the staging area. this was before they installed the "rollers".
We would always get pit passes so we could get up close to the race cars.I remember watching an exhibition run of Art Arfons Green Monster jet car and a wheel stand race with Hemi under glass and The little Red Wagon.Also loved watching the fuel altereds.except for my impending draft notice,those where really fun times
My neighborhood track growing up....."Drive the Highway.......Race at Lions!" So many great memories about Lions ...First going with my brother and dad in the early 60' and then with my buddy's when I got my licence.
If I recall correctly,Tuesday night was Run what ya' brung night.3 trips through the timing lights for 5 dollars....All you needed was a seat belt,crash helmet and to pass a safety inspection.I had a 65 Sunbeam Tiger worked on the motor in Auto shop with the help of my shop teacher...Best time was a 13.40...Man was that fun!Electric maybe fast,but will never replace the sights ,sounds and smell of.....wait for it........the good Ol' daze!
Amen , my dad's friend got me and my brother hooked on drag racing. I still remember my first time there I fell in love with a dragster it was owned by a speed shop from San Pedro, iaconineo's speed shop. They had a matching truck and trailer painted metallic green . I always thought that was the best looking looking
great footage of a great track spent alot of my youth there .That was when Southern California truley was the heart of the car culture now it's the heart of hating cars so glad I no longer live in Cal.
Lived there until my draft notice showed up,I feel the same about L.A.,After my discharge, I never went back.Used to go to Lions on Tuesday nite grudge racing 5 bucks and a tech inspection,you could race the same track as the big guys!..Side note,best time I had 13.02 .Wish I still had the time slip.
Everybody see Garlits at 23:14? Amazing how much innovation there was so early on in drag racing--mid engine, chain drive, twin engines, four engines, aircraft engines, crank-drive blowers--not everything modern is really new. One of my favorites was the sound of an axial-flow Latham blower setup shrieking down the strip. And yes, there still has been no development in recreation that is more fun than was going to the drags in the 1960s.
having attended my first drag race in 1958, this video is outstanding! Thanks Jalopy Journal and whoever shot all this color film.
This is awesome footage btw!!!! Thank you for uploading this, love seeing these old cars actually alive instead of only in my old car magazines
Spent many weekends at Lions, Met a vast number of the greats, like IVO, THOMPSON, GARLITS, PRUDHOMME, AND MULDOWNEY, Great memories.
We would run the barnjob there 49 vincent motorcycle
Sush Matsubara fuel altered, The Hawaiian ,Beach City Corvette ,The Chi town hustler, The yellow brick jeep called "the secret weapon" little red wagon,the back up pick-up,Hemi under glass.I totally agree....Great Memories! Also memories of my dad taking me to the dirt track at Ascot Park !
the very best footage of early lions.....thank you
Damn Ryan ... down the rabbit hole of the internet, and bumping right back into the HAMB. Kickass.
I just found the jalopy journals youtube channel...not sleeping for a bit
Thanks So Much for Posting!
Watched many races there between Dandy Dick Landy and Butch Leal. Yes those were the days at the beach as we use to call it. Class was A/FX altered wheel base dodges. Kinda the first funny cars.
it was so loud you could hear it in Dominguez Hills
And Wilmington, even further away.
THANKS MUCH FOR POSTING!
the guy on the mini- bike at 8;36 is my brother Jerry Dixon
My Father was probably there that afternoon......
At 13:31 that Willys has a nose down stance, different from the Gasses of that time era. Very cool video, thanks for posting
Is that Tommy Ivo’s Buick dragster?
Lefty Mudersbach in twin injected (inline) Chevy dragster at 25:53 beats Howard Cams Special twin blown Chevy (side-by-side) in big upset that day. Runs are on the Big Sounds of the Drags vinyl record released in 1963 that you can hear...look up BIG Sounds of the Drags and the dragster runs are near the end of the recording that lasts for 25 minutes. Sadly, Mudersbach was killed in a dragster crash at Irwindale. He was one of the best drivers and beat many nitro top fuel blown cars with his gas powered twin Chet Herbert Cams special. If I remember, he even won Bakersfield top eliminator title one year in his gas powered dragster against the nitro blown dragsters!
You said: " Runs are on the Big Sounds of the Drags vinyl record released in 1963" I had a copy of that... Must be a collector's idem now, eh...?!
Real 'run what ya brung" racing. Maybe better than OCIR on Wed. nights !
Those were the days my friend, we thought they were never end! Too bad no audio! Recall the "Le Mans" starts match races they used to have. Drivers put their keys on the roof of their car and had to run to the car, grab the keys, start the engine and then race. Fun.
Your British fan here. I remember seeing such a race on one of my two visits to Lions.(Yes, I deliberately came all the way from the U.K. to visit Lions etc. in 1969.)
Did Lions have a spectator exit on to Sepulveda...or just the one on 223rd?
Last time I was at lions was June 1970.
The guy that had the crash on the motorcycle wasn't even wearing gloves!
Standing next to my, Dad working on his twin engine Chevy , while eating a hot dog ( I was 7 )
Everything is good times for a kids 😂 life was good
My bros raced their old h. Bitd .
A rear engine BEFORE Garlits !!
ticket booths at 24:47....rare stuff!
Thanks for no stupid music!!!!
Neeto burrito!!!
ive never lived in los angeles but visit Lakewood every now and again...never been to lions but i feel a loss
I work there with Larry Sutton and CJ heart and fat jack hung out with the qualifier to Club of Long Beach 55 Chevy the zombie little gas T Bird the 1929
Chevy
Were you there when Emory Cooke and Cliff Bedwell blew Pappy's mind with his 100% nitro 176 mph no parachute run that got the nitro ban petitioned for and approved by Wally Parks' NHRA...?