The awesome graphic commissioned by the folks at Muscle Car Reunion. |
We'll start with the Legends of Lakeland.
Special thanks to Kevin Cooley for these Legends photos. Here's Herb 'Mr.
Four-Speed' McCandless with Ray Godman. Ray build Lakeland Drag Strip so
there would be a place where folks could run every weekend. Before
Lakeland, they would go to Halls, TN but only a couple times per year. |
From left there's Terry Hedrick, Larry
Coleman, Pat Collins and Bill Taylor. These guys were movers and shakers
back in the day running Lakeland, various race cars and businesses
simultaneously. Terry ran Funny Cars dubbed Super Shaker. |
Here's Larry Coleman with his former Super
Ford Driver Sidney Foster. Larry is still involved in day-to-day operation
of Coleman-Taylor transmissions. |
Larry Reyes, Funny Car hot shoe who
gravitated to Lakeland from the west coast back in the '60s. He went on to
national notoriety as driver of Roland Leong's Hawaiian F/C. These days he
works with Larry Coleman at Coleman-Taylor. |
Speaking of Roland Leong, there he is at
the reunion talking with Pat Collins. |
More area funny car drivers. At left is
Wood hanging with Gary Henderson. Bobby fielded Rat-motored floppers and
Gary drove the Super Duster. |
Here, Jabbo from Holly Springs Motorsports
presents Larry Coleman a reunion plaque. |
At left is Amy Faulk, a most accomplished
area racer who holds NHRA Wallys in Stock, Super Stock and Alcohol
dragsters. Bill Taylor is talking with Larry Reyes. That's Larry in the
Hawaiian on the Car Craft cover. |
Preston Davis, former Bo-Weevil driver, sets up. |
This car was the last in an impressive series of Bo-Weevil fuel cars
fielded by Raymond Godman. |
Preston prepares to fire up the Hemi. |
This cool little 1971 Pinto was one of the
first to hit the track Friday. |
A Challenger R/T in it's native habitat. |
Bobby Tedford and his buddies were the
first car show participants. Bobby had the back of the AMC wagon loaded
with Lakeland trophies and memorabilia. |
Bobby pulled this genuine old race car on
a custom trailer built in the early '70s specifically for a street rod. |
It's back! Larry Coleman recently reacquired
his Super Ford Torino Funny Car at an auction. Restoration is under way
including returning a proper cammer engine between the rails. That's none
other than Sidney Foster, the Super Ford's pilot back in the day, sanding
by the front fender. |
There's something extra cool about a
vintage flopper because they actually looked like their production
counterparts. |
It was not by mistake either. These glass
bodies were actually molded from a street car. Check out the FoMoCo logo
and part number on the 'tail light'. |
This red Fury with steel wheels really
takes you back. |
There's Bobby Anderson having a blast in
his '55. He raced many a time at Lakeland and was quite an accomplished
transmission builder. |
The Brand-X 1970 Camaro Funny Car. A beautiful machine! |
Awesome! |
Brand-X seen with it's stalemate Jungle
Jim Camaro. |
The Jungle machine. |
Dig the Honest Charley logo; a Chattanooga,
TN staple since 1948. |
Looks fierce! |
Revell models; cool sponsor. |
Jungle Jim exposed. |
Sweet Malibu smokes the hides. |
Nostalgia Super Stock had a great variety
of cars as evidenced by this '63 Galaxie |
Can't go back in time without some
tri-five Chevys like this '56. |
1969 Chevelle gets the green light. |
1967 Chevelle launches. |
A unique '56 delivery owned by Max
Dignowity warms 'em up. |
Henry J gasser in the burnout box. |
A wicked Willys gasser. |
A pair of Plymouth Super Stockers. |
The long roofs were popular for their
superior weight transfer. |
This Ford Deluxe makes a great looking
race car. |
Here's John Troxel's 1971 Challenger Funny
Car being wrenched on under Roland Leong's supervision. This F/C used to
belong to Della
Woods. |
Dubbed 38 Special, this truck has got the
look. |
The Geezer Gasser group put on a great
show. |
Hookin' & bookin. Despite the cool weather Friday, the track prep was
good for many a hard launch. |
A vintage 'Vette gets the go light. |
One mean looking two-door Nova wagon. |
Thunderbolt vs. Plymouth. |
Plymouth wagon vs. Chevelle. |
1967 Buick GS400 dubbed the Mad Torquer. |
When dragster drivers began sitting behind
the rear axle, they were called slingshots. |
Front-engine, exposed frame rails and wire
wheels up front take you back to another era. |
The sun is getting low Friday evening but
the action continues. |
The Addington Speed Shop entry from IN. |
What else do you do when you have a track
full of wicked race cars and the sun sets? Cacklefest! |
The gassers and Fuel cars were lined up. |
The black Ford Deluxe looked sinister with
the red headlights. |
Bo-Weevil gets fired up. |
The Moparius Maximus is great fun to watch
make passes. Looks like a handful. |
A moment before the track lights were
turned off. Audio from the cacklefest is dubbed into the video above. |
A tribute to Billy Grooms on the back of
Get Ready. Unfortunately, Billy was involved in a fatal accident piloting
the Super Duster F/C in 1974. |
Preparing the Hemi to make flames. |
Give me fuel, give me fire! |
Geezer Gasser pits Saturday morning. |
These cars are as much show as go. |
Ron Duran's Willys powered by a Super Big
Chevy. |
This Oldsmobile-powered Willys is called
Little Booger. |
NSS racers gather in the staging lanes. |
That's a sweet pair of blue racers! |
Here comes the Gasser parade. |
Jim Netherland representing the tri-shield
division in his GS. |
Steve Wilson's NSS Chevelle. Steve's a
longtime Lakeland Raceway participant with his series of Granny's Garage
racers. |
The Joker Nova F/C gets prepped. |
The Lady Max Dodge stages along with an
AMX and Chevelle. |
Old School it is! |
The burnout box is a fun place to hang
out. |
You don't see an AMX every day. |
It may say GS400 but there's a few more
cubes there. |
Dave Duell's Drag'n Wag'n. |
That thing flat-out launches! |
Chuck Schnider's wicked '55. |
Gorgeous '67 Camaro. |
The Get Ready Mustang F/C gets ready. |
Gary Henderson and Roland Leong confer on
the start line. |
Roland watching F/C action as the Nitro
Boss Mustang rolls up. |
The Brand-X Camaro backing into position. |
The Brand-X Camaro prepares for its ill-fated pass. |
When it came time to pull the chutes, the
levers had moved out of reach due to tire shake. After bouncing off the
rusty farm implement in the foreground, the car went into a ditch in the
trees. |
Thankfully the car was the only thing
wounded and driver Mike Smith walked away. |
Ouch! That sucks! |
This '55 brings 'Two-Lane Blacktop' to mind. |
You have just got to dig those
period-correct Coca-Cola pants!
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Chris Schnieder piloting the Troxel Challenger.
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Son you're gonna drive to to drinkin if
you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln! |
Great color on this one. |
A faithfully reproduced Lakeland crosswalk
sign. |
Major Mopar muscle. |
The Get Ready backing into position. |
The sun is beginning to set on another
full day of action. |
TK Thompson's Buck Naked Nova has all the
classic elements. |
Painting through lace was very popular. |
Here are some original Lakeland trophies
Bobby Tedford brought to share. |
Showing their age, they are still real
cool. |
Bobby even has these mint-condition,
unused Lakeland Raceway pit passes. |
Bobby brought his WMPS Drag Festival Class
Winner jacket. It used to be black when it was new and it's seen a lot of
use. |
The Gassers are back at it on Sunday. |
Well, this is what the reunion is all
about. Bill Rodgers (left) and Bobby Anderson are old friends going way
back. Here, Louis Kimery captures the two with their machines. |
Bill Rodgers is particularly proud of this
plaque he won in 1975 from the Mid-South Drag Racing Association. That
year, Lakeland and Jackson combined their points and Bill came out on top
in Sportsman. |
The Joker F/C between rounds. |
This wagon looks tough sitting still. |
Steve Wilson's Chevelle gets good bite on
Sunday. |
Believe it or not, this car is named Fugly. |
The crew jockey the Camaro into position. |
This Willys truck has got the right
stance. |
Moparious Maximus roars! |
Bill Taylor had this Duster built as a
salute to his old Super Duster F/C. It's called Super Duster Jr. of
course.
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