OLD SCHOOL RACER VOWS RETURN
Thu, 2009-08-06 08:01
When Martin Heatherly rolled his 1967 Chevelle into his shop nearly
twenty-five years ago, he figured the old all-steel musclecar 
had made its last passes down the drag strip.
Heatherly, of Buffalo, S.C., is a throwback to the old school of drag racing. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool, old school class racer who reluctantly converted his former Super Stock/"F" entry into a Super Pro bracket racer as the face of drag racing changed in the 1970s.
Heatherly refused to abandon his Gene Fulton-built small block and Doug Nash four-speed, or 4+1 as the old gear-heads called it, both icons of years passed. When most of his counterparts dummied down their motors and went with automatic transmissions, Heatherly not only raced with them but also won despite using an antiquated combination.
had made its last passes down the drag strip.
Heatherly, of Buffalo, S.C., is a throwback to the old school of drag racing. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool, old school class racer who reluctantly converted his former Super Stock/"F" entry into a Super Pro bracket racer as the face of drag racing changed in the 1970s.
Heatherly refused to abandon his Gene Fulton-built small block and Doug Nash four-speed, or 4+1 as the old gear-heads called it, both icons of years passed. When most of his counterparts dummied down their motors and went with automatic transmissions, Heatherly not only raced with them but also won despite using an antiquated combination.
Heatherly didn’t park his Chevelle because he had become uncompetitive. He parked because his local track was sold out to rich people whose purchase was predicated on closing the strip, and then erect a golf course and gated community nearby.
That proved a tough pill for Heatherly to swallow.
“It took a lot away from me,” said Heatherly, his face saddening with the mere mention of the former track. “When I first started drag racing that was where I got my start. It was bad when they closed it up.”
Heatherly was a regular at the now defunct Spartanburg Dragway in South Carolina. Every Saturday afternoon, just after the Noon hour, Heatherly would tow his open trailer through the gates of the strip and park in the same spot he did year after year, just outside the old tech shed.
He’d compete against racers who are now in the professional ranks. Sometimes he’d get the best of Quain Stott, Tommy Mauney and Charles Carpenter and other times they got the best of him.
The one racer he brags who couldn’t get the best of him was Gene Fulton, now a leading Pro Modified engine builder. In those days, Fulton, a five-time IHRA Modified champion, was a legend around Spartanburg.
Fulton used to bring out the best in Heatherly.
“I know I could outrun him,” said Heatherly, grinning noticeably. “Just ask him and he’ll tell you. He might build a better engine than me but when it comes to that tree in front of you … I have his number.”
Now, Heatherly has a reason to be excited again and that enthusiasm transcends racing Fulton. A local dirt track promoter named Curtis Teems recently purchased and completed renovating the former Broad River Drag Strip just down the road from his house in Union, S.C. Now Heatherly has a track closer to his home than Spartanburg was.
At 67, Heatherly admits, he still has some good gear shifts left in him.
“It’s got my adrenaline flowing again and I believe I can do it,” Heatherly proclaimed. “I believe I can still do it. Just driving my old work car around, a stick car, I might just get caught speeding or peeling out at a red-light.”
Heatherly admits he gets a practice run or two in behind the wheel of his clearly underpowered manually-shifted American compact. Soon he’ll be able to get his horsepower groove on with a car that will be the antithesis of his daily errands car.
He plans to dust off the 3,000 pound Chevrolet, buried beneath various junk boxes it’s held up for decades, and even update it with a few safety upgrades. Heatherly vows it will see the drag strip again.
The car he purchased brand new in 1967 and drove a little over 40,000 miles, some of which included backwoods street races, will fly again with the Fulton small block and the Nash winding throughout the farmlands of Union.
“I hulled out the car and sold a lot of the original stuff to a former IHRA tech official when I went bracket racing,” Heatherly said. “I always took good care of the car and if it got rained on back in the day, it was from going to and from a drag race.
“I’m not gonna cry about losing all of those old parts because that Chevelle will always be a drag car. It’s a 1967 Chevelle Super Sport and those cars were not meant to be show cars. It came with a big block and a Muncie four-speed transmission for a reason. It was meant to be raced and I have a whole lot of Doug Nash parts.”
had made its last passes down the drag strip. Heatherly, of Buffalo, S.C., is a throwback to the old school of drag racing. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool, old school class racer who reluctantly converted his former Super Stock/"F" entry into a Super Pro bracket racer as the face of drag racing changed in the 1970s.
Heatherly refused to abandon his Gene Fulton-built small block and Doug Nash four-speed, or 4+1 as the old gear-heads called it, both icons of years passed. When most of his counterparts dummied down their motors and went with automatic transmissions, Heatherly not only raced with them but also won despite using an antiquated combination.
A Quarter-Century Ago He Parked His Chevy, The Time Has Come To Dust It Off …
When Martin Heatherly rolled his 1967 Chevelle into his shop nearly twenty-five years ago, he figured the old all-steel musclecar
Martin Heatherly holds a picture of his classic Chevelle back in the day with the wheels up, shifting the gears of the Doug Nash. The car has been parked nearly a quarter-century but he plans to return the car to action soon. He will drive the car part-time with the Nash and let his daughter make laps with a powerglide. (Below) Unfortunately, he's got a little work to do to get the car back into competitive shape.
Heatherly, of Buffalo, S.C., is a throwback to the old school of drag racing. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool, old school class racer who reluctantly converted his former Super Stock/"F" entry into a Super Pro bracket racer as the face of drag racing changed in the 1970s.
Heatherly refused to abandon his Gene Fulton-built small block and Doug Nash four-speed, or 4+1 as the old gear-heads called it, both icons of years passed. When most of his counterparts dummied down their motors and went with automatic transmissions, Heatherly not only raced with them but also won despite using an antiquated combination.
Heatherly didn’t park his Chevelle because he had become uncompetitive. He parked because his local track was sold out to rich people whose purchase was predicated on closing the strip, and then erect a golf course and gated community nearby.
That proved a tough pill for Heatherly to swallow.
“It took a lot away from me,” said Heatherly, his face saddening with the mere mention of the former track. “When I first started drag racing that was where I got my start. It was bad when they closed it up.”
Heatherly was a regular at the now defunct Spartanburg Dragway in South Carolina. Every Saturday afternoon, just after the Noon hour, Heatherly would tow his open trailer through the gates of the strip and park in the same spot he did year after year, just outside the old tech shed.
He’d compete against racers who are now in the professional ranks. Sometimes he’d get the best of Quain Stott, Tommy Mauney and Charles Carpenter and other times they got the best of him.
The one racer he brags who couldn’t get the best of him was Gene Fulton, now a leading Pro Modified engine builder. In those days, Fulton, a five-time IHRA Modified champion, was a legend around Spartanburg.
Fulton used to bring out the best in Heatherly.
“I know I could outrun him,” said Heatherly, grinning noticeably. “Just ask him and he’ll tell you. He might build a better engine than me but when it comes to that tree in front of you … I have his number.”
Now, Heatherly has a reason to be excited again and that enthusiasm transcends racing Fulton. A local dirt track promoter named Curtis Teems recently purchased and completed renovating the former Broad River Drag Strip just down the road from his house in Union, S.C. Now Heatherly has a track closer to his home than Spartanburg was.
At 67, Heatherly admits, he still has some good gear shifts left in him.
“It’s got my adrenaline flowing again and I believe I can do it,” Heatherly proclaimed. “I believe I can still do it. Just driving my old work car around, a stick car, I might just get caught speeding or peeling out at a red-light.”
Heatherly admits he gets a practice run or two in behind the wheel of his clearly underpowered manually-shifted American compact. Soon he’ll be able to get his horsepower groove on with a car that will be the antithesis of his daily errands car.
He plans to dust off the 3,000 pound Chevrolet, buried beneath various junk boxes it’s held up for decades, and even update it with a few safety upgrades. Heatherly vows it will see the drag strip again.
The car he purchased brand new in 1967 and drove a little over 40,000 miles, some of which included backwoods street races, will fly again with the Fulton small block and the Nash winding throughout the farmlands of Union.
“I hulled out the car and sold a lot of the original stuff to a former IHRA tech official when I went bracket racing,” Heatherly said. “I always took good care of the car and if it got rained on back in the day, it was from going to and from a drag race.
“I’m not gonna cry about losing all of those old parts because that Chevelle will always be a drag car. It’s a 1967 Chevelle Super Sport and those cars were not meant to be show cars. It came with a big block and a Muncie four-speed transmission for a reason. It was meant to be raced and I have a whole lot of Doug Nash parts.”
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