One question I’ve been asked over and over during the past few years is whether I have any favorite photos from my 60 years of going to drag races with a camera in my hands. Sure, there are quite a few moments I’m proud to say I captured on film for everyone to enjoy.
Yep, some really stand out, and I’ve picked about a dozen for this edition of “Reyes on Tour.” Every photo has a story behind it. Some are funny, while others are more about what it took to get that image on film.
Lighting, film speed, shutter speed and being in the right place at the right time all factor into a great photograph. The sport of drag racing is all about timing, whether you’re sitting behind the wheel of a race car or standing alongside the track holding a camera.
Now, you’re probably thinking I’ve picked nothing but disaster photos filled with mayhem and carnage, right? Nope, not even close.
One thing I learned a long time ago is that people make up this sport, and the cars are secondary. That’s why I’ve mixed in a little of the artsy stuff and some human interest among my favorites.
I learned that from Doris Herbert at Drag News. Doris was always about the people in drag racing, and that’s something I’ve tried to remind myself of throughout the years.
Being a kid photographer in 1968, I was kind of pushed off the starting line by older, experienced photographers at the Hot Rod Magazine Championships at Riverside, Calif. So I said to heck with that and headed for the finish line and the Champion Spark Plugs bridge that spanned over the Riverside finish line. On the very top of the bridge is sort of a “crow’s nest” for photographers. I took the ladder to it and waited for race cars. I didn’t have to wait long because here comes “Wild Willie” Borsch driving the Winged Express AA/FA. A typical Borsch run, as he was off the track into the dirt a few times before reaching the finish line. How he got that far was a true miracle. He ran a little over 200 mph on that run with the front wheels dangling in the breeze. One thing I really like about the photo is the Mooneyes sticker with the eyes going the same way as the front wheels.
Playing with available light again in 1966 produced this image of Dale “the Snail” Emery driving Rich Guasco’s “Pure Hell” AA/FA. Everything as far as the developer and pushing the film applies here. I really like the feel of motion in this image. I did not own a motor-drive camera at that time, so it was a one-and-done photograph.
Well, I started to get artsy in 1967 with this image of “Jumpin’ Jeep” Hampshire driving the Caspary & Hampshire AA/FD at Irwindale, Calif. It was all about the motion of the rear wheel and just being able to see Jeep’s helmet and visor through the smoking tire. Being able to see the brake handle was a nice touch, too.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
One of my very favorite people in the world of drag racing is “the Golden Greek,” Chris Karamesines. This was his first pass in his “Chizler” AA/FD at the AHRA Winternationals at Beeline Dragway in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 1970. Now, I’ve been told that it was Cliff Zink driving for the Greek, but I never verified that. Anyway, it was a nice capture on film for me. Gary Densford and his Newport Productions were looking to do a set of posters on drag racing. The Greek photo was a big hit with Gary, and the image was made into a poster that was sold nationwide. I guess I made the Greek more famous. LOL.
Since I was a very poor kid photographer in 1966, using available light at night was my only choice because I couldn’t afford a strobe light or even a fan flash. My option was playing with film speed and developer to get any kind of night images. I had no choice because my home track, Fremont, switched to night racing in 1966. It was either forget about being a drag racing photographer or work something out to get the images that I wanted. This photo was taken in available light with the B&W film pushed from 400 ASA to 1600 ASA and developed in Acufine developer. It’s Jack “Mosquito” Martin driving Don Tognotti’s “Bushwacker” AA/FD. I got a little help from a spectator’s flash, and I liked the effect.
In 1967 at Fremont, Bill Dunlap, driving the Halstead & Dunlap AA/GD, thrilled the fans in the stands with a series of huge wheelstands, three in total on this run. This photo almost didn’t happen because the car in the lane nearest to me left first, smoking its tires. The smoke hung in the air over the starting line, but Dunlap, for some unknown reason, waited for the smoke to clear. As you can tell, the photo almost looks airbrushed behind the car. No airbrushing, just a nice crosswind when I needed it for a nice, clear photo of Dunlap.
Speaking of one-shot wonders, that’s what this image of Herb Pickney driving Fred Sorensen’s “Warlock II” AA/FA can be considered. This was taken in 1967 at Fremont. I was on the track kneeling down, which I had never done before. And as you see, the results were dramatic with this wild AA/FA. When the car returned to Mother Earth, I swear the ground shook under my knees.
For some unknown reason, I felt the need to get a photo of the backside of Roland Leong’s “Hawaiian” AA/FD at Lodi, Calif., in 1967. Whoever convinced Roland to put “Aloha” on the back of the AA/FD was a genius. It was one of those really cool little touches that made his AA/FD stand out from the rest. This was not an easy image to get on film. Timing was everything to getting this photo. Waiting too long and smoke would cover “Aloha” as Snively headed down the quarter-mile; too early and it would look like the car was sitting still. This was a one-and-done photo. Heck, Roland and Snively liked it.
Living in NorCal, I spent a lot of time riding to SoCal on a Greyhound bus to photograph races at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR in 1967. My other means of travel to SoCal was with Ed Carter & Bob Little when they raced their “Chevy II Heavy” Funny Car in SoCal. When they weren’t going to race in SoCal, then it was the Greyhound bus for me. Like I said before, I still was a poor kid photographer, but I did manage to purchase a $10 fan flash and some lightbulbs for the flash so I could photograph night racing. Here I am at Lions among the other photographers who have these big, high-dollar strobe units. They were amused by my setup, more like pointing and laughing. Lew Arrington was a friend of mine, and Richard Guess, who owns Goodies Speed Shop, buys everything I have on any of the cars he sponsors.
That evening, when Lew lined up against Dickie Harrell, it was a no-brainer for me. I was photographing Lew first round. All the SoCal photographers ran over to Harrell’s side of the track. That left me all alone on Lew’s side of the track. They both staged, and the lights flashed green. Harrell went into a 6-foot wheelstand with his Camaro Funny Car. Lew and his “Brutus” moved about 20 feet and exploded into flames, throwing hot bits of transmission all over the starting line. Lew wasn’t hurt, but “Brutus” had seen better days. I said nothing to the herd of photographers about what I had gotten on film. It ended up being a full page in Drag Racing Magazine, and it appeared in Drag News, too. Those who laughed at my setup were very silent after the magazine came out.
My longtime friend in drag racing, Carl Olson, got himself one heck of a Top Fuel ride in the late stages of the 1960s with the Ol’ Grey Fox, Jack Ewell. Carl would leave his mark in SoCal Top Fuel racing with the Ewell, Bell and Olson AA/FD by winning the Irwindale Grand Prix of Drag Racing in 1969. This is Carl at that event staging the AA/FD with some great header flames coming from the Jack Ewell-tuned Hemi. For me, I just like the feel of this photo. You can almost smell the nitro fumes coming from the Ewell-tuned AA/FD.
Well, it was if there was an ABC Wide World of Sports camera mounted on a heavy-duty tripod. Yes, Tidwell nailed the tripod and camera. When he hit it, everything tipped over onto the car’s body, crushing the nose of the car. So the car was okay as far as the engine; it just needed bodywork and paint. That’s when I talked to them about doing a fire burnout. “Firebug” Mike Kuhl was all for it, and so was driver Bill Tidwell. The day arrived, and we all met at OCIR during the week. Now, just in case our fire burnout failed, my backup plan was to tow the car down the racetrack with the chute open, getting an image of the engine, driver and chute as a backdrop. We did that with no problems. It was now time for the main event, the fire burnout.
The car was fired, and crewman “Fats” had a bucket of gas ready to splash under the rear tires. I was ready with my trusty Hasselblad 500 C camera. “Fats” started to splash the gas, but the headers were now very hot and ignited the gas. A giant whoosh of fire engulfed the car as Tidwell drove out of the inferno. Tidwell came by me with the chute pack on fire and the decals roasting off of the car.
What you see is the image that I got that day. It became a cover on Popular Hot Rodding magazine and a poster. If you’re wondering about towing the car down the racetrack photos, well, I sold one of them to Drag Racing Magazine for a cover.
Mike Kuhl and Bill Tidwell were very happy with the results of our cookout at OCIR.
It’s 1971, and Don Garlits is hammering everyone in Top Fuel with his all-new rear-engine “Wynn’s Charger.” At the NHRA Springnationals in Dallas, Texas, Garlits is No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel. So, it’s late on Saturday, and Garlits and his crew chief, T.C. Lemons, load up and are heading back to their motel. As they are leaving, they hear over the PA that “Kansas John” Wiebe is pulling up in staging to make one final run with his AA/FD.
Being that Wiebe is Garlits’ nemesis on the AHRA circuit of Grand American events, Don and T.C. pause at the exit gate to hear what Wiebe runs. Sure enough, he runs low ET and is now No. 1. Don and T.C. turn the rig around and head back to their pit area. They unload the car with only minutes to spare before curfew.
There’s Garlits now in the staging lanes and brought out to make one last pass before curfew. The car is fired, does his burnout and stages. The tree flashes green, and Don heads into the darkness of Dallas, Texas. He runs low ET and claims the number one spot in Top Fuel. Yes, this is him staging to make that pass.
