George Klass looks back on drag racing ’ s ‘ ultimate era ’ By Brandon W . Mudd

and with his calm , casual demeanor . George is smoother than a Miles Davis solo , more laid back than your favorite recliner , and cooler than a night run at the Winternationals .

The first time I hung out with him at Las Vegas

for the Street Car Super Nationals , I was two weeks away from a heart attack that would send me to the hospital . This most recent time , I was a couple months removed from a quintuple bypass . George is nearly twice my age and easily in better shape , physically and mentally . I forgot to pack extra underpants for that trip ( seriously ); he would tell me in detail about the first time he went to a drag strip in the 1950s .

“ I was 13 or 14 and I talked to my dad into taking

me to Saugus drag strip and I watched the cars ,” he said . “ I remember very vividly the Top Eliminator was a fenderless ’ 34 Ford that went 113 mph . I thought that was the greatest thing I ’ d ever seen .”

It was the moment that Klass , the director of marketing for AccuFab , would recognize he was tainted … tainted with the addiction of drag racing .

“ You know ,” he continued , “ I was reading the magazines and you know just talking to friends ‘ cause I was born in Hollywood so I had tons of people that were , you know , a little older than me and they were hot rodders , so you know there was always plenty of people I could talk to . And then on my 16th birthday which was in 1955 , I drove a car over to the Santa Ana drag strip . It was the first time I went down a drag strip with my flathead ’ 40 Ford coupe . I felt like Don Garlits must have felt !”

His career in drag racing just sort of happened after that . No plans , no blueprint , Klass simply knew he was going to be involved in the sport somehow . Getting behind the wheel of a dragster wasn ’ t his thing even though he gave it a shot . He just wanted to be involved in some capacity .

“ I don ’ t think there was ever a plan as to what ’ s coming next ,” said George . “ I was never building to some kind of a future thing , that would eventually lead me somewhere ‘ cause I really didn ’ t know , I was just having a wonderful time , I mean you know I was growing up , all these things were going on . This superstar world was starting , factory experimental cars were starting , all these things were going on and we worked on everything .”

Which brings up a good point . In motorsports , more than any American sport , fans are of the belief things were always better at least 20 years prior to now . Some , like former NHRA announcer Bob Frey , disagree , saying while the car count was higher , the level of both safety and competition we see now are far better than NHRA ’ s supposed golden age of the 1970s .

Klass , though , has some definite opinions on the best era of drag racing . While he agrees safety has come a long , long way , the 50s and 60s will always be special for the Ontario , California native .

“ That was the ultimate era ,” he said . “ There was a lot of creativity , a lot of ingenuity , a lot of things were done and I ’ m not even talking about national events like NHRA . You gotta remember ,

PHOTO : DYAN LOVER