GEORGE KLASS

when NHRA first started of course , they only had one drag race for several years which was the Nationals .”

Another reason for the fond look back to that time was cost . The biggest names in the sport weren ’ t multi-millionaires who raced cars for a living ; they were match racers who would haul their rides from drag strip to drag strip . They raced against others in highly-publicized events that saw not only the best cars , but the best personalities face off against one another . It ’ s a system that has begun to return in today ’ s racing , with promoters like Donald “ Duck ” Long using social media as a method of helping build rivalries between the best small-tire racers in the country .

“ In those days you didn ’ t have a lot of money to do stuff ,” Klass said . “ Everything was trade-off , you know . Don Prudhomme used to paint cars . When he needed something done for his personal stuff , he would trade things . We always were doing that . We would be building decks and somebody else who could weld better than us could weld stuff for us , scrounging parts and trading stuff .”

Those days of racing within the NHRA are long gone , where even the Sportsman classes see massive budgets . There are other sanctions that provide the kind of action Klass grew up watching . The Southeast Gassers Association is possibly the most period-strict series in the country with cars that could ’ ve raced in the 60s . Smaller groups , such as PDRA , NMCA , PSCA , and others , maintain a similar vibe of the old-school events , even if the budgets are substantially higher .

“ Now you gotta be a promoter , now you gotta be a part businessman ,” said George . “ In the old days , it was just like , get a bunch of people together and see how much money we can pull and go out and build a race car – ‘ build ’ being the key thing . I never bought a race car ; we made them . We just built them , built them out of nothing .”

For those like me not around for the days of

wearing t-shirts behind the wheel , a cigarette hanging jauntily from the lips , and a delightful young lady dropping the rag to start the race , Klass ’ s website , GeorgeKlass . net , is a gift to those who cherish our history .

A combination of photos , stories , and links to other like-minded sites , Klass started the page a couple years ago after sorting through scores of photos he had accumulated through the years .

Once he started , he began receiving pictures from friends , racers , and others , creating a nostalgic hub for not only those who lived through it , but for those like me who love history and hunger for knowledge of the sport .

“ I just started in earnest . Every couple of days I would look through and see if I could find pictures and it just kept growing and growing over the years ,” he said . “ Right now , I have probably over 4,000 photographs up there . I ’ ve broken it down into various classes that we used to have in the 60s , many of which do not exist anymore .”

Today , the NHRA is the leader in drag racing , as far as size , payouts , media attention , and so forth . Klass is quick to say that , while he enjoys their brand of motorsports , it ’ s not necessarily drag racing . It ’ s entertainment . Rules are changed for the sake of television , drivers are expected to do certain things on certain weekends because of sponsor obligations . NHRA created this standard and while it ’ s fun to watch and be a part of , it ’ s

not drag racing , in Klass ’ s opinion .

“ They created something that makes them an income as a promoter , but drag racing never started that way . Drag racing was never even a spectators sport . For many years there was no place even to sit , you just stood along the rail . That was it .

“ I love watching the dial-in stuff ,” he said , “( but ) you can ’ t really charge people to come and watch it , ‘ cause I don ’ t think it ’ s exciting enough , but it is fun just seeing the different cars . That ’ s grassroots today . At least in my opinion .” DI

PHOTO : DYAN LOVER