09-09-2008
( Reply#: 2298 ) |
briz57 |
HEY....
I GOOGLED "NO BIG THING" AND HIT IMAGES...
THE FIRST PIC IS OF THE CAR...
ALSO 4-5 PAGES MORE AND THERE IS ANOTHER PIC AT A SUPER CHEVY SHOW...
AND YEAH SUNDAY'S ON THE PIT SIDE WAS GREAT...
NOW DAYS A DRAG STRIP IS FULL OF VENDORS, AND GIVES OFF THE ATMOSPHERE OF A CARNIVAL....
BUT STILL GREAT TIMES...
B
BRIZ 1957 |
09-09-2008
( Reply#: 2299 ) |
cartoonguy |
"Sunday, Sunday, Sunday" at "Smokin" U.S. 30 Dragstrip.."Where the Great Ones, "Ride, Ride, Ride.....
http://www.vansenusauto.com/AboutUs/US30Nostalgia.php |
09-09-2008
( Reply#: 2300 ) |
seejay2 |
I had a friend back then who was absolutely rabid over US 30. He talked me into going one afternoon to the loudest exhibition I'd been to before the Viet Nam war. I took the old man's 8mm movie camera with me and I remember the rails burning in their tires and then running the quarter. Now I'm going to have to thru those old fall-apart reels and find that footage...........Cj |
09-09-2008
( Reply#: 2301 ) |
briz57 |
OK...
THAT ONE FAILED....
LET'S TRY THIS ONE !!![VIDEO]
http://media.putfile.com/no-big-thing
"No Big Thing" - Hot Rod Vespa
In an evening of Funny Cars, rails, gassers and "race what you brung" cars -- the crowd at US30 dragway was waiting to see something different...waiting to see if George Brugos would be able to keep his bracket racer, "No Big Thing" under control. And on those nights, from 1967 until the track closed in 1981, an unlikely dragster would rumble up to the starting line -- running a 427 cubic inch V8, and transferring power to the track through a 1959 Oldsmobile rear end and 1967 American Racing alloy wheels mounted with 15 inch wide, 32 inch high rear tires. The body of the car was hinged to flip up for access to the engine.
This car could best be described as a mouse that roared, but it was really a 1960 Vespa on steroids. Arguably yesteryear's most famous bracket racer.
Barry Reed, a former drag racer who now runs an auto parts store and videotapes drag races for television productions, is now the owner of this piece of drag racing history. The car isn't racing now, "It needs some front end work before it can be raced again," says Reed, but it is regularly displayed at meets and drag races.
Originally owned by Ringling Brothers Circus, the little Vespa was turned into a giant-killer by George Brugos in 1966. It passed through several owners after the closing of US30, until it was acquired by Reed. Reed raced it once in an exhibition, then put the car on the display circuit.
Story originally published in MINUTIA Issue 15, Number 3.
(Click the photo to be taken to a video of "No Big Thing" at US30.)
Posted by MINUTIA Editor at 8:51 PM
BRIZ 1957 |
09-09-2008
( Reply#: 2303 ) |
Tom J |
Here's a link to a YouTube video of a US 30 Dragstrip commercial. I learned only a few months ago that it was WJOB's Jan Gabriel who did the reverb "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday" thing. I believe he originated that commercial.
Tom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDYzidMqq4o
A 1967 Graduate of Hammond High who cherishes his memories of growing up in the Hammond of the 1950's and 1960's. Bring back those days!
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/tsjay/Tom%20and%20Georgeann/img014.jpg[/IMG] |
09-09-2008
( Reply#: 2304 ) |
Tom J |
Yes! Jan Gabriel IS the originator of the "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday" thing!
He has a website that has a video clip of one of his US 30 Dragstrip commercials.
http://www.jancgabriel.com/
You guys remember Jan Gabriel, right? The WJOB DJ.
The poor man needs a kidney transplant.
I'm really surprised that he is so young, just 67 years old.
Tom
A 1967 Graduate of Hammond High who cherishes his memories of growing up in the Hammond of the 1950's and 1960's. Bring back those days!
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/tsjay/Tom%20and%20Georgeann/img014.jpg[/IMG] |
09-10-2008
( Reply#: 2310 ) |
briz57 |
I JUST REMEMBERED A TIME WHEN THE "GREEN MONSTER" WAS AT U.S. 30...
BURNED DOWN THE OLD TOWER....BUT THEY REBUILT IT IN A COUPLE WEEKS...
AS FOR U.S.30, THE LAST I KNEW THEY WERE TRYING TO RESERECT THE OLD GIRL...
HERE'S MORE U.S.30 LINKS IF THEY WILL WORK...
www.gromak.com/r/r1/index.html
www.lostindiana.net/html/us_30_drag_strip.html
www.us30dragstrip.com/main.shtml
www.smugmug.com/gallery/1803602_UdKbr/1/108204399_oZaLn
BRIZ 1957 |
09-10-2008
( Reply#: 2316 ) |
seejay2 |
Maybe someday our kids and grandkids will "burn up the quarter mile" in their hybrids
[IMG]http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/seejay2_photos/toyota-hybrid.jpg[/IMG]
VRROOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!
........Cj |
11-29-2008
( Reply#: 2462 ) |
angie73cat |
Hi
I am looking for pictures and videos of the car No Big Thing from the 1970s. I am hoping to find something specifically tied to when Tom "Mac" McClenney drove this car. He used to race it in he 70s at the US 30 dragstrip in IN.
Please let me know if you might have anything. |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4865 ) |
fivescrewz |
Howdy all;
My name is Mark McKee ~ My dad retired USAF in 1971 and we moved back to Kokomo, In.,I was 10 years old when we moved back.
After that we wasn't back in Indiana a month or two and dad heard the radio advertisement “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday at wailen US 30 Drag strip, we went up there to see what it was all about – after that it became a main stay of me and my father’s Sundays. We drove the hour and a half 90% of all Sundays between summer of 71 through the fall of 79. This also included the Saturday night and think sometimes Wednesday or Thursday night races too.
We went to Indianapolis one time but it didn’t come close to the feel of US 30
I Always liked the cars from King’s speed shop with the orange and white paint jobs, and who could forget “NO BIG THING”
Doing wheelies in first, second, and third gear. Big Daddy, Mongoose and Snake, Blue Max, the wheelie standers, I even seen a rocket powered go-cart up there one time. One time we were parked down at the end of the track and Raymond Beatles Blue Max blew the motor and the car came to rest at the finish line and burnt right in front of us.
One night they had a bright yellow full size Kentworth semi with three jet engines hanging out the back of it, after he got done warming up his engines the tree(next to the fence) back behind him was all wilted, he went down the quarter at 188 mph, that was so cool.
Does anyone remember all the people in the bleacher across from the tower there was 30 to 40 men that had a fist full of money and all of the would bet each other on every race, I got some good laughs out of that crowd.
One of my most memorial moments there was the summer in 76 when they had a night race and about half way down the track was a van with seven to eight people in it , after a while a couple came from the van and made their way to the starting line NAKED (STREAKING). The guy was on the tower side and a girl was on the bleachers side the tower actually ran the tree for them to streak down the track. The streakers got out to about 40 foot from the start line and the guy stubbed his toe and feel down and went rolling down the track. He got up and shook himself off him and the girl went running back
to the van and jumped inside. The cops were in no hurry to catch them they took their time and just walked over to the van.
I don’t think they did anything to the couple though.
I really loved that place it was a big part of my childhood, I do go to the nationals at Indy every year but I would gladly not ever
go to another nationals if US 30 was still running.
I tore up my heart to see the pictures of the way the track looks now ~ I hate that!!!
Mark McKee
mmckee@rsrcorp.com |
01-30-2010
( Reply#: 4869 ) |
Tom J |
Mark:
Welcome to Sheptalk! Thanks for the introduction and for the great post.
It's sad, but I never went to US 30 Dragstrip. I grew up in Hammond during the heyday of US 30 Dragstrip and never went there even once. I remember the great commercials about the place.
It's cool that you went there with your dad. You have some memories that will last a lifetime.
Keep up the great posting!
Tom |
02-01-2010
( Reply#: 4899 ) |
wefles |
I lived down the street (on 64th place, they lived on Kentucky) in Merrillville when the Brugos family lived there. I used to watch their Dad George do wheel stands down the street as their mom measured the wheelstand as he drove by. Now the son George runs Brugos Auto at 73rd and Madison. The apple never falls too far from the tree.
quote:
Originally posted by briz57
OK...
THAT ONE FAILED....
LET'S TRY THIS ONE !!![VIDEO]
http://media.putfile.com/no-big-thing
"No Big Thing" - Hot Rod Vespa
In an evening of Funny Cars, rails, gassers and "race what you brung" cars -- the crowd at US30 dragway was waiting to see something different...waiting to see if George Brugos would be able to keep his bracket racer, "No Big Thing" under control. And on those nights, from 1967 until the track closed in 1981, an unlikely dragster would rumble up to the starting line -- running a 427 cubic inch V8, and transferring power to the track through a 1959 Oldsmobile rear end and 1967 American Racing alloy wheels mounted with 15 inch wide, 32 inch high rear tires. The body of the car was hinged to flip up for access to the engine.
This car could best be described as a mouse that roared, but it was really a 1960 Vespa on steroids. Arguably yesteryear's most famous bracket racer.
Barry Reed, a former drag racer who now runs an auto parts store and videotapes drag races for television productions, is now the owner of this piece of drag racing history. The car isn't racing now, "It needs some front end work before it can be raced again," says Reed, but it is regularly displayed at meets and drag races.
Originally owned by Ringling Brothers Circus, the little Vespa was turned into a giant-killer by George Brugos in 1966. It passed through several owners after the closing of US30, until it was acquired by Reed. Reed raced it once in an exhibition, then put the car on the display circuit.
Story originally published in MINUTIA Issue 15, Number 3.
(Click the photo to be taken to a video of "No Big Thing" at US30.)
Posted by MINUTIA Editor at 8:51 PM
BRIZ 1957
|
04-10-2010
( Reply#: 5305 ) |
Saito_56 |
Here is a Google Earth shot of US 30, you can see the turn around area at the west end of the track.
[img]http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo27/Saito56/Flagler/US30.jpg[/img]
Rather be living in Indiana |
