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Drag Racing:
Coca Cola Funny Car Cavalcade Of Stars: A Gallery
1969 and 1970
CCCOS Images From Thompson Drag Raceway (1969)
 In the first three images we see the famous Fred Goeske Nitro Funny Car, sponsored by the Plymouth Dealers Association of Southern California.
In 1969, Funny Cars were just beginning to develop. This car almost looks like a stock Plymouth Roadrunner but was the Fuel Funny Car national record holder, state of the art in 1969 and touring the country with the CCCOS. Fred is seen burning the slicks on his first pass through powdered rosin. The match racers of the era used powdered rosin to increase traction. Gilchrist created the unique lighting of this night shot by moving a powerful strobe light to the left of the camera and triggering it with a long sink cord . . . very unusual.
#227: Here we see the second round burnout, taken from another angle. The combination of a relatively slow shutter speed and a powerful flash created a great feeling of action as Fred melts the slicks!
#312: In this image we see Fred being towed up the return road after another crowd pleasing pass, waving and smiling at the fans. Notice his grease stained hand. At that time, most of the drivers also turned wrenches. Also notice the simplicity of design, a far cry from today's sophisticated machines.
#244: This CCCOS image pictures an action packed race between the factory backed Bourgeois & Wade AMC Javelin Flopper and Kelly "The Professor" Chadwick. The Professor ran one of the few Nitro burning Rat powered Floppers and was very competitive. Gilchrist was always experimenting with various photographic techniques. Here we see him testing the limits of a powerful flash in combination with a relatively slow shutter speed, which creates a sharp image on top of a blurred image.
#243: Here we see a wild, chassis twisting launch by the factory backed Bourgeois & Wade AMC Javelin Flopper, one of the very few AMC Javelin Funny Cars ever created. This car was very spooky that night, with violent, twisting launches and snaky passes. The Floppers of 1969, were a very early form of Funny Cars and these things where wild and scary.
#323: Here we see the famous Mr. Norm's Dodge as it streakes past the tree at speed. That's Goseke in the near lane about half a car behind.
 CCCOS Images From Thompson Drag Raceway (1970)
Summertime Drag Racing, July 18,1970. There is a question as to whether this was an official CCCOS event, but this was a great multi car show with payers like: Jess Tyree, Dick Bergeois, Bobby Wood, Mike Burkhart, The Hill Brothers, and more. We know Jess Tyree and Dick Bergeois raced in the final round but who took the money? As of this moment, we don't know.
A List Of Prints In The CCCOS Gallery
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