"The Surfers" 38

The "1966 Fuel and Gas Championships".
Tom Jobe speaks of the Surfers' experience at this mammoth meet.
8mm film footage of Friday Qualifications and Saturday's eliminations shot by a 16 year old Bill Pitts.
Enjoy.

[@77Sunsetstrip]

I still have the decal in a shadowbox with other old drag racing stuff! Hanging in garage. Great memories!

[@icewaterslim7260]

San Diego boy Dick Lechien, left lane, just pulled off a massive hole shot with that 331 @10:12 .He almost got caught. That looks like good top fuel racing action all weekend long. I only got to read about it, until now. Especially love this segment for the quality video.

[@thomaswest66]

I have been waiting for this segment since this thing started, and you guys did not disappoint. This was my first experience with Bakersfield, and might have ruined me for all the rest. I went up there with my dad on Friday and we stayed in the car Friday night out in the spectator parking. There were cars fired all night, and I awoke to have a firebreathing Al VanderWoude Landau Dart (without the body) making launches right behind our car in the middle of the night, We got up and walked around a bit when he said he was going to head out for a while ... actually got us a motel room somewhere just because he wasn't going to try to sleep in the middle of all that noise again. The full day was overwhelming, and I would have no memory or anything but Sirokin beating Dunn from this day if it were not for copies of Drag Racing USA that I had over the years, featuring a complete run breakdown of the event. Will just say that I came back to LA Sunday night thinking I have to figure out a way to get involved in this stuff; my dad was not so much a fan of nitro engines, I think. I believe this was my second of three races that I attended before borrowing a camera and heading to Irwindale in probably July, 1966. The first was the Mickey Thompson 200MPH Club race in Fontana, and the third was the Hot Rod Magazine race at Riverside. You will find it interesting that Pitts also attended this race as his first at Bakersfield ... and he was shooting video, while I didn't even have a camera to use. Step forward 4-5 months and you would never see me at a drag race sans camera again. Just wanted to comment on this one ... may have to play in another 3 or 12 times. Thanks for putting this together for everyone, guys. And, Carl, you are right to anticipate this thing every episode.

[@vintagedragsters]

Hi Tom. Sorry I didn't reply sooner to your amazing recollection of the '66 race. Yes, I was there but it wasn't my first March Meet. '65 was. It was equally over the top. I started shooting 8 mm movies(with my families' wind up Bell & Howell movie camera) in late '63. A two out of three match race between "T.V. Tommy" Ivo and "Storming' Norman" Weekly HAD to be captured. I WASN'T GOING TO LET WHAT I SAW, SIMPLY FADE AWAY IN MY MIND. Those movies were the tool that transported me into the world of top fuel. And they show it. Many scratch marks exist on my films because I would watch them over and over again. Every once in a while we'll see really fresh footage that someone puts up on You Tube, and we love to see it! My stuff is a scratchy mess, but to my amazement it's still valuable and helps to transport us back once again to those great days. A day with my dad, in the stands. Nothing better. Have a good day, Sir.

[@JohnW1711stock]

Awesome!!!! Great job guys. Thanks Bill.

[@vintagedragsters]

Thank you, John It's our pleasure. Bill

[@JG-sz2bc]

Thank You Bill, Thursday evenings have had a new meaning.

[@bobfuller9759]

Thank's all, I love this series The Best!!...

[@vintagedragsters]

Thanks, Bob. We all appreciate you, for watching. Have a nice day. Bill

[@rontipton6395]

Bill my father is Ron Tipton from Albuquerque. Do you any Video of him ? Thanks

[@vintagedragsters]

Hi Ron. My Dad and I went to major events in the Southern part of California. Bakersfield was a far as we went north.

[@dsals5625]

Who won the 1973 March meet in TF?

[@FrankKunkel]

Thanks Bill and all the guys, my 1st March Meet was 1972, drove all the way from Hamilton, ON, Canada. Next time there started in 2005. I had the video Camera and wife Louise did stills, enjoyed it until 2011. I evan got to the GoodGuys races. Then my son changed jobs and I couldn't fly standby for $250 Canadian anymore. :(

[@user-bl6ne3hc6n]

Didn't James Warren win it 3 years in a row???

[@wizzells]

What a great video. Not that any of the previous ones in the series weren't, but the video footage from Bakersfield really makes it. Thanks again for these, Bill.

[@bigbow62]

The Surfers win ✌😎 7.37 😆 That's really movin' !

[@paulcsontos5022]

Do you sell any of this vintage footage. Like the way you put music and caption together. I could watch this vintage drag racing all da long.

[@TheGreenmeeny]

WOW! Fantastic fuel footage.

[@OverlandOne]

Excellent footage.

[@vintagedragsters]

Pirate Labs Yeah, Pirate. That’s my old 8mm movie footage. Finally got to use it! :)

[@OverlandOne]

Well Bill, it is incredible and probably does not exist anywhere else.

[@DEATHTRAPHOTRODS]

thanks a again Bill!

[@stevehammel2939]

What an amazing time in drag racing, nothing beats this era

[@vintagedragsters]

Steve Hammel You’re right, Steve. I agree totally. 👍

[@stevehammel2939]

@@vintagedragsters I want to thank you for presenting this series on the Surfers, it was very enjoyable.

[@martinchesworth594]

A Merry Christmas to all Bill ! Best wishes for 2018

[@vintagedragsters]

Hi Martin. Happy New Year, buddy. :)

[@af4od02]

I wished I knew more of the driver dynamics in driving one of these Top Fuelers. Feathering the clutch, or accelerator or applying hand brake.

[@vernonslone8627]

It is amazing that there are any good 392 blocks left...LOL...

[@vintagedragsters]

I totally agree, Vern. We will forever be looking for them. And it amazes me today that they still pop up when you need one.

[@vernonslone8627]

Mine was cracked and had it repaired by a company called Lock and Stitch in Turlock Ca...Did a great job...

[@rontipton6395]

Walt Austin has a few

[@MrGunPilot]

Awesome!

[@vintagedragsters]

GunPilot Thanks, GunPilot. There’s more to come! 🙂

[@MrGunPilot]

I've been loving this series since the beginning. I've long been intrigued by the Surfers story. The performance and race day success is really neat, but what I find equally or more fascinating is the human element behind the team characters. To this day Mr Jobe makes it all sound like their antics and success was no big deal,,, but it was and is a big deal. I'm a huge fan; Will the series touch more on the personalities and friendships beyond the racing team aspect? There just seems to be a gap in Surfer history and chemistry with respect to who these guys were individually beyond the team disbanding. I'd love to hear Mr Jobe's expanded take on his old team pals, including his take on the Sorokin tragedy and unfortunate recent loss of Mr. Skinner. Fascinating stuff.

[@vintagedragsters]

Hi Gun Pilot. You know we are taking it to the point where they get out of drag racing after September of '66. Their final run up to the Indy race show just how dominant they were for most of the summer months. I mean they mowed everybody down, for the most part. You'll see. After that we will have to rely on some other documentary team to take it from there. 'Cause this documentarian is going to be taking a break. :P

[@Granddad1100]

Did they make all those rounds with the same engine? Unbelievable so many runs.

[@glenngallup5163]

Mike Coker watch this whole series. It’s all there.

[@Granddad1100]

I have but what I was asking about is this particular race. Merry Christmas.

[@AAFC733]

Talk about some mean dragster names, "The Hangman" and "The Black Knight."

[@kbtube8125]

"the snooty poodle"

[@ziggassedup]

Well edited Bill....I was only 9 then.

[@glenngallup5163]

If the guy who took those movies from the pit side had been about a hundred feet closer to the finish line he might have run into a skinny guy with fake Ray-Bans and a smokin’ hot brunette from Stockton. That was us. Still is. Just a little heavier and a lot older. Thought it would never change. Always be a hundred AA/FD’s in the pits. Always be able to put three or four guys with a little money and some brains together and go racing.

[@glenngallup5163]

“Note the absence of fans in the stands” We all had jobs. And they didn’t pay enough to take Fridays off.