1979 NHRA WORLD FINALS - 1ST RD FUNNY CAR

[cschoen100]

Merlin811, that is Laurie Force. Ashley was born in '82.

[JoeC7711]

i miss the playboy car

[spxmet]

Snake vs mongoose can't get any better than that!

[brdrptrl]

wow so cool to see my Dad's best friend beat the champ back when I was like 4. Tripp we all miss you!!

[barmtrail]

That timing tower at 3:58 is now at the race track inpomona at the fairgrounds. I sure miss Ontario motor speedway. What a bunch of idiots!..They tear down a track and build another in fontana just east of ontario? Money to burn i guess. Force wife and most all So. Cal girls were all hot back in the day. Now they are just fat tatooed raging big mouths.

[gypsyjoes]

That Tripp Shumake pass was all over the place!

[CannTankerous]

I grew up in Fullerton and we used to hear Force fire his car from our place. All the great tracks...We'd already lost Lions and Irwindale, people kept crowding in 'till it could take a couple hours for the drive to work-not the greatest in my 6-pak '69 RR or built '65 300. Those last nights walking out of those last drag races-such a sense of loss. Soon, Bakersfield was dieing-end of an era-I moved away in '89. So.Cal sure ain't what it used to be...

[CannTankerous]

This is great to see again! We usually sat in the central concourse by the big end. Seeing Big roar through with at 5.63 250 in '75 and Snakes 5.98/240 was awesome. I'll never forget this year as we all leapt into the air for a high 5 when Garlits conquered the awful rt. lane to ease by Rob Bruins for the only fuel win out of that lane. Saw NASCAR and Indy there and all the drags. 40 mil n closed so soon. The World Finals went off to our home track, OCIR. Didn't know how soon it would die too.

[metalalien79]

just as exciting to watch now as it was back then. Awesome!

[gwg5640]

Its increadble to see the old Ontario speedway. I sat in the infield in 74 when they did the Calif Jam when ELP played. Such memories. I second the motion for posting this piece. Thanks so much.

[silentfrwy]

I think I just got ptsd watching this.....but that's just my upbringing....the memories of the drags, oh wow, how they are amazing!

[SPUDS752]

Thats the way it was!! technology was'nt there then to prep the track properly.

[shelbysheroes]

Was that girl at the end Force's wife? Hot!!!

[Merlin811]

@shelbysheroes Force's wife would have been about 12 in 1979

[percboy555]

@shelbysheroes

His first wife Lana (Adria's mother)

[oneday555889]

haha wow john force looks hella different

[mrblujet]

Question:

Is the California Speedway in Fontana located on the same site as the old Ontario Race Track?

[superproprocombo]

r.i.p ontario motorspeedway.... thanks for postiing this rare footage.

[sidewinder712]

Not the same place.

[redriverraider]

Hot Santa Ana wind and heat that weekend. Plus a couple of oil downs in the right lane and the fact the clean-ups then were nothing more than grease sweep and brooming off the clumps.

[sidewinder712]

They actually had a diesel truck race the weekend before,that killed the lane with an oil down

[bvonsvideos]

Is it me or the right lane a little suspect?