Chevy Drag Racing: 1955-1980

“Chevy Drag Racing: 1955-1980” Author: Doug Boyce

by Paul Gohde

If you know a Chevrolet fan who often wears a blue Bowtie wherever they go, it’s likely that racing author Doug Boyce’s new 8.5 x 11-size Car Tech book, “Chevy Drag Racing: 1955-1980” is aimed at them and could become a welcome holiday gift.

Car Tech has produced a long line of automobile-related books over the years, many leaning heavily on photos from certain eras of motorsports.

This time Boyce has gathered 176 pages of what some would call the “Golden Era” of Chevy’s success on the nation’s drag strips. The newly published book combines an interesting blend of nostalgic racing images with well-researched, detailed biographies on the drivers who became household names in the drag racing world.

From Chevy’s 1955 introduction of its revolutionary compact overhead-valve 327 V-8 engine, restyled body design and an array of drivetrain combinations, GM began to dominate at drag strips and dealer’s sales charts as well. Boyce follows with looks at the ensuing 25-years when Chevy’s stars like “Grumpy” Jenkins, “Jungle Jim” Liberman, “Dyno Don” Nicholson, and many others, set records in various classes of competition from coast-to-coast. Much of that early success was accomplished with little or no factory support, to the amazement of rivals Ford and Chrysler.

The book’s seven chapters cover the 327’s path (and its predecessors) from Shirley Muldowney’s twin-engine dragster to competition in Super Stock, Sportsmen, Pro Stock and Funny Car classes. Corvettes, Camaros and even 1940 Gassers have benefitted from the magic of the innovative power plants; often causing other makes of racing engines to become obsolete overnight.

Hardcore Chevrolet fans and drag racing regulars will enjoy the history of this era in the book’s over 300 photos, detailed racing results, and interesting driver histories.

The book, as well as others by Boyce, is available through Car Tech at: www.cartechbooks.com/. Phone: 1-800-551-4754.

Paul Gohde

Paul Gohde heard the sound of race cars early in his life.

Growing up in suburban Milwaukee, just north of Wisconsin State Fair Park in the 1950’s, Paul had no idea what “that noise” was all about that he heard several times a year. Finally, through prodding by friends of his parents, he was taken to several Thursday night modified stock car races on the old quarter-mile dirt track that was in the infield of the one-mile oval -and he was hooked.

The first Milwaukee Mile event that he attended was the 1959 Rex Mays Classic won by Johnny Thomson in the pink Racing Associates lay-down Offy built by the legendary Lujie Lesovsky. After the 100-miler Gohde got the winner’s autograph in the pits, something he couldn’t do when he saw Hank Aaron hit a home run at County Stadium, and, again, he was hooked.

Paul began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, and saw A. J. Foyt’s first Indy win. He began covering races in 1965 for Racing Wheels newspaper in Vancouver, WA as a reporter/photographer and his first credentialed race was Jim Clark’s historic Indy win.Paul has also done reporting, columns and photography for Midwest Racing News since the mid-sixties, with the 1967 Hoosier 100 being his first big race to report for them.

He is a retired middle-grade teacher, an avid collector of vintage racing memorabilia, and a tour guide at Miller Park. Paul loves to explore abandoned race tracks both here and in Europe, with the Brooklands track in Weybridge England being his favorite. Married to Paula, they have three adult children and two cats.

Paul loves the diversity of all types of racing, “a factor that got me hooked in the first place.”

racingnation.com

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