My father was my inspiration, although not drag racing. My father despised drag racing and even though he never raced anything, he was an avid oval track fan, 99% dirt tracks. My mothers father was a mechanic at a Pontiac dealer and got my dad his job there in the service department, from where he transitioned from a time keeper to a line mechanic over time. There's where the hook on owning and driving Pontiacs almost 100% is instilled in my family.
Dad was a mechanic for most of his adult life and the one time that stands out in my mind was when he rebuilt the 4 BBl carb on his 57 Star Chief and took me and another neighborhood kid for a test drive after he was done. I bet my grin was from ear to ear after he took it on some dirt back roads kicking that Rochester 4BBl wide open...……………
In the mid 60s there were plenty of late model GTO dirt track race cars, and even a few B body dirt cars running in and around my home town of Erie PA.
I know that most everyone here thinks Pontiac was best known for drag racing, but truth is NASCAR participation as well as other venues earned Pontiac a lot of ink back in the 50s-60s some of the venues were land speed and closed courses.
Later on the Gray Ghost and later the Fire Ams of Herb Adams Tom Nell and other select engineers at Pontiac through road racing and even into the 2005 era the 04-06 GTOs were getting ink on road courses.
Even though I have tried drag racing, and sponsored a few drag racers, it just doesn't get my heart beating like running 25 laps on a dirt track. I know, I'm in a very small minority here. 65 YO and plan on driving 100% Pontiacs until they take my drivers license away, except for my trucks
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