It's the classic scenario - what it was like then compared to what it's like now. If you really pause for a bit and think about this in the realms of high performance automotive,
it can be fairly eye opening. I was going through my collection of
vintage automotive magazine ads this week and compared one of the oldest to one of the newest. The first
one (the oldest) was a copy of an ad taken from Cycle and Automotive Trade Journal dated 1904 where the famous Ford 999 Racer set a new record for the straight-away mile at 39 2/5 seconds. In today's world, this is yawn city, but more than 110 years ago, that was cooking. In my opinion, bonus points should be awarded based on the fact that this historic event took place in January... in Michigan... on the ice. The second ad was one for the G-force tire manufactured by BF Goodrich. It shows two Mustangs - one Fox-body style from the late 80's as well as one from 2005, the debut year of the new modern retro style. The opening tag line states; "0-178mph in 7.9 sec. On street tires."
The other connection I made was that throughout high performance and racing history, pushing the envelope and experimentation has always involved the unknown as well as a fair amount of risk. Whomever is involved, does not do this on purpose nor are they crazy or dysfunctional. They are just working with the knowledge they have. It's a classic case of "... it's only after the crash or mishap, we know how to prevent it." While I've had numerous "man - that was wild - let's do it again" experiences in various high performance arenas, I am a serious amateur when it comes to other people.
In drag racing, I've had the pleasure of driving some brutally fast cars - the fastest being a friends 1968 Dodge Dart that went deep into the 8's at almost 160 mph. That experience alone could fill its own blog post. But the Dart had a bevy of modern safety equipment and was set up so well, it was hard to get sideways in it unless something majorly went wrong. 40 years ago, drivers didn't have this luxury, especially in the Funny Car or Dragster classes. Then there were those incredible rocket drag cars.
And then there was "Slammin" 
Sammy Miller. He was the first racer to crack the 3-second barrier in drag racing and for the longest time was the only driver to enter this rare atmosphere. His rocket funny cars back in the 70's were off the hook - and that was a massive understatement. The only bummer was he always had difficulty finding tracks to run at, and at most of the ones he did race at, he was only allowed to run an 1/8th mile. I saw him run once in his Vanishing Point funny car and that event has stayed with me to this day. Just before his run, the staff at the track would remove the starting line Christmas tree. He would have the crowd yell off "3--2--1!" and then BOOM! The rocket would fire and your eyes could barely keep up with the funny car - very psychedelic and truly wild.
Muscle cars from the 60's and early 70's - more tame right? Wrong! A good friend of mine from Holden Massachusetts used to own a 1970 Buick GS Stage 1. A very
unassuming car with it's medium blue paint and automatic. It was 100%
stock except for headers, an open air element / cleaner assembly, a
slightly hotter cam (but nothing radical - he drove it daily in city
traffic). It even had the factory air conditioning and tach. I knew
these Buick's were quick, but this car was able to dip into the high
11's in the quarter. He always beamed,"and it's practically stock!" Driving it was a trip - even with the automatic and letting the car shift itself. Mashing the loud pedal would result in tons of smoke and tire spin as the suspension worked like mad to get all that torque to the pavement. A few seconds
later, second gear came with a heavy bang, followed by a little more tire spin.
Not much after that, third gear slammed into place. At least by this
time, the tires had fully hooked, the engine was moaning loudly in that unique
big block wail, and the scenery was starting to blur. I used to think
to myself, "How in the world could a manufacturer release such an animal on an unsuspecting public... and advertise the daylights out of it as well?" And just think - Chrysler and Ford did the same thing with the Hemi and the big 427 V-8's...
Then I think back a few years ago, when Shelby released the Mustang Super Snake 1000. Yup - 1000 horsepower and 1200 pounds of torque... all legal in a car one could drive daily. With that car, I would probably either run out of real estate or nerve before I could reach it's potential on a public street. I would definitely have to exercise it a track.
Circle track racing also has its extreme then verses now moments. Fire up Google images and you can find a plethora of images of track racing from 1905-1920. All raced on dirt surfaces, all open roadsters, with the driver and mechanic 
leaning out what was the door area into the curves. Talk about risk - one roll over, and they're both dead. In today's NASCAR world, drivers not only survive, but also walk away from some serious high-speed crashes and spinouts. Take a close look at the picture on a modern NASCAR interior; Houdini would be proud! However, this is the result of endless refinement to avoid repeat unfortunate happenings.This same forward thinking has been openly and widely embraced in all aspects of racing - which is a good thing. (Picture courtesy of Speed Hunters)
Rat rods are especially deceptive in this area, but then again, that's the idea. Just about all quality ratrods (now there's a statement), is that while they may look like a
heap, they in fact have modern steering, brakes, suspension, tires and
wheels, along with a top-shelf drivetrain. As one owner puts it, "... picture a nice tight street rod, except the body and interior went horribly wrong! It's not a dysfunctional vehicle or a death trap - it just makes a hell of ride and statement."I don't think I could put it any better.
Until next time, peace out,
Dave
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