My age and nostalgia is showing

[f6john]

I saw this picture on Facebook and it brought up a lot of childhood memories and how much has changed. That is Cotton Owens standing by his winning Pontiac's at the 1957 Daytona road course. I was 5 at the time and no, I was there to witness the race. However, in Campbellsville Ky we had a fairgrounds less than 3 miles as the crow flies from my home and I had been their numerous times with my grandfather to watch harness racing as he loved horses. Much to his dismay the 1/4 mile track was converted to stock car racing. Even though I didn't get to go very often, I could hear the roar of engines, and see the dust clouds illuminated by the the track lights from my back yard. That as much as anything turned me into a gearhead as much as any other influence.

"Stock" car racing has been dead for a long time. If it weren't for beer and infield "camping" tailgating it might be completely disappeared today. Maybe, and that's a big maybe, nostalgia stock car racing could make a comeback. I'd sure go!

[OnaWingandaPrayer]

Nice picture. Thats when racing was real cars . Drivers/builders could innovate. Not the fake look like cars of nascar today.

[Jersey mike]

There's nothing "stock" about NASCAR and stock car racing anymore.

Maybe in organizations like SCCA or IMSA you'll get closer to cars off the line but even those are highly designed and far from stock.

Almost everything in NASCAR has been designed by NASCAR and virtually all cars are like what the IROC series was. Manufacturers can still provide technical support and engines but they've done away with carbs and moved to fuel injection, no more 5 lugs per wheel, they use a single nut like INDY.

Only on occasion will I put a NASCAR race on and only for a short time.

Get to a local track for some real stock car racing and guys who work on their own cars.

[Jess from VA]

My brother used to take his stock 340 4 speed 'Cuda to the local dirt track.

He traded paint a lot of times, and dad would ask him why he did that.

Because it's fun dad. 

I was occasionally trusted with dad's brand new 1967 Chevy Impala (like for a date), but my brother never was.   

[Jersey mike]

My brother used to take his stock 340 4 speed 'Cuda to the local dirt track.

He traded paint a lot of times, and dad would ask him why he did that.

Because it's fun dad. 

I was occasionally trusted with dad's brand new 1967 Chevy Impala (like for a date), but my brother never was.   

Oh that poor car but I'll bet he did have a blast.

The Impala was a good date car. 

[carolinarider09]

Not to change the original subject but based on the comment above, in the mid sixties I was lucky.  My parents had two cars.  One was a Ford Falcon (1961 I think). That was the car dad drove to work.  The other one was a 1957 (again not really sure of the year might have been a '59) Ford Station Wagon.

Now, as a young man, just getting ready for life at Myrtle Beach (were we lived), there was no better car for dates than a Ford Station Wagon.   

A few years later, I found the next best car for dates.  That was when I was in the US Navy and going to ETA School at Great Lakes.  The year was 1968.  That car was a Nash Rambler.   

[Challenger]

Yea! I Had a Rambler 770 327 4bbl and large bucket seats that folded flat into a ( bed room,) I got engaged in that car in 74. 

[carolinarider09]

Yea! I Had a Rambler 770 327 4bbl and large bucket seats that folded flat into a ( bed room,) I got engaged in that car in 74. 

[Jess from VA]

Yea! I Had a Rambler 770 327 4bbl and large bucket seats that folded flat into a ( bed room,) I got engaged in that car in 74.  

Engaged in what?