Drag Hats
Description: While organized drag racing came about in 1951, it was in the early '60s that the big three started paying attention. Detroit began quietly building stock-looking cars stuffed full of high-performance parts and no factory warranty, aimed squarely at taking drag strips by storm. With this new breed of off the lot drag racers, increasing numbers of people were suddenly able to get into drag racing without having to build a car from scratch, and boy did they ever. Once the bug had bitten them, they were all in as drag nuts and their stock racers began the never-ending modification process that all hot rodders go through in pursuit of speed.
Description: Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988), better known by his stage name Divine, was an American actor, singer, and drag queen. Closely associated with the independent filmmaker John Waters, Divine was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical productions, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career.
Description: Stock car racer Robert Newton wanted to design a tire compound to gain an advantage against fellow racers. This was done by retreading street tires in order to obtain a compound that would adequately gain enough traction. Using an abandoned barn in his home state of Indiana to start his business, he began sales to local racers, making him the first producer of specialty tires for competition use.
Description: Carlsbad Raceway was a motorsport facility located in Carlsbad, California that featured a ¼ mile drag strip and motocross track, which first opened in 1964. The track was popular with local street racers as it hosted Saturday afternoon grudge races where drivers could square off against their friends (and enemies) in a classic 'run what you brung' event. Motorsports activities were shut down in August 2004 and a business park was erected on the land once occupied by the raceway.
Description: Weber Speed Equipment started out in 1945 as Weber Tool Company, making some of the first aluminum performance fly wheels. As the company continued to expand their speed parts catalog with cams, clutches, and heads, becoming increasingly popular with hot rodders and racers alike, they changed their name to Weber Speed Equipment. Aside from making high quality, extreme high-performance parts, one of their biggest claims to fame was their 'blow up proof' guarantee on their flywheels, something that was a big draw to those pushing higher horsepower and revs in the early days of drag racing.
