Hot Socks
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: The Ansen Automotive company traces its roots to a machinist named Louis Senter, a California native and machinist's mate in the Navy during World War II. Louis opened Senter Engineering with his brother in Los Angeles, where they worked on custom machining for hot rodders. The Senter brothers found another partner in engine building specialist Jack Andrews in 1947, and the trio combined their last names to re-christen the business Ansen Automotive Engineering. The new firm developed many go-fast parts as well as began building dry lakes racers, midgets and drag racers in-house. Ansen Automotive speed shop was also where Louis developed complete engines that were popular with racecar drivers, moonshiners and the revenue agents chasing them.
