The broadside of winter hit the metro Denver area on October 28th 2023, so I had to take it easy on the road coming back from a Saturday at the office. It was tough to keep that speed down on the highway, because I could hardly wait to get home to my basement to teleport back in time to October 28, 1985 for the Group A round of the annual Muscle Car Monster’s Ball at Drag City! So while the snow may have been falling outside, the California sun was shining in my basement, and oh man, was it ever a riot!
The Halloween-costumed Crowd at Drag City was treated to one of the best races in ages as new blood battled it out with veterans, and it was a true Underdog’s Party as the final elimination round featured 3 of the oldest racers at the track, and the winner and the runner up finally took their place in sun!
The greatest come-from-behind resurrection in Drag City history!
Some visitors to this blog may know of “Thunderjet #1”, the first Auto World Ultra G T-jet I bought back in early January of 2020, the car that set this hobby in motion for your humble blogger. The original was sadly destroyed by an incident of inexperienced “youthful enthusiasm,” so the one that races on the track today is a duplicate, but “Street Rat”, the bright red ’69 Nova SS 396 with the black stripes, has been around longer than any other car in the fleet, and during this race, she finally expired in a plume of smoke and electrical-fire stench!
Raced by old-timer Al “Viper” Vittoro, a New Jersey native who’s been hot rodding since he moved to California with his family as a teen, this car has turned in some great times and won some races but has never showed like this! The Monster’s Ball began in tragedy for Vittoro as he blew his engine almost immediately after the start of his first race in Heat 1, but like the veteran he is, his pit crew had brought his “spare engine,” which did more than just save the day. The race judges still don’t know exactly what’s in that “spare” 396 that was swapped out in pit row in record time, but by the end of Heat 1 the car was running again, and Vittoro was allowed another run, in which he beat his designated challenger-Jim “Comet” Coburn’s ’63 Riviera “Poetry In Motion”-by mere fractions of a second, and was allowed to advance to the first elimination round. That victory was impressive enough, but it was only the beginning; he held on to the “Final Battle”, as he turned in amazing times throughout the rest of the tournament, and finally came in 2nd overall: his best showing ever, rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat! He may not have taken the tournament trophy, but he won the hearts of every race fan at the track!
A veteran underdog takes the trophy!
As if Vittoro’s amazing comeback wasn’t exciting enough, the tournament win went to another veteran who’s had more than his share of bad days at the track! It’s funny now to think that back when I first put her together and started racing, my first Model Motoring ‘69 GTO Judge was such a poor performer it could barely finish a race. This car was featured in an early post in which I described how I cured its initially awful handling with what I described as “one of my best tricks.” Well, since then, I’ve performed a few more tricks on this car, and perseverance has paid off!
“Widowmaker,” the bright yellow ’69 GTO of another east coast-born Italian-American, Sal “Scorch” Santelli, stayed in the game from the get-go with tremendous speed on the straightaways and vastly improved handling in the turns. The Boston native’s 400 cid-powered “Judge” has been upgraded little by little over the years, and the improvements have really shown in his numbers; this time, his patience with tuning and testing finally paid off in a big way!
Victories for Veterans and Rookies alike!
An honorable mention has to be made for “Adrenochrome,” the blue chrome 1968 Dodge Charger which is another of my oldest cars. Still running on its original motor and still performing spectacularly, driver Tommy “Poltergeist” Pritchard was also a strong performer from Heat 1, winning the way races are often won-in the turns! Pritchard’s ability to man-handle this big 440 cid-powered machine through the curves was a sight to see, and though he didn’t quite make it to the winner’s circle, his performance brought immense cheers from the crowd. This car has been raced long and hard, but even after nearly 4 years of flogging it just keeps coming back for more!
That third place finish went to a newer driver at the track, Florida transplant Doug “Bullet” Benton, who’s gorgeous aqua-blue ’70 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda “Lady Ice” seemed like it was struggling at times, but Benton’s skill-and a little luck in who he raced against-brought him into the winner’s circle.
When the sun hit the horizon it marked the end of one of the most exciting races in memory, and the crowd stayed around into the night to party with the drivers, with DJ’d music and Halloween treats all around! It was a spectacular start for the track’s final “Secret Oktober” racing series tradition, but don’t touch that dial, race fans; the Group B round of the Muscle Car Monster’s Ball” is launching the very next day!
You can absolutely feel the excitement in the air. Wow, what an exciting race and what a line up! Sounds like the cars preformed beautifully!!!