Drag racing and the National Hot Rod Association takes centerstage in this circa 1965 film presented by Hurst Performance Products. The film reminds the viewer of the modest beginnings of a hot rod (mark 00:45) and how fanatics would take old cars and drop a big engine in a small car, remove the fenders and windshield, and before you know it — a hot rod. The narrator continues to trace the vehicle’s development and how the sport became one that was carefully engineered as various incarnations of cars are shown. By mark 03:39 we’re taken to the drag strip at Los Angeles County Fairgrounds for the NHRA Winter Nationals Drag Race. (Originally scheduled for three days, the event was reduced to just a single day by heavy fog and persistent rain Friday and Saturday.) From there we see the Spring Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee starting at mark 06:42 with several highlights shown. Beginning at mark 12:55 we’re taken to the 1965 NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park — “the payoff for drivers who have traveled the circuit from coast to coast.” Scenes include pit crews preparing and fine tuning their vehicles for the race, with racers such as Don Garlits and Don Prudhomme shown in action. Prudhomme went on to capture Top Fuel Dragster honors, shown at mark 21:42.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com