Tag Archives: HISTORIC

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Jan 19, 20211320 Drag News, 1320 Videos, BangShift 1320, BangShift News, HISTORIC, MISC, RACING & ACTION, Videos

The Rad Man Wins: Watch Connie Kalitta’s Historic Victory In Top Fuel At The 1994 NHRA US Nationals

When it comes to people who personify guts, endurance, and an incredible will to succeed, Connie Kalitta’s name is going to be in the conversation. As a guy who started an air freight empire with a dragster and an airplane he bought from Ted Halibrand, it has been dogged determination and hard work that have continued to propel him to this day. Connie Kalitta had been trying to win the US Nationals since the late 1950s and over the years he came close, but had never actually won the race. Astonishingly it took him all the way to the mid 1990s before he was able to claim a proper win at The Nationals. As a guy who had done and continues to do so much for the sport, this was a moment of celebration no just for him but for the many people he had helped and influenced over the years.

It was fitting that Eddie Hill was on the other side of the track on this late night finish. Why? It made this pair the oldest TF pass in the history of the sport by virtue of the drivers’, ummm, life experience.

The run is great and the top end interview is even better. You can tell how much this one means to the big guy.

Hit the image of Connie to watch him win the 1994 NHRA US Nationals – Legendary stuff!

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Peak 80s Goodness: This United States Hot Rod Association Promotional Video Is A Gearhead Highlight Reel That We Love

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Aug 25, 2020CHEVY, HISTORIC, Videos

Get That Lean Going: The Brutal Test Of The 1969 Chevrolet Impala 396!

Seeing how Car and Track skewered the 1974 Chevrolet Camaro Type LT during testing is one thing. The Camaro was at the end of any acceptable form of the Musclecar era, and had cowed into a soft, slow form of it’s former self, complete with railroad bars front and rear. Compared to what was on the street just four years prior, anyone who has even the slightest inkling for cars would’ve been disgusted…and that’s coming from someone who actually likes the 1974-77 Camaro’s looks. Honesty, especially in blunt form, was that man’s point of pride.

But in 1969, things were still good: big blocks were all the rage, horsepower numbers were just about to crest, and opera windows weren’t an issue whatsoever. Yet, when the testers at Car and Track got their hands on a 396 2bbl/Powerglide-equipped 1969 Impala coupe, well…it sucked. Loudly. Bud Lindemann had plenty of praises for what was good, but when he started off a feature by saying that Ford and Chrysler might be getting new buyers into their showrooms…well, that’s pretty damning. It rolls, it pitches, and it absolutely torments that front-left tire…if you squint, you might even see a spark or two off of the wheel! Nobody was ever going to look at a 1969 Impala and picture it as the pinnacle of handling and sporty driving, but seriously, when you’re about to scrape the rear-view mirror off of the door, there has to be a point where you call a spade a spade. What do you think…accurate or a bit over the top?

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Aug 17, 2020HISTORIC, Videos

Historical Footage: Throwing The 1974 AMC Matador X Around The Track!

The 1974-78 American Motors Matador coupe is a strange thing to us. It’s styling is polarizing, to put it mildly, but only at the nose and tail. In between those two points is a fairly handsome and restrained two-door coupe that cash-strapped AMC came up with to replace the massive brick that the two-door Matador sedan had been previously. It also, by default, filled the niche that would form when the Javelin disappeared at the end of 1974 as well. The Matador coupe managed to be a surprise hit for AMC, as it moved almost 63,000 of them in it’s first year of production. Some of the inputs that Mark Donohue gave Richard Teague must’ve worked, though we’d like to think that one of those hints involved keeping the 401ci V8 in the top-of-the-line Matador X model. It didn’t have the big, bad musclecar persona of the Javelin, but it by no means was a shrinking violet. It certainly didn’t rock nearly as much fluff as the other “personal luxury” coupes of the day did. Oh, you could order it up if you wanted to. A Matador Barcelona had it all. But the Matador X was still clinging to performance dreams.

AMC always tried to fight the Big Three the best it could up until the end, and the Matador coupe was a solid move overall. The machine that Car and Track got their hands on is exactly how we would spec one out: 401, X package, and no extra fluff. How did they do brand new? Well…it’s not like the test crew that ran operations for this show understood what the word “gentle” meant. Click play below to see…

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Incredible In-Car Video Of A Nitro Funny Car Explosion - Fire and Violence!

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May 13, 2020BangShift XL, HISTORIC, RACING & ACTION, Videos, XL Videos

Video: 1950s Tractor Crash Testing Is The Best Crash Testing – The Creepy Music Adds To The Weirdness

When is comes to crash testing, tractor crash testing is kind of the weirdest. Why? Because lots of times when you crash a tractor you die and you don’t die some quick way, it’s like being stuck under the thing or worse. So companies have worked over the years on safety guard to protect operators in the event of different wrecking situations. How? They use dummies and place the tractors in the kinds of places that cause the physics to go pear shaped and them to end up with the wrong side up. Be that a steep side grade, climbing a too steep hill or more.

This black and white video shows a John Deere 4010 going through various different crashing scenarios and the dummy riding on the seat is really in for it in more ways than one. While this guy does not get the bad end of it every time, he does most times and that’s the rub here. Farming is a dangerous job for lots of reasons, but the bottom line is the tractor does not really care about you near as much as you care about it.

Our favorite test in this film is the “side entry steep ditch” program. We have no idea if that is what it’s called but that is what we’re tagging it as. Seeing that thing go in head long and at speed is pretty awesome. The ROPS (roll over protection system) works well although we’re thinking that if were human the guy would be hating life pretty bad.

Enjoy!

Press play below to see this awesome film of old school 1950s tractor crash testing

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Funny Car Chaos And BangShift.com Launching Chaos Live Stream! Funny Car Racing Is Coming Soon!