| Third and final episode (110-minutes) on historic Long Beach, CA drag strip features 40-plus interviews with top pioneers, including; Don Garlits, Ed Iskenderian, Hayden Proffitt, Gas Ronda, Bill Maverick Golden, Robert Balogh, Carl Olson, Sush Matsubara, Tom McEwen, Pat Foster, Tommy Ivo, Dale Pulde, Don Long, C. J. Hart, Larry Sutton, etc. Begins with nitro racings version of a heavyweight bout, as Top Fuel dragsters fight the growing trend of AFX and early Funny Cars. Huge meets ensued. Innovation led to quicker ETs and speeds. Funny Cars roared into the 7-second zone. Top Fuelers blazed past 220 miles-per-hour. With increased performance came danger. Straining clutches and superchargers resulted in spectacular fires, wheel-stands and crashes, with drivers in extreme peril. One of the more dramatic segments depicts the AHRA Grand American in early 1970, when Top Fuel legend Big Daddy Don Garlits lost part of his right foot in a horrific starting line transmission explosion. Graphic film of the accident surfaced only recently. Garlits recounts the incident, plus his equally stunning return months later with a rear-engine dragster that likewise changed the sport forever. Weekly campaigners included Jr. Fuel and Gas Dragsters, AA/Gas Supercharged, AA/Fuel Altered, Injected Funny Cars, plus wild exhibition vehicles. Manager C.J. Hart departed in 1971, replaced by innovator, Steve Evans, who switched from AHRA to NHRA sanction, and produced events like the giant Grand Premier, which saw the tracks largest number of incidents. When noise complaints spelled the end in December 1972, Lions held the racing equivalent of Woodstock, with The Last Drag Race, a colossal, fitting, yet tear-filled end to one of the sports most historic, and revered tracks. |
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 Part 3 to bad it had to end. See Ron Capps at age 7 at Lions. |
| Review Date: August 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Drag racer/fan, Minnesota, USA |
The end of Lions, and how it came about. The DVD starts out with the voice of
the late great Steve Evans! More and more drivers try to tame these out of
control top fuel rides, untill it nearly takes the life of Big Daddy Don Garlits.
Everybody tried to get the rear engine car to work, and some made it work for a
short time, but Garlits made it work forever. Then the last drag race came on
December 2nd 1972. As they say (And the rest is history) Part 3 is as good as
1 and 2. Trust me when I say, you need all 3. Hats off to Don Gillespie
for the best documentary on the best drag strip of all time (LIONS).
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Early days of drag racing
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| Review Date: October 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: T. M. Gore, |
Excellant coverage of the first days of LADS.
Having grown up at that strip it was fun to see it againe and share it with my kids and grandkids! |
Drags Remembered
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| Review Date: May 25, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Bob, |
| .....any old timer would love this DVD, plus shareing it with your kids makes them understand why we loved that time and miss it so much. A great job captureing a time frame never to be seen again. |
BILLS REVIEW
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| Review Date: February 6, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Mr Lundy, Lakewood, CA |
| Excellent service. Product arrived well before promised date and in excellent shape. I recommend this seller and the product. |
A better time.
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| Review Date: February 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: CannTankerous, Medford, OR USA |
| The best of the California I grew up with. Before it became an overpopulated police state filled with too many liberal conformist drones. Gillespie is to be congratulated for compiling some of the essence of the wonderful things we experienced in our youth. The quintessential fearless American can-do attitude when people who are afraid to drive to the store unless surrounded by a dozen air bags would have been simply incomprehensible. Progress is good, but the softies might benefit from a tour of duty in the Marines or getting sat down behind one of these monsters from when "No Fear" was a hell of a lot more than a slogan on a t-shirt. Buy it-you'll love it. Bring a little of the wildness back. Freedom! |
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