I've been a drag race nut since I was in grade school in the 1950s. I talked my older brother, Bill, into taking me along to the drags at the Akron Airport and Magnolia Dragstrip around 1958. (I was 13) I remember in 1961, when my family was in Detroit visiting the Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, I talked dad in to going to Detroit Dragway on a Tuesday night for a match race between Connie Kalitta and Butch Bryan.

I read Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Car Craft, Rodding & Restyling, and any other mag I could get my hands on. I'd drive to Otie's Speed Shop in Akron (about 40 mile round trip) every week to get a copy of Drag News.   While still in high school, I began hanging around Dave Koffel's garage in Massillon Ohio (about 1962) and Dave put me to work washing parts and running errands. Started traveling to the races with Koffel's and traveled to races in about seven states. I found out how much money and time it takes to run a first-class operation and I didn't have the money and really didn't have the desire to work that hard, but I loved the drags.