Don with Arnie Karp (left) at this year’s Hot Rod Reunion in Epping, NH

From Don's association with the Orientals, he began helping out all the club members with their cars as needed. A car owned by John Watson that was formerly owned by Greg Spurr of Redding, Mass., eventually became Don's entry into competition drag racing. The car was an injected, small-block Chevy with a two speed transmission stuffed between the frame rails of an old Ford Model A frame, featuring stick welded support members and a homemade roll cage. The 265 CID SBC produced elapsed times in the 10-second zone at close to 125 MPH on a good pass. In 1966, Don spent more time wrenching on this car than he did on anything else and it paid off on the last race of the season. His buddy John Watson whom he wrenched for all season long said to him, "Get in the car, Don, you're going for a ride." Last day of the 1966 drag racing season, Don's big dream became a little closer to becoming his reality.

Roberts at Connecticut Dragway (undated). (Mike McCarthy photo)

Don's heart began to race like a small block Chevy on a rev-limiter as he gathered up a helmet and strapped himself into the cockpit for the very first time as the driver of a dragster. He sat in that cockpit for nearly an hour going over and over in his mind what he needed to do to complete a good pass down the quarter mile. When the time came, he received a short push start from Watson and the well-tuned car jumped to life. He drove the car to the starting line and staged. When the flag man leaped skyward, Don mashed the throttle to the floor for all he was worth. The launch pinned Don to the seat but the run was over as quickly as it started. A driveline failure ended the run just after launch, but no matter, Don Roberts was smitten.