An incredible account of argueable the
most significant, yet brief, period in drag racing. Loaded with
history and photos surrounding the events covered by the author.
This is a must have for any drag racing book collection.
Three Weeks In March
by Mickey Bryant
INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
The idea for this story came
from an article in the April 2008 issue of Hot Rod Magazine written
by Dave Wallace entitled "Forward March." It focused
on the fact that March 2008 was the 50th running of what is simply
referred to now in drag racing circles as the "March Meet."
Included were some wonderful photographs from the very first
race, March Meet 1, held in March of 1959, and included pictures
of the races' biggest attraction, Don Garlits.
I happened to be at that race. The memories began flowing as
I worked my way through the article and pictures. However, it
wasn't until I got to the photo on page 146 showing Don Garlits
pushing to the line for a race at Kingdon Drag Strip in Lodi,
California that I recalled the events of that March in 1959 and
just how significant they were to the history of drag racing.
As Dave Wallace so aptly pointed out in the caption, "This
day, March 15, 1959, was when California started taking Don Garlits
seriously." That picture is included on page 36 thanks to
Walt Huff.
It was then that I decided this
story had to be written. What started out as a response to Dave's
article, ended up as a full blown account, and would include
all the incredible events of that year. 1959 is widely considered
among drag race fans as the greatest year in drag racing history.
What was so great about that
first race was that we all knew (we being Southern California
race fans) just how big this event was going to be! Although
we had heard about him, none of us had ever laid eyes on this
guy. Don Garlits was somehow enticed to come all the way from
Tampa, Florida, to compete against the top dogs on the West coast.
We later learned that big enticer was money..
We didn't know how March Meet
1 would turn out, why it became the fuel for the transformation
of the Garlits' race car, Swamp Rat 1, and all the action that
transpired over the next few weeks. That three-week period, March
1 through March 22, caused quite a stir, to put it mildly. It
created a string of events among the top fuel drag racers that
carried through the year all the way to a much-needed and highly
anticipated showdown in December.
Enjoy this most incredible journey
which I witnessed and have had the pleasure of writing about.
It was a time of drag racing history that can never be duplicated.
What a year!
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