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2017 Fall Nostalgia Race at CID

I have photographed a lot of nostalgia races at Central Illinois Dragway over the years and every one of them was unique in their own way but the 2017 fall nostalgia race for me had just a little more of a nostalgic flair to it.


Sure, they had the usual gassers, nostalgia outlaw quick series, Ozark Mountain Super Shifters, nostalgia super stockers, a couple Promods and several blown alcohol vehicles but what really gave it that nostalgic feel were the 3 young ladies with the nostalgia super stock group dressed in their nostalgic looking outfits assisting with the backing and staging of the cars. Then there was a local racer posing as the staging lane security (see photo) but what really added a nostalgic twist to the event was local photographer, Dennis Cumby's flag drop starts for the super stock cars and gassers dressed in all white with the red and green flags in hand.


It sure brought back memories of days gone by.

NITRO CHAOS RETURNS TO ILLINOIS

06 May, 2024
By this point of the 2024 season, you can rest assured a heated points battle will be underway and it will all conclude with a return for the CHAOS brand to Midstate Dragway, formally Central Illinois Dragway, in Havana, Illinois for the Nitro Chaos Championship Finals, September 20-21st. CID was one of the original host tracks for Funny Car Chaos dating back to 2018 and after recent ownership and management changes, is very excited to welcome the CHAOS back to Havana to crown the 2024 Nitro Chaos Champion! This will be the largest gathering of nitro burning drag racing machines in track history, we assure you that.

Back-up vs Pin-up

01 Apr, 2024
By Dan Ricks

Route 66 Classic

04 Mar, 2024
Text and photos by Dan Ricks

Those Fabulous Funny Cars

06 Feb, 2024
Text and Photos by Dan Ricks

Meltdown Drags Revisited

04 Jan, 2024
Photos by Dan Ricks

Nitro Revival 6 aka Sensory Overload/Ode to Nitro 2.0

03 Jan, 2024
Photos and Text by Ted Pappacena

Returning to the scene of the crime...

03 Jan, 2024
By Eddie Buck

Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins

By Dan Ricks • 30 Oct, 2023
Jenkins grew up in Malvern Pa. He began racing in the late 1950s, driving his famed “Grumpy’s Toy” Chevrolet to Pro Stock success in the mid-to late 60s. Jenkins earned fame by helping revolutionize the Pro Stock class through innovations in engines, suspensions and other parts. He also was a successful driver, winning 13 NHRA national event victories and numerous other races under various sanctions. Jenkins earned a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell, using that knowledge and his personal skills to transform the Pro Stock class. Known as the “FATHER OF PRO STOCK” Jenkins’s engines won five NHRA championships in a row. Jenkins’s mechanical innovations included drag racing’s first Kickout oil pans, the Pro Stock strut-style front suspension, the dry-sump oiling system, the electric water-pump fan, gas-port pistons and slick-shift manual transmission. In 2011, Jenkins was voted number 8 among NHRA’S greatest racers by a poll of drag racing experts and is a member of the Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Jenkins garnered the nickname “Grumpy” for his no-nonsense attitude. Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins passed away March 29, 2012, at the age of 81 .

World of Mopar

By Bill Kloss • 30 Oct, 2023
Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio staged its Inaugural Ken Ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram World of Mopar presented by Arrington Performance, Sept. 22-24, 2023. Produced and presented by Summit Motorsports Park. “We couldn’t be happier with our Inaugural Ken Ganley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram World of Mopar presented by Arrington Performance,” said Bill Bader Jr., president of Summit Motorsports Park. We had a tremendous turnout, and we look forward to an even bigger event next year. The planning starts now.” .

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

By Ted Pappacena • 30 Oct, 2023
Remember going back to school after your summer vacation and the teacher asks you to write an essay about what you did over the summer? Well, this is that essay although I’m retired and every summer is a vacation for me. It actually started in February when I got a notification from my friend Hayne Dominic. He and Gary Gore hold a yearly event at Mason-Dixon Dragway called the “Rocking Chair Nationals”. It’s a nostalgia drag racing event featuring the cars and stars of years gone by. Each year they recognize different categories in drag racing and this year’s honorees were to be photographers, journalists, and announcers. I would be one of the honored and would I be able to attend? Would I? You don’t have to ask me twice! June 24 is the date of the event.
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