+++{RACING CARS}+++ …[AT THE BOAT BEACH]…

The people of the Nature Conservancy, that stalwart gatekeeper of the sand, might develop a little heartburn over this post.
In the fall of 1974, the Rat Pack (my youthful and mischievous circle of friends in those days) raced cars in organized competition at the Boat Beach.
The sand over there is usually frozen solid by December, resembling concrete, which affords great opportunities in racing.


This was not Daytona Beach, however most of us got to participate, not be a mere spectator. Now THIS was FUN!
Of course, a lot of guys love driving fast, proving our skill, satisfying our need for speed, and showing off for girls. I had just bought new Dodge Challenger with the 340 cubic inch motor, 4-Barrel Carter Thermoquad carburetor, dual exhaust, and the 3 speed Torqueflite 727 automatic tranny from Mike and Tom Savage’s Uncle “Huck” Hurley at his dealership on the East Side of Syracuse for $2500. I’m gonna have some fun with THAT,
Sweet.


On race day, a late-fall Saturday, it was about 25 degrees out, another gray day. Of course there was a fresh keg of Budweiser beer there (no problem keeping it cold!) and a couple of Hibachis to cook up some burgers and dogs. We organized both drag and slalom races in different classes. Unfortunately for me, nobody there ran a car in the same class as the Challenger, but I did do the slalom just for fun…


Most of the vehicles were medium-size 60’s vintage sedans with 6-bangers and 3 speed on-the-column transmissions. Squirrel (Harlon Bristol from Osceola) seemed to have the strongest one. One of the Rats had a new El Camino with a 454 cu.in. engine - way more horsepower than the Challenger’s 340. I didn’t even bother to run against him …waste of fuel- after all the price of gasoline had sky-rocketed to 69 cents per gallon that year!


I brought my Kodak M30 8mm movie camera with me that day, as usual. Last summer I converted all the old Rat Pack films to Blu ray-disc. Film does not last forever but discs last much longer. Hope you like the video...
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