Local dragsters win at Pomona

Carson City's Jim Godec and Dean Bliss say this is the way drag racing is supposed to be.

They must have a pretty good idea since they recently conquered one of drag racing's most prestigious tracks, Pomona Raceway. Each driver won his class at the Vintage Racing Association's GoodGuys Hot Rod Happenin' held last month.

Godec raced his 1933 Willys "Flashback" to first in the B Gas division and Bliss ran his 1933 Willys to a win in the C Gas division.

Today's drag racing has become high tech -- and high cost -- so it figures that there's a growing number of racers participating in vintage drag racing. Many in their 40s to their 60s are returning to the drag strips in their vintage cars. One racer who participates is 79-years-old.

"It's trying to get back to the roots of the way drag racing used to be," Godec said. "A lot of these people grew up with these cars," Bliss also said.

But even the vintage drag racing can be expensive. "I've probably got $50,000 in my car," Godec said.

A look at a description of Godec's car and one can see how he has $50,000 in it.

It was originally built by Rocky Pirrone in Pennsylvania and went by the name "Boss Hydro" as a nitro coupe in the early 1970s. The description continues:

"Mild steel double chassis, Ford 9-inch, 4.56 spool, 4-link with track locators and coil covers and sway bar links. Solid front axle with coil covers, track locators, strange disc brakes front and rear.

"Cast iron Ramchargers, 426-cubic inch Hemi, .060 over to a 438 cubic inch, BME aluminum rods, .100 long, BME pistons, Kellogg crank, Erson Roller cam and lifters, Erson Tool Room valve springs, Early Brad Anderson aluminum heads, titanium valves, Stage V roller rockers and stands, Mooneyham 6-71 blower, magnesium manifold and valve covers, Mallory Sprint Magneto updated, Enderle injection and pump."

The engine was built by Mike Hughes of Hughes Automotive. The car also features a Dedenbear cased Powerglide built by Lonnie Grace, J.W. flexplate and adapter and a Continental converter.

To be honest, it's all Greek to me, but after that description, it somehow makes sense to me that Godec covered the 1/4 mile Pomona track in 8.19 seconds and 169 miles an hour in winning.

"That's as far as I want to go in that car," Godec said. "It's a handful to drive as it is."

Godec's winning purse at Pomona was $500. "You don't do it for the money," he said. "They don't pay you that much. It doesn't even pay you the expenses to get down there."

"If anyone tells you you're doing it for the money, they're lying," Bliss said. "During the off season, it's very time consuming and very expensive."

Still, compared to contemporary drag racing at the elite level, the cost is nominal. "This type of drag racing is accessible to anybody," Godec said.

Bliss won in 9.28 seconds, going 143 miles per hour. It figures in drag racing that the start is the key to winning.

"Races are won and lost at the starting line," Bliss said. "Your reaction is extremely important.."

At Pomona, Bliss beat a field of 24 drivers -- with all of them coming from California.

In November, Bliss plans to race in the Bakersfield, Calif. Fuel and Gas Championships at the Famoso Raceway north of Bakersfield.

When the California racers learned that Bliss planned to come to Bakersfield, he said they replied, "Good, we want a piece of you."

"It's great," Bliss said. "They're really great people. There's a lot of teasing. It's very, very family oriented."

"They're really a bunch of great people," Godec said. "Everybody helps each other. There's so much down time, it's mostly socializing anyway."

Godec is in second in his points series, 20 points behind defending champion Kevin Riley. The series title will likely come down to the Bakersfield event.

Godec first ran down a drag strip in Irwindale, Calif. in 1962 in his father's Dodge and said he's been hooked ever since. He raced is 1961 Corvette in drag races all over Southern California.

He also drove Corvettes in road races, but never lost his love for drag racing. "I always came back to drag racing," Godec said.

Bliss began drag racing in 1995 at Fallon's Top Gun Raceway, the home track for Bliss and Godec.

Lance Godec, Godec's son, John Balzer and Dave Sharp serve as the crew for Godec and Bliss. "The crew is very important," Godec said.

Godec said he doesn't plan to stop drag racing any time soon. "As long as its fun, I'll keep doing it," he said. "There's no reason not to."

Charles Whisnand is the Nevada Appeal Sports Editor.