Kustom Kreatures: 2017 Nostalgia Drags

​Some bloke called Henry Ford once said: “The first auto race took place five minutes after the second car was built.” 

Yup, cars were originally intended to get us to places more easily but because us humans are so goddamn competitive we couldn’t resist trying to get there faster than each other and the drag race is the simplest form of the sport. In this episode of Kustom Kreatures we head to the 2017 Nostalgia Drags in Sydney for drag racing the way it used to be and witness an Australian record get smashed along the way. 

You know, drag racing wasn’t always called drag racing. In the 1930s this form of side-by-side racing started being officially timed on the dry lakes in California and this is where hot rodding all began. Street racing in the 1940s became big because… well who’s got time to find a dry lake when some jerk in a yellow channelled ’32 roadster on the main drag in town gave you the finger and needs to be taught a lesson?  

That’s where it’s believed the term drag racing originates – racing down the main drag. By 1950 official ‘controlled’ legal drag races were being held at purpose-built drag strips in the US where cars were categorised into classes depending on how they were modified. 

The 2017 Nostalgia Drags showcased cars dating from the 1940s through to the 70s. It’s a giant methanol-drenched fruit salad of hot rods, gassers, street machines, top fuelers and more. 

Join Ben from Lucky’s Speed Shop and Richard as they take another dumpster dive into the world of kustom kulture and go drag racing.

Reckon your car is faster down the quarter mile than something that raced in the 1950s and '60s? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.