I’ve always been a huge NASCAR fan, but I also had an interest in the classic era of the NHRA and AHRA.
That’s why an old February 1970 copy of‘Drag News’ caught my attention.
Jerry Sutherland
I’ll be honest—I’ve never heard of ‘Drag News’ before a few weeks ago, but I learned it was a huge player in the racing world. ‘Drag News’ began in 1955 as a bi-weekly newspaper aimed directly at the main players in drag racing.
‘Drag News’ covered all the major events and the February 7th edition featured the results form the 1970 Winternationals in Pomona California. Many of the winners were legendary names who went on to incredibly successful careers.
For example, the Pro-Stock Eliminator winner was Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins in a 1968 Camaro.
He ran against another legend named Ronnie Sox in a 1970 Cuda.
The Cuda was the latest version of the Barracuda brand, and Sox would go on to an incredible track career. But the day belonged to Grumpy at the 1970 Winternationals—he would be an archrival of Ronnie Sox for years.
The Modified Eliminator win went to Dick Landy in a ’69 Dart.
Landy was another future legend in 1970, and he won more than he lost over his long and storied career. He did a 10.74 quarter-mile at 126.22 to win that day. The Mopars were a force by 1970–and Landy was part of the ground assault team.
The ‘Hawaiian’ was already a big player in the Funny Car class and Larry Reyes was on his way to legendary status in 1970.
His Funny Car Charger ran a 7.67 ¼ at 195.22 to win the finals, but this was a hard-fought victory.
That’s because another Funny Car legend named Gene Snow was also in the field.
Gene Snow’s ‘Rambunctious’ Challenger ran an incredible 7.3-second 202 mph earlier that weekend but there was one problem. He didn’t do it against the ‘Hawaiian’ in the final.
The Super Stock class went to Barrie Poole.
He drove his ’69 Mustang to a very respectable 11.26/117.34 quarter mile in the final run. That’s a decent time for the era.
Top stock went to Tom Alkin in a big ’69 Chevy wagon.
Long roofs were becoming a force at the track thanks to their positive geometry for launches, and Tom drove his ‘Lead Sled’ 427 Chevy wagon to a big win back in 1970 at the Winternationals.
The Stock Eliminator champ went to another long roof.
Richard Charbonneau drove a ’67 Fairlane station wagon to a solid 12.06 record time to beat a ’50 Olds. These were the lower tiers of the racing world in 1970, but they were fiercely competitive and featured a unique array of cars.
If you look at these cars from a 2026 perspective, those aren’t smoking times because you can buy a mass production car that could run with many of them– but that’s not the point.
The point is obvious.
‘Drag News’ captured a moment in time from a golden era when drag racers were so popular they drew in a NASCAR kid like me—then and now.
Jerry Sutherland
. By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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