Now for my personal highlights (Yep, two of 'em) of the event.
FIRST; Most anyone with as much 'experience' as me (read that, age) who attended ANY of the dragstrips in our area would know the name Art Badgley. Art is something of a local legend in the Godfrey/Alton Il area, and one of the best engine builders of his era (or for that matter, this era). Art has attended the past three of our events, and this year came in style.
How 'bout this for some serious motivation!
And here's the man himself.
BTW, Art celebrated his 87th Birthday on Sunday, September 9th. What a guy!
During one of the many conversations on Saturday, I thought I heard Art tell someone he had attended ALL BUT TWO of the events held at Alton Dragway. Can you imagine????? If memory serves us correctly, Alton was in operation from around 1958 through 1972? If those numbers aren't correct, at least they're close. And Art only missed two races!!!
After I heard this, I asked him if he remembered a big guy from the Chicago area who used to run a '49 Cadillac at Alton. He looked at me for a second and said, "Yeah, a big guy. I think his name was Kenny. Maybe played football or something. I never believed that car was stock." Then I showed him a picture of our beloved Ken Barnhart. "Yep, that's the guy."
Legends...............
