07/02/17
ANNUAL NOSTALGIA RACE LOOK TO THE PAST
Each year in July Island Dragway holds a nostalgia race where cars of the bygone eras get to compete against some of their own. And each year the old timers relive the glory days of drag racing when things just seemed so much simpler and a whole lot of fun.
One of the most exciting parts of the event is the competition of the folks from NETO, the Northeast Timing Organization. This group schedules events around the division tracks to keep alive the look, feel and spirit of old time racing. They have two classes: Comp which is generally quicker cars that run on a .4 pro tree system and Nostalgia cars that use a.5 sportsman tree. All cars run on a handicap head start system.
Lou Laferrara Jr has taken up the mantel of racing the family altered, and he proved he has learned his lessons well. Laferrara motored the S&W chassised machine to the top of Comp eliminator, edging Brian English’s Camaro in the trophy run. The altered, on a dial of 7.60, cranked out a 7.606 at a speed of 173.05 mph in the final for the win light. English was right there but dropped the round with a stout 8.69 time at 152.80.
Fred Michel had his T-bucket dialed in and emerged victorious in Nost class by beating Gerry Ingersoll for the trophy. Ingersoll’s big block Ford powered 67 Mercury ran well under his number at 10.53, 126.12. That allowed Michel the room to break out too, but by a lesser amount, and take the nod via his 10.09 and 131.65 slip.
In the regular nostalgia classes, Don Williams drove to the N2 title over Warren Farrese. Williams’s Nova ran 10.22 and 130.45 to catch the 10.61 and 125.24 put down by Farrese’s Nova. N3 bracket went to Jerry Ackermann and his Ford when he outlasted Russ Picone in his late 30s Chevy. Ackerman used a 13.25, 98.78 to best the 14.64, 82.20 from Picone. And Keith Horn was better than Gerry Capasso in N1. The double nickel Chevy cranked out a pass of 8.95 seconds with a speed of 151.61 mph for the title. Capasso and his 64 Fairlane was second best on an 8.97, 152.99.