Slingshot Spectacular: The Front-Engine Dragster Era

Out of drag racing’s early years came one style of drag car that stood above the rest: the front-engine slingshot dragster. The fearless drivers of yesteryear climbed in behind 2,000-plus horsepower engines and held on for a smoke-filled 1,320 feet. California was the early hotbed for drag racing and the front-engine top-fuel dragster was the king of the quarter mile. These nitro-gulping racecars thundered down drag strips exciting fans with their awesome power.

Among these awestruck fans was a young photographer named Steve Reyes, and capturing these early four-wheeled asphalt missiles was his passion. Like so many fans, Steve got hooked on the smell of nitro and burning rubber. He photographed this bygone style of dragsters from 1963 to 1971, gathering great images and behind-the-scenes stories along the way. Follow the history of the front-engine dragster in Slingshot Spectacular: The Front-Engine Dragster Era, with over 400 vintage photos and personal stories to help you smell the nitro and feel the horsepower of the good old days of front-engine, top-fuel racing.

Steve Reyes is one of the most published automotive photographers from the 1960s to mid 1990s with over 300 magazine covers and a multitude of features within most of the automotive magazines.