Wheels: Gearing up for another Old Drag Racers Reunion

Three years ago, Barbara Patterson and the late Jon Lemon put together a 50th anniversary Old Drag Racers Reunion to recall the glory days of fast cars and fun times at the M-N Raceway northwest of Wichita.

It drew a lively crowd of drag racers and a bunch of cool old cars. Towards the end of the event, someone jokingly inquired, “When are you going to do this again?” Barbara Patterson replied, “Probably in about 50 years.”

How time flies. It hasn’t been 50 years, but it is time for another Old Drag Racers Reunion, coming up Oct. 1-2 at Kansas International Dragway.

Tom and Sharon Wilhite helped put the event together and this time, it will include real, live drag racing, as well as static displays of significant historic race cars and lots of memorabilia from back in the day.

“Saturday, we’re going to do a lunch for the old guys who want to bring their stories, pictures and their hot rods, if they have one,” Tom Wilhite said. “It’ll be meat and potatoes kind of stuff under a tent, around noon.” Cost for that will be $15.

“Saturday, everything racing will be on street tires … the street rods will be flag-started,” he said. Cars will be classed according to age and type, with Sunday featuring faster machines on drag slicks, like dragsters, gassers and altereds. Those cars will start using the standard “Christmas tree.”

Spectator admission is $15 daily, or $25 for a two-day pass, with youngsters under 12 admitted free. Gates open both days at 8 a.m.

“It will be a good chance for the public to see the old cars race again,” said Wilhite, who said if time permits, he may even challenge his wife to a match race, for family bragging rights.

Snap-on Racing is the primary sponsor for this year’s reunion. For more information on the event, search for “Wichita Nostalgia Race & Reunion” on Facebook.

Remember your camera.

This story was originally published September 22, 2016 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Wheels: Gearing up for another Old Drag Racers Reunion."