If you’re a hot rodder or drag racer that had the fortune of growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s and long for an opportunity to glance back at those glory years of the sport, and you’ve never visited the incredible  ‘We Did It For Love’ website, then you’ve done yourself a great disfavor.

Photo credit: John Ewald (J&M Racing Photos)

Among the tens of thousands of early drag racing photos and stories from those who lived  and breathed it on the WDIFL site is a recent story that discusses the events of March 8, 1970 at the Lions Dragstrip in Long Beach, California in more detail than most have ever read. This short piece is compelling enough that we couldn’t help but plug the story on WDIFL, which is just a small snippet of a full-length book being written by Todd Hutcheson and Mickey Bryant, entitled ‘Don Garlits R.E.D.’

Now, anyone who has been around this sport for any length of time has surely heard the story of how “Big Daddy” Don Garlits was nearly killed in a catastrophic clutch explosion on this date, which ultimately led to the creation of the first rear-engine dragster. And while facts tell us that Garlits’ Swamp Rat 14 wasn’t really the first rear engine dragster, that’s a story for another day.

But this preview by Hutcheson and Bryant brings to light additional information regarding that fateful day at Lions that many who weren’t in attendance have never known of, including the story of 17-year old Tim Ditt, who was critically injured by flying debris from Garlits’ destroyed race car, and whose live was saved only by the quick-thinking of legendary Lions starter Larry Sutton.

Do yourself a favor on this Flashback Friday and click over to WDIFL and check out this intriguing read, and if you’re as mesmerized by this infamous story as we are, be sure and get in line for Hutcheson and Bryant’s upcoming book.