Photo by Marc Gewertz

The 7th Annual Nitro Revival was a resounding success as veteran drag racers from around the country converged at Irwindale Speedway near Los Angeles. Thousands of fans celebrating the racers and machines who contributed to the legacy of drag racing also made the trip to see these legends take to the track.

Produced by Steve “Big Hook” Gibbs and his daughter, Cindy, the Nitro Revival is an outgrowth of the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, which Gibbs was instrumental in launching in 1992. As Gibbs recalled, “We wanted a place —other than a funeral— where racers could get together.”

Always a crowd pleaser, “TV Tommy” Ivo was a popular source of autographs at the Nitro Revival. One of his always-gorgeous dragsters was on display as well.

One of the early CHRR attendees was Bill Pitts, who had restored the innovative “Magicar” fuel dragster built by Kent Fuller and campaigned by Ronnie Winkle and Kaye Trapp (driven by Gerry Glenn and Jeep Hampshire). Pitts would fire the car up periodically and draw big crowds. Soon, other AA/FDs from the ’60s appeared at the CHRR. In 2000, nine fuel cars did push-starts and lined up on the fabled Famosa strip. The first “Cacklefest”, a term coined by then-NHRA Motorsports Museum curator Greg Sharp, was born. The hugely popular spectacle motivated racers from all over the country to seek out and restore many seminal machines, with Cacklefest participants growing precipitously.

Friday’s highlight of the Nitro Revival was the mass fire-up of nitro-burners. In the foreground is Bruce Larson’s USA-1 Camaro that the former NHRA World Champion brought from his Pennsylvania home.

But in 2016, everything was disrupted by NHRA’s former in-house legal counsel who deemed the cackle event unsafe and set things in disarray. This prompted Gibbs to resign from his position with NHRA after 48 years. The following year, a major cackle car proponent, the late Ron Johnson and Gibbs staged the inaugural “Nitro Revival” at the 1/8-mile track at Barona, near San Diego in 2017. It has grown each year, which brings us to the 2024 edition.

Bill Pitts’ restoration of the Winkel & Trapp “Magicar” is recognized as the catalyst of the “cackle car movement.” Since then many seminal nitro cars have been brought back to life.

People are an important part of drag racing history. The honorees for this year included the late Steve Evans, most famously known for his announcing and broadcasting achievements. Brad Anderson —a multi-time champion whose BAE engine components are employed by many racers. Gary Densham, the popular race-winning academic whose “Teacher’s Pet” Funny Cars are long-time fan favorites. The legendary Warren-Coburn-Miller fuel juggernaut, aka the “Ridge Route Terrors”. Glenn Way and the popular Southern California “Groundshakers” team, and international drag racing pioneer Merek Chertkow.

Among the attendees were 1979 NHRA Top Fuel World Champion Rob Bruins and 1980 U.S. Nationals T/F winner Terry Capp from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

A popular component of the Revival is the “All-Star Autograph Session” where some 50 racing luminaries made themselves available to sign event posters and pretty much anything else thrust their way. Notables included “TV Tommy” Ivo, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, “Fast Jack” Beckman, Richard Tharp, Jim Walther, Dale Funk, Bruce Larson, and dozens of other drivers and nitro crew chiefs —plus Linda Vaughan, and 103-year-old “Camfather” Ed Iskenderian.

The nucleus of the Nitro Revival is Steve “Big Hook” Gibbs and his daughter, Cindy. Together, they have nurtured the celebration of drag racing’s “Golden Era” to its prominence today.

Of course, the visceral experience of a multitude of cackling race cars is a huge part of the Nitro Revival experience. Special mass fire-ups on Friday and the “Line of Fire” on Saturday were well appreciated.

While the event’s focus is on fuel cars, there are nevertheless a plethora of early-style Gassers and Super Stockers who made the trek to Southern California to participate and make passes down Irwindale’s 1/8-mile strip. Likewise, there was an abundance of hot rods, muscle cars, and customs on static display.

Luminaries signing autographs at the Nitro Revival included Texan Richard Tharp, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, his famed F/C crew chief, Bob Brandt, and Donnie Couch.

With the announced closure of Irwindale Speedway at the end of this year raising questions about next year’s event, Cindy Gibbs said, “There most certainly will be Nitro Revival 8 next year, and we’re working on solidifying plans. We will be posting updates on the Nitro Revival Facebook page and Instagram.”