CARS AT THE BEACH
18th annual Belmont Shores gathering
Long Beach, also known as LIONS dragstrip, offered optimum bite and sea-level elevation, and the moist sea air that rolled in after dark posed what were arguably the best racing conditions on the planet. That all ended one night in 1972, but the race junkies of the area could never forget it, nor has the drag racing world. The track was actually in Wilmington, a hardscrabble environment adjacent to Long Beach.
In Long Beach today, the Belmont Shores district hosts a tribute of sorts, gathering hot rods from the area, a few of them former race cars that did their thing on that famous strip of asphalt. The Bay City Rodders out of nearby Seal Beach collaborated with Belmont Shores Business Association and raised $28K for local charities, right there on 2nd Street. Entries were limited to 600. About 60,000 like-minded people attended.
Danny Kanos has owned this piece since high school. He street-raced it back in the day with three different small-blocks—all of them in still his garage! Now, it sports yet another small-block and rides on C5 suspension.
Very cool, ’51 Slopeback features big meats and a tunnel-ram intake. Not stealthy, but very smooth indeed.
