Austin Raceway Park 1968 NHRA Event

It was 1968. The event was a NHRA World Championship Points Meet. The location was the relatively young Austin Raceway Park which broke a record for the largest attendance of a Texas drag racing event at that time. Over 10,000 fans showed up under the threat of rain to watch more than 400 machines make runs down the quarter mile track, until the final run was completed after 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

Those were just some of the highlights found in an article by John Thawley published in the October 1968 issue of Hot Rod magazine.

One interesting side note is that John Thawley began his career as a reporter and evening news anchor at KTBC-TV right here in Austin Texas. John was even honored for rescuing several wounded people from sniper fire during the University of Texas tower shootings on August 1, 1966.

John Thawley was a distinguished motor journalist and author of some 20 auto related books such as How to Hot Rod Small Block Chevys, How to Hot Rod Big Block Chevys, and the Off Road Handbook. John Thawley died in 2009 due to complications from Pneumonia.

The images below are from the October 1968 issue of Hot Rod magazine.