Reyes On Tour

"I was there, I have photos" is something my friend Steve Reyes says a lot. Steve is not bragging, it is just a fact!!

Steve Reyes is perhaps the best known photographer in the history of drag racing, and now days he lives in Ocala, Florida. If indeed "a picture speaks a thousand words", then Steve Reyes has "spoken" more than just about any newscaster, politician, radio personality, or public speaker, with his years of photographing motorsports events. Even though most of our readers have enjoyed Reyes work in the past and know his name, Mike Kelly, publisher of this magazine, asked me to introduce Steve to our readers that may not know him right now. We are proud to welcome Steve Reyes as a contributor to Mike Kelly's Cruise News.

Steve was born and raised in Oakland, California. Starting out at fourteen years of age at Fremont Raceway, in Fremont, California, young Steve was shooting photos from the grandstands of the cars he enjoyed at the drag strip. He quickly took his interest to the next level when, at age fifteen, he was invited by the Fremont drag strip track manager to become the track photographer at Fremont Raceway. The job gave him trackside access for his camera work. Young Reyes jumped at the chance to be able to rub elbows with drag racing's stars during the mid 1960's. Little did he know in 1965 where his photography skills would take him.

Early in his career, because his father was not a racing fan, Steve would have to hitch a ride to the race tracks on the West Coast with racers from around the Oakland and Fremont, California area. Eventually, he began joining his racing friends at events throughout the Western United States. Steve met and became friends with many of the best known names in drag racing history. The 1960's was part of the "Golden Age" of drag racing on the West Coast, and in his archives Reyes has a complete photo history of the cars and characters involved.

As time went by, Steve Reyes efforts caught the attention of the publishers of drag racing newspapers and magazines far and wide. His work has graced the pages of virtually every major hot rodding publication at one time or another, including Popular Hot Rodding, Super Chevy, National Dragster, Drag News, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Rod & Custom.....well, you get the idea.

Reyes spent many years "On Tour" as the chief photographer for Argus Publishing's Popular Hot Rodding and Super Chevy magazines, covering all sorts of motorsports events as he rolled up the miles on the odometer in his van. Steve has even worked as a photographer at National Hockey League games and Major League Baseball games. Some of his baseball photos are at Cooperstown, New York, in the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame. In March of 2000, Steve Reyes was inducted into "Big Daddy" Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. His work as a photographer has taken him to all fifty of our United States, as well as overseas destinations including England, Australia, and Japan.

To start off our "Reyes on Tour" series in Mike Kelly's Cruise News we are going to attempt to answer a question often asked by fans that are new to drag racing.............."Why do they call them Funny Cars?"

Thanks to Steve Reyes having been there and having photos, you can get a glimpse of the early days of "Funny Car" racing as the cars evolved from factory wheelbased Super Stocks into wild A/FX cars, and then into high speed, nitro burning, and sometimes "funny looking" outlaw "Funny Cars". Part One of this two part series deals with the early days of "Funny Cars", 1965 and 1966.

So if you have ever wondered "Why" they call them "Funny Cars”, take a look, you will see why. CN

Looking for a classic drag racing photo of your favorite car or star? Chances are Steve Reyes has it. Or if you would like a professional photo shoot with your car, you can contact Steve Reyes via e-mail at sb.reyes@cox.net