Drag racing was a "new" thing in the early fifties. It was still an outcast activity seeking the direction needed to ensure its survival as a legitimate, and legal activity. The legions of young men who had a desire to test their homemade cars in open competition would find that direction with the birth of the National Hot Rod Association. One of the first drag strips to operate on a regular basis was in Reyes own backyard. The Santa Ana drags were conducted at the local airport, and in 1955, a then fourteen-year-old Larry Reyes took his first trip down that historical quarter mile. His mother's Volkswagen was his first ride . . .