By Ofelia Saenz, Staff Writer
Like many Long Beach natives, Richard Heath was greatly influenced by the Lion’s Drag Strip during the 1950s and 1960s. As a teenager, Heath spent many Saturday nights huddled amidst the clouds of nitro fumes and the roaring engines of Lion’s dragster racers.
“There’s a lot of interest [in drag racing] in this town because the Lions Drag Strip affected a lot of people’s lives,” Heath said.
Heath was so influenced that decades later he is still entrenched in the sport.
Heath is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Full Throttle News, a magazine produced in Signal Hill that is devoted to the world of nostalgia, sportsmen and grassroots drag racing.
The magazine’s staff travels to race events throughout the country to get the publication into the hands of fans. Full Throttle News also has a loyal subscription base of international readers from across the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Like most independent publications, the magazine started with humble beginnings. When its first issue premiered in April 1994, it was little more than a collection of black-and-white photos and news tidbits covering the local drag racing scene. It was passed out free of charge to fans gathered at an event at the Brotherhood Raceway in the Los Angeles Harbor.
Readers appreciated the retro look and feel of the magazine and were enthusiastic about editors/fans who were committed to producing a product dedicated to their passion for the sport.
“The nostalgia thing just wasn’t getting any really good press. That was our niche market because nobody else was covering it,” Heath said. “The people who saw the first issue just went nuts. They just couldn’t believe it.”
Although Heath took a five-year hiatus from publishing the magazine in 2000 to tour exhibition runs throughout the country with a racecar, Full Throttle News returned with a new polished look in March 2005.
The magazine now publishes in full color and reports on events nationwide. One thing, however, hasn’t changed about the magazine; its editors are still fans.
“Everybody that’s involved with the magazine has something to do with drag racing,” Heath said. “We do it for the love of the sport.”
This weekend, Full Throttle News will be covering the annual Bixby Knolls Dragster Expo and Car Show from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, July 28 on Atlantic Avenue. Cackle Fest–as the event has come to be known–will showcase a variety of dragsters.
In addition to reporting on the event, Full Throttle News will have a booth available at the show where fans can meet and greet the editors of the magazine, as well as purchase copies of the latest issue.
Also available for sale at the booth will be “History of the Lions Drag Strip, Part I.” The DVD is the first in a series that documents the drag strip’s history and legacy.
“People ask me why I’m into the whole drag racing thing,” Heath said. “Well, I like the cars, I like the sound, but mainly it’s the people that you meet. That’s what I really like about it. That’s what makes it all worth it.”
For more information about Full Throttle News, visit www.FullThrottleNews.com or contact Richard Heath at (562) 424-7227.
