Great story Joe. I share a similar experience. In April of '68, my older brother took me to our local racetrack in Atco, NJ (I was 10 yrs old) where I was first exposed to drag racing. The featured attraction was a best of 3 funny car matchrace: Don Nicholson's Eliminator II vs. Doug Thorley's Corvair. The races were during the afternoon, so i couldnt see the header flames, but the noise, the tire smoke and the races really left an impression on me! I was, and still am, hooked on fc's....
Can't wait to see your Dart finished!