I'm from Hudson County, NJ. In the 60's, we'd eat, breathe, and talk cars for hours at hangouts like Shirley's Diner (West New York), Russell's Diner, (Cliffside Park), Callahan's Hot Dog (Ft Lee), and cruise Bergenline Ave.
On most warm Sundays, I'd head for Englishtown to race my 57 stock 283/220hp BelAir. I'd always lose. (Later years, I ran a 68 Merc Cyclone GT fastback, 302/4v. Lost again.)
My buddy had a fast 62 Vette and was doing good until somebody threw sugar down his gas tank. He never went back to Englishtown.
One of the biggest crowd draws was seeing one of the first 413 MoPars. Car could run!
They set up an exhibition race between the MoPar starting at the 1/4 mile starting line, and a Corvair starting at the 1/8 mark. The 413 won the race.
Irony. One Sunday on the way to Englishtown, I got a ticket for speeding. The cop and I started talking about the new Mustang, and he gave me a break on my actual speed so I wouldn't lose my license.