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high school in the late 1950’s. In fact, shop classes for the boys and home ec classes for the girls consumed a lot of time for students back then. It was understood by my father’s generation that most young men and women would not be interested in going to college and complete a course that would lead to a Batchelor of Arts or Sciences degree. What that generation believed in was turning out students who could speak and write well and who had a good understanding of the three R’s. Most of us knew that we would become mechanics, plumbers, electricians, gardeners, farmers, truck drivers, welders, carpenters, home makers and a wide variety of other trades. I took drafting, metal, wood, and electronic shops.
Then in the 1960’s a new breed of school teachers and administrators came out of college and reorganized education to stress college prep courses. Their idea was to train a super literate population and they saw no use to waste valuable school time training car mechanics. As school budgets were cut to balance state needs in other areas, vocational training was almost eliminated. But we need far more trained blue collar workers than we do college trained professionals. The Los Angeles County Fairplex realized that the local communities needed men and women trained in the vocational arts and set about to do something about it. They organized a day care center to give women training in child care and to alleviate the needs of working women who need to place their children in a safe and nurturing environment. They created other training classes under their Careers & Technical Education Center (CTEC). One such center was named after a very influential automotive man, Alex Xydias, and called the Alex Xydias Center of Automotive Arts (AXC). This training center specializes in all the fields of automotives; fabricating, engine building, electronics, upholstery, painting and more. The center takes applications from young men and women and if they pass the interview they are sent to a boot camp of sorts. In this early training they learn how to interact with the public, good grooming and manners and to develop a good work ethic. It might sound simple, but people learn by observing and some of our young people are deficient in such social skills. Then the real work begins and these young people get hands on training and classroom education in all the automotive skills.
The Fairplex came to Alex Xydias and asked him to be the name behind the group. Why did they choose him? He is one of the foremost men in the automotive world. He founded So-Cal Speed Shop, a name that is etched in our minds for quality and speed. His land speed racing cars and hot rods have become famous. He was a close associate of Wally Parks, Ak Miller and many other well-known men in racing. He was a documentarian and historian, an editor and a major player in the SEMA organization that today is world known and important in protecting the rights of car enthusiasts and manufacturers throughout the United States. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. With Mickey Thompson, he founded SCORE, an off-road racing association. He was elected to the following Halls of Fame; SEMA, Dry Lakes Racers, the Hot Rod magazine, Route 66, and the Grand National Roadster Show. He was honored with the Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award. Today his So-Cal Speed Shop is alive and well under the management of Pete Chapouris. Xydias is the type of role model that the youth of today can and should emulate. The CTEC Automotive/AXC advisory committee is well represented in the automotive world. Their members include; Jon Blickenstaff, Bill Grant, Pete Chapouris, Theresa Contreras, Phil Duarte, Doyle Gammell, Dan Garrett, Dan Harden, Bruce Hollingsworth, Jerry James, L. D. Johnson, Don Kendrick, Darren Krohn, Eddie McKeown, Joe Mitchell, Louie and Sara Morosan, Willard Ripley, Jim Sleeper, Bob Soderberg, Clark Stephens, John Tarrant, Dick Teis, Tony Thacker, Monique Valadez, Paul Wheeler, and John Whitsett.
This is a group of car builders, manufacturers, teachers, directors and automotive specialists who can set an example for young people to follow. The course leads to a credential and references that will put these young men in the forefront of automotive designing and creation. When they graduate these young people will be highly sought after. They can be sure of an education and a future bright with promise. The automotive community needs trained specialists and the youth of today need good opportunities to work. Roger and I drove up to the parking lot and the first person that we met was L. D. Johnson, from American Classic Cars. He explained the program to us and told us that the program started with art and pottery classes and broadened the scope of courses from there. There is no tuition or fees; it is completely covered by the CTEC program. The courses are eight to twelve weeks in duration and the curriculum spans a four year credentialed course of subjects. The CTEC program in Pomona assigned a warehouse at the Fairplex for the students and instructors. Don Kendrick, the current mayor of La Verne, spoke about the importance of training our young people for vocational jobs. He told the audience about the deplorable rate of graduation and that was partly due to a lack of vocational courses. He told us that when the schools offered vocational training the graduation rates were much higher. Our country cannot flourish unless we have an educated and motivated work force that is productive.
I interviewed Russ Deane, a good friend of the family. Deane was there to support AXC and he is also working on the “Save the Salt” committee, which is a program under the ACEC (Area of Critical and Environmental Concern). That program is trying to save the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah from chemical removal of minerals. The BLM has a legal responsibility to enforce the law and have the companies replace the salt back onto the salt flats after the potash has been extracted. Deane said the salt flats are not only important to land speed racers but to other groups as well. It is recognized on the National Register of Historical Landmarks. I met three of the students at the center. Elijah Romero was told about the AXC by his counselor at San Dimas High School. Edward Zamora attended Bishop Amat of La Puente and he was informed about the center from a family member who knew Willard ‘Rip’ Ripley, the Auto Instructor at the AXC. Joseth Hernandez heard about the center from his counselor at Diamond Ranch High School. The young men have been well taught and are eager to set a good example. I found them to be well-prepared and quite good speakers. They told me that the building is only 1200 square feet in size, but that the Fairplex plans to build larger quarters for the school. It was time for Alex Xydias to speak to us. “Age jokes are my thing,” he told us. “I’ve been around since Washington and Lincoln,” then the respected automotive man got serious. “We need to eventually replace men like Chip Foose and other great designers and builders,” he told us, “And these young men here will one day be the men that will run our centers and automotive businesses.”
Kendrick took the microphone and thanked all the guests for coming. He also thanked the committee, the Fairplex and the L. A. Roadster Club for allowing them to hold this open house during their big car show and swap meet. The presentation ceremony ended and we milled about. I met a young lady with great potential. Her name is Jessica Clark from Westlake Village and she is a midget and stock car racer. She is a cute and petite young lady and at first you would never guess that she races in the USAC Sports Focus Midget series on quarter mile asphalt oval tracks. She started in Go-Karts at the age of eleven and is a member of the Ron Sutton Winner Circle Racing Team. She is leading her class in the National Points Championship and Jessica wants to make this her career. She also races in the NASCAR stock car late model series. Some of the tracks that she has raced on include; The Bullring in Las Vegas, Lake Havasu, Madera, Irwindale, Rocky Mountain Raceway and other facilities. Dick and Judi Dixon sponsor her in the late model series. Her father, Rich Clark, is her crew chief on the midget car and Ron Sutton is the owner. Tim Huddleston is the owner and crew chief for the stock car. Dick Dixon teaches motorsports management, PR marketing and core components at Cal State San Bernardino. Dixon is also the Publisher and editor of HotRodPartsGuide.com.
I also spoke to Willard ‘Rip’ Ripley, who is the chief instructor at the AXC School. His whole life has been dedicated to the automotive arts. He was a member of the Woodlake Lakers car club from 1959-64. He taught in the high schools of Modesto and Pomona for forty years in shop classes. He built a flathead Ford car and the engine when he was thirteen years old. Though he retired from the school system he couldn’t stay away from working with young people in automotive arts. He introduced me to another young man, Sherm Taylor, who has been teaching automotive arts at Chaffey College for the last eight years. He is also the faculty advisor for the Chaffey College Car Club. Another educator is Phil Duarte who retired as an ROP instructor and came back out of retirement to work at the AXC. Employees from Extreme Automotive came from Corona. I also spoke to Quentin Swan, who is the lead teacher for trade and industry at the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Gale Banks was in the audience representing Banks Engineering, a much respected Turbo company and a land speed racer and supporter. Pete Chapouris, owner of So-Cal Speed Shop and a master car builder and restorer was also in the audience. Some of the other companies who sent representatives to the open house included; L&G Enterprises, Snap-On Tools, Pomona Valley Customs, Jerry James Auto Appraisal, American Classic Cars, Baldy’s Classic Cars, Custom Truck Shop, Sleeper Suspension Development, Alchemy Construction, AUTO Enthusiasts, Chaffey Auto Body, Engineered Storage Systems, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, Wheeler & Wheeler Architects and JW Enterprises.
Gone Racin’ is at [email protected].
To learn more about participating in this worthwhile automotive program visit the sites listed below.
AXC Founding Partners program summary
Alex Xydias bio sheet and AXC overview
AXC Founding Partners sign-up sheet
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