Hotrod Hotline ~ Society Of Landspeed Racing Historians Newsletter 204





		SOCIETY OF LAND SPEED RACING HISTORIANS NEWSLETTER 204 - May 20, 2011 Editor: Richard Parks [email protected] President's Corner: By Jim Miller (1-818-846-5139) Photographic Editor of the Society: Roger Rohrdanz, [email protected] Northern California Reporter: Spencer Simon

	Click On All Images / Link For more Info / Images

Some Names To Look For In This Newsletter: President's Corner, Editorials, This is Don Rudy's son Glenn composing this email from my father's work email, Bill Summers passed away early this morning Thursday 5/12/11, Please check up on Ed Mabry, I talked to Del Reath this week she tells me Joe is not doing all the great & to top it off she had a fall, This was posted in April to the SCTA website, This was posted in March to the SCTA website, For those of you who don't know Ron Lachman had his other knee replacement surgery this afternoon and he came through it just fine, I noticed your name in the Drive Magazine masthead under contributing writers, Construction is already underway on a 4 Lane Wide 1/4 Mile Drag Strip plus a 2-1/2 Mile Race Course, (Here is the) the information as noted for the ‘Bad Bird’ running at the Mojave Mile with David Haas driving, I see that you are selling copies of the book Roy Richter; Striving for Excellence, Thought you might be able to help me, Impound Insights By Dan Warner, After over forty years in the military aircraft business I’ve left the hangar, I used to know Norm Rapp, I have met with Norm Rapp, Please find attached pdf file of latest press release about an important day in the restoration of Europe’s first dragster, 18 May 2011 ADM Announces Sponsors for Auto/Aero History Expo by Bob Falcon, These pictures came through a family link, Boys of Bonneville A movie review by LandSpeed Louise Ann Noeth, All American Racers is proud of the contribution their drivers team and Eagle racing cars have made to the world's most famous race and the part they played in the history of the 500 in the 1960's and 1970's, Maytag Children’s Race Cars History, Hi Richard and Roger Hope you can quickly help me round up a photo that we can use in our show "Pedal to the Metal" a History of Oregon Motorsports, Here is an interview list by Sam Hawley for his book Speed Duel, Sports Illustrated writer Jack Olsen made a series of audio recordings in 1965 that I found extremely useful in writing the later chapters of Speed Duel, I am adding 2 boats from the "Budweiser Dynasty" to the East Coast, This last weekend was the first S.C.T.A. meet of the 2001 Season and everyone was all hyped up after being rained out at the end of last year, Vintage Revival Montlhery 2011

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ President's Corner: Jim Miller is on assignment and will return next week.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial: I recently received this email from Steve Mayer at AARWBA. ----------------- Dusty Brandel, our AARWBA president, has asked me to informally poll you about what you want from AARWBA in the future. The recent controversial elections generated much discussion and division; now is the time to consider how AARWBA can better service your needs and to share those ideas with other members. I’m looking for top-of-the-mind ideas as well as practical suggestions. How can AARWBA be more effective for you? The only caveat is that we are a “boot-strap” organization, without paid staff, so any ideas are implemented by members acting as volunteers. Some of the ideas which come to my mind for our Professional members include: a) Greater transparency for AARWBA, such as members receiving agendas several weeks before any Board meeting (creating the ability for members to make comments to our Board) b) Freelance Compensation survey (per publication, news outlet, etc.) c) Staff Compensation survey (per type of employer) d) Professional development seminars for digital media, news writing, and photography e) An additional contest, to crown “Writer of the Year,” “Broadcaster of the Year,” and “Photographer of the Year,” as voted only by AARWBA’s Professional membership. Feel free to make your suggestions as long or as short as your wish. I will compile them and present them to the Board. The Board will then choose what they believe can reasonably be implemented. Steve Mayer ----------------- The importance of the letter is that AARWBA is an organization that looks after the welfare of writers, broadcasters and photographers. In a way they also represent historians and researchers. The dues are small and the officers are elected by the members and no one receives a salary. They volunteer their time and they are concerned for their members. AARWBA is not a union, nor do they strong-arm anyone, but they do work on the behalf of the motorsports racing media. There are other such organizations, some of which may be larger than AARWBA. I belong to that organization even though I don’t make a living from what I do. Belonging to AARWBA will not make it any easier for you to get race track access. That hinges on your ability to have a magazine, newspaper, TV, radio, large website or other media outlet arrange credentialing for you. But belonging to AARWBA strengthens the overall ability to get credentials and to work a race, as well as other benefits less tangible. Not everyone who is a member of the SLSRH or who reads this letter is a historian, researcher, writer, editor, author, photographer, broadcaster or involved in PR or the media. For some of you belonging to an organization like AARWBA is the farthest thing from your mind. But I know a few of you and I know that you cover races either by being a writer or photographer. In many cases you have your own websites and your following is small. Often you have to pay to get into a race or an event, just as I often have to, and credentials aren’t an option. It is getting harder and harder to get credentials today. Part of the problem is that race tracks, sanctioning bodies and promoters are finding ways to make money by NOT having you at their tracks. In some cases they give the rights to photograph the event to one person, who pays the track operator for the privilege of exclusivity. In other cases the racing promoter hires his own staff to photograph and write about the events and publishes the news on-line or in a flashy monthly or weekly magazine or newspaper. That way the promoter can capture advertising revenue and make the public pay him for news and photographs of the event. It used to be that just about anyone could freelance. All that they had to do was take photographs or write articles and then shop their work to publications. If they were good the news media would buy their work. Let’s be clear; it was a living, but the wages weren’t spectacular. In fact most writers and photographers would do better flipping burgers in a diner than being a “reporter.” There were perks; a credential, donuts, coffee, a place to hang out between races and the chance to be “one of the guys.” The promoter gave you this neat lanyard and a pass or credential to hang around your neck. The public admired how close you could get to the action and how the promoter fawned all over you. That was then; today it isn’t quite like that anymore. I see more photographers and writers at events, but they aren’t the old freelancers; they are staff or they represent only the very large publications. The old way of working from the bottom up is fast ending. Today the media hires far fewer employees and it is all digital. I talked to Randy Fish once and he told me how it used to take dozens of employees to finish that month’s issue of a magazine. Now it takes just the editor and a part time photo layout artist. Everything is computer generated now. The program is there; all that an editor has to do is take the photographs and short articles and place it in the computer program and the magazine is ready. I never see Randy without a camera around his neck. He is the editor, photographer, writer and whatever else needs to be done. Roger and I used to cover events and races and I would come up with 2000 words and he would have about 500 photos. Then I was told by the magazine to get the words under 1200 and though it was a struggle, I did. Roger was now lucky to get 10 of his photos accepted. One day Roger came to me and said that the magazine wouldn’t take any more of my stories unless I could get them under 600 words and for a few months I managed to do that. Then they simply told me to get lost. Though we would do it for free, it was still easier for the publication’s budget to set a budget and let the editor do all the writing, often under an alias. One editor told me that his budget for the whole magazine was $70,000 and after his expenses, the rest was his salary. So if he bought stories from freelancers, it had to come out of the editor’s pockets. Even with massive cost cutting and new publishing technology the magazines and newspapers couldn’t compete with the electronic, computer driven websites. Even with a staff of ONE editor and a part-time photographic layout man the magazines were failing financially. Part of that has to do with distribution and not the creation of the publication. Once printed the issues have to be mailed out to subscribers or sent to newsstands. Subscribers have been bailing on $5 to $10 monthly magazines when many websites are bigger, flashier and free. What you don’t know is that there is, has been and always will be a war among magazines and newspapers at the newsstands. Those that deliver issues will bribe the newsstand owners to put their publications in front of other magazines. The delivery guys will even trash other magazines. You can print it, but you may not be able to deliver those publications. The alternative to the published and printed publications are the websites and they reach out to freelancers like Roger and me and make our jobs so much easier. We are all deserting the printed media for the electronic media in droves. If I write a 200 word article, or a 2000 word article it is fine with the websites. If I want to do a 20,000 word story, which I have done on many occasions, the website operators tell me, “No problem.” Roger can send them 6 or 60 photographs and again it isn’t any big thing to them. The websites don’t live by the page or by spatial dimensions; they live by Terabytes. They buy space from a server and once they purchased Kilobytes and Megabytes and Gigabytes. Now they have gone to Terabytes and beyond. They can take all the things that I have written and Roger has photographed and tell us to increase our output by ten, or a hundred, or a thousand, or perhaps far beyond that. The problem with all this is that the race promoters can do the same thing with very few employees so that in the long run they don’t need us anymore. That’s why we didn’t do an article on the 2011 Winternationals. We simply weren’t needed any longer. It’s not as if Roger or I lack contacts to gain credentials. I was around before there was an NHRA. I’m friends with the 3^rd and 4^th generations of that group. Roger is one of their track photographers. He knows the people, but the problem is that we just aren’t needed any longer. That’s why AARWBA is such an important organization, because they are always trying to find ways to keep us in the game. I can stay or remain with AARWBA. I don’t earn a living from reporting and editing. I can’t even get credentials any longer. But this isn’t about me; it’s about evolution of the media and how we can fulfill our roles and take pride in what we do. I want to advise any members of the SLSRH who have any impact on the media to join AARWBA. It’s about $50 a year to join and that’s all. Your presence strengthens all reporters, for a bigger organization can work for better conditions to work under and accessibility to tracks and events. You get this nifty ID card to put in a lanyard and hang around your neck. You become a part of all the other neat guys and gals in the media. You belong to a group that has been around since the 1950’s. If any of the SLSRH members are interested in joining AARWBA then write to me and I will give you a contact point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is Don Rudy's son, Glenn, composing this email from my father's work email. It is with great sadness that I inform you that my father unexpectedly passed away of natural causes early Monday morning. I apologize for the amount of time that has elapsed before informing you of this tragic loss and for the way in which I am communicating this sad state of affairs. To the extent possible, we have reached out to many over the phone and in person, but could not find current contact information for all of his friends and colleagues hence this email notification. My family will be holding a memorial service for my father on Tuesday, May 17th at 12:30 pm at the Church of the Hills in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills (http://www.forestlawn.com/Special-Events-And-Facilities/Church-Of-The-Hills.asp) with a reception to follow. Information on the reception will be provided at the memorial service. I invite any and all of you to reach out to my sister, Kim, or me with any questions or if you simply wish to chat. I can be reached at [email protected]. My sister can be reached at [email protected]. In the event that you are a business colleague of my father's, please reach out to his colleague Larry Bisordi at [email protected] for ongoing matters. Thank you for being my fathers' friends and for the love and support you've had for him over his years. He will be sorely missed. Sincerely, Glenn R. Rudy Glenn and Kim: We are very sorry to hear of your father's passing. I knew Don only in the last few years. He came to events at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona and to my Boat Racers Reunions. He also contributed his wit and wisdom on my POBB Newsletter and the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians Newsletter at www.landspeedracing.com. Don was a drag racer who knew everyone and was loved by all. I have been trying to get Don to write his biography and share it on-line with other auto racers. If you have a bio or an obituary that you would like to share I would be most thankful to give your father's life the attention that he so richly deserved. I am very sorry to hear of his passing. He was about my age and too young to leave us. For contact information I am only going to use your email addresses in my newsletter unless you tell me otherwise. ------------------------- Thanks for the info. He was well respected in the racing community. Jerry Grobe ------------------------- Sorry to hear about Don Rudy's passing. It is always sad when one hears about the loss of a racing patriot. Thanks for this update, Richard. Warm regards, Kay and Leon Presto

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bill Summers passed away early this morning, Thursday 5/12/11. His wife was with him. Services are pending. Bob Brissette Bob: Can you give me any more info for the newsletter? Also, is there a bio available? ------------------- Just wanted you all to know that Bill Summers passed away this morning. I got an e-mail from his daughter. It must have been something sudden as I just talked to him a couple of days ago and he was fine. He wasn't much of a complainer though. You can contact the family to see what services there will be. Waldo Stakes ------------------- Hello Everyone: My friend and mentor of twenty five years Bill Summers passed away this morning, Friday the 13^th of May 2011. I will surely miss him as we talked frequently and he would always start off the conversation without ever saying who it was. He would start out every phone call with “What are you up to today?” It always took me a few seconds to figure out who was calling and I never got used to it. He would always ask how the rocket car construction was progressing and no matter what I told him he understood. He really asked it out of consideration because rocket cars are of absolutely no interest to a Chrysler engine automobile man. Bill and his younger brother Bob AKA “Butch” started building hot rods in the late 1950s. They started running at Bonneville with a roadster and then later a streamliner which were both powered by Chrysler hemispherical head engines. Bill said “We were always Chrysler guys and that was it. You could do whatever to those engines and they stayed together.” Their early streamliner affectionately known as the “Pollywog” was a very novel front wheel drive design and ran to a new class record of 305 M.P.H. in the early 1960s. Butch and Bill shared the driving but Butch was the better driver of the team so Bill let Butch drive all the later creations. Butch was studying fabrication and welding with various famous LSR guys such as Fred Carrillo who was Butch’s mentor and taught him the finer points of building exotic machinery. Butch got so good that later Butch even taught welding at the college. Meanwhile Bill drove trucks to fund the race car building and campaigns. Bill and Butch Summers are famous in the land speed record racing world for building the “Goldenrod”. Goldenrod was a 32 foot long, 6,000 pound, four wheel drive, four engine automobile which set the wheel driven record of 409 M.P.H. in the winter of 1965. The car was a super streamlined vehicle (8.65 square feet of frontal area at a Cd. Of .17) whose body was designed by famous aerodynamicist Walter Korf. Walter was promised a few thousand dollars for his work but was never paid for his world beating design as promised and never complained about it as all the money that was generated from sponsors actually went into the car and the attempt. Walter was happy to see Donald Campbell’s one year old 403 M.P.H. record fall in only nine runs made by the Goldenrod on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The success of the Goldenrod made Walter even more famous in the racing world and his consulting business did better after that. By contrast Donald Campbell was after his wheel driven land speed record with cutting edge aircraft technology, a turbine engine of twice the horse power of Goldenrod and a total of $6 Million dollars spent on the project during 5 years of work. Remember this is in 1964! Bill told me he figures they spent a total of $175,000.00 on the Goldenrod project. Although magazines claim $250,000.00 was spent. The 4 engines that powered the Goldenrod were essentially stock 1964 vintage Chrysler 426 cubic inch Hemis using a mechanical fuel injection. The engines were all dyno tested showing between 418 and 425 horse power as each engine varied. These figures were achieved running the engines on straight pump gasoline. Magazines and books claim the engines were making 600 horsepower and Bill told me that they never were dyno tested running the fuel that they used for the record runs which was straight Methanol. He guessed that 600 was about what it might be and when asked by the press how much horsepower each engine made, Bill said 600 because it sounded like a good round number. This gave the Goldenrod a theoretical “guestimated” output of 2,400 horsepower but it was all just a story. In the end the Goldenrod ran as high as 431 miles per hour on one pass in only third gear and she was a four speed. No one really knew how fast the car could really run flat out but a top speed of 500 M.P.H. was not considered out of its reach. All other 500 plus M.P.H. top end numbers posted on websites are just folklore. After the record runs the brothers didn’t know what to do next and they never cared much for jet or rocket cars at all so there was no point in going after the absolute land speed record. They had accomplished what they set out to do, build the world’s fastest automobile so Bill took the car on out the car show circuit and Butch started Summers Brothers Machine Inc. This was a company which specialized in developing high performance drive line components for racing applications. Butch who had driven the Goldenrod to record speeds and had designed the chassis and all the mechanical systems of the Goldenrod now had no interest in the car as he was solely focused on the new business based in Ontario California. “He made it very successful.” Bill said. “Once Butch was done with something that was it, he was done and moved on to something else. I was the one who really reaped the glory from the Goldenrod and he didn’t care much about it after the record runs.” Irony being what it is Butch who was a runner and a bit health conscious died about twenty years ago from a heart attack. Bill who was a heavy man with terrible eating habits outlived his younger and much thinner brother. Later the Goldenrod was sold to the Henry Ford museum of technology in Detroit where it now resides. Bill split the money with Butch’s widow and paid off his modest house and began building a new lakester to run on the dirt (El Mirage) and the Bonneville Salt Flats later this year. Sadly he didn’t live long enough to see what it could do. One little story I can tell you now that Bill has passed is that the name of Goldenrod was actually sort of stolen or borrowed from another racer who was campaigning another class streamliner on the salt flats. Bill said “The other guy really wasn’t doing much with the name or having any real class speed record success with the name so I stole it. I liked the name so I used it. The other racer never contacted me about it so I figured it was OK.” It sure was. Bill and Butch made the name “Goldenrod” internationally famous. Waldo Stakes ------------------- It was great to see you at the Santa Ana Reunion. I guess you heard that Bill Summers passed away yesterday. Can you pass the word around? BTW, I don't get your newsletters. Best regards, Ken Freund Ken: The newsletter is at www.landspeedracing.com and all that you have to do is add it to your favorites. If you sign in the owners of the website will send you a special notice to let you know that the most current issue has been published on-line. It is supposed to be a weekly newsletter, but sometimes I miss a week. Waldo Stakes sent me a fine bio and story on Bill and I'm hoping others will send me stories about Bill and the Streamliner from their recollections. I'm hoping to finish my story on the Santa Ana Drags Reunion soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please check up on Ed Mabry. Glen Barrett Glen: Do you have any more information on the passing of Ed Mabry? The following came from his website. ------------------- Team Triumph Texas Home of Mabry Racing and the World’s Fastest Triumphs! Ed’s racing career spans the late 40’s when he was racing his Whizzer to present day at the Bonneville Salt Flats and a lot in between. This includes street racing in Alvarado, Texas and a Texas Top Fuel Championship in 1962. And professional racing at drag strips like Green Valley and Caddo Mills, Texas; Bakersfield and Pomona, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; Bristol, Tennessee and others all over the United States. And some late night testing of Top Fuel cars on a certain street in Arlington, Texas! A pioneer in professional drag racing, milestones include developing safety drag chutes along with Bill Simpson and Jim Deist; and especially developing rear engine Top Fuel cars along with his rival and friend Don Garlits. This major design change has saved the lives for countless drivers and paved the way for the 4 second ET’s and over 300 MPH speeds of today’s dragsters. Ed was a founding member of the Specialty Equipment Market Association's (SEMA) Chassis Rules Committee in the late '60's. Ed built top fuel and funny car chassis for race teams from the late '50's until the mid '70's. Ed was inducted into the Texas Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2000 at Texas Raceway. In the 1970’s and 80’s Ed and friend Lee Manis (and later David Wade) formed Team Triumph Texas and built Triumph race bikes. Closely aligned with Jack Wilson of Big ‘D’ Cycle, they set a multitude of drag race and land speed records. Ed built turbocharged fuel-burning Triumph Trident engines that make a LOT of horsepower and the chassis that would handle them. Star rider Jon Minonno was five-time national road racing champion, two-time national Pro Mod drag racing champion and member of the exclusive Bonneville 200 MPH Club. Ed’s motorcycles have set 15 different World Land Speed records Bonneville. His masterpiece, No. 601, holds class records exceeding 238, 224 and 213 MPH and a highest unofficial one-way speed of over 261 MPH. At three-quarter throttle! It is the fastest “pushrod” motorcycle in the world. In 2003 No. 601, Ed, Jon, David and Team Triumph Texas were on their way to a tremendous qualifying run and potential new record, when they experienced an oil fire at over 240 MPH. 601 is being rebuilt and will be back. As a result of his many land speed racing accomplishments, Ed was inducted into the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame in Buellton, California in September of 2004. Ed is a retired Bell Helicopter Engineering Manager, machinist, welder, race car and bike designer and fabricator, and was a United States Air Force pilot training to fly jet fighters in Korea when that war ended. He is also a thinker, philosopher, humorist and long time supporter of the North Texas Norton Owners Association and its members. Ed was the Grand Marshall for the NTNOA's 19th annual rally. The Newest Race Bike is 605. It will race in the 750cc Pushrod Blown Fuel Category. The tradition started in 1955 with a World Land Speed Record of 193.3mph, followed by an unofficial record of 214.7mph in 1956. Although not their first (or last!) Bonneville outings, these were the best known efforts of the Stormy Mangum-Jack Wilson-Johnny Allen streamliner known as "The Devil’s Arrow" and later "The Texas Cee-Gar." Not bad for a normally aspirated 650cc Thunderbird! The tradition continues with Team Triumph Texas (TTT), a direct descendant of the great Team that beat the world in 1955 and gave the Triumph Bonneville its name - arguably the best known marque and model of all time. A 1978 Triumph ad exclaimed "Triumph’s have been setting records on the Bonneville salt longer than most motorcycle companies have been in business!" Even more true today. For many years, Triumph was truly the "World’s Fastest Motorcycle." They are still "World’s Fastest" in a number of vintage, pushrod and "heads-up" class records at Bonneville. Many have been set by Team Triumph Texas, including the SCTA certified, but unofficial record for the "World’s Fastest Real Motorcycle" of 256.264mph in 1992! A "real" motorcycle being one you ride rather than drive, and that you ride on rather than in. This dual-engine, early Triumph triple powered, turbocharged, fuel burning, 400+bhp, partial-streamliner (No. 601) is the TTT "flagship." The 256 run was at "only" 70% throttle and we’re still trying hard for 100%! The newest project is aimed straight at the record for the fastest 1000cc class motorcycle in the world, and frankly, making a big splash for Triumph. Not vintage. Not pushrod. Just the fastest. The new bike (No. 604) is a single engine, turbocharged, fuel burning, 200+bhp, partial streamliner with (you guessed it) a late model Triumph engine. It is not a modified street bike, but a total race shop special. It first competed in the 1998 Bonneville National Speed Week. The record for this class was 211.698 mph set in 1990 by a BMW. We beat it with two runs of 216 and 210 for an average speed of 213 mph. Bonneville 1992 - Fastest Pushrod Motorcycle awarded to: Jack Wilson / David Wade / Ed Mabry Class: APS-ABF-3000 Speed: 250.623 mph. Team Triumph Texas 2528 Weaver Street Fort Worth, Texas 76117. 817-831-1805 Email: [email protected] -------------------------------- Glen Freudenberg asked me to contact you regarding Ed Mabry's passing. Ed was a good friend of mine and like many of his friends I would visit with him when I was in Dallas on business. It is my understanding that Ed was found in his shop, deceased. He would go there every day and folks would come by and visit. I think it very appropriate that he passed in his shop surrounded by his racing equipment, motorcycles and memories, we should all be so lucky. Last time I visited 601 and 604 were there as well as many of his older race bikes. Ed never got rid of anything and I am hoping that that at least those two motorcycles will end up in a good home, preferably a museum. Just visiting with Ed in the shop was a wonderful experience. He was sharp and always had great stories of racing at Bonneville. Several years ago while visiting he pulled out his drag racing album and stated, "you know I am a recovering drag racer," and went through his drag racing history with me. At the time I did not realize what a pioneer he was in drag racing. He was an amazing man who innovated in motorsports and was always there to help any racer. He will be missed but we all are better for having had time with him. Larry Coleman (2010 AMA Hall of Fame Inductee), L.C. Sales & Marketing, 1950 Webb Avenue, Chico, CA. 95928. Larry: Thank you for your memories of Ed's life. Our goal at the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians is to encourage everyone to write their bios, caption their photographs, leave their stories behind and do an inventory of their memorabilia. This is how we all can help to leave our history and heritage of motorsports for the next generation. These stories on Ed Mabry will help in our efforts to remember his life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I talked to Del Reath this week, she tells me Joe is not doing all the great & to top it off, she had a fall, anyone in the Long Beach area that way be able to help out can call Della at 562 427-3273. They are great People. Bob Painton, Victoria B.C. Bob: Thank you for the information and I will publish this in the newsletter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editor’s notes: This was posted in April to the SCTA website. “I am sad to report on the passing of Courtney Hizer on Saturday afternoon. He was attended by family and friends. Courtney was a former record holder, and a member of the Bonneville 200 MPH Club, 1987. Courtney and his wife, Villa, personified the salt racer with his good humor and their generosity to others.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editor’s notes: This was posted in March to the SCTA website. “There will be a memorial service for Phil Smith, Gear Grinder and driver of Lakester #92 on Saturday March 26th at 1pm. The service will be held at the Elks Club, 212 Elks Lane, Santa Ana. Attendees are directed to take the 4th Street exit off the 55 Freeway. From long time friend David Willis.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For those of you who don't know, Ron Lachman had his other knee replacement surgery this afternoon and he came through it just fine. Because there is always a chance of infection due to his taking immunosuppressant drugs for his heart transplant, we worry just a little over the next few days. BUT, he does get extra looking after from the docs and nurses due to the transplant. He was still a little out of it when I left and they had not yet assigned him a room. Doc said he really did great. I'll keep you all posted on any changes. Should be in the hospital for 3-4 days. Marilyn Lachman Marilyn: Give our best wishes to Ron for a speedy recovery.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I noticed your name in the Drive Magazine masthead under contributing writers. Would appreciate you providing some contact information so I can include them in my Auto/Aero Expo news release contact file. Thanks, Bob Falcon Bob: That information on the masthead is at least 4 editors ago. I have not submitted an article to them in years. But Roger Rohrdanz is still connected to DRIVE Magazine and I am forwarding his email address to you so that he can help you. DRIVE magazine is a fine source throughout the Pacific Coast region. Better is www.hotrodhotline.com; contact Mary Ann Lawford and ask her if she will post your releases and schedules of events.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Construction is already underway on a 4 Lane Wide 1/4 Mile Drag Strip plus a 2-1/2 Mile Race Course. Looks like it's going to be one awesome facility. http://www.ridgemotorsportspark.com/. Bob Painton

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Here is the) the information as noted for the ‘Bad Bird’ running at the Mojave Mile with David Haas driving. There have been changes made since the event, and we wanted to wait until those were finalized in writing. We head for California for a week with friends and relatives tomorrow, and then will send you an article on the Mojave Mile results, and the new changes to the Maxx2Racing (M2) Team. ------------------ Sunday, May 8, 2011. Maxx2Racing (M2) is pleased to announce it affiliation with the LSR Driving Experience. Dennis Zainfeld brings to Maxx2Racing his expertise in the field of offering that which most will not experience in their lifetime, the chance to drive a car of their choice at Land Speed Racing venues all across the United States. The team has a state of the art shop, transporters, ten race cars in their stable, and the knowledge to build whatever might confront them. The Maxx2racing Royal Purple sponsored NASCAR T-bird, aptly named the ‘Bad Bird’, holds class records at the Maxton Mile, and the Mojave Mile. Follow along as we expand our brand and continue to set records at multiple LSR venues across the country. We are also linked to and written about on the USFRA.com website, ECTA, MojaveMile.com, BonnevilleRacing.com, ICE Ignition Systems, Prosystemsracing.com, LandspeedRacing, RacingIn, Facebook, YouTube, the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians Newsletter, National Speed Sport News online, Bonneville Racing News, HubGarage, RacingJunk, StreetFire, LinkedIn, PhotoBucket and other automotive racing sites. Richard (aka MAXX) L. and Judy C. White The MAXX2RACING (M2) Team Owners/Record Setting ‘Bad Bird’ LSR Race Car AA/GCT Maxton Mile, NC Record Holder/205.886 MPH Mojave Mile NASCAR Bodied Car Record/202.4 MPH Mojave Mile Land Speed Auto 1st Place/April 2011 (M2 website) http://maxx2racing.com/ (Picture/Video website) http://maxx2racing.org/ (’99 Pontiac Firebird ‘Bad Bird II’ website) http://maxx2racing.info/. Richard and Judy: Would you write up your experiences in a story format and send it to us to publish?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I see that you are selling copies of the book Roy Richter; Striving for Excellence. I have a copy of the book already. It is a terrific book. I live in the Detroit area and I am doing research on the VFW Speedway. What I would ask you is it possible to obtain copies of any of the photos in the book? Photos from this era are hard to find, I am particularly interested in the one on page 33, it is of the front of the Speedway. This one is listed as of the Roy Richter Collection. There are two others on page 40, the top one and the bottom one. These are photos of Roy standing outside of Mert Harris's shop. I met Mert a few years back when he was in Florida. I see his son Chuck who still lives in Royal Oak, Michigan. These photos are in the Deb Snyder"s Collection. Thanks, Steve Wolski Steve: Roy Richter, Striving for Excellence was written by Art Bagnall and Art lives in Kernville, California. He may still have the original photographs. Try and look him up on Google or the web white pages. Jack Stewart, in Downey, California bought up a large number of the books and is selling them. This is one of the cornerstone books for early Southern California hot rodding history. It should be in every hot rodder's library. My normal email address is [email protected] and I'm sorry for the delay in checking the email address that you used. You can also send requests for photos to the members of the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians Newsletter at www.landspeedracing.com to see if any of them might have the photographs that you are seeking.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thought you might be able to help me. There's a website ahrf, American Hot Rod Foundation, maintained by Jim Miller. There are tons of pictures, some dating back to Gilmore Midget days, that have been donated by different people or groups including Gear Grinders and I know you did a story on their banquet a couple of years ago. Do you have any idea of how to reach someone within that club that might have been involved in donating the pictures? I'd like to reach that person to see if they sell any of their collection because I've been in touch with Miller hoping to buy some. Other photos were donated by Bruce Hand and Pat Campea. Do you know either of these guys or their relatives? Look forward to hearing from you. Dan Fleisher Dan: I received your email today although you sent it to me some time ago. My correct email address that I check every day is [email protected]. I called and spoke to Jim Miller and he told me that the AHRF changed to a new email system and they are like 4500 emails backlogged. It is better if you call Jim at 818-846-5139, as he finds it more efficient to use the telephone than email. We have other contact information on www.landspeedracing.com. Jim said that he does not sell photographs or the rights to photographs and neither does the AHRF, since when people let them copy their photo albums it is considered a loan and not a gift or a sale. The same is true of The Society of Land Speed Racing Historians Newsletter, which is located at www.landspeedracing.com. Jim is our President and I am the editor of the Newsletter. We are given permission to publish the photographs, but we do not ask the lender for ownership. We have no policy against purchasing photographs. In fact we try and facilitate transfer of ownership whenever there are buyers and sellers, because we don't want to see the photographs lost and we recognize the value of collectors in saving these priceless artifacts. We are volunteers, in a voluntary organization and as such we don't have the means to have a bureau of ownership for photographs and artifacts. It has been suggested to us and if we had the means we would create such a bureau, where ownership, once proven, would be registered. In the meantime what we can do to help you is to publish this letter to our readers, who number around a thousand and see if anyone has photographs that they would like to sell you, or give you permission to publish. Please call Jim Miller and ask him to make a few referrals on your behalf. Another valuable technique is to start a phone search and after you have exhausted all avenues, to ask the person if they have a few phone numbers and names to give you to continue calling. Please write back and let me know what contact information you would like me to post in the SLSRH Newsletter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Impound Insights, By Dan Warner The May meet signaled the end of a eight month wait to get to racing. Wet winter months produced a short 2010 season but, gave high hopes for a much improved racing surface. The anticipation was not fulfilled, however we did carry on. High winds were on hand for the entire two day meet as were very cold temps which is good for the engines, not so much for the drivers and crew. Our ‘racer friendly’ President, Don Ferguson II, gave everyone plenty of opportunities to get as many runs as they wanted.. When is the last time you heard a fifth round call up on Sunday? The great news is that there were 6 new members for the El Mirage 200 MPH Club; Kevin Lefevers drove the family’s C/GMR to a new class record of 213+. Brother Ryan is up next, he got a couple of license passes out of the way on Sunday. Chauvin M Emmons brought the Emmons Special over from Arizona. The C/BFRMR car ran a great 236 on Saturday, an out of bounds pass on Sunday nullified a higher speed. Willie Boelcke wrung a 201 out of his C/GRMR. Willie pulled into impound while I was checking a class competitor who had just bumped the record to 199. He tried again on Sunday but ran a little short of Willie’s record at 200.8. This drama was one of the highlights of the meet. Our ‘woman who does all’ Miriam Macmillan added a Merlot colored hat to her red one from last year by driving her H/BGCC to a super speed of 201+. On the bike side we had Jim Hoogerhyde ride his 1000-A-BF racer to a new record of 203. Pat Womack joined Jim as a club member by riding his 1350-A-BG ‘Busa to a great 227.Very brave in the conditions, on second thought, all our racers this weekend did a good job considering. There was pending rain due on Monday and Tuesday following the meet. Here hoping that some course repair will result and warmer temps will prevail at the June competition. A complete list of the 30 new records follows: New 2011 EL MIRAGE CAR RECORDS 10.B Vintage Category Blown Fuel Modified Roadster - /BFMR G Pro Per Racing D. Stringfellow Jr. 05/11 172.983 H On Line Racing R. Sights 05/11 165.015 Unblown Gas Modified Roadster - /GMR C Lefevers & Jesel K. Lefevers 05/11 213.609 Blown Fuel Rear Engine Modified Roadster - /BFRMR C Emmons Special C M Emmons 05/11 236.476 Unblown Gas Rear Engine Modified Roadster - /GRMR C Low Sodium W. Boelcke 05/11 201.413 D Vintage Hammer Sp F. Valdez 05/11 196.588 Blown Fuel Roadster - /BFR A Cummins/Beck/Davidson/Thornsberry D. Davidson 05/11 247.316 Blown Gas Roadster - /BGR H Edwall Eyres Moreland M. Lintner 05/11 170.627 Blown Street Roadster - /BSTR C Vintage Hot Rod D. Cummins 05/11 208.723 G LTD Sights Racing B. Sights 05/11 146.573 Blown Vintage Gas Altered Coupe - /BVGALT XXF Ferguson & Osborn T. Osborn 05/11 159.181 Unblown Vintage Gas Altered Coupe - /VGALT V4F Lattin & Gillette By Lattin 05/11 97.300 10.D Modified Category Blown Gas Competition Coupe - /BGCC H Hondata CRX M. Macmillan 05/11 201.666 Unblown Gas Coupe - /GC J V & M Racing P. Prentice 05/11 95.082 Unblown Gas Modified Sports - /GMS B Jesel & Cook M. Cook Sr 05/11 220.302 New 2011 EL MIRAGE MOTORCYCLE RECORDS 50cc SC-BF Team McLeish/Grether D. McLeish 05/11 65.261 250cc P-P Mercury M. Anderson 05/11 141.988 650cc APS-G Ralph Hudson R. Hudson 05/11 181.973 P-P Honda Racing R. Leclercq 05/11 165.063 750cc A-PG Lone Gone MS C. Kilmek 05/11 140.181 SC-PBG MPH Racing H. Meeker 05/11 134.419 1000cc A-G Butler, Pflum, Wagner J. Pflum 05/11 186.050 APS-F Jim Hoogerhyde J. Hoogerhyde 05/11 203.149 APS-G Ralph Hudson R. Hudson 05/11 207.161 A-VG Jim Robinson J. Robinson 0 05/11 138.066 P-P Butler, Pflum, Wagner J. Pflum 05/11 196.190 SCS_F Team McLeish Bros D. McLeish 05/11 170.397 1350cc A-BG Womack Sandin Tudor P. Womack 05/11 227.870 APS-BF Noonan/Noonan/Moreland J. Noonan 05/11 239.580 SC-PBF Isley Racing D. Isley 05/11 165.106 Hope to see everyone at the June meet. Be safe, go fast and have fun.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After over forty years in the military aircraft business, I’ve left the hangar. I’ve taken a position with Randy Clark at his shop, Hot Rods & Custom Stuff, in Escondido, CA. I’m going try to help develop the business with Randy. I’ll be bringing fresh content to his website, as well as developing relationships with media, suppliers and customers. The link to the web page below announces my new position. All of you know that I have had a life-long passion for hot rods, customs and most specialty and high performance cars. I intend to bring that passion to my new job. Do me a favor: After following the link and reading the press release, take a look at the rest of the currently existing Hot Rods & Custom Stuff website, and let me know what you think is good or bad. Over time, keep going back to the website and let me know personally if there is, or is not, an improvement. This will give me an indicator on how well I’m doing my job. Another measure, of course, will be Randy’s “bottom line.” http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/latest-stuff/hot-rods-and-custom-stuff-announces-new-tea m-member.html. Chick Koszis, 760-500-1804, [email protected].

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To Spencer Simon: I used to know Norm Rapp. He was a Halibrand dealer in the SFO area. It has been a very long time since I even heard his name. Bob Falcon

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have met with Norm Rapp. It has been 15 years since I have seen him. It was a great visit, and I had a good time with the experiences. I even brought down my unidentifiable Gears that were on my Richmond 5 speed transaxle quick change to be identified. He has allowed and given me some great information and some personals that I have thought would be of great importance. I was given an inspiring tour. I have some great shots of photos of some of his Indy pictures to send to you with the story that I have to put together. He remembers Bob Falcon. When the story is written it should explain everything. He is a great man. Spencer Simon - Reporter of the North Spencer: You are doing a great job reporting on racers and racing in northern California. We look forward to the story on Norm Rapp.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please find attached pdf file of latest press release about an important day in the restoration of Europe’s first dragster – Sydney Allard’s 1961 Allard Chrysler. Release available as Word file with jpg picture attachments. Santa Pod Raceway have organized a Dragstalgia Promotional Marquee at the forthcoming Main Event held at the track this Spring bank Holiday. The ACAG has been provided with a table to promote our cause and merchandise as well as talk to people about the Dragstalgia Event. Commuter will be there along with other nostalgic machines but we will be saving Ally for the Dragstalgia Event itself. But Santa Pod has asked us if we can supply people to man the marquee over the weekend (we are known as Nostalgia Nuts) so if you are available please contact me. So far it looks like me and Syd McDonald. It would be nice to have a couple more but we need to know that you are available to man the stand rather than just watch the races. I know this might be difficult because the entry looks amazing. Passes will be available so please contact me if you can help. Brian Taylor, Chairman Allard Chrysler Action Group ------------------------- ANOTHER IMPORTANT MARKER IN THE RESTORATION OF EUROPE’S FIRST DRAGSTER, by Brian Taylor. May 10th at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu marked another important date in the restoration of Sydney Allard’s 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster – a full inspection of the rolling chassis (qualifying condition and identifying part numbers) and the fitting of the Booth-Arons recreated engine into the chassis. Bob Roberts, Andy Robinson, Chris Eames, Syd McDonald, John Hunt and Brian Taylor volunteered for the tasks that were carried out in the museum’s workshops. Shoehorning the engine into the chassis. John Hunt left, Syd McDonald right with Andy Robinson and Bob Roberts at the sharp end. Chris Eames was working the hoist. (source; Tim Woodcock) There had been worries about the spacers used on the rocker covers and inlet manifold creating fitting problems but these proved to be unfounded. The team had to remove the injection unit and the blow-off valve to shoehorn it in, but once manhandled through the frame the engine fitted like a glove. Not only that but the existing body panels fitted almost perfectly and the group sigh of relief could be heard in Southampton. The pipes from the blower to the inlet manifold are clearly not correct and the assumption is that they came from the dragster that replaced the 1961 car in 1965. As the need to replace these because of their condition had been anticipated it’s not such a big problem. For the first time since 1964 the car has an engine where it should be and is now on display at Beaulieu in that condition. 2 Chris Eames, Syd McDonald, Andy Robinson, Brian Taylor and John Hunt. The guy at the back is a Beaulieu ghost. Bob Roberts took the photo which is why he is not in the team picture (source; Bob Roberts) Andy Robinson and Chris Eames focused on the rear end and transmission while Bob Roberts, Syd McDonald and John Hunt concentrated on the front end. Everyone (including the Beaulieu crew) helped out with the actual engine installation. Fortunately the rest of the inspection confirmed that most components are in good order with basic refurbishment being required rather than component replacement. Allard Chrysler Action Group Chair, Brian Taylor reports, “We discovered such anomalies as the need to remove the front brake callipers before the wheels could be taken off. There is also a sheared half-shaft and only one set of rear brakes, plus some of the cockpit controls need fabricating. But all in all we spotted no insurmountable complications. Chris Eames tried to locate the original paint by rubbing back the existing colour but it appears that it was all stripped back before applying the current metallic blue. And we did identify the dark colour on the chassis and rear panels as being a dark navy blue rather than black. Unless we get any additional evidence about the original colours applied we will match the existing colours”. Andy Robinson said, “Considering the car hasn’t been used since 1964 I was pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the components when we stripped them down. The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu have obviously looked after the exhibit well. Although there is still much to do, it looks like the restoration work should not be quite as extensive as originally thought”. 3 Brian Taylor said, “I must thank the team who joined me at Beaulieu and carried out the installation and inspection. Although most of us consider it a privilege to work on this project it’s all done on a voluntary basis and is much appreciated by myself and the museum management. And a special thanks to the Beaulieu team who helped with the lifting and preparation of a hydraulic test rig to check out the callipers. Now we have a car with an engine in place I can get down to fixing some public appearances during the summer. The Hot Rod Drive-In at Beaulieu June 18th/19th is confirmed as is Dragstalgia at Santa Pod July 16th/17th. I will be looking for volunteers to man our display shortly. But we do desperately need more funds to progress the work”. In celebration of this important stage of the restoration Paul Whitehouse has completed another excellent painting of the 1961 Allard Chrysler – this one based on a photo taken at Silverstone in 1963. Many think it is his best yet. The 1961 Allard Chrysler at Silverstone in 1963 by Paul Whitehouse Paul has really captured the excitement of the occasion and the car is quite 3-dimensional. In the background you can see the empty grandstand at Woodcote Corner where the old Club Straight met the circuit. There’s Allan Herridge’s Straight 8 Buick and the Worden dragster to the right. The gouache painting is currently being scanned, mounted and framed, and after being signed by Nick Mason and Alan Allard the original will be auctioned for funds. The last originals went really quickly so those interested in bidding should contact [email protected] or phone him on 01395 579733. Prints will be made available full size and in A4 Mini print format. Editors Notes: This release is available in Word with jpg attachments. Contact Brian Taylor at [email protected].

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18 May 2011. ADM Announces Sponsors for Auto/Aero History Expo, by Bob Falcon. The Automobile Driving Museum, (The Auto Museum That Takes You For A Ride), announces that several groups have agreed to become sponsors of the upcoming Automobile & Aviation History Expo that is planned for Sunday, June 26, 2011. These sponsors will help by spreading the news of the event to their membership about how the event will benefit each of them by providing an outlet for their reference and research data. To date the sponsoring groups are: Autobooks/Aerobooks Bookstore; The Society of Land Speed Historians coupled with www.HotRodHotLine.com; The American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA); and Stokes Communications. Autobooks, located in Burbank, California is a noted bookseller in a large location that specializes in automotive publications of all sorts. They also have an extensive inventory of aviation publications. The Society of Land Speed Racing Historians serves as the communications media for a forgotten group of So Cal “car guys,” the people who are active in Dry Lakes Racing on the California Dry Lakebeds. This group numbers the participants in the four different timing associations who organized the competitions at Muroc, Harper and El Mirage Dry Lakes. Only one of the four remains active (SCTA) and the venues have shrunk to a single location, El Mirage. SCTA continues to sanction events at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Hot Rod Hotline is the leading electronically published magazine that specializes in Special Interest autos such as Hot Rods and Customs. HRHL has a worldwide readership. AARWBA is the senior Auto Racing Press Association in the US. Their membership of journalists, which include broadcasters, photographers and public relations professionals, is the racing media group comparable to the Baseball Writers Association. Stokes Communications is a motor sport centered public relations and press media group who provide corporate and product information to news publishers. They have deep roots within the SoCal motor sports world. A few other significant groups are under consideration for sponsorship and news will be forthcoming when they are signed. The Auto & Aviation History Expo is a unique gathering wherein auto writers and authors dispense with their no longer needed data collections. A sort of “Spring-Cleaning” of reference and research files. The gathering also includes many vendors who specialize in out of print auto publications such as Owners Manuals, Auto Maintenance Publications and Auto advertising brochures. This cadre is usually found at the area automotive swap meets where all type of auto equipment and parts are sold. This particular event is unique in that it is a print media ONLY vendor selling…no cars or car parts. In years past another scaled down event such as this was staged but when the organizing group decided to “Stand-Down.” ADM took the baton and staged a remarkable event in 2010, and this year promises to exceed the 2010 effort. The event will be held on the ADM grounds located in El Segundo California, just a short drive from the major airport (LAX). The location is Freeway close to all points in Southern California via the I-105 Imperial Freeway, which stretches from the coastline location of the airport eastbound to the city of Downey which intersects most of the north and south bound freeways in the Southland. The hours for guests are 10 AM to 2 PM while booth set up begins at 7 AM. There will be food service at the outdoor BBQ but a donation of $5 is requested for entering the museum floor to view the nearly 100 showroom condition display of cars. Visitors to the museum are eligible to take a ride in one of the vehicles selected for that day. Transition between the vendor areas passes straight through the Restoration Shops that will be staffed with Docents to provide project information. The ADM Website is www.theADM.org. For more information contact: Jodee at [email protected], call 310-909-1593 or email Bob Falcon at [email protected].

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These pictures came through a family link. You’ve probably seen them but thought I’d pass them on in case you hadn’t. I continue to soldier on with Motorsports Education with some (small) signs that educators are beginning to see the light. Stanford is embarking on partnership with Collier Museum under ‘Revs’ banner. Might spur interest in California racing history. Eve Drake just had her birthday (she turned 100) with a small family gathering. See http://wediditforlove.com/NoCal.html. Ken Berg

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boys of Bonneville, A movie review by LandSpeed Louise Ann Noeth. ----------------------------------- When it comes to “car films” you can count really great ones on one hand. Add Boys of Bonneville to that hand. This wonderfully crafted documentary has absorbing historic footage combined with a fine cross-section of folks who speak with authority (Hugh Coltharp, Gordon E. White) and sometimes only awe (Jay Leno) about David Abbot (Ab) Jenkins (1883-1956) whom many steadfastly believe is the “Father of salt racing and his son, Marv Jenkins. It was Ab’s dogged determination that put the Bonneville Salt Flats on the international racing map, not to mention the hundreds of speed marks he set there proving the salt’s worth. Considering his limited resources, Jenkins racked up remarkable achievements. What distinguished him from his contemporaries was his precise use of local, “tribal” salt knowledge and unlimited guts. He was a deeply religious man who put his faith in God, and by God, he went far. Jenkins was often oxymoronically called “The World’s Safest Speedster” because he set more world records than any other driver, past or present, yet he was prouder of his million-mile “no accident” street driving record than all his speed and endurance records combined. His watchwords were simple: Safety First. Moreover, the vintage film footage shows first-hand what a relaxed champion he was — exiting his Bonneville Salt Flats racing machines after a grueling 24-hour endurance run as though he were climbing out of a limousine on Broadway. It took several decades later to topple Jenkins exhausting, 48-hour endurance record. As for the marks that have fallen, it required the efforts of several drivers compared to Jenkins single-man driving shows. However, many still remain intact today. One-time considered Utah’s “one-man public relations machine,” Jenkins racing fame got him elected Mayor of Salt Lake in 1940 without ever giving a speech, or spending a nickel on a campaign. He served until 1944. Ab Jenkins was the certainly the first person catch “salt fever” and luckily he passed it on to succeeding generations with a need for speed. When Jenkins died at age 76, on August 9, 1956, the world was a little slower for him having done so. If the film has one flaw, it failed to clearly document that it was Jenkins and his son Marv’s super human driving efforts on behalf of General Motors Pontiac Motor Division that caused the executives to change the car’s boring “Series 860″? name to “Bonneville” when the pair set dozens of speed marks out on the salt. It is the only car in the world that “earned” its name and not simply “given” its name. If it was a matter of total run time at stake, the comments from Donald Davidson would never be missed giving viewers another sumptuous morsel of achievement from two ordinary men who did extraordinary things. Land speed racing continues today on the flats, it is an iconic slice of what remains of American frontier life, great daring-do with all the ponies now under the hood. When writing my book, Bonneville Salt Flats, I was privileged to be given unrestricted access by the Jenkins family to their personal files and photo collection. I spent several days in Noma and Marv’s in St. George, Utah home researching the early days of the sport going through Ab’s entire career. It was a phenomenal collection of documentation, photos, letters and personal commentary of the era. I came away thinking, “There ought to be a film made about these two” and now there is. Although the Jenkins name has faded away in motor sports, Director Curt Wallin has done a masterful job in resetting the consciousness level together with great editing and well-paced, informative writing that even a Hampton Socialite would be happy miss a nail appointment to see the film. The film will be shown on the big screen in Wendover, Utah during the 2011 Speedweek and Pebble Beach in Carmel, CA, the following week as well as during a variety of film festivals, but will not be put into general distribution for too many reasons I won’t bore you with here. For more information about screenings near you, or how to buy the DVD, navigate to: http://www.boysofbonneville.com. In the spirit of transparency, you’ll see my mug, or hear my voice in the film a few times. My only regret is not taking time to “powder my nose” before Wallin and crew filmed my interview at the Indianapolis Speedway Museum. Consequently, I look like I have just been dragged through the hedge backwards after spending a day in Gasoline Alley running around with Paula Murphy and Andy Granatelli (the guy makes the Energizer bunny look like a slug).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All American Racers is proud of the contribution their drivers, team and Eagle racing cars have made to the world's most famous race and the part they played in the history of the 500 in the 1960's and 1970's. Eagles won the race in 1968 (No. 3 with Bobby Unser, Leader Card/Rislone team), in 1973 (No. 20 with Gordon Johncock, Pat Patrick/STP Team) and in 1975 (No. 48 with Bobby Unser, Gurney-AAR Jorgensen team). Dan Gurney came to the Speedway for the first time in 1962 driving Mickey Thompsons' Buick Special. He invited Colin Chapman, the most gifted designer of his era, to visit the track and look over the existing technology. Dan paid Mr. Chapman's round trip plane ticket and introduced him to Ford Motor Company in Detroit. This led to the Lotus Ford/Indy effort with Dan and Jim Clark as team mates for the next three years and ushered in the rear engine revolution at the Speedway in a big way. With the help of Goodyear, Dan Gurney's company All American Racers started to build Indy cars in late 1965 and managed to put five Eagles on the grid in 1966. Dan's day was cut short by a multi-car accident that happened in front of him on the starting line, which eliminated 11 machines. The very first dark blue AAR Eagle No. 31 only covered a distance of barely 150 yards. (It is beautifully restored and part of the Riverside/ Magnon Museum collection today). Dan went on to a stellar Indy car career as a driver putting an Eagle twice on the front row and finishing 2nd, 2nd and 3rd in 1968,1969 and 1970. While a win eluded him as a driver, three victories as a manufacturer and team owner made up for it. The following drivers drove for the AAR factory team: Dan Gurney, Joe Leonard, Roger McCluskey, Lloyd Ruby, Jochen Rindt, Jerry Grant, Denis Hulme, Bobby Unser, Jim Malloy, Wally Dallenbach, Pancho Carter, Vern Schuppan, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Mike Mosley, Kevin Cogan, Tom Sneva and Ed Pimm. 53 drivers put customer Eagles into the field of the Indy 500. They came from a variety of different motorsports series: Donnie Allison, Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Ronnie Bucknum, Larry Cannon, Pancho Carter, Jimmy Caruthers, Michael Chandler, Steve Chassey, Wally Dallenbach, Mark Donohue, Chet Fillip, Dennis Firestone, Spike Gehlhausen, Jerry Grant, Pete Halsmer, Bob Harkey, Mike Hiss, David Hobbs, Gordon Johncock, Herm Johnson, Bubby Jones, Jerry Karl, Mel Kenyon, Steve Krisiloff, Joe Leonard, Lee Kunzman, John Mahler, Jim McElreath, Roger McCluskey, Graham McRae, Mike Mosley, Rick Muther, Jan Opperman, Johnny Parsons Jr., Sam Posey, Bill Puterbaugh, Lloyd Ruby, Johnny Rutherford, Joe Saldana, Swede Savage, Billy Scott, Sam Sessions, Dick Simon, Bill Simpson, George Snider, Bobby Unser, Al Unser Jr., Al Unser Sr., Billy Vukovich, Bentley Warren and Carl Williams. Out of the 33 fastest qualifiers at the 1973 race 21 were Eagles built in Santa Ana - this at a time when competition among manufacturers was as fierce as among drivers. Received from All American Racing, Santa Ana, California.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maytag Children’s Race Cars History: Good things can come in small packages and that was true of the Maytag powered children’s race cars. Here is a bit of history about the small but very significant racers that were popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The Maytag Racers contributed to the launching of two major children’s racing associations that exist to our day and were the predecessor of the modern racing go-kart with its sidewinder mid-mounted engine. In 1915 Maytag introduced the Multi-Motor gasoline powered clothes washing machine which enabled homes without electricity to have the convenience of a washer. “Starting the wash” meant Mom had to mix the oil and fuel mixture, put the 30 foot exhaust hose with muffler outside the back door, add the detergent and kick start the motor to life. The 1920’s brought electricity to many more homes and the retired Multi-Motors began to stack up at Maytag dealers as the older washers were converted to electric power. Eventually some of these motors found their way into kid’s home-built race cars and even Maytag took note of the trend and in 1934 introduced a Maytag factory produced Racer. Production continued until 1941 (WWII). There were 498 production toy racers built with only about 35 surviving cars today. An original Maytag Toy Racer now commands $20,000+ and is a prized Maytag collectible. The Maytag Toy Racer production numbers were probably just a fraction of the total number of Maytag powered racers which were built by parents and kids using the obsolete and discarded engines. Both the production and home-built cars hold an important place in auto racing history as these cars were the predecessors of Quarter Midget Racers that launched the careers of many famous drivers. The original Soap Box Derby racers date from this time period and probably both provided and received some inspiration from their Maytag powered counterparts. Both of these fine racing associations continue to this day introducing thousands of kids to basic driving skills, racing competition and good sportsmanship. Maytag dealers were always anxious for more publicity for their stores and often provided decals and other sponsorship benefits for racers in addition to promoting parades and races. Their sponsored race drivers and cars were often featured in the newspaper ads for their Maytag dealerships. Some creative dealers “employed” their young sponsored drivers to sign up their parents and neighbors for home demonstrations of Maytag products. Maytag racers became stars of the silver screen. In 1931 a Fox Movietone News short showed 50 Maytag powered racers racing in Salt Lake City. Little Rascals fans will recall episode #183 “Auto Antics” with Butch and Alfalfa racing soap box derby style cars. Butch’s had a hidden Maytag motor. Alfalfa (Carl Switzer) was quite the practical joker and liked to goof off in scenes intentionally and one of the racing scenes required over 30 retakes. Eventually the two stroke engine exhaust fumes overcame Darla who passed out and was rushed to the hospital. The director abandoned any more retakes and edited out Alfalfa’s on-camera antics. Even the hallowed racing ground of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway felt the impact of these little Maytag racers as the "Indianapolis Children’s Speed Classic" was staged there on May 26-27, 1934. Oil drums were placed on the main straightaway to mark out a small oval where the racers reached up to 20 MPH. Floyd "Pop" Dreyer of the Duesenberg Brothers Indianapolis race car shop built a car that was driven by his three-year old son. The Maytag engine used on most racers was the two-cycle � horsepower model #92 single cylinder engine which netted a then thrilling 8MPH with modified cars hitting 20MPH. The rear wheel brakes and clutch are controlled by the lever on the right hand side of the car. The speed of the car is controlled by how much tension is placed on the drive belt. Remember that many midget race cars from this era also used a similar lever operated hand brake. The engine has no throttle and uses a “hit and miss” type of magneto ignition arrangement to keep engine speed at a steady 1100 RPM. This results in a unique popping engine sound as the magneto cuts out the ignition to slow the RPM. A few states including California and Tennessee allowed the cars to be registered for road use. The cars under construction are a 1938 Maytag Sidewalk Runabout Racer Recreation with an authentic Maytag model #92 single cylinder motor from a 1930’s vintage Maytag washer. When completed it will completely functional and ready for racing with other similar cars. It is constructed as per the original drawings in a May 1938 Modern Mechanix Magazine article. The value of original Maytag production race cars has gone so high that they are seldom driven and have become museum or collector owned display pieces. Only one is known to be in running order. The homebuilt cars are even rarer with no known survivors. Many of the original cars probably ended up as carnival or amusement park rides and eventually were discarded as the years and usage took their toll. The few production ones left are in museums or reside in private Maytag memorabilia collections. Sadly, very few automotive racing enthusiasts are aware of the important role these cars played in automotive racing history. Richard Lewis

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi Richard and Roger, Hope you can quickly help me round up a photo that we can use in our show "Pedal to the Metal" a History of Oregon Motorsports - that we are installing this week. My co-curator has been in touch with Ralph Zbarsky about selling his book on Vollstedt, but forgot to get him to allow us to blow up the b&w photo of Rolla in his shop that is on page 131 to life size, which we would like to put on the wall behind the 1965 Vollstedt Indy Car that Sutton drove. Mike Bell asked Rolla if he had the original, and Rolla didn't think so. Ralph must have got the image from him though. I was looking for a phone number today for Ralph, and can't seem to get the internet to cooperate. I saw that you guys advised Ralph on the photos for the book, and hope that you might be able to help me quickly locate either the original or a high quality scan that would blow up well. Rolla will give us permission to use it (if he is indeed the right person to ask). Main problem is time. Most of the larger graphic sections have already gone to the printer, and our show is being installed this week and early next week. I'd love to find a quick way to get access to this photo. Any ideas? Otherwise we will use a generic photo of someone else's garage, or maybe a shot of the old garages at Indy -- but having Rolla in the photo really sets the mood that I'm trying to create in the particular section which deals with Rolla, Sutton, and the early rear-engined Indy Cars. Any quick ideas would be so greatly appreciated. Robert L Joki Robert: I've BCC'd Len Sutton, Albert Drake, Glenn Freudenberger and Bob Falcon. Len, Albert and Glenn live in your area. Bob is from Southern California but has contacts in oval track racing. Roger is on vacation and won't be back in time, but I don't he has any photos of Rolla. I don't have any photos of Rolla Vollstedt, but maybe some of the other guys do. If you check the phone book you might get hold of Len, Albert and Glenn. I don't have a phone number or email address for Ralph. That must have been a communication some time ago.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editor’s Notes: Here is an interview list by Sam Hawley for his book, Speed Duel. Sam’s website is at www.samuelhawley.com. I am doing it this way because Hawley’s website is worth visiting. For you history buffs who love more than cars you should see what Sam has written on. He has a very sharp and incisive mind and he is one of the best interviewers that I have read. ----------------------------- MISCELLANEOUS: LSR FILMS & RECORDINGS. Here is a list of the LSR films and recordings I compiled for "Speed Duel." It was not included in the book's bibliography for reasons of space. * * * Arfons: The Man and His Monster. Documentary written and produced by Jon Boynton, filmed and directed by Dennis Goulden for the Montage series on Cleveland television station WKYC, 1966. Behind the Headlights: The Spirit of America. Documentary, Speed Channel, 2004. Breedlove 500+. Audio recording and commentary of Craig Breedlove’s 1964 LSR. Los Angeles: Capitol Records, LP, [1965]. Challenge. Documentary written and produced by Don Frankman and Betty Skelton, directed by Don Frankman, 1965. Charlie Mayenschein’s Accomplishments and a Few Good Friends. Documentary by Tom Mayenschein. Privately made; for family use only. Chase the Wind. Documentary produced and directed by Al Blanchard. Allend’or Production, [early 1970s]. 407.45: Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America World Land Speed Record, Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, U.S.A. Audio recording and commentary of Craig Breedlove’s 1963 LSR. Lynn, Mass.: Fleetwood Records, LP, 1963. In Search of Speed: The Battle of Bonneville. Documentary produced and directed by Iain Scollay. BBC, 2004. Spirit of America. Documentary produced by Algernon G. Walker, directed by W. A. Blanchard, Spotlight News, 1963. (Re-released on DVD by the National Archives, Washington, DC) The Green Monster. Documentary produced by David Hess, A. C. Weary and Robert Moses, directed by David Finn. Salt Flat Films, 1999. The Bold Men. Documentary produced by David Wolper, directed by William Friedkin, for ABC television, 1965. The Long Black Line. Documentary produced by Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, [1964]. The Racers: Craig and Lee Breedlove. Documentary special aired on ABC Television, June 8, 1968. The Wildest Ride. Documentary produced by Spotlight Films for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, 1965.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MISCELLANEOUS: JACK OLSEN TAPES: Sports Illustrated writer Jack Olsen made a series of audio recordings in 1965 that I found extremely useful in writing the later chapters of Speed Duel. Here is the bibliographic entry for the tapes that the publisher was obliged to drop from the final version of the book--again, for reasons of space. * * * Jack Olsen Tapes University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives, Jack Olsen Papers, Collection Number Ax 322, Series VII: Sound recordings, Boxes 12 and 13, Reels 93–102. (These audio recordings, totaling more than ten hours, were made by writer Jack Olsen in 1965 for his Sports Illustrated features on Art and Walt Arfons: “My Brother, My Enemy, in Speedland” and “Enemies in Speedland, Part II: Duel on the Salt.”) Reel 93: Conversation in Akron with Walt Arfons’ wife Gertrude and son Terry. Reel 94: Interview with Firestone president in Akron, followed by interview with Humpy Wheeler; Side B contains oral notes recorded by Olsen as he walks around Walt’s and Art’s shops on Pickle Road, followed by a conversation with Art Arfons. Reel 95: Interview with Humpy Wheeler; recorded soundtrack of Art Arfons documentary Challenge, screened by Firestone for Olsen; conversation between Olsen and Wheeler over dinner in Olsen’s Akron hotel room. Reel 96: Continuation of dinner conversation between Olsen and Wheeler. Reel 97: Recording at Bonneville of Art Arfons making quarter-mile speed runs; Q and A session between Wheeler and reporters at the Western Motel in Wendover; final nine minutes of Side B taken up with oral notes by Olsen. Reel 98: Oral notes by Olsen as he walks through Wendover; recording of voices and sounds on the salt flats on Nov. 7, 1965, when Art Arfons set his 576-mph record; Q and A session with Art Arfons and Ed Snyder in Wendover later that day; sound track of the documentary The Long Black Line fills most of Side B, followed by a conversation with Walt Arfons. Reel 99: Continuation from Reel 98 of Art Arfons Q and A session; Olsen on the salt flats talking about the Arfons brothers to two of their friends; oral notes by Olsen. Reel 100: Conversation in Wendover motel room with Art Arfons and Humpy Wheeler. Reel 101: Conversation in Wendover motel room with Art Arfons and Humpy Wheeler on Side A; Side B is blank. Reel 102: Conversation in Wendover motel room with Walt and Gertrude Arfons.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am adding 2 boats from the "Budweiser Dynasty" to the East Coast. The 2004 Columbia Cup Winner driven by Dave Villwock, and the ill-fated 1966 Miss Budweiser which Don Wilson lost his life in. Alan Ameel Click for 2004 Budweiser Image ~ Click for 1966 Budweiser Image

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jim Miller: This last weekend was the first S.C.T.A. meet of the 2001 Season and everyone was all hyped up after being rained out at the end of last year. There were 128 entries that made a total of 290 laps down the track. Of those a whopping 30 new records were set and six lucky souls set records to enter the El Mirage 200 mph Club. All pretty cool! As usual there were some flat spins they got everyone’s attention and a couple of accidents. The first was Dennis Mariani's streamliner that rolled and the second was Wink Eller's motorcycle while being towed. That is the lead-in for today’s commentary. The S.C.T.A. is big on safety and we go out of our way to make sure the drivers/rides are as safe as possible. With every incident the S.C.T.A. does a thorough investigation as to why and how it happens. Since I'm a car guy lets look at Dennis' liner first. The liner was the old Dozer-Hagerty ride that had been completely rebuilt and re-engine by Dennis's team of builders. He did a shakedown run on Saturday around 198 mph and everything worked great. On Sunday he took another lap at 217.075 mph that just happened to be over the existing record of 208.331. So far so good. Then it happened, the chute didn't work right so he got on the binders hard and locked up the rear wheels. I was told there were real long skid marks before Dennis tried to turn off the course and then the car rolled. The guestimated speed was around 60 mph. He only scratched his hand. As for Wink, he was being towed back to this pits on the return road around 15 mph after a run at over 170 mph. The bike went into a speed wobble and threw him face first into the ground and broke his shoulder. His poor wife panicked and hurt herself going to his rescue. We have a special crew that documents tera-firma where an incident takes place. Everything is noted down to the foot for analysis purposes. The car then gets examined from head to tow by another special crew to make sure all the safety stuff works the way it's supposed to. I've included some pictures so everyone can get an idea of the end results. Lets start with (Click for image JMC_2844) and a shot of the pristine car before its Saturday run. Dennis is on the right in the red sweatshirt. (Click for image JMC_2845) shows the front of the car and (Click for image JMC_2853) shows the rear when it came to impound for the post-mortem. Not how much damage the car has sustained. Now it's time to look a little closer. (Click for image JMC_2851) shows the induction system that was the highest part of the car. It absorbed a lot of energy and transferred what was left into the motor plates and then the frame (Click for image JMC_2852). If you look close you'll see the front motor plate is bent and the chassis is slightly buckled. The rear one did the same thing. Now lets look at the roll cage (Click for image JMC_2849). It worked great. There were zero cracks in the new thick coat of painted which indicates zero deflection. But wait just a second and have a closer look. Note how the driver's safety padding was mounted. When the top of the cage made impact with the ground and started sliding it acted like a scoop on a D2 Caterpillar. The dirt actually pushed the front and rear padding into the drivers compartment and drivers helmet. Let's thank God that it only moved 3/4". Our last shot today is (Click for image JMC_2850) and shows what's left of the 1/4" firewall that had an extension welded on it from an earlier modification. The part closest to the cage ended up a mere 2” from the driver’s helmet. If you're a builder, driver or even a crewman maybe it's time to revisit your car or your friends car and make sure they are "Brick Shit Houses". Cars that go fast are not toys and that build them light like dragsters, or we can use that undersize scrap in the corner to hold a heavy part mentality just doesn't work when your sliding on your lid for a quarter of a mile at Bonneville or tumbling at El Mirage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vintage Revival Montlhery 2011

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Speed Racing Websites:
www.hotrodhotline.com, www.landspeedracing.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Members:
Jonathan Amo, Brett Arena, Henry Astor, Gale Banks, Glen Barrett, Mike Bastian, Lee Blaisdell, Jim Bremner, Warren Bullis, Burly Burlile, George Callaway, Gary Carmichael, John Backus, John Chambard, Jerry Cornelison, G. Thatcher Darwin, Jack Dolan, Ugo Fadini, Bob Falcon, Rich Fox, Glenn Freudenberger, Don Garlits, Bruce Geisler, Stan Goldstein, Andy Granatelli, Walt James, Wendy Jeffries, Ken Kelley, Mike Kelly, Bret Kepner, Kay Kimes, Jim Lattin, Mary Ann and Jack Lawford, Fred Lobello, Eric Loe, Dick Martin, Ron Martinez, Tom McIntyre, Don McMeekin, Bob McMillian, Tom Medley, Jim Miller, Don Montgomery, Bob Morton, Mark Morton, Paula Murphy, Landspeed Louise Ann Noeth, Frank Oddo, David Parks, Richard Parks, Wally Parks (in memoriam), Eric Rickman, Willard Ritchie, Roger Rohrdanz, Evelyn Roth, Ed Safarik, Frank Salzberg, Dave Seely, Charles Shaffer, Mike Stanton, David Steele, Doug Stokes, Bob Storck, Zach Suhr, Maggie Summers, Gary Svoboda, Pat Swanson, Al Teague, JD Tone, Jim Travis, Randy Travis, Jack Underwood and Tina Van Curen, Richard Venza.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[HRHL Home] [2011 Show Coverage] [Classifieds] [Press Releases]
[Advertising Information] [Buyers Guide] [Vendor Directory]
[Barn & Field Cars] [Biker Hotline] [Blast to the Past] [Book Reviews]
[Build Articles] [Club Directory] [Event Listings] [From our Friends]
[Garage Shots] [Guest Columnists] [Hotrod MD] [Landspeed Racing]
[Modern Rods] [New Products] [Newsletter Archive] [Order a Catalog]
[Our Heroes] [Rodders Forum] [Rodders Row] [Shop Tours] [Site Map]
[Stolen] [Tech] [Vanity Plates] [Young Rodders] [EMAIL]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1999 - 2011 Hot Rod Hot Line All Rights Reserved
No Portion May Be Used Without Our Written Permission
Contact Us Toll Free (877) 700-2468 or (208) 562-0470
230 S. Cole Rd, Boise, ID 83709