'Fast Five' with Jim Walther

6th Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion Honoree
discusses drag racing in the 1960s and '70s

2. When you started racing in the '60s, did you think you'd be honored years later? Are you surprised that people remember your racing exploits?

Jim Walther: I don't think anybody racing in the '60s ever imagined they'd be remembered and honored years later. Darn near everyone back then did something else besides racing to keep them going. But it was fun, always trying to make the cars go faster and faster and beat your competitors. When I go to national events it's surprising how many younger people know who you are and what you've done. It's very gratifying and humbling. They know the history of the sport. I'm proud to have gone through it, from the short-shift clutch to the 134-inch wheel base. It's been an evolution.

3. What are some of your fondest (and funniest) memories about drag racing in the '60s and '70s? What do you miss most about the "old days?"

Jim Walther: We were a pretty raw group of racers back then. After a race we'd put the car in a box, pull it back to the hotel, take a shower and hit the bar until 2. We had to be up early to get in line to qualify. There was no set time back then - you just got in line. Sometimes I'd be strapped in the car with my fire suit on for 90 minutes. At Indy in 1970 there were 107 Top Fuel cars. You worked on your car while waiting in line. We didn't have the luxury of going back to the trailer.

Today it's a lot different - more corporate-oriented. I'm not sure you could have the fun and camaraderie we had, but I understand it. When I think of the stuff I raced in the '60s, I thought I was invincible. Driving the front-motor cars, whew, that was a shot of adrenalin. I didn't need to do any dope: driving at night with the flames shooting out of the headers at you was about as high as I was going to get.

4. Are you surprised at the popularity of nostalgia drag racing? Why do you think people enjoy it so much?

Jim Walther: I think it's great. It's bringing back memories from the past by bringing the history and evolution of the sport to modern spectators. I'm amazed the number of front-engine cars racing today. Nostalgia racing is also more affordable, no doubt about it. It still takes money to run, but I've found if you were a successful racer on the track, you were also successful in business and life, too. So now you have more cars running and more people watching. Younger kids appreciate seeing older cars. Most of the people who go the Reunions in Bowling Green and Bakersfield hang around the cars. They are in awe of the sling-shot cars. We thought they were state-of-the-art back then.

5. What do you think of drag racing today compared to when you were on the circuit?

Jim Walther: On one hand it's great and on the other hand it's not so good. The average guy can't get into racing like he once could. Now you have to have the money. Today's tracks are so much better than what we ran on. It's funny: a lot of drivers today bitch about getting 'a good lane or the bad lane.' In my day it was just asphalt; like driving on a two-lane street. We also had only 60 minutes between rounds in a 32-car show.and no air tools!

The drivers today deserve respect - they are very good. In a 300 mph car, anything can happen. Expect the unexpected. Anyone who straps in is grabbing a tiger by the tail. They deserve respect. I take my hat off to Tim Wilkerson. He's a throwback to the old days. He's been so good for so long. He's as good as there is - a true racer. I pull for him every damn week.

The 6th annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, June 13-15 at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Ky., is a 3-day festival of speed, hot rods and American automotive enthusiasm. Produced by the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum and presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, the Reunion is part of the museum's "living history" philosophy, which works to bring to life the sights, sounds and people who made history in the early days of drag racing, land speed racing and the golden age of American car culture.

Unique among motorsports events, the Reunion honors some of the top names in hot rodding from the past and features a fabulous array of cool drag cars, street rods and customs of the historic and present-day hot rod eras.

Individual tickets are available at the gate. Cost per person: Friday, $20; Saturday, $20; Sunday, $15. Children 15 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.

The Reunion features a wide variety of activities and events, including:

- Hot Heads Eliminator NHRA vintage drag racing, featuring some the sport's most famous and historic cars and drivers, racing in such classes at Nostalgia Top Fuel, Altereds, Supercharged Gassers, Classic Super Stock, Hot Rods and others.
- Street rod "show 'n shine," presented by SoffSeal, with thousands of gleaming pre-1972 hot rods, custom cars, classics and muscle cars. "Memory Lane" will have a display of nostalgic race cars.
-Open house at Holley, Thurs., June 12, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., followed by the Heacock Classic Insurance Show 'n Shine cruise (featuring the 2008 Vettetastic Treasure Hunt) to the Holiday Inn University Plaza, the host hotel. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 5 p.m.
- National Hot Rod Reunion Reception, held at the Holiday Inn University Plaza's Sloan Convention Center ballroom on Friday evening, June 13. Open to everyone at no charge, it's a tribute to the Reunion's Grand Marshal and Honorees and a chance for fans to meet some of drag racing's heroes.
- Cacklefest on Saturday evening, where nitro-burning historic, front-engine top-fuel dragsters and other classic race cars are push-started just like in the "old days."
- The Swap Meet and Reunion Midway filled with manufacturer exhibits and demonstrations
- A separate amusement park with rides and games for all ages adjacent to the park.

Information, including a full activities schedule, is available through the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum at http://museum.nhra.com.

Proceeds of the Holley Hot Rod Reunion benefit the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. Celebrating its 10th anniversary and named for the founder of the National Hot Rod Association, the Parks Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California houses the very roots of hot rodding. Scores of famous vehicles spanning American motorsports history are on display, including winning cars representing 50 years of drag racing, dry lakes and salt-flat racers, oval track challengers and exhibits describing their colorful backgrounds.

The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific. Current NHRA members are admitted free and Auto Club members enjoy a $2 discount. Admission for non-members is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors 60 and older, $5 for juniors six through 15, and free for children under the age of five. The Museum is also available for special group tours. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona. For further information on special exhibits, museum events or directions, call 909/622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com.

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