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Some Names To Look For In This Newsletter:
President's Corner, Editorials, This just in from Dennis Johansen Bad news for all of Jimbo's friends; Road Runners, November El Mirage Results, End of Year El Mirage Results and 2012 Start Positions are now posted on our website; The Year the Speed Demon Rewrote History; I happened upon your excellent newsletter of October 2011; To get on the mailing list for Blacktop magazine send an email to the editor of the magazine; Tonight there will be a special interest news story about me at 10:00 PM on the Channel 9 News; Wondering if you have any knowledge of where Kent Carlis may be today; Glen Beck puts Speed Demon on his website; The following report was sent in by Scrub Hansen; Make sure you take a few minutes and enjoy Duncan Charlton's video journey to this year’s World of Speed with Greg Silkenson and his Ghia; Europe’s newest British Top Fuel dragster team (the Formula One of drag racing) has become the biggest benefactor of the project to restore Europe’s first dragster; This is an interesting story and photographic profile on Jim McLennan who was involved in the San Francisco Bay Area racing scene from the 1950's; Yesterday, Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at noon there were 420 people for lunch in San Francisco for Andy Brizio's car guys; The second Falcon Tool Sale of the year will be held in the driveway of my home at 8601 Zerelda Street in Rosemead, California; Six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein has turned the final page and closed the book on his career as a competitor and NHRA racing team owner; The following articles are by Tex LeRoi Smith and can be found at the website www.hotrodhotline.com; PERSONAL BEST. By LeRoi Tex Smit; Legendary racer Tom “Mongoose” McEwen hosts Lions last drag race reunion at the Museum on December 3
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President's Corner:
Jim Miller is on a special assignment that has taken up a great amount of his time and we hope to have our chief researcher and president return soon.
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Editorial:
The following Guest Editorial was sent to us by Keith Ferrell. Anyone with a specific view on straight-line racing is welcome to submit an editorial.
“California's 'business friendly' approach to life surfaces once again. Sunday night, November 12, 2011 as the racers leave Pomona should be interesting. The State of California is cracking down on trailer lengths again. Steve Torrence's Top Fuel rig was in a weigh station and flagged ‘around back,’ where they were measured for length and determined to be 3' too long. CalTrans determined the rig was illegal and ordered it to be taken out of service. Torrence claims to have contacted CalTrans a week ago, trying to purchase a permit, but was informed there are no permits and there would be no permits granted. CalTrans told Torrence there was only one way his rig was ever going to leave the weigh station and that would be if it was hauled out on a lowboy trailer. Torrence asked permission to move the rig to a location where it could be loaded easier and permission was denied. CalTrans informed him he was welcome to hire a company to bring a crane out, to lift the entire rig onto a lowboy. He finally managed to find someone with a low enough trailer they were able to back the race rig onto it. The race rig was 3' too long to be operated on the Cali freeways, but the rig hauling the race rig isn't. A drag racer cannot buy a permit for an over-length trailer, but an owner-operator with a lowboy trailer can. Makes wonderful sense, doesn't it?
The word I'm getting from the Left Coast is there are 67 trailers sitting at the Fairplex which are over-length. And the word is going around CalTrans will be sitting at the gates, Sunday afternoon. NHRA claims they have tried to find a work-around with CalTrans, but CalTrans says they are not going to adjust a long-standing law. If racers want to come to California with a 56' trailer, they're either going to have to transport it from the state line to race track on a lowboy, or they are going to have to haul everything in by rail. You can haul a 56' trailer around on the streets of Pomona, but you cannot haul it down the freeway. The problems arise because there is no standardized federal law. Each state has its own law and you're always at the mercy of whoever pulls you over. Some states are just fine as long as there is no advertising on the rig and is identified as being ‘not for hire.’ Some states want to know if you are compensated for winning races. And if you win nothing more than a trophy, that is still considered to be compensation. As a point of interest, many of those ‘illegal length’ teams are based here in Indiana and the Indiana laws read the same as the California laws. The State of Indiana views those same race teams as revenue generators and (prudently) looks the other way.” Keith Ferrell
Keith has a point and one that affects us all. For as far back as I can remember the state and the police force has been either a supporter or an enemy of hot rodding and motor racing. Men like Ezra Ehrhardt, Gordon Browning and Bud Coons have been huge supporters of racing and helped to legitimize it in the eyes of the public. But CalTrans, some police departments and especially the California Highway Patrol (CHP) have often been belligerent, mean spirited and hostile to racing and hot rodding. Local police in our towns and cities have gone out of their way to support us and to work with us in curtailing street racing. In the State of California the CHP has been opposing our efforts to run at the dry lakes as far back as the 1920’s. Personally, the only bad experiences that I have had (three) with law enforcement have been with the CHP. The other police agencies and law enforcement groups have been outstanding in trying to curb illegal street racing by working with, not clubbing us over the head. The occasional TV shows such as Highway Patrol, CHiPs, movies and “Toy Drives” by the CHP are efforts to show a more human side of this state agency commissioned with the responsibility of protecting our highways. But that is all a wasted effort when the public confronts the CHP in person.
CalTrans is responsible for some of the craziest rules and regulations in a state that is known for loony politicians and agendas. That organization is in constant hot water for engineering designs that have to be redone and go over budget. CalTrans is loath to schedule work on our roads that are convenient to the mass of people using our streets. CalTrans is rife with an inflexibility to see problems in the way that hot rodders see problems. Once the rules and regulations have been passed, CalTrans would rather cut off their hands to spite their face than to make the slightest alterations for the public good. As far as the State of California is concerned, the overwhelmingly Democratic Assembly and Senate in Sacramento has never failed in passing legislation aimed at demolishing all hot rodding and attempting to send our cars to the crusher. To say that the Democratic led politicians are attempting to legislate the State of California out of business is an understatement. Such stifling legislation is running businesses out of the Golden State and to overseas markets. It would be sad, indeed, if drag and land speed racing were to be forced to move to other states. About the only racing left to Californians at that point is to watch U-Haul trucks race Ryder trucks to the Arizona border as we exit this once great state for places more receptive to free enterprise and individual ingenuity.
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This just in from Dennis Johansen. Bad news for all of Jimbo's friends. Bob Falcon.
"FYI Kay Rathmann called this AM with some bad news...Jim Rathmann had a massive stroke this morning and has been placed in Hospice. The last of an era that will never be again." Dennis Johansen
Dennis and Bob: Do you have any history, bio material or personal remembrances of Jim Rathmann? Please send it in.
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Kay Rathmann called this AM with some bad news. Jim Rathmann had a massive stroke this morning and has been placed in Hospice. The last of an era that will never be again. Betty Packard
Betty and the racing community: I am very sorry to hear about Jim Rathmann. If anyone has personal memories of Jim and would like to send it to me I will publish it in my newsletter at www.landspeedracing.com. While Jim was well-known and had articles posted about his life and racing career, many in the racing community have never had much publicity nor have they sat down and written their biographies and captioned their photographs. My father had been offered publishing deals to write his life story and just didn't get around to it in time. That leaves others to do the best that they can to rescue and preserve our racing history. I encourage all of you to sit down and write your bios even if all that you do with them is to leave them to your family members. I will help anyone who would like to do a short bio. It takes about two hours. You don't have to publish these memories, but you should leave such a record behind. I certainly wish that my father had done that, because it would have been a record that his two sons, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren would have treasured forever.
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auto-racing.speedtv.com; Jim Rathmann, who passed away Tuesday at age 83 in a hospice at Melbourne, Florida, drove into history as the 1960 Indy 500 winner. Betty Packard
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For Immediate Release; 1960 INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER RATHMANN DIES AT 83 INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, November 23, 2011.
Jim Rathmann, winner of both the 1960 Indianapolis 500 and the international 500-mile "Race of Two Worlds" in 1958 at Monza, Italy, died Wednesday, November 23, 2011. Rathmann passed away in a hospice in Melbourne, Florida, nine days after suffering a seizure at his home. He was 83. Rathmann, who was inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, already was a three-time runner-up in the "500" (1952, 1957 and 1959) when he scored his greatest victory. And if the 1960 race, with its record 29 lead changes, was not the finest "500" ever held, there can be no question that Rathmann's epic two-hour duel with defending winner Rodger Ward continues to stand out as the Speedway's greatest sustained two-man battle of all time. For the entire second half of that never-to-be-forgotten classic, Rathmann and Ward were rarely any more than a few feet from each other, exchanging the lead 14 times between them. That number could have been considerably more had not tire wear played into the equation. Long before the days of computer-generated race strategies, two-way radio communication, spotters, and Pace Car-led pack-ups during caution periods, these two wily veterans pretty much had to figure it out for themselves, aided only by a pit board message flashed to them every minute or so.
Ward, an early leader, had stalled on his first of three planned stops, losing at least a half-minute. He raced hard to regain lost ground and caught up with Rathmann just before the halfway mark, fully cognizant that in the process he had placed undue stress on his tires. They swapped the lead several times before Ward decided to run behind Rathmann for a while and let him dictate the pace, both aware that third-placed Johnny Thomson was running a comfortable margin behind them. That was until the pit board signs began advising them that the advantage was shrinking. When it fell to only 10 seconds, they determined it was time to go. The lead changed hands six more times in the final 30 laps until Ward happened to notice tell-tale discoloration appearing in the center of his right front tire, indicating that the cords were about to show through. He led as late as Lap 197 before reluctantly slowing down to salvage second as a greatly relieved Rathmann nursed his ailing tires to the finish and won at a record average speed of 138.767 mph. Had Ward prevailed, Rathmann, who led exactly half of the 200 laps that day, would have held the dubious distinction of being history's only four-time runner-up at Indianapolis.
As an illustration of just how different things were in those days, the winning Ken-Paul Special was a brand new Offenhauser-powered car Rathmann had commissioned from his old friend A. J. Watson on behalf of Rathmann's partners, Kenny Rich and Paul Lacy. Rathmann and his chief mechanic, Chickie Hirashima, drove a station wagon out to Watson's shop in Glendale, California, to pick up the car whereupon they loaded it on to an open trailer and then towed it back to the Midwest themselves. More than rewarded by the eventual first-place prize money checks totaling a record $110,000, Rathmann later estimated the entire investment at only $35,000. Born in Los Angeles on July 16, 1928, Rathmann started life as Royal Richard Rathmann, becoming "Jim" in the immediate post World War II years when he began racing hot rods as an underage teenager. He borrowed the identity of his two-and-half-year older brother, James, who later raced extensively and won the 1958 "500" pole position as "Dick" Rathmann. Although they were later to modify their dates of birth from time to time, they thankfully avoided further confusion by never professionally using their given names as they appeared on their driver's licenses and so forth, Richard Rathmann known for the remainder of his life as Jim, and James as Dick.
A contemporary, since his earliest racing days, of Troy Ruttman, Jack McGrath, Pat Flaherty, Don Freeland, Andy Linden and numerous other "500" stars of the future, Jim Rathmann moved to Chicago in 1948 to race hot rods with Andy Granatelli's Chicago-based Hurricane Hot Rod Association. In 1949, Rathmann, Ruttman and Flaherty all made their Indianapolis debuts, Flaherty (who missed the show) being, at 23, the only one legally over 21. Rathmann, claiming to be 24, but really only 20, took his "rookie" test in a car he owned himself, but sponsored by Grancor Corporation, the hot rod business belonging to and operated by the Granatelli brothers. Rathmann ended up qualifying the Pioneer Auto Repair Special for John "The Popper" Lorenz and finishing 11th. In 1952, driving for the Granatelli brothers, Rathmann finished second in the "500," beaten only by Troy Ruttman, his boyhood friend and fellow hotrod club member. Rathmann, who was also runner-up to Sam Hanks in 1957 and to Ward in 1959, drove in a total of 14 Indianapolis 500 Mile Races between 1949 and 1963, leading at some stage during six of them for a total of 153 laps.
At the time of his retirement in May 1964, he had completed 2,295 laps in competition and was within less than a full race of claiming the all-time record, only Cliff Bergere (2,452 laps) and Mauri Rose (2,420 laps) having completed a greater number. Having travelled to Monza for the invitational 500-miler in 1957 merely as a potential relief driver since his regular car owner, Lindsey Hopkins had chosen not to send a car, Rathmann brokered a deal for the 1958 contest. Underwritten by Bob Wilke of Leader Cards, sponsor of his recent fifth-place effort with Hopkins at Indianapolis, Rathmann leased a car from John Zink, retaining Zink's chief mechanic, Watson, another of Rathmann's hot rod cronies from the late 1940’s. The 500-mile race at the steeply-banked and bone-jarring 2.64-mile concrete bowl was divided into three legs, with intervals between each. Rathmann won all three and was the undisputed overall winner at the incredible average speed of 166.722 mph. That association led to Wilke forming the Leader Card Racing Team, with Watson leaving Zink to head up the operation and build new cars.
At one point, Leader Card intended running a two-driver team, with Rathmann joining Ward. Then Hopkins made an arrangement to purchase the second brand-new "Watson" for Rathmann, Ward going on to win, with Rathmann recording his third runner-up finish. By the time the 1959 "500" was held, Rathmann had further demonstrated his great skill and bravery by winning a 100-mile USAC National Championship race April 4 at the brand-new Daytona International Speedway. Far better suited to the NASCAR stock cars, which had ushered in the Daytona 500 in February with Lee Petty winning the caution-free inaugural at 135.521 mph, Rathmann ripped off the 100 miles in the astonishing time of only 35 minutes. Scrunched down in the cockpit of his fish-tailing front-engined Offenhauser-powered Watson "roadster" and wearing a short-sleeved polo shirt with only an open-faced Cromwell-type helmet for protection, he averaged a breathtaking 170.261 mph. Three-times the Midwest hot rod champion (1948, 1950 and 1951) and third-ranking AAA stock car driver of 1955, the diversified Rathmann was one of the first oval track specialists to dabble in sports car racing, taking part in the Sebring 12 Hours three times (sharing the 12th place-finishing and class-winning Corvette with Dick Doane in 1958) and racing several times at Nassau.
He was even down to drive the Tec-Mec Maserati at the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix of the United States at Sebring in 1959 although he ended up not competing. He twice ran in the Carrera Panamericana, sharing an Oldsmobile in 1952 with Frank "Rebel" Mundy, and he even took part in the Miami-Nassau powerboat race one year, sustaining a broken foot along the way while trying to fix a mechanical problem. An entrepreneur from his earliest days, Rathmann graduated from a paper route to running a hot rod shop while still in his teens. A muffler shop in Chicago was followed by a speed shop in Miami, a used car business and eventually a huge Cadillac and Chevrolet dealership in Melbourne, Florida, the latter being contingent upon his retirement, an agreement upon which he "fudged" for at least two more years. There was also a very successful go-kart business which produced the highly sought-after Rathmann Xterminator and even an adventuresome episode of his life in which he held the rights to retrieving centuries-old treasure chests, firearms and cannons from sunken pirate ships off the coast of Florida.
Close friends with all of the early astronauts, Rathmann actually pulled off a most unlikely coup by having one of them discreetly affix a Rathmann car dealership decal to the famous golf cart which was driven on the surface of the moon! Yet another venture was the G.C.R. Corporation team which contested the USAC championship series in 1966 and 1967, the "G" being for Gus Grissom, the "C" for Gordon Cooper and "R" for Rathmann. One of the fascinating character traits of Rathmann was that he always seemed so nonchalant in the winner's circle, even at Indianapolis and Monza where he'd be poker-faced and stoic, standing up in the cockpit with loosened helmet straps dangling around his neck and barely smiling as he waved one hand at just above waist level. It was a misleading illusion. In fact, this very down-to-earth and unpretentious individual happened to be a fun-loving, chronic practical joker who seemed up for just about any mischievous adventure. A very modest man, he was most gracious to the fans, benched-raced with the best of them and told stories laced with a most infectious giggle.
Questions about his own career were usually passed off with brief and rather evasive responses as he preferred instead to tell stories about his colleagues, tears of mirth rolling his cheeks as he relayed the details of yet another prank. But Rathmann was a serious racer, and he loved the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To him, the month of May at the track was "everything," the other 11 months always being filled with plenty of activities, but with the focus clearly on the next migration to IMS. In spite of his deep competitive spirit, he was a great sportsman who was close with many of his contemporaries, photographs taken in the aftermath of the 1957 and 1959 Indianapolis races indicating that he obviously had great affection for both Hanks and Ward, who had narrowly defeated him. Ill health in recent years had prevented Rathmann from making his annual pilgrimage to his beloved Speedway where, for many years he had matched his golfing skills with Ward, Lloyd Ruby, Parnelli Jones, James Garner and others. Six times the Pace Car driver for the "500," Rathmann's final appearance in the city of Indianapolis came at the Convention Center in February 2009 for the Speedway's Centennial Era Gala, where he was the oldest and earliest of the 19 Indianapolis 500 winners on hand. Rathmann is survived by wife Kay, sons Jimmy and Jay, stepsons Zack and Tosh Pence, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
In place of flowers the family requests that donations be made to: William Childs Hospice House, 381 Medplex Parkway, Palm Bay, Florida 32907. Media Contact: J. Douglas Boles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (317) 492-6412 or (317) 750-9277, [email protected], Tom Surber, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (317) 492-6594, [email protected]. World Wide Web: http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
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Road Runners, November El Mirage Results, End of Year El Mirage Results and 2012 Start Positions are now posted on our website: Road Runners News:
http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/news.htm Results: The November El Mirage meet went on as scheduled. It was cold Friday and Saturday and we had overnight rain on Friday night / early morning hours of Saturday. The rain settled the dust and tightened up the track a bit. Sunday was mostly sunny and a bit warmer. We had a great time and lots of really good food at our Road Runners End of Season Pot-Luck and BBQ on Saturday evening. We saw some good runs on both days. The highlight was a 254.840 pass by the Cummins, Beck, Davidson & Thornsberry #911 A/BFR. The Harris & Wester GMC Camaro, with Richard Ross driving, raced away with a new XXO/BGALT record. Full Road Runners results are now posted on our website. As someone said on Sunday, "Not bad for a 'rained out' weekend!" (posted 11/15/11)
http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/results.htm Records: Nov 12/13, 2011 El Mirage Results and 2011 El Mirage Season Final Results:
#85 AA/GC - 184.761 on a 206.611 record - Amanda Ferguson
#675 XXO/BGALT - 161.909 (Record) on a 160.000 minimum - Richard Ross
#1169 D/GR - 177.496 on a 201.894 record - Mike Ferguson
#3076 C/STR - 166.909 on his own 193.930 record - Jim Kitchen
#4800 G/GALT - 59.143 on a 168.210 record - Jack Masson
SCTA Points - Final Results:
Vehicle # - Meet points/Cumulative points (Club position / SCTA position "Overall" (2012 Start Position)/ SCTA position by "Type" [ car or motorcycle])
#1169 - 175/860 (1/27/13);
#85 - 178/803 (2/34/18);
#3076 - 172/549 (3/61/33);
#675 - 226/424 (4/83/49);
#4800 - 70/336 (5/107/63);
#3710B - 0/298 (6/113/44);
#7919B - 0/290 (7/116/45)
Final Club Standing - Road Runners, 9th Place overall. Road Runners Top Points for 2011 season was the Ferguson & Martin #1169 D/GR with 860. Road Runners Top Speed for the season was 190.095 by Jim Kitchen driving his #3076 C/STR. Congratulations. A total of 206 vehicles were in competition in 2011 at El Mirage - 129 cars (62.6%) and 77 motorcycles (37.4%). Congratulations to the San Diego Roadster Club - Top SCTA Club, 2011 - (posted 11/15/11)
http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/records.htm
I think I mistakenly reported the new Harris & Wester record as XXO/BFALT in my earlier e-mail. It was actually XXO/BGALT. Road Runners Top Points go to the D/GR of the Ferguson & Martin Team. Road Runners Top Speed goes to Jim Kitchen's C/STR at 190.095. Congratulations! More news coming soon on our 75th Anniversary Year in 2012. Jerry Cornelison, Secretary, Road Runners - SCTA (established 1937) http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners
Road Runners, November El Mirage Results, End of Year El Mirage Results and 2012 Start Positions are now posted on our website: Road Runners News:
http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/news.htm Results: The November El Mirage meet went on as scheduled. It was cold Friday and Saturday and we had overnight rain on Friday night / early morning hours of Saturday. The rain settled the dust and tightened up the track a bit. Sunday was mostly sunny and a bit warmer. We had a great time and lots of really good food at our Road Runners End of Season Pot-Luck and BBQ on Saturday evening. We saw some good runs on both days. The highlight was a 254.840 pass by the Cummins, Beck, Davidson & Thornsberry #911 A/BFR. The Harris & Wester GMC Camaro, with Richard Ross driving, raced away with a new XXO/BGALT record. Full Road Runners results are now posted on our website. As someone said on Sunday, "Not bad for a 'rained out' weekend!" (posted 11/15/11)
http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/results.htm Records: Nov 12/13, 2011 El Mirage Results and 2011 El Mirage Season Final Results:
#85 AA/GC - 184.761 on a 206.611 record - Amanda Ferguson
#675 XXO/BGALT - 161.909 (Record) on a 160.000 minimum - Richard Ross
#1169 D/GR - 177.496 on a 201.894 record - Mike Ferguson
#3076 C/STR - 166.909 on his own 193.930 record - Jim Kitchen
#4800 G/GALT - 59.143 on a 168.210 record - Jack Masson
SCTA Points - Final Results:
Vehicle # - Meet points/Cumulative points (Club position / SCTA position "Overall" (2012 Start Position)/ SCTA position by "Type" [ car or motorcycle])
#1169 - 175/860 (1/27/13);
#85 - 178/803 (2/34/18);
#3076 - 172/549 (3/61/33);
#675 - 226/424 (4/83/49);
#4800 - 70/336 (5/107/63);
#3710B - 0/298 (6/113/44);
#7919B - 0/290 (7/116/45)
Final Club Standing - Road Runners, 9th Place overall. Road Runners Top Points for 2011 season was the Ferguson & Martin #1169 D/GR with 860. Road Runners Top Speed for the season was 190.095 by Jim Kitchen driving his #3076 C/STR. Congratulations. A total of 206 vehicles were in competition in 2011 at El Mirage - 129 cars (62.6%) and 77 motorcycles (37.4%). Congratulations to the San Diego Roadster Club - Top SCTA Club, 2011 - (posted 11/15/11)
http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners/records.htm
I think I mistakenly reported the new Harris & Wester record as XXO/BFALT in my earlier e-mail. It was actually XXO/BGALT. Road Runners Top Points go to the D/GR of the Ferguson & Martin Team. Road Runners Top Speed goes to Jim Kitchen's C/STR at 190.095. Congratulations! More news coming soon on our 75th Anniversary Year in 2012. Jerry Cornelison, Secretary, Road Runners - SCTA (established 1937) http://www.ussarcherfish.com/roadrunners
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I happened upon your excellent newsletter of October 2011, where I noticed a reply from Michael Kaufman in response to subscriber Winona Pinner's request for memorabilia of Leonard Abbott. Winona's request was made in your Newsletter 180, October 21, 2010 and she was looking for items for a family scrapbook. I realize that, a year late, she may no longer be interested, but I'd like to respond anyway because I have a beautiful portrait style 8x10 of Leonard and his brother Norris, taken as they were working on an engine together. Norris was my father and when he died by racing, Leonard stepped in and was a very caring and nurturing paternal presence. I don't have it at hand to refer to, but I read where an associate of his said that Leonard had no personal life. I was two and my mother was 8 months pregnant with my brother when my Dad died and so I don't have memories of Dad. I have wonderful memories of Leonard and referencing what another of his associates said about him being the kindest, most decent man, well, that I can attest to. Now I'm wondering if you can help me in some way. My very big surprise as I read your newsletter was in seeing my brother Michael Kaufman's name in reply to Winona. The two of us grew up in a series of foster homes and over the years became separated and lost touch completely. I have been literally looking everywhere for my 'little' brother for years, finding nothing, ever. And so your newsletter find feels like a godsend. You are not in the business of re-unions, but you are sort of in the middle! So, may I impose myself and ask if you would consider, if indeed possible, forwarding my e-mail address to Michael? I will let it drop if you decline, content that I know he's in the world...and promise not to ask any more of you either way. Thank you so much for touching my life when you didn't even mean to. Linda Kaufman
Linda: I didn't retain either email address. I probably should have but my email address book is so huge that unless I think there may be a follow-up I usually don't keep the addresses. However, what I can do is to run your request in the newsletter and perhaps Michael or Winona will see it and respond. I will put your email address in the newsletter so that they can respond to you. That's the first step. The next action that I would advise you to do is to create and share a history of Norris and Leonard Abbott in two steps. A personal biography of your family for yourself and a public one that you can share on-line. For examples you can go to www.hotrodhotline.com, Guest Columnist/Richard Parks/Biographies. Now you can use the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians Newsletter as many times as you wish and I encourage you to do so. My experience is that it takes multiple attempts to get the public to respond. Personally, I want Leonard's and Norris' biographies, as well as the bios of all men and women who participated in motor racing. I want the families of these men and women to save this knowledge for their descendants. But I also want this knowledge to become a part of the public domain. Personal information should stay within the family, but public knowledge should be available so that historians can have this resource to work with in the future. I started this project simply to learn more about my own family members, but now it has grown to encompass so much more. I can tell you that once you start you will find things that you never dreamed of; history, photographs, memorabilia, etc. I'm sure you will find your brother eventually and I apologize for not keeping his email address on record. If you would like my help in writing a bio on the Abbott brothers, I will be glad to help you. Start with a phone bank sort of approach. Call all those you know who may know something and after you have all the information that these people know, ask them if they will give you phone numbers and names of people who might know something. I've had excellent success with this approach. It requires a long distance "all you can call for free" plan and an ability to approach strangers; but it works.
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To get on the mailing list for Blacktop magazine send an email to the editor of the magazine at [email protected]. It is an on-line publication devoted to the Retro hot rodding community and quite a nice throwback to the golden age of the sport.
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Tonight there will be a special interest news story about me at 10:00 PM on the Channel 9 News! Make sure to tune in to get an inside look on what I love to do every weekend! For those of you who don't get the local channel on your TV I will be sending out a link tomorrow so you can watch it online! Thanks! Jessica Clark (Jessica Clark Racing)
Jessica: We missed it. Please send the link for the readers of the Newsletter.
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For those of you who were not able to catch the story last night, here is the link! See http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/11/14/lookout-danica-patrick-jessica-clark-is-on-your-tail/. Big thanks to KCAL9 News for the great story! Jessica Clark
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Wondering if you have any knowledge of where Kent Carlis may be today? My father, Bill Travaglini, worked for him in the 1960's. Please let me know if you have any information of his whereabouts. My daddy would like to get back in touch with him. Many thanks. Sincerely, Doreen Travaglini Engle, [email protected].
Doreen: I checked my email address book and I don't show a Kent Carlis listed, but I will put your request in the Newsletter and if anyone knows the whereabouts of Kent then they can contact you. My personal opinion is that you should start a phone tree. Call all those that you think might know where Kent is and after you have completed your call ask the person to give you five more names and phone numbers to try. That's a good way to spread the word among the racers and hot rodders that you are looking for someone. Another thing that you can do is to put together a history of your father and Kent's racing days and I'll post it on-line. The advantage there is that every piece of information posted triggers different memories in people. If you drop enough names then somebody will find their memories coming back to them. I'll post as many emails as you wish to send concerning the two men. Where did you find mention of Kent in our newsletters? Maybe that will trigger more memories.
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The following report was sent in by Scrub Hansen
Danny Thompson aims for wheel-driven land-speed record. See http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/11/09/like-father-like-son-danny-thompson-aims-for-wheel-driven-land-speed-record/?refer=news. Courtesy Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels.
While Craig Breedlove has renewed public interest in the absolute land-speed record, there’s still plenty of activity directed toward a land-speed record that many hold to be the actual measure of the world’s fastest car the piston-engine wheel-driven land-speed record. And now Danny Thompson, son of the late Mickey Thompson, has announced his plans to break that record, finishing the job his father started more than 50 years ago. “My dad always had a burning desire to accomplish that task,” Danny Thompson said. “But he had so much going on; he never got back to it. I’ve been wanting to complete this project Dad started all these years, to tie it up and finally put the Thompson name on that record.” Making that possible will be major sponsorship from an appropriate source: Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels, which announced last week that it will donate $300,000 to support Danny Thompson’s effort. Mickey Thompson made headlines around the world on September 9, 1960, when he piloted his four-wheel-drive, four-engined Challenger I streamliner to a speed of 406.60 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
That speed allowed him to lay claim to the title of fastest American on wheels, but he lost out on his bid to break the world land speed record “and thus bring the record back to America” when one of the four supercharged Pontiac engines grenaded on the return run. Breedlove came along in 1963 to do what Thompson couldn’t, at the same time introducing land-speed racing to the jet age. Another pair of Americans, the Summers brothers, followed in 1965 by setting the wheel-driven land-speed record at 409.277 MPH. Thompson, meanwhile, made a few more runs with Challenger in 1962, but wouldn’t mount another serious campaign on the wheel-driven land-speed record until 1968 with the Challenger 2 streamliner, also known as the Autolite Special. With a pair of Ford SOHC 427 engines in tandem (one supercharged, the other normally aspirated), the Autolite Special was narrower than its predecessor by two feet but still featured four-wheel drive. It tested at up to 411 MPH, and Thompson boasted that it was capable of 500 MPH, but poor weather prevented him from running it that year. Thompson sold it once, then bought it back, but the Autolite Special hasn’t returned to the salt in the last 43 years. According to Danny Thompson, Mickey had started to formulate plans to put Danny in the cockpit of the Autolite Special for another run on the record just a month before he was murdered in 1988. “After that, it just didn’t feel right running the car without him,” Danny said.
Still, he held on to the Autolite Special and about 10 years ago began racing other cars at Bonneville to date; his best run has been in a streamliner at 263 MPH. “I’ve got a lot of experience around 250, but none at all at 400. At that speed, it’ll be all about how well the car handles.” The car will be the old Autolite Special, updated and renamed the Challenger 2.5. The four-wheel drive, tandem-engine chassis and aluminum streamliner body will remain mostly unchanged, but Danny will replace the SOHC 427s with a pair of Richard Catton-built fuel-injected Chrysler Hemi V-8s, tied together with a driveshaft and fed with a 30 percent mixture of nitromethane. “It did 400 MPH before, so we’re confident that it’s aerodynamically sound to run 400 MPH again,” Danny said. The record he’ll be aiming for sits a little higher nowadays. His stated goal is to surpass the 417.020 MPH mark set by Tom Burkland in 2004 in the Burkland 411 streamliner. (The unsupercharged piston-engine wheel-driven land-speed record currently sits at 414.316 MPH, set by Charles Nearburg in the Spirit of Rett streamliner last year.) Danny Thompson said he plans to have the Challenger 2.5 at Bonneville in 2012 to make its shakedown runs, then go for the record at Bonneville in 2013. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CVkGZkYkJ8&feature=player_embedded.
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Make sure you take a few minutes and enjoy Duncan Charlton's video journey to this year’s World of Speed with Greg Silkenson and his Ghia. This is one you will want to save and playback throughout the upcoming long winter months to tide you over until next September. Or perhaps, even to encourage you to come out and join us with your VW next year. See http://tinyurl.com/d623kkw. Duncan Charlton's Bonneville Video. Burly Burlile
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Europe’s newest British Top Fuel dragster team (the Formula One of drag racing) has become the biggest benefactor of the project to restore Europe’s first dragster; Sydney Allard’s 1961 Allard Chrysler owned by the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. Visit www.allardchrysler.org for full details about the restoration project. Brian Taylor, Chairman Allard Chrysler Action Group.
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Yesterday, Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at noon there were 420 people for lunch in San Francisco for Andy Brizio's car guys. We had most of Northern California, Bonneville racers, drag racers, car builders, painters, engine builders, store owners, car collectors and circle track racers. I spoke with Andy and he agreed to send me the attendee list so that I can pass it on to you folks. Towards the end of our meal I spoke to the entire group on the P.A. system, about how it was important to preserve the history of the racing scene in our area. A few people like Ed Pink arrived from Southern California. Ed sat with Kent Fuller and Jesse Schrank along with some of the drag racing people. All in all it was the largest gathering that we had in the last nine years since Andy started getting people together. Brizio had someone with a large video camera walking around and I gave him my card and asked if would send me a copy of the DVD. We'll see. I'll call Andy next week and find out more about the DVD and the attendee list. Spencer, I talked to Don Smith who used to have High Performance Distributers in San Francisco and Don told me that Parks had his phone number. Dimitri "Dema" Elgin
Dema: Sounds like a great event for the car guys. Thank you for the report and if you would like to write up a longer report and send it to me I will be delighted to publish it in the newsletter and get it on-line at www.landspeedracing.com and www.hotrodhotline.com as well.
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The second Falcon Tool Sale of the year will be held in the driveway of my home at 8601 Zerelda Street in Rosemead, California. As usual this sale will feature the surplus tools that have been accumulated as the result of having three workshops in three different locations ... the home, El Monte Airport and at the nearby Sargent Fletcher aerospace facility. Some of these items are handmade solutions to my O-C nature but there are just duplications of popular hand tools and yard tools that I don't use, leaving that up to the gardener! Also some wood working tools that are in excess and a lot of metalworking tools such as drill sets, scribers, punches and chisels, hammers, mallets, tin snips, wire strippers and a never used, deep throat, bead roller...to name just a few. Sale hours will be from 10 AM to 3 PM on Saturday, November 26, 2011 and possibly on Sunday, November 27, 2011 from noon to 3 PM. Of course, being that it is November the term "Weather Permitting" will apply. This weekend was chosen because it follows "Black Friday" which is a big Christmas Shopping day (The Marketing Brain at work!). We will be looking for you. Bob Falcon
Bob: I may not be able to get this notice in the newsletter to reach the public before your tool sale. There is another possibility and that is to ask Mary Ann Lawford at www.hotrodhotline.com if you can use their free "parts" service on their website to sell your tools. Your tools may also have a historical significance as well as a practical usage. Collectors want objects that have been used by racers and racing mechanics on race cars. If there is a provenance or history then collectors will pay more for an object than they would at a normal garage sale. This is why we encourage people to make an inventory listing of their possessions and who owned them prior to the current owner. I remember Danny Oakes selling the contents of his entire machine shop for $2200 because as he told me he wanted to end making rent payments on the shop. Oakes is a famous midget driver and Indy 500 "Head Mechanic," and he sold a ton of stuff for very little. Collectors could have bid up his parts, machinery and inventory far above that level. It was too late to help him, but perhaps others can inventory their possessions and aim for a higher sales return.
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Press Release: Please Contact: Susie Arnold at [email protected]. Copart, Inc, Cindy Cross, Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer
KENNY BERNSTEIN RETIRES FROM NHRA DRAG RACING
LAKE FOREST, California (November 15, 2011) Six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein has turned the final page and closed the book on his career as a competitor and NHRA racing team owner. “My wife Sheryl and I have come to a place in our lives where we want to pursue other interests,” said Bernstein. “We have poured our hearts and souls in motorsports for over 30 years and that’s a full time job. It consumes you and there is very little time to relax. “We are very proud of our accomplishments through the years and it’s been a great ride, but we’re interested in being able to travel at will, we want to spend some time on the golf course, and we’ve recently taken up fly fishing, which we really enjoy. “It’s time to enjoy life while we still have our health.” “Kenny, Brandon, Sheryl and team are a first-class organization. We have enjoyed our partnership over the past two seasons,” said Jay Adair, CEO of Copart. “We wish Kenny and Sheryl the best in retirement.”
“Copart was supportive of our decision and we’re very grateful to CEO Jay Adair and President Vinnie Mitz for giving us their blessing and allowing us to step away from the sport,” continued Bernstein. “The Auto Club Finals at Pomona this past weekend was our final run. “We can’t say enough about the close association and rapport we have built within the Copart organization. In the two years we have worked with them, they have made us feel like family. We were very proud and honored to have flown their colors and represented them. “There’s certainly a great deal of sadness in coming to terms with the end of an era and some concern about whether or not you can run a life at 300 mph and then come to a sudden stop, but Sheryl and I gave this a tremendous amount of thought before we came to our final decision. Brandon was also a part of the decision-making process and we are going to do everything we can to help him find a position with another team. Brandon lives and breathes the day-to-day demands and understands the endless hours of effort that we poured into the team. Brandon wanted what was best for Sheryl and me at this stage of our lives. He was totally selfless.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to all the team members who have worked for us through the years as well as the sponsors who have supported us. We certainly want to salute the fans who have cheered us on and given us encouragement through the past three decades. And we appreciate all the media coverage through the years. We have made some great friends on all sides of the spectrum and we’re grateful for that. “We salute the late great NHRA founder Wally Parks, who was a dear friend and gave us an arena in which to live out our dreams. We are fortunate to have had a job that we loved and without Wally’s vision, it’s hard to say where our life’s path would have led. “For a youngster that grew up in Texas dreaming about cars and reading Hot Rod magazine, we were able to live the dream. “For the near term, we are looking forward to our induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (May 3, 2012) in Talladega, Ala. alongside John Force and Richard Childress. “Thanks again to all those who have touched our lives. We are walking away with a treasure chest full of memories.”
Team owner and six-time NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein is a gifted driver and businessman. He holds the unique distinction of being the first and only race team owner to have collected wins in each of America’s three major motorsports series: NHRA drag racing, NASCAR, and CART (IndyCar). He earned the title “King of Speed” when he became the first NHRA driver to break the 300 miles-per-hour barrier March 20, 1992 in Gainesville, Fla. In May of 1992 his IndyCar with driver Roberto Guerrero sat on the pole of the Indy 500. Bernstein’s association with Budweiser lasted for 30 years, setting the watermark as the longest-running sponsorship in the history of auto sports. During his driving career he won 69 NHRA national events, four consecutive Funny Car championships (1985-1988) along with two Top Fuel championships (1996 and 2001). He was also voted in the top 10 on NHRA’s 50 Greatest Drivers list. As a team owner he has accumulated 18 Top Fuel victories with son Brandon at the wheel. Following is a chronological list of Kenny Bernstein’s career highlights. For a more detailed list, please visit www.kennybernstein.com.
1966 - Supported a Top Fuel drag racing hobby which included several victories on the Texas Pro Fuel Circuit, by selling high fashion women’s wear.
1974 - Abandoned his racing hobby to focus on the Chelsea Street Pub Restaurant chain he founded with Randy Pumphrey in Lubbock, Texas
1978 - Returned to racing in mid-season with the Chelsea King Funny Car.
1979 - Won his first NHRA national event, the Cajun Nationals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
1980 - Debuted the Budweiser King Funny Car, beginning a sponsorship association that lasted an unprecedented 30 years
1983 - Drove the Budweiser King Funny Car to victory in both the Big Bud Shootout and the U.S. Nationals during the same weekend, becoming the first to achieve that double win
1984 - Became the first Funny Car driver to break the 260 mile-per-hour barrier (260.11 mph), March 18, Gainesville, Fla.
1985 - Won the first of four consecutive NHRA Funny Car Championships Founded King Racing NASCAR team
1986 - Won his second NHRA Funny Car Championship Became the first to break the 5.50-second barrier (5.425 seconds, Sept. 26, Ennis, Texas) Became the first to break the 270 mph barrier in a Funny Car (271.41 mph, Aug. 30, Indianapolis)
1987 - Won the NHRA Funny Car Championship for the third time Became the first to break the 5.40-second barrier in a Funny Car (5.397 seconds, April 5, Ennis, Texas) Won Big Bud Shootout for the second time Founded King Protofab IndyCar team (later renamed King Motorsports)
1988 - Won the fourth consecutive and final NHRA Funny Car Championship of his career Earned first victory as a NASCAR team owner when Ricky Rudd prevailed at Watkins Glen, N.Y.
1989 - Announced decision to move from Funny Cars to Top Fuel dragsters in the next season. Earned second NASCAR win with Ricky Rudd at Sears Point (now Infineon Raceway) in Sonoma, Calif.
1990 - Debuted the Budweiser King Top Fuel dragster Earned third NASCAR victory with Brett Bodine at North Wilkesboro, N.C.
1991 - Tied the single season record at that time for Top Fuel victories with six Earned the final spot in the Cragar 4-Second Club Became the first driver to win both the Big Bud Shootout for Funny Cars and the Budweiser Classic for Top Fuel cars with Classic victory at Pomona, California
1992 - Became the first driver to break the 300 mph barrier (301.70 mph, March 20, Gainesville, Fla.) Was pole-winning and one-lap and four-lap speed record-setting owner at the Indianapolis 500 with driver Roberto Guerrero.
1993 - Became the first driver to win 100 career rounds in both Top Fuel and Funny Car Won the Budweiser Classic for second time
1994 - Became the first driver to break the 310 mile-per-hour barrier with speed of 311.85 mph in semifinals and set NHRA national record of 314.46 mph in season-ending Finals at Pomona, Calif. Earned first IndyCar victory as a car owner when Scott Goodyear prevailed at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. This victory made Bernstein the first car owner to attain victories in each of the three major American auto racing series: CART, NASCAR and NHRA drag racing.
1996 - Won first NHRA Top Fuel Championship and became first driver to win championships in both nitro categories
2001 - Won sixth NHRA Championship, second in Top Fuel With son Brandon, became the first father and son to win at the same NHRA national event in April at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They doubled again in June at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. Voted in the top 10 drivers in NHRA’s 50-year history
2002 - This season marked Bernstein’s “Forever Red…A Run To Remember” retirement tour Bernstein passed the keys to the company car to son Brandon
2003 - Brandon’s rookie season. Kenny stepped back into the cockpit after son Brandon sustained season-ending back injuries from a crash in Englishtown, N.J. Kenny won four events to finish the season sixth in point standings after beginning to accrue points in the 10th event of the season.
2004 - Brandon returned to the Top Fuel cockpit
2005 - Named by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association as one of 12 nominees for the Newsmaker of the Half-Century award. In alphabetical order the nominees were: Mario Andretti, Kenny Bernstein, Dale Earnhardt, John Force, A.J. Foyt, the France family, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, the Hulman-George family, Wally Parks, Roger Penske and Richard Petty.
2006 - Inducted into the Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame April 5 at a Gala at the Texas Motor Speedway Announced at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals that he would stage an NHRA comeback driving the Monster Energy Funny Car in 2007
2007 - After one season driving the Monster Energy Funny Car, Kenny made the decision to step out of the cockpit. Inducted into the Don Garlits International Drag Racing Hall of Fame
2009 - Celebrated Budweiser/Bernstein 30th anniversary, the longest team/ Sponsor relationship in autosports history. Also the final year of Budweiser sponsorship.
2010-11 - Two seasons of Copart sponsorship
About Copart: Copart, founded in 1982, provides vehicle sellers with a full range of remarketing services to process and sell salvage and clean title vehicles to dealers, dismantlers, rebuilders, exporters and, in some states, to end users. Copart remarkets the vehicles through Internet sales utilizing its patented VB2 technology. Copart sells vehicles on behalf of insurance companies, banks, finance companies, fleet operators, dealers, car dealerships and others as well as cars sourced from the general public. The company currently operates 154 facilities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Salvage vehicles are either damaged vehicles deemed a total loss for insurance or business purposes or are recovered stolen vehicles for which an insurance settlement with the vehicle owner has already been made. For more information, or to become a member, visit www.copart.com.
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The following articles are by Tex LeRoi Smith and can be found at the website www.hotrodhotline.com. Tex was there for the first Bonneville races and has written on the Salt and land speed racing for decades. He is the owner of Tex Smith Libraries, a hot rod publishing company.
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PERSONAL BEST NOV. 10, 2011
I Regard Junk As Junk Oct. 12, 2011
TIPS ON DOING THE SALT Sept. 28, 2011
TAKE A DRAG HOLIDAY... In Hawaii making haste at the Salt August 24, 2011
SOME MORE ABOUT ENGINES August 1, 2011
‘TAIN’T NO CLASSIC JULY 13, 2011
THE NEFARIOUS BUNCH JUNE 2011
THE START OF IT ALL (well, duh, it hasn’t always been this way!) June 8, 2011
Playing Cars (and Marbles) May 18, 2011
Junkyard Blues May 5, 2011
Australian Street Rod Nationals April 2011
I’M BAAACK! April 20, 2011
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PERSONAL BEST. By LeRoi Tex Smith
When we were teenagers, these were vital words in our vocabulary. Mine’s Bigger Than Yours. Mines Better Than Yours. In one case objective, in the other subjective. In one event, what we thought, in the other, what other’s thought. And some of this was even about our cars. Eventually, we learned that neither was particularly important in world matters, especially when we discovered that there were two other words that really did matter: Personal Best. I learned early on in sports that PB was the real goal of any effort. I might be very good at something, but there would always be someone come along who would be better. The real reward was in the trip, not in the crown! That's the way I see it in hot rodding. There are no hard and fast rules in this hobby/sport. No unchanging guidelines guaranteed to produce undisputed superiority of either vehicle or owner/builder. We have but one measuring stick, and that is performance. The old Put Up Or Shut Up dictum that is, often, the final law. In racing, he who gets there first be the winner. Second place is only first loser! But that is not the case in street rodding. Or old car restoration. Or show cars, or a host of other car thingies. If hot rodding is objective, we can proclaim a number one.
At least for that moment in time. But not in he overwhelming car enthusiast field. There everything is subject to interpretation, to the viewpoint of he who makes the decision. Which is why the vast majority of automotive enthusiast activity should be accepted with a huge grain of salt. Winner of a major car show? To me, everyone who attends that gathering, as participant or spectator, is the winner. Grab the big trophy at some shindig or other? Who else but you really cares, therefore it only matters to you. Which is where the Personal Best comes in. Just making it cross-country to do a gig in Austin, or LA, or Indy may not mean a thing to most of the rodders present, but to the builder of a fresh ride, here is an accomplishment of major credit. And next time the achievement will be better, each time becoming a new personal best. All the applause in the stadium, all the chest inflation that comes with a magazine feature, all the back clapping in the world is secondary to personal knowledge of doing better and better.
This is why I try to never criticize a person's efforts in building his own vehicle. If he does his best, that is. A half-assed attempt at anything shows immediately in the result, whether it be the New York Marathon or a first time attempt at restoring a model A Ford. I do not, ever, include a Personal Best salutation to anyone who merely writes a check for a result. It is very easy for an old hand at anything to scoff at the efforts of a fresh face. It is equally easy to dismiss as unimportant the young guy or gal who wander into a hot rod gathering in something that is obviously early in the making, or hardly of a quality with other vehicles present. It is much more difficult to consider the vehicle, and the participants in light of their credentials. Rare, indeed, is the teenager who has all the talents to create masterpieces. Rarer, still, is the mature grey hair who turns his attention to a lifetime dream and tries to either build, or design the perfect ride; but, for them, whatever they accomplish is a personal best. That is all that matters, bucko. Put away the critique sheets and extend the hand of fellowship. That might just be your very own personal best
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Legendary racer Tom “Mongoose” McEwen hosts Lions last drag race reunion at the Museum on December 3. McEwen has gathered some of his closest friends and is heading back to “The Beach,” and you’re invited. On Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 2-5 pm, McEwen will host a Lions Last Drag Race Reunion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. “The last drag race at Lions took place December 1-2, 1972 and that’s almost 40 years ago. We’re all getting old and it seemed appropriate that we should host an event to celebrate what is regarded as the preeminent drag strip known throughout the world as simply, ‘The Beach,’” McEwen said. Lions officially opened on October 9, 1955, actually a few weeks after the opening of another purpose built strip at San Fernando. Drag News described Lions as, “Probably one of the greatest auto racing spectacles in local history.” The place was packed. The pit gates had to be closed, officials had to limit the number of runs and the parking overflowed into the surrounding streets. Track manager Mickey Thompson announced he would double the number of bleachers. Less successful were the new red, yellow and green starting lights operated by a hand-held switch. It was hoped the new starting system would eliminate anticipated flagman starts. Unfortunately, a lot of drivers had problems with the lights so starter Ralph Helm resorted to the flags. Nevertheless, some impressive times and speeds were recorded.
Fritz Voigt was Top Eliminator with a speed of 131.38 mph but top speed went to Ed Losinski who ran an impressive 151.26 mph. Low E.T. was 10.54 set by Lloyd Scott driving the Howard and Weiand Special “Bustle Bomb.” For more than 15 years “The Beach” enjoyed an unrivaled reputation. Sadly, the fun ended when the Los Angeles Harbor Commission decided that it needed the land for development and it eventually became the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility. The ‘Goose, of course, went on to win Funny Car at that last race (against arch rival Don Prudhomme) and he will be joined in a panel discussion by other Lions Drag Strip notables including “T.V. Tommy” Ivo who (with McEwen) arguably made more runs down the Long Beach quarter-mile than any other drivers, Pro Stock champion of The Last Drag Race Bill Bagshaw, and long time starter Larry Sutton. Hot Rod DeLuxe magazine editor Dave Wallace will moderate saying, “Fascination with ‘The Beach’ only seems to increase the further away we get. I’m really excited to moderate this discussion which I expect will be lively given the panelists.” Joining Dave and the racers will be other personalities from Lions including Gordon Browning who discovered the location and track manager Mickey Thompson’s wife Judy and son Danny. Cost is only $25 per person. For more information about the Lions Last Drag Race Reunion visit Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum web site at: www.Museum.NHRA.com. Or call 909-622-2133.
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Land Speed Racing Websites:
www.hotrodhotline.com, www.landspeedracing.com
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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.
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