Motorsports Newsletter 7/24/24
By Richard Parks
1) EDITORIAL: What are the problems in creating a Hall of Fame or Honorary Awards programs? Politics is one. Sponsorship is another. A third is a stable and long-lasting supporter. Fourth is name recognition. Money to operate without sponsors. Negativity by a few. Boredom over the long term. Lack of clarity in what one tries to do. Death or the loss of a founder or big name. The huge amount of time to create and sustain such programs. Bias or prejudice. Stubbornness, inability to say yes or no. There are many more reasons that Halls of Fame and Honorary Awards Programs fail. In coming issues, we will look into the hardships encountered by Awards directors. AND: All links in the newsletter need to be copied and pasted into your browser in order to work. AND: A reader suggested I highlight and color ONE name in each item. I’ll try that in this issue. Let me know.
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2) Jaguar Cars £22.50 By Nigel Thorley, 160 pages, 387 images. Also in the series: Triumph & Standard, Morris, Rootes (Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam, Talbot), Rover, Austin, Ford, Riley & Wolseley, Citroën and Jaguar. From: Veloce, fine automotive books at newsletter@veloce.co.uk.
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3) (To Don Smith’s family) May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived. Sherry Eppel AND: Don Smith and my husband were wonderful longtime friends, he was such a great source for knowledge, and he had so many connections to the automotive world. He was a founding member of SEMA, a restauranteur (Guido’s in Colma) where my husband proposed to me, he was just a wonderful man, and we will miss him dearly. For 30 years he never forgot our birthdays or our wedding anniversary. To not see he and Cassie together is so sad. RIP Don! You were one in a million. Mary Nispuruk at https://www.sema.org/news-media/enews/2024/26/ industry-mourns-loss-1987-sema-hall-fame-inductee-don-smith.
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4) PEOPLE WE HAVE LOST DEPT: Former NHRA Jr, Dragster Eastern Conference Finals champion Cody Hoberg, passed away following a tragic accident at his home June 16. He was 19. Holberg was the 10-year-old ECF champion in 2016. Division 1 Super Comp racer Lenny Bucher. He was the son of Top Fuel veteran Larry. He was 54; Division 1 Stock racer Bill Drevo and Jetcar racer Tommy O’Brien. Former NHRA Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon Sr, who won the 1970 Winternationals and was a member of the Cragar 5-Second Club, died April 6. He was 84. Dixon is the father of three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champ. NHRA updates@go.nhra.com. AND: Land speed record setter George Poteet dies at age 76. Go to: https://bonnevilleracing.com/bonnevis ion/something-evil-this-way-comes/. From: Ron Main ron@speeddemon.us.
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5) Thanks Richard what you do to weave together the body of motorsports is invaluable. This generation of men are closing the door, only Ed Iskenderian leading the way as a centenarian. Susan Kidder Susan: Alex Xydias turned 101 and joins Isky as one of the few centenarians in motorsports.
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6) These stories are wonderful. I have only read a very small amount so far but intend to read more and more as time permits. Bob Spar
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7) The magazine business is no more. Thanks to the encouragement of several other YouTube creators, I started the channel in late May and perhaps it is something you could mention in the newsletter. I think it may have some interest for your readers. Subjects recently covered included a private car show at Richard Petty’s Museum, a final round pit thrash for funny car points leader Austin Prock at the NHRA race in Bristol, and a collection of never-before amateur published photos from ’69 taken during the AHRA Spring Nationals. Geoff Stunkard qmpublish@gmail.com.
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8) Randy Walls story cont’d. “My friends in high school were into cars, like I was. Douglas Morgan and GW Dotson were into music. Douglas has been in many recordings, singing and playing guitar and was in electronics in the Air Force. Paul Cundiff likes to restore old cars. Paul Butler became postmaster. Ronnie Spurrier was a star basketball player, who later went into the security business. Another good friend of mine in high school was Terry Pullen. After high school, when I turned 19 in 1960, I enlisted in the Air Force. When I joined the Air Force, I made the highest entry score ever in the state of Kentucky. The military gave me my choice of tech schools and career fields. I chose digital computers, which was their longest & toughest course at 57 weeks of pure studying.” (cont’d)
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9) TIME FOR A POLL: In last week’s newsletter it was pointed out that the actual word count was 8,564. 1) Should the editor remove the stories and just mention that they exist for anyone who would like to read them, sparing those who don’t read the stories. 2) Should the number of items be reduced? AND: 91 ITEMS (stories) WOW! Great job! Paul Escudero PAUL: Thank you. I want the readers to know I listen to their suggestions and tinker with making the news
letter better. Please send advice for any changes.
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10) WE RECEIVE CALLS DEPT: Had three nice phone calls this week. George Levy called to chat and if you haven’t seen the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America’s website, please take the time to look it up. Great review of race car drivers, mechanics, etc. Then received a call from B. S. Levy (Burt) and no relation to George on his books and his stories. Levy goes beyond road racing into the personalities and character of those who race and others who follow various types of auto racing. He has a wealth of stories. Then there was Jim Miller, a record setting Land Speed Racer and Historian who I work with and rely for some great stories. Jim scans all those great photos you see on the American Hot Rod Foundation website; he keeps the car racing culture alive.
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11) The Grandeur of Goodwood, by Ernie Nagamatsu. Ernie in Old Yeller II leads a small pack through the Goodwood chicane (photographs by John Taylor). Reprinted in Vintage Metal Journal. Goodwood is a very special place. If you are visiting England, it is a must-see. Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu live in Los Angeles, California and travel the world racing the Max and Ina Balchowski’s Old Yeller II. From Bob Campbell, editor of Vintage Metal Journal in Western Australia.
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12) Paul Chamberlain’s story continued. Here’s one of the best stories, or as it came to be called, “The Great Shiny Satin Jacket Caper” (thanks to Jean Shepard). Now it came to pass that the Bakersfield Smokers were about to hold the first of the legendary Fuel & Gas Championship Drag Races. Being the adventurous young guys we were, Alan Johnson and I decided to drive up to Bakersfield in his Karman Ghia (don’t ask why he had one ok why?) and watch. I had my dad’s 16mm camera and the plan was to take some color film of the races. Now, at NHRA, there resided in the back room a rack of those shiny blue jackets, complete with the NHRA label and (I think) the word “Official” on the back. Nobody would mind if I borrowed one just for the weekend. What better way to (hopefully) get near the starting line to film? Anyway, that was the plan and it worked like a charm. I got some great footage of the cars: Scotty’s Muffler Special, Ernie Hashim’s digger, Chrisman’s Hustler, Garlits and more. Plus, we had a great time, and the jacket went back on the rack, and everything was fine. (cont’d) PAUL: I’ve always said that the NHRA is better at infiltration & protection than the CIA, FBI or Secret Service.
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13) The Vintage Speedcar Association (NSW-New South Wales) Newsletter 245th Edition
Issue #6, June & July 2024. 16 pages. PO Box 73 Wentworthville, NSW 2145. “Preserving The Future by Promoting the Past.” Attached is our Speedcar Newsletter. You may or may not be interested in this Newsletter. Let me know if you would like me to send you more Newsletters. Maria & John Green at ajkake@bigpond.com. JOHN & MARIA: What a great group you have, and I love the newsletter. Especially the car and parts ads. There are some great sports and race cars in Australia.
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14) We are looking for Ak Miller stories. Here are some that we have collected. Born Akton Moeller, in Denmark, eighty-one years ago, his family immigrated to Southern California when he was just a small child. He worked in various garages as a youth and for Hannah Nixon, in their store in Whittier, back in the 1930’s. Ak remembers seeing Richard Nixon studying at the old secretary desk in the store and asking Ak to bring him a candy bar and to “help yourself as well.” RMN was already a practiced politician! Years later, when visiting the White House as a member of a racing contingent, Ak found himself teased and everyone doubted that he had ever known the President. Nixon strode in and grasped the hand of his old friend and said, “Ak, did you bring me a candy bar?” Le Roi “Tex” Smith says that Ak harbored a real dislike of the President, but I think that came more from familiarity with him than hatred of the man. All you had to do to get a rise out of Ak was to mention Nixon’s name. (source: The Wally & Barbara Parks story: We Did It Our Way)
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15) Ugly Hawaiian Shirt night, Industry Speedway Racing, July 29, 2024, by Howie Zechner. Of course, there was more than just garment silliness cause racing is the name of the game as the Ugly Hawaiian Shirt night event is a prestigious title racers treasure. Division 1, 2, 3, Mini 150, Pee Wee even Sidecars battle hard to claim it. The evening held a special additional surprise as Handicap racing had been added to the program. For the regulars that means hooray and for you newbies let me explain. Scratch racing is where all riders line up evenly at the starting line. In Handicap they are moved 10 yards apart depending on how good they are. That means a top
notch rider like Max Ruml or Broc Nicol may be on the 50-yard line where a less experienced racer may start on the 0, 10, 20, 30 or 40. This makes for good racing, but the danger factor goes way up as it requires squirting between slower traffic on alcohol powered machines that have no brakes. Howie Zechner, Press officer.
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16) Duffy Livingstone, by Dick Martin (for photographs go to https://www.motortrend.com/staff/dick-martin/) Skip Hudson was driving a Monza Ferrari in the Examiner race and sent Duffy this photo showing his front wheels about even with the Ferrari’s rear wheels. Along with the photo came this note, “Here, you S.O.B.-this is just before you passed me. You went around me so fast that it was so embarrassing, I almost pulled over to the side and popped the hood to look like something was wrong with the car. Here I am driving a hand-built Ferrari, and a damned Model-T passes me.” “Nothing could out-corner that thing,” says Duff. “I could go around the outside of any car on the track. One thing is the rear tires I ran. I went to Voigt tire in El Monte. I wanted the widest drag slick they made which was 7 & 3/8 inches wide. They looked like steamroller tires in those days compared to the narrow sports car tires. Voigt used half crude and half gum rubber. I got them grooved a minimum one-inch square and 1/8 inch deep that came out diamond shaped.” (last in the series)
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17) The Ultimate Guide on NHRA Drag Racing Series Betting in the US. Here is a list of the legal status of drag racing betting in each state: NHRA Not Yet Approved Gambling; Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC, Wisconsin. https://nxtbets.com/the-ultimate-guide-on-nhra-drag-racing-series
betting-in-the-us/. From John Towle
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18) I’ve been told by a reader that longer is not necessarily better. At well over 8000 words the newsletter is far too long. How many people make it all the way to the bottom. Wise beyond one’s years reader DEAR WISE: OUCH. Everyone knows I’m verbose, but 8000 words. My father would have fired me for anything over 600. How does one count the words in an email?
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19) Friday, July 26, 2024, Cars & Cocktails 5-7pm, Eagle Ranch Golf Course, 50 Lime Park Drive, Eagle, New York. See: HighCountryCarsandCoffee.Wordpress.com. From: Mark Bergman at mark-bergman@email.b12.io
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20) West Coast Junior Fuel: Volume I, A Class History 1964-1972, by Nick Vaughn w/photos by Dave Wallace Sr. 200 pages with 300+ images. It is the only such book on the subject. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9DT5YC8.
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21) BLAST FROM THE PAST…… From the Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way. 1 November 1945. Jack (James) Harvey wrote from Japan, “Hope I run into Parks again somewhere out here but have a hunch he’s a point hound & is headed for home. Sure hope so for his sake & also the people back there. Wally is just like a tonic, he’s sure good to have around.” Harvey then gave an explanation of how my father was wounded, “I won’t invite Wally because he’ll probably be busy nursing that purple heart thumb of his.” READERS: Dad was wounded, but how and why? Harvey’s term “point hound” refers to points given for active duty during a war. Since the war in Europe ended in the spring of 1945, the Federal government began discharging men and women who reached a certain point total. Points were awarded for time in service, medals, battle duty, etc, and when you reached a certain point, you were discharged from military service. For my father that would occur in December 1945.
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22) I’m an old drag racin’ Bonnevillain and still have my yellow 56 Chevy 210 strait-axle Gasser in the garage that was purpose-built in Southern San Francisco in ‘65 by the late Al Fitting, the Gasser go to guy. It’s street-legal now but still carries the choppy 327 race motor and Muncie 4speed. Good time. Keep up the work! Phil Smith
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23) In 1957 I bought a new Ford Fairlane. Inside of two weeks I had dropped it to the max and acquired all of the ECZG high performance parts that Ford made for the police cars. That included a three-carb manifold, heads, and cam, and cast headers (got those free from C. E. Camp. Look up “Chuck Eddy” Hot Rod magazine 1950’s). I removed all of the upholstery and had everything redone in tuck and roll. Unfortunately, the Ford passenger transmission was not up for the job, and I killed ten of them in eleven days. YES 10. So, I go see Ak Miller and he decided that I should put in a heavy-duty trans. I did and it worked. There was just one minor problem. The floor shift handle was in the wrong place and hard to use. I go see Ak “again” and he thought he should weld a bracket on the tail shaft to move the handle back. I took the trans out and he built the bracket and welded it in place. It was finished, look good, and was back in the car. I drove out of Ak’s shop, got on the gas, shifter two second gear and the entire back of the trans came off in my hand at the weld. Not only that, but the driveshaft also broke and hit the ground causing my bitchen, fast, chick magnet to crash into the curb taking out the front tire and wheel. Two days later I signed up for a high school welding class. Tim Kraushaar aka Weed
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24) I looked forward to the colors. I know it took a lot of time to catch every word that needed color. Perhaps you could just color the name of the person or car highlighted in the note without worrying about how important it was. No need for pink in the 21st century. Keep going mate. Dave Nicholas DAVE: I’ll give it a try and this time the colors will be RANDOM, without thinking about it.
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25) Katherine Johnson leaves a place in space and the Moon honoring the 55th anniversary of the Moon landing. https://www.nasa.gov/history/55-years-ago-apollo-11s-one-small-step-one-giant-leap/. From: Bill Montgomery at Hidden Pioneers hiddenpioneers@gmail.com, and also mentioned by Terry Fritz.
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26) The Piston Foundation awards 20 scholarships for 2024 to aspiring auto restoration technicians. Applications for Spring 2025 scholarships are open now at https://pistonfoundation.org/programs/piston-fund-automotive
scholarship/. 16 went to students from McPherson College; 1 each to Pennsylvania College of Technology; Wyoming Tech; Ferris State University; and Worcester Polytechnical Institute; Women received 3 scholarships and men 17. From: Judy Stropus at jstropus@earthlink.net. READERS: Please support companies that offer Automotive and Technology scholarships.
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27) Land-Speed Racer George Poteet Passes Away: THE SHOP. Thought I’d share this with you. George was one fast hot rodder. https://theshopmag.com/news/land-speed-racer-george-poteet-passes-away/. From Ron Bell at autobell2@gmail.com. RON: Thank you and I will post it. Send more. George was a gentleman and proud to be a land speed racer.
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28) J, K and Squareriggers News, The Albany Classic-A Story in Two Parts, by Heza Henry for Vintage Metal Journal. “Ian Penrose was a new participant with his 1948 Singer Nine roadster. He is followed by Sarah Lamont in the Ford Anglia 105E and Barry Mackintosh poking his nose in with the Bartlett Special. Go to www.sportpixx.com.au for copies of these and other photographs.” Another great article and event in Australia.
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29) The July meet at El Mirage has been cancelled for the third year in a row due to excessive heat. There is talk of eliminating the July meet and making June a two-day meet. There is talk of making October a two-day meet & eliminating the September meet. That’s the big news from the SCTA. Mike Kaehny, mike.kaehny@ymail.com.
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30) The Vintage Speedcar Association (VSA) Newsletter of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, 245th Edition Issue #6, June & July 2024. 16 pages. President: Kevin Gilkison. Vice President: John Campbell. Secretary: Nicole Fullager. Treasurer: Greg Wells. Events Director: Alan Mace. Assistant Events Director: Shane Fullager & Terry Young. Newsletter Editor: Keith Nicholls. Social Committee: Margaret Wells, Leanne Middlemass, Mary-Rose Vella, Keith Nicholls, Nicole Fullager, & David Hunt. Technical Committee: Bill Wells, Bob Lewis, Alan Day, Glenn Cox, & Bob Blacklaw. Historian: Greg Mann. Assistant Historian: Ray Dean. Car Registration Officer: Greg Mann. Regalia: Nicole Fullager. Club Photographers John Stanley & Keith Nicholls. Sent in by Maria & John Green. READERS: Maria & John Green are members of the Vintage Speedcar Association (VSA). They have some great looking race cars and events listed in the VSA Newsletter. More to follow.
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31) August Vintage Metal magazine (Western Australia). My latest is at https://indd.adobe.com/view/666a8c4a220b-4e85-992d-de7702898834. The Shannons Classic Car Show will be held at Ascot Racecourse on Sunday 8 September. This is one of the biggest classic car shows in WA and Michael Broughton is organising a display of our club members’ cars. This is always a very pleasant day with the opportunity to wander around an amazing variety of cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Regards, Bob Campbell at robertcampbell4@icloud.com.
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32) Stephan Papadakis, Owner of Papadakis Racing, joined us for the 4th Annual Race Industry Week. Hosted by Mike Kerchner of SPEED SPORT. From: team@epartrade.com. AND: Special Shop Management Webinar: “The High-Performing Shop Playbook” by Shopmonkey. Presented by Brett Kinsfather Sr, Industry Marketing Manager, Shopmonkey, and Tad Timbrook, Business Manager, KSR Performance & Fabrication. From: team@epartrade.com.
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33) This is one of the Hidden Pioneers starters out of Las Vegas. Congratulattions on your Gold Medal Lifetime Achievement Award from the White House. Blessings with Godspeed. 11-year-old journalist Jeremiah Fennell on interviewing big stars. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH0PWgXB6ys. From Bill Montgomery
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34) 35th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals. From: nhracommunications@nhra.com.
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35) Indianapolis US Nationals August 27-September 1, 2024. Reading NHRA Nationals September 11-14, 2024. Charlotte Carolina Nationals September 19-21, 2024. St Louis Midwest Nationals September 26-28, 2024. From: NHRA nhracommunications@nhra.com.
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36) What an amazing job you do on this newsletter. So eclectic! Rudow is the author of 1) Lost Road Courses, 2) Long Straights and Hairpin Turns, 3) Weekends of Glory, 4) Pete Lovely, a Racer’s Life, and a new book, 5) One Last Turn. See Rudo-mart on eBay. Martin Rudow is at rudowsp@gmail.com.
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37) Netflix just has just started streaming a new, five-part documentary series by Law & Order producer Dick Wolf called Homicide: Los Angeles. The series’ second episode delves into the 1988 murders of Mickey & Trudy Thompson, and is a detailed and interesting look at the investigation into that truly unfortunate incident that may appeal to some of your subscribers. (Here’s a link to a People Magazine piece about it: https://people.com/ who-killed-mickey-thompson-racing-driver-murder-8677921). Thanks again for getting the news out. Aloha and best regards, Bruce Wheeler at Please visit us online @ http://www.maui-angels.com.
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38) The Wally Parks Museum has given kudos to drag racing photographers, Les Lovett, Rick Shute and I have been rewarded by being honorees at the Bakersfield NHRA Hot Rod Reunion and that was very cool. Steve Reyes at sreyes@reyesontour.com
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39) I can well recognize the amount of effort it must have taken for the highlighting of the names. Growing up in the 1950’s and ’60’s near the Pomona dragstrip and racing El Mirage and BONNEVILLE, I not only recognize many names but know quite a few personally. Keep up the good work I appreciate your efforts. After setting a new D/GC record at El Mirage, a fellow sitting at a nearby table at the awards banquet named Wally, stopped me on the way back to my table to shake my hand. Jim Sims JIM: Write down your stories or contact me if you want me to help you do it. My process is quick and simple, and I have 300 such stories and bios in my archives. I really want to hear about what you did at Pomona, El Mirage, Bonneville and other racing events.
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40) The dropped valve story, by Dale Cook (serialized). “At that time, Troy Malone and I were doing some drag racing together. He and I started out to the Drag Strip with that 1962 Nova. In those days, we pulled with a tow bar. In this instance, the tow bar bolts were tight enough that the bar would not drop to the ground so when we pulled out the driveway, the road being rough and bumpy, the hitch rode up off the trailer ball and the car coasted off the road, going into the adjacent field.”
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41) The eight-bike field is set for this weekend’s GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout, with the specialty race grabbing the spotlight as part of the 36th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at scenic Sonoma Raceway. They are Gaige Herrera, Matt Smith, Hector Arana Jr, Jianna Evaristo, Steve Johnson, Angie Smith, Chase Van Sant, and John Hall. From: nhracommunications@nhra.com.
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42) SHERM PORTER’s List of Events and car shows for 2024, fuely32@sbcglobal.net. AUGUST 16-17 North-South Run Ford F100, Santa Maria, CA. NoSoRun@gmail.com, 562-920-3404. AUGUST 16-17 Hot El Camino Cruise Nite, Atascadero, CA. 805-470-3360, or www.atascadero.org. AUGUST 17 Atascadero Lake Car Show, 805-238-3177, 805-423-5218 or www.midstatecruizers.org. AUGUST 17 Concours d’ Lemons California, 440 Harcourt Ave, Seaside, CA. www.concoursdlemons.com. AUGUST 17 TRI-FIVE Celebration Car Show, Lions Museum, Rancho Dominguez, www.LionsAutomobilia.org. AUGUST 17-18 Wings Over Camarillo, Air Show/Car Show, info@wingsovercamarillo.com. AUGUST 18 Turlock Swap/Car Show, Stanislaus County Fairgrounds, 209-201-8491, www.springfallturlock.com. AUGUST 18 Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, Pebble Beach, CA. www.pebblebeachconcours.net.
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43) Jeff Dodds, Chief Executive Officer of Formula E the first FIA sanctioned electric world championship and the world’s first net zero carbon sport since inception, joined us for the 4th Annual Race Industry Week. Hosted by Brad Gillie from SiriusXM,Channel 90, Late Shift. AND: Stand 21 provides Porsche Motorsport Racewear. Go to https://www.epartrade.com/product/a9358213. From: team@epartrade.com.
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44) Right2Breathe, a Cleveland Clinic provided free lung screening Health Expo at the Norwalk NHRA race. Seventy-day countdown begins to the 70th NHRA US Nationals. Joe Morrison had his nitro Funny Car debut in Norwalk. From: updates@go.nhra.com.
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45) Back in the early 1970s, my dad Bernie Partridge loved to play on the water in his screaming, fast, hyperlight little 18′ Challenger jet boat with a Sonny Bryant-built 427 L-88. Back then nothing was too fast and any jet that could edge close to 100 mph was rare and frightening! Since dad’s NHRA Division 7 office was based in the Pomona Raceway tower, he told me to meet him at the nearby Lake Puddingstone boat launch after school for some fast pass tuning. When I got there, he was on the ramp and ready to go with a giant industrial cylinder of nitrous oxide laying on the floor of the boat with legendary Ak Miller onboard setting up the base plate injection. It was crude by today’s standards for sure but that’s how performance improvements were discovered. We made a few laps while I would hold Ak by the collar so he wouldn’t fall out as he manually activated the combination of NOS & added fuel. It was like hitting an extra 4-barrel. The engine would tach some 6500 rpm with a groaning whine, occasionally sucking air as the tach would peg the needle and then grab the water again. Surprisingly never bending a pushrod, we’d stop, pull a couple plugs, adjust the mixture and go again. It’s hard to imagine doing that today. Jim Partridge
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46) The Ultimate Guide on NHRA Drag Racing Series Betting in the US. Here is a list of the legal status of drag racing betting in each state: 3) Not Legal Yet for NHRA Gambling: Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah. https://nxtbets.com/the-ultimate-guide-on
nhra-drag-racing-series-betting-in-the-us/. John Towle
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47) This Week on Cars Yeah Mark Greene interviews Jack Roush, Kevin McCauley, Wade Kawasaki, and Dan Kahn. Mark is a great host and narrator. Contact him at: info@carsyeah.com, to get on his email list.
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48) RJ Till, Vice President of World Racing League, joined us for the 4th Annual Race Industry Week. Hosted by Brad Gillie from SiriusXM, Channel 90, Late Shift. From: EPARTRADE at team@epartrade.com.
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49) The Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation (AACF) is deeply saddened by the passing of Donald C. Smith, a cornerstone of our industry and a respected member of our community. A 1987 SEMA Hall of Fame inductee and former SEMA Person of the Year, Smith passed away at the age of 90. As the CEO of High Performance Distributors in South San Francisco, he led with distinction and operated his own dragstrip. Don Smith served on the SEMA board for 14 years, uniquely elected as a write-in candidate, and was the national director of the Performance Warehouse Association for many years. His numerous accolades, including SEMA WD of the Year, PWA Pioneer Award, and the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Athena Award, reflect his unwavering commitment to excellence. From: misty@aacf-aftermarketcharity.ccsend.com.
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50) 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule here on the FOX broadcast network. April 25-27 15th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals Charlotte, North Carolina May 16-18 25th Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals by Peak Performance, Chicago, Illinois May 30-June 1 12th annual NHRA New England Nationals Epping, New Hampshire June 6-8 24th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, Tennessee From: Bill Montgomery at Hidden Pioneers hiddenpioneers@gmail.com.
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51) A Lifelong Lotus Love Affair, by B.S. Levy at thinkfast-mindspring.com@shared1.ccsend.com.
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52) We are looking for Ak Miller stories. Here are some that we have collected. AK followed his brothers, Lawrence (Old Dad) and Zeke, to the dry lakes in the 1930’s, and began a love affair with racing that lasts to this day. He was “the Kid” surrounded by young men in their late teens and early twenties, but they couldn’t keep him out. He loved hot rodding with a white-hot fire and zeal. He was a charter member of the Roadrunners, one of the original car clubs that absorbed the remnants of the Muroc Timing Association, and formed it into the storied SCTA, in December of 1937. Ak raced whatever was available, even an old derelict model-T that was abandoned in the desert. He would remove the battery after racing the old heap and was always surprised to find it still there when he returned for the next meet. It didn’t set any records, but it gave his car club valuable points toward the season’s champion-ship trophy. Ak devoured the rule book. Many accused him of cheating, but he didn’t have to as he knew every rule and the fine points of the regulations. He built cars to set records and he teamed up with guys who knew how to race. (Source: from the Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way)
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53) Wally’s stories: courtesy of DRIVE Magazine, by Wally Parks (serialized). “On-the-job training was the norm in many areas where first-time events were conducted. It was the Safari’s role to train local members in tech inspections, classifications, etc, as a part of their lessons for continuing events – after the Safari had gone on to its next stops. With Officer Coons’ introductions and records of performances in other areas, the Safari and its objectives were usually accepted from town to town, and Mobil’s advance notices were of inestimable value for gaining cooperation. It was a seed-planting endeavor that lasted.” EDITOR ADDS: Dad wrote a series of articles due to nice DRIVE editors and his nagging son.
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54) NASA will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars. Go to: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/. Bill Montgomery.
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55) Camping World, K&N Performance, A-iPower, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Summit Racing Equipment and RevZilla are all part of this year’s NHRA Sweepstakes, which is offering more than $25,000 worth of prizes winnings to lucky NHRA fans. The sweepstakes will begin at 9am ET on July 19, 2024, and end at 11:59pm ET on December 6, 2024. Go to: https://www.nhra.com/2024-nhra-sweepstakes-official-rules.
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56) BLAST FROM THE PAST…… From the Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way. Wally Parks was separated (discharged) from the US Army on December 22, 1945. His discharge papers gave a wealth of information and indicated that he left the service with a rank of T-4 and the MO of Tank Mechanic, “While serving with the 754th Tank Battalion in the Pacific Theater was assigned as a tank mechanic. Made all inspection and repairs on medium and light tanks. Overhauled engines, transmissions, power train and suspension systems.” He served three months at basic training and 27 months as a tank mechanic, mostly in the South Pacific.
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57) Ugly Hawaiian Shirt night, Industry Speedway Racing, July 29, 2024, by Howie Zechner. A scary ballet of dance and danger Speedway is an extreme visional sport that defies explanation. In case you missed it you’re in luck cause our season is only half-done cause on Saturday July 27 we return with the ever-popular Legends and Heroes night. From there it’s the AMA National Series Round 2 on Saturday August 3, the Junior Kurtz Memorial Cup on Wednesday August 14 and the California State Championship on Saturday August 24th. Video and pictures do a good job of capturing the action but the best way to see Speedway is in person. It truly is great family entertainment that will have you bragging to all that will listen about your most excellent adventure. Congratulations Ugly Hawaiian Shirt, Scratch Main winner Broc Nicol and Handicap winner Justin Almon. Howie Zechner, Speedway Racing Press officer, at howie@razvideo.com.
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58) New Exhibit Opening Night. Rally with us to Pebble Beach. The rarest Porsche RS. On Display at the Petersen: 1995 Ford GT90; 2008 Koenigsegg CCXR; 2022 Zeekr CM1e Prototype. From: Petersen Automotive Museum at info@petersen.org.
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59) Wally’s stories: courtesy of DRIVE Magazine, by Wally Parks (serialized). “With advance arrangements, they met with local car club hosts to establish a pattern of what each meet would be, then assigned work responsibilities for setting up and conducting the weekend events. Everything from portable power, phones, scales and timing equipment was part of the Safari’s baggage, including public-address, records-keeping and in some cases, even trophies. Wednesday to weekend was the customary preparation period, although some of the new events were conducted on much tighter schedules – the hard way.”
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60) Please write your stories and history. The more stories the better we understand our car culture.
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61) August Vintage Metal magazine (Western Australia). My latest is at https://indd.adobe.com/view/666a8c4a
220b-4e85-992d-de7702898834. Northam Motor Sport Festival in 2025. Among improvements is the possibility of one or two temporary pedestrian bridges across the track, along the lines of those used at Albany which may be in place for the 2026 event. We also discussed the need for additional plastic water barriers to protect competitors and local infrastructure, improvements to the two-way radio system used by officials and the possibility of a CCTV system to provide Race Control with a full view of the track. Bob Campbell at robertcampbell4@icloud.com.
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