STEVE GIBBS NAMED GRAND MARSHAL OF THE 20^th CALIFORNIA HOT ROD REUNION PRESENTED BY AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

“Hand Grenade” Harry Hibler, Bakersfield native Wayne King, “Freight Train” legend John Peters, sport’s best leavers Dwight Salisbury and Bay area racer George Santos

  POMONA , CA (July 22, 2011) - This year's Honorees took the West Coast by storm from the 60s through early 80s. They'll come together for one of the biggest nostalgic events in the West Coast - The 20th NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion presented by Automobile Club of Southern California, Oct. 21-23 at Auto Club Famoso Raceway! Longtime NHRA official Steve Gibbs is leading the pack of drag racing heroes as honorary Grand Marshal. It's going to be a collection of drag racing titans for the history books.

GRAND MARSHAL- STEVE GIBBS

Since the California Hot Rod Reunion was principally his idea, it’s most appropriate that Steve Gibbs has been named Grand Marshal of the 20^th Annual event. He began his drag racing career in 1961 working part time at San Gabriel and Fontana Drag Strips numbering cars, fill-in announcing and submitting articles to Drag News. Gibbs became assistant manager of Irwindale Raceway in the mid-‘60s. He ran staging in the heyday of the Smoker’s March Meets when six Top Fuel dragsters would be lit at the same time; two on the starting line, two waiting to stage and two on the fire-up road. In 1969, he joined NHRA as advertising director of National Dragster. A year later when NHRA increased its national event schedule, Big Hook was appointed assistant to Event Director Jack Hart. Through the years his role grew and his creative innovation in safety, track preparation, and event scheduling played a major role in the growth of NHRA drag racing. In the early 1990’s he formed NHRA Historical Services to gather material and provide the genesis that led directly to the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum where he served as its first Executive Director. In 1991 he received the prestigious Car Craft Ollie Award for career-long contributions to the sport and was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2006. Today he’s semi-retired and serves as a board member of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum.

 
 CHRR HONOREES

HARRY HIBLER – “Hand Grenade” Harry Hibler has been involved in all aspects of hot rodding and drag racing. He started as a tech inspector at San Fernando Drag Strip under co-managers Frank Huszar and Darrell Morgan from 1955 until 1960 when he became the strip manager for owner Bill Hannon. There was a 3:30 noise curfew imposed by the city and Harry became famous for being able to run eight-car Top Fuel, Top Gas and Little Eliminator shows every Sunday and get it done in three hours. Also, with an airport right next door, there was the occasional wayward airplane to deal with.  Harry was also known as the racer’s hero because he was always able to hustle up tools, oil or spark plugs to supplement the racer’s winnings and even some occasional cash to get home on.  The “Hand Grenade” title came from his driving career and the explosive nature of some of his rides. He did however, finish as Top Fuel runner-up to Tony Nancy, one of his closest friends, at the 1970 Bakersfield March Meet. After San Fernando closed in 1970, he moved into the publishing industry at Petersen Publishing for nearly thirty years. During that time he was responsible for considerable growth in the company’s magazines including Hot Rod, Car Craft and Circle Track. He served three terms on the SEMA Board of Directors, is a member of the SEMA Hall of Fame and is on the selection board of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

WAYNE KING – Wayne King is another one of those tough Fuel Racers that came out of Bakersfield. His first Smoker’s trophy was won in his six cylinder ’51 Chevy, but he soon served as a crewman before driving the Martin’s Market Modified Roadster.  With Martin and Roger Coburn he built a fuel Chevy dragster which held No. 6 on the Drag News Mr. Eliminator list. In 1961 he helped Ernie Hashim with a Stuckey-chassied Sorrell-bodied Top Fuel dragster that became the M&H Tires test car. In 1963 he was hired by Chuck Doss and Del Clayton of Santa Maria to drive the former Ed’s Muffler dragster. The team of Doss, Clayton and King was born and won many races up and down the California coast. In 1965 Ed Donovan hired him to drive and they won the 1965 PDA Championship at Lions over 150 Top Fuel dragsters. When drivers all had animal nicknames, Ralph Guldahl named him “The Peregrine” and it stuck. He worked as a machinist for Donovan Engineering for three years and calls it a tremendous learning experience. King also drove for Bakersfield racers Bill Crossley, Chuck Holloway, Warren and Crowe, and Tony Waters. After a brief episode with a Funny Car, he moved to Washington in 1971 and won the Division 6 Pro Comp Championship. He attended the first CHRR with his Doss, Clayton and King dragster and has since become a regular participant in CHRR Cacklefests. 

JOHN PETERS- John Peters came out of the Venice and West L.A. area that produced such legendary hot rodders as Leonard Harris, Gene Adams, Stu Hilborn and the Surfers. He was an employee of Engle Cams for over 20 years and began racing with a Willys sedan gasser. He is of course, best known for the “Freight Train” twin-engine gas dragster, perhaps the most dominant in the sport’s history. The list of accomplishments and superlatives is endless: First over 180, 190 and 200 mph on gas, first in the 7’s, and first in the 6’s. Although John was listed as the driver who won the ’63 Winternationals for years, he never drove and was actually covering up for Bob Muravez’ family situation which forbade him to drive. Including Muravez, thirteen different drivers took the wheel of the Train, including Bob Brissette, Craig Breedlove, Tom McEwen, Mickey Thompson, Goob Tuller and Sam Davis. Today John and his family operate Freight Train Racing Engines in Northern California. Peters and his wife Bev restored the Freight Train in the early ‘90s and have been active participants in Hot Rod Reunions both in Bakersfield and Bowling Green.

DWIGHT SALISBURY- Dwight Salisbury began his career driving a ’34 coupe altered for his club the Bel Airs of Glendale. He built his own Top Fuel car in the mid-‘60s based on a series of articles that ran in Hot Rod Magazine. Over a twenty year career he successfully made the transition from front engine to rear engine dragsters. He appeared in three national event finals and won the 1973 Bakersfield March Meet Top Fuel title. He’s joined the Cragar Five Second Club with a 5.97 run at Pomona at the ’74 Winternationals driving his own Salisbury’s Stake dragster. He toured nationally with the Smothers Bros. /Beach Boys car, and also drove for Gaines Markley, Jim and Alison Lee and Ray Fisher. He built and tuned his own engines and had a reputation as one of the sport’s best leavers.

GEORGE SANTOS – George Santos drag racing career dates back to the 1950s when he teamed with his brother-in-law Hank Vincent to race the famed streamlined Top Banana dragster. An ad in the November ’58 issue of Hot Rod Magazine proclaimed the Top Banana as the “World’s Fastest Chevy at 161.87 mph using “George Santos’ 306 cu. in. Chevy.”  His S&S Automotive located in the San Francisco Bay Area, became renowned for its prowess with the small block Chevrolet. He built a small-block-Chevy-powered Top Alcohol dragster in 1984 which his son Rick drove to their first win at the ’86 Winternationals. The car went on to seriously challenge the Hemi-dominated category until it was parked when NHRA made a rule change requiring them to add 120 pounds to their combination. George is semi-retired from S&S but remains one of the top Chevrolet experts on the West Coast.

Don’t miss out on this year’s 20^th celebration of the largest nostalgic drag racing and hot rodding event in the West Coast, the 2011 California Hot Rod Reunion presented by Automobile Club of Southern California, Oct. 21-23 at Auto Club Famoso Raceway. For tickets, visit www.nhratix.com or call 1-800-884-NHRA (6472).

The Reunion is a 3-day festival of speed, hot rods and American automotive enthusiasm. The season finale of the NHRA’s Hot Rod Heritage nostalgia drag racing series also takes place at the Reunion. Make your plans now to attend the Reunion and join thousands of hot rodders and race fans in Bakersfield for the annual Reunion.

Three-day credentials are $65. Auto Club members receive a discount. Purchase before Oct. 7 and receive a “goodie” bag, Reunion program, commemorative dash plaque and collectible souvenir credential.  

Produced by the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, the Reunion is part of the museum’s “living history” philosophy, which works to bring to life the sights, sounds and people who made history in the early days of drag racing, land speed racing and the golden age of American car culture. 

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

• NHRA vintage drag racing, featuring some the sport’s most famous and historic cars and drivers, racing in such classes at Nostalgia Top Fuel, Funny Car, Fuel Altereds, Supercharged Gassers, Classic Super Stock, Hot Rods and others. It’s the grand finale of the NHRA’s Hot Rod Heritage Series.
• California Hot Rod Reunion Reception, held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bakersfield, on Friday night, from 7 p.m.- 10 p.m. Open to everyone at no charge, it’s a tribute to Reunion Grand Marshal, Honorees and the Justice Brothers Car Care Products Reunion Spotlight. The reception offers a chance for fans to meet some of drag racing’s heroes.
• Huge Cacklefest on Saturday evening, where nitro-burning historic, front-engine top-fuel dragsters and other classic race cars are push started just like in the “old days.” 
• The Swap meet and Reunion Midway filled with hot rod and automotive related vendors. Something for everyone!