Motorsports Newsletter 5/09/23

By Richard Parks

1) Nancy Wilson just posted that Pat Doll, Darwin’s wife, passed away yesterday. No other info at this time. RIP, Jim Kerr

JIM: Darwin Doll and his wife Pat were the husband/wife NHRA Directors for Division #1, the Northeast area. They weren’t the first, but they were a major reason why that area thrived in drag racing. Our condolences to the family and friends of Pat.

2) Being a David Tremayne fan (I am a long-time subscriber to GP+ that he and Joe Saward produce hours after each F1 race) and my home is less than an hour’s drive from Rio Vista, the longtime home of Mr. Breedlove’s shop. Buzz Baylis

BUZZ: I should write what I know about Craig. I met him on several occasions, but in 1997 I went with Jack Mendenhall and other Gold Coast Roadster and Racing Club members to the Black Rock Desert to work as security guards. Jack, Will Scott, and I lasted seven weeks until our meds ran out. What a time that was, and we will never forget it. Craig’s best time was 450 mph, but trouble plagued his car the entire time. The Brits, under Richard Noble, with Andy Green driving, set the record at 763 mph in a two-way run, but they had their share of problems too.

3) John Dinkel sent in a schedule of coming events at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California for the coming year. See:
https://www.willowspringsraceway.com/events/.

4) I would like to request the Craig Breedlove biography from David Tremayne. I have a number of his books and enjoy the well-researched presentation of his. Second, I want to highly recommend the Karl Ludvigsen biography of Reid Railton, Man of Speed. If you have any interest in early land speed racing, it is well worth the read. Tom Burkland

5) A high-speed roll call of top Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) competitors and some of the most famous names in Stock Car racing history come together this weekend for the milestone 45th HSR Mitty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, April 27-30, which celebrates NASCAR’s 75th Anniversary. Race tickets are available now at www.RoadAtlanta.com. Founded in 1948, NASCAR marks its 75th season in 2023, and the HSR Mitty is just one part of the year-long NASCAR 75 celebration. Historic Stock Cars have been a major part of the last few years of the HSR events at Michelin Raceway, but this weekend’s 75th NASCAR Anniversary celebration raises the bar. The event has attracted an unprecedented HSR entry of nearly 60 historic and vintage stock cars that will both compete and make exhibition laps on the 2.54-mile road course North of Atlanta. Adam Saal

ADAM: Apologies for overlooking this event which I lost in my to-do pile.

6) The love for cars is far-reaching and interesting, Australia Vintage Metal magazine. Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu (Ol’ Yeller)
See https://indd.adobe.com/view/4305ea77-6f98-43cd-8c54-a78c5b4e8ea2.

7) We were at Bonneville with the Salty Cuda when Wally and Dave Parks ran their Plymouth”Suddenly,” and there was a storm/high wind that came up, and we helped them secure their pit area. Wally was so grateful he gave us tickets to the NHRA Winternationals. Jim Snyder

JIM: Thank you for the memory. It is important to keep all the past events in your life so that your family in the future can know what you did. These memories are priceless. You may not think so, but your children, grandchildren, and distant descendants will find your life story fascinating. Write your biographies, and if you want my help, just let me know.

8) I have been wanting to send you a note about my experiences being around Wally and Barbara Parks at NHRA races in the 1970s, but that is for another day. In this recent Newsletter, it should be noted that the Marlo Treit streamliner last ran in Australia in 2019, was planning to run there in 2020, and was foiled by COVID, and it took almost two years to get it back to the States. His website is pretty informative. See https://www.target550.com/news.html? Clay Taylor
CLAY: Please write back and tell us your stories about Marlo, Wally, and Barbara.

9) I’ve been speaking with Josh Peterson and a few others about the A/Fuel Funny Cars. I agree with what a lot of interested people are saying. NHRA is totally out of touch with racers and fans; the rules they came up are simply amazingly stupid. You’d be crazy to spend a fortune for a car to be totally un-competitive, and they refuse to negotiate, hence there hasn’t been one A/Fuel car show up. It could be a great class. Mike Dakin

Mike: Why don’t you write to Glen Cromwell? He’s very approachable. However, if NHRA hasn’t changed its procedures, the very Democratic Rules and Class committees held by the Division Directors around November or December are the place to post views, suggestions, changes, etc. That’s about the most DEMOCRATIC institution we have in this country, and there’s a lot of arguing, give and take, suggestions that are weighed, accepted, or discarded. Then the 7 Division Directors gather, and they do all that Democratic stuff all over again to finally come up with equitable rules and classes. I would NEVER want that job, and it takes the patience of Job to do it. Perhaps there just aren’t enough proponents of the A/Fuel Funny Cars to put forward their suggestions. Maybe you and Josh can get more drivers to participate. It’s a good question, and maybe someone knows the answers.

10) Look at the research that Mel Bashore did for the Oscar Koveleski story. Thank you very much, Mel. I could still use MORE race results.
Giants Despair Hillclimb, Laurel Run, PA 7/28/62 3rd place, 58.541 seconds, in a Ferrari-Corvette 7/27/63 3rd place, 57.795 seconds 7/25/64 2nd place, 55.707 seconds, in a Ferrari-Corvette 7/30/66 CM class, broke course record with 50.336 seconds, in a Super-Cooper Chevy 1969 broke course record with 47.6 seconds Pocono Hiil Climb 5/27/62 CM class, 1st, 37.859 seconds, fastest time of day, in a Ferrari-Corvette Connellsville Airport, PA 8/26/62 CM class, 3rd place, in a Ferrari-Corvette Weatherly Hill Climb, PA 10/14/62 CM class, 1st place, 68.97 seconds, 2nd fastest time of day, Ferrari-Corvette 1963 set hill climb record, 65.5359 seconds 1964 set hill climb record, 64.9448 seconds 10/3/65 CM Mod II, 1st place, 63.696, broke hill climb record, 63.4696 seconds, in a Super Monza Ferrari Watkins Glen, NY 1965 Glen 500 Endurance Race, set single lap course record with 101.25 mph, Cobra 8/20/66 Glen 500 Endurance Race, 3rd place in Glen Trophy Race (46-mile course), in a Cooper 8/19/67 Glen Trophy Race, 1st place, 93.40 mph average speed, in a Cooper Chevy 8/10/69 Glen Trophy Race, 1st place, 82.75 mph average speed 8/15/70 Queen Catherine Cup for Class B cars, 1st place, 107.25 mph average speed, in an Autoworld 8/15/71 Queen Catherine ABC Sports Cup, 1st place, 108.072 mph average speed for 23 laps, in a Jenobee McLaren Duryea Hillclimb, Reading, PA 6/16/68 set new course record with 2:03.970 minutes Lime Rock Park, CT 7/5/69 3rd annual English Leather Trophy Race, 1st place, 92.52 mph average, in a Chev-powered McLaren Mark 6B Road Atlanta, Gainesville, GA 9/13/70 Can-Am Challenge, 4th place, Auto World XLR (McLaren) 11/29/70 American Road Race of Champions, A-Sports, 1st place, in a McLaren 8B 7/11/71 Can-Am race, 4th place, McLaren 8B driven by Tony Adamowicz

11) Don Smith submitted this article. “Will They Ban Hot Rods? Yes, in 2045, Says ChatGPT. We asked ChatGPT and Google Bard to predict if hot-rodding will become illegal, when we’ll run out of gasoline, and whether AI will replace human writers. Written by Tori Tellem.” See: https://www.motortrend.com/features/ban-hot-rods-chatgpt/

12) The Petersen Auto Museum is where Paula Murphy (who is 94 years young), known as the “Fastest Woman on Wheels,” will be on hand May 24, 2023, for a special screening of her documentary followed by some dandy fine untold stories. Questions will be taken from the audience too. This evening is for all of us, not just Paula; let’s make it powerful just by our attendance. The event benefits Women in Motorsports NA, a 501c3 founded by Lyn St James and Beth Paretta, a community of professionals advocating for women in motorsports. Call 323-930-2277 to register. Landspeed Louise Ann Noeth