Motorsports Newsletter 6/18/23

By Richard Parks

1) “Sorry to hear about John Jodauga, he did a great article in National Dragster on me in the February 2010 issue. The Sam Auxier Jr Show interviewing the greatest names in racing, 240-876-9284, or samauxier.” Sam Auxier Jr

2) “I just learned that Nancy Edelbrock passed away this morning. May she RIP.” Don Smith
DON: The following notice came from Camee Edelbrock about her mother Nancy Edelbrock.
“Nancy Marie Edelbrock peacefully left this world on June 10, 2023, at the age of 86. Born in Evanston, Illinois on August 30, 1936, Nancy was the daughter of Frederick and Alice Marie Crook, who moved to Hermosa Beach, California, after WWII. From a young age, Nancy’s vibrant spirit and warm heart touched the lives of those around her. An excellent student, she attended the University of Southern California. As a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, she became the president of Panhellenic and was extremely active in student senate. She was also a member of Helen of Troy for her academic achievements. She met the love of her life, Vic Edelbrock Jr, while attending USC. After being set up on a blind date, the two became inseparable and were married on campus at Our Savior’s Chapel on March 21, 1959. Together, they created a beautiful family and a legacy that will endure for generations to come. Nancy was an incredible mother to their daughters, Camee, Christi, and Carey, and she approached her role with an unmatched level of devotion and care. Nancy kept things running smoothly at home and also joined Vic Jr on the road promoting the company. Nancy’s presence will be missed by her three children, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Beyond her family, Nancy was an integral part of the family business. Referred to as ‘the Real Boss’ by Vic, she played an essential role in supporting and nurturing the growth of the iconic Edelbrock brand. Nancy’s absence will be deeply felt by all who had the privilege of knowing her. Her laughter, her unwavering support, and her genuine love will forever remain in the hearts of those she leaves behind. Nancy’s spirit will live on through the love and memories shared by all who knew her, and her legacy will live on with the company she helped shape.” Camee Edelbrock

3) Ed Justice Jr wrote, “There will be no memorial or services for Jim Dilamarter. Don’t know of an obituary anywhere. He had an amazing career. He wasn’t into a memorial after he left as I understand it & that fits the Jim I know.”

4) “John Jodauga did my bio when I received my Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion at Bowling Green, Kentucky. I had never met John, he did the interview completely over the phone, and I emailed him the pictures. He did an outstanding job, and I couldn’t have been happier, RIP John.” Hal Canode

5) Oscar Koveleski crashed at the Hershey Hillclimb, in a Super Cooper and hit a tree. As he told it his eyeballs popped out. Anyhow he broke his leg, and he was the first person they used an inflatable cast on. He was proud of that accomplishment for being the first person with an inflatable cast. I am not sure of the year, but next time my wife talks to Elaine Koveleski she will ask. I know he set the hillclimb record in 1968, so this happened in either 1967 or possibly ’69. Dave Kisthardt, dbkisthardt.
READERS: I’m looking for the year of the accident and anything that someone knows about this accident. I have a feeling Oscar made a bad situation into a humorous one. Don’t hold back, I want to see this in Oscar’s story.
AND: “My son Cord Kisthardt drove our 1968 Corvette Camel GT car and competed in the first HRS (Historic Racing Series) 6-hours of Watkins Glen in three races. His best lap was a 2.12 (132 seconds). In the 1st race Cord won in his class. In the 2nd race Cord placed 2nd in class because a bolt fell out of the gear box and only had 2nd gear to work with. In his 3rd race he was again 2nd in class by less than a car length as again we had oil temperature problems. This is only the second time we ran this car, and we are still sorting out all the problems. It was important for Cord to do the 1st historic 6-hour since the car raced the 6-Hours there in 1975. Cord feels very comfortable in the car, and I am sure we will do better in the future. A happy father, Dave Kisthardt.”
AND: “One of the nights at dinner with Uncle Oscar (Koveleski) at Indy we went to the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant. Due to the long waits, he needed to find something to occupy the time. He took a dollar bill and told me to hold my thumb and pointer finger about an inch apart. He then held the dollar bill vertically and held the bottom of the bill at the top of my fingers. Unannounced he dropped the dollar bill to see if I could catch it. I did, but this was his test to ensure you had a good reaction time. I still do this dollar bill trick and when he was still with us, we used to do it all the time.” Cord Kisthardt

6) So VERY sorry to hear about John Jodauga’s passing. When I wrote the ‘Personality Profiles’ for Drag Racing Magazine, he did sketches of the subject. The Original one was given to that person as a gift for helping me write their stories. I particularly remember how amazed Ernie Hashim was with his sketch. He will be missed—along with a talent that is also disappearing. Karen Nelson

7) Artisans at the Lyons Automobilia Museum include painters Yvonne Mecialis and Keith Moreland, digital designers Tim Sieger and Tommy Naccarato, and constructors Johnny Wood and Rick Romaniello. Historians Dave Mandella and Rob Marchese will fill the display cases with memorabilia, while Kenny Youngblood oversees the design, and Rick Lorenzen makes it all happen! For more information, contact: www.LionsAutomobilia.org. Kenny Youngblood

8) EDITOR: Great news from a great researcher, Mel Bashore, and a long-time contributor and historian. See his letter below.
“I’ve begun a new feature on www.dragstriplist.com. I call it ‘Then … and Now.’ In each US entry for strips that are no longer open, I either have a photo of what the old strip site looks like now or (and this is the fun part) an aerial view of the old strip site today with the exact location of the old strip pinpointed, i.e., superimposed on the aerial photo. I have used historical aerial photos or topo maps to pinpoint the exact locations of strips on today’s landscape that have been either completely demolished (e.g., Saugus, Lions, Ontario, OCIR, Paradise Mesa, Carlsbad, Little Bonneville, Riverside, or Irwindale) or where there is only a faint remnant of a small part of the strip (e.g., Fremont or Fontana). It has taken quite a bit of work to get them placed exactly where they used to be.
For instance, if you look at the entry for Lions, the ‘Then … and Now’ feature shows where Lions strip exactly was, superimposed on today’s container storage facility. Using that aerial photo, you could go to the exact row of storage containers (and even close to the exact container–well maybe that’s an exaggeration) and see where the starting line used to be–if you could get access to the place. I’ll attach scans of a few of the ‘Then … and Now’ entries (Paradise Mesa, Riverside, and OCIR) so you can see what I’m trying to describe.
I have completed this new feature for over 40% of the states. Naturally, I did the easiest states first, i.e., those with the fewest drag strips. So, I have a lot more to do, but I thought you might find this interesting. This winter, I went around and photographed the old drag strip sites in Salt Lake Valley–and pinpointed their locations on aerial photos. After doing that, I decided to start doing the same for all the other states. I’m biting off another big project here, but I think it will greatly enhance the website’s historical value. As ever, Mel Bashore, www.dragstriplist.com.”
MEL: Your work has already made life so much easier for historians, fans and those who remember these old tracks. Will you also do oval and road course racing tracks in the future?
READERS: A special debt of gratitude should be given to those researchers who create histories on the actual venue sites that we raced on. So often these drag strips, oval tracks, etc are forgotten. Another writer doing this is Harold Osmer of the SAH, Los Angeles Chapter.

9) Sent in by Don Smith: Dragzine’s Feature Stories, a) Bob Stange Strange Engineering Founder Passes Away At 84, b) CB Media Showcases Thailand’s Unique Dragstrip Culture, c) Don Prudhomme Honored at San Diego Auto Museum which holds special ceremony, d) The Very Last Dodge Demon rolls off of the assembly line, e) Drag Racing Trucks An Urban Hillbilly video mix, f) Britt Unhurt In George Ray’s Dragstrip Crash, g) June 15-17 PDRA North vs South Shootout at Maryland International Raceway, h) June 16-17 Street Outlaws No Prep Kings at Brainerd International Raceway, i) June 16-17 Street Car Takeover at US 131 Motorsports Park, j) June 16-17 Funny Car Chaos Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway, k) June 22-24 Street Car Takeover at z-Max Dragway, l) June 22-25 NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.

10) This Week on Cars Yeah podcast; Gary Yamamoto of LeMay America’s Car Museum, Sarah Lassek from PerTronix, Peter Barba of Lectrium, and Steve Rendle, Author. Mark Greene is at mark

11) Terry Cook’s “I WAS THERE; Bench Racing Tales from the 1960’s & ’70’s.” Volume I- Frank Sinatra’s Facel Vega, Larry Shinoda and the silver bullet, Lions drag strip was Mecca, antics in Australia, how not to get people’s attention, the dumbest thing I ever did, the Ant Farm, redneck pickup in Arkansas, the first hot rod I ever saw plus never before told behind the scenes antics by Car & Driver Editor Bob Brown and Hot Rod Editor Jeff Smith. Volume I ISBN: 978-1-7358046-0-6 $23.95 delahayeusa.

12) The Battle to Save Oceano Dunes Continues For decades recreationists and off-roaders have been able to enjoy riding all types of motorized vehicles from trucks and SUVs to dune buggies and quads on a California beach. That thrill will soon vanish if the California Coastal Commission has its way. The Commission issued a plan to abolish off-highway vehicle (OHV) access to California’s Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) by 2024. SEMA is challenging the Commission’s extreme plan in California Superior Court for San Luis Obispo County. Our joint lawsuit with Ecological Partners—a legal collaboration between the Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), American Sand Association, and American Motorcyclist Association District 37—is scheduled for a June 15, 2023, hearing and will be a key moment in the fight to protect motorized recreational access around the country. Sent in by Anna Marco at anna.osr, SEMA Action Network (SAN) 1575 Valley Vista Dr, Diamond Bar, CA 91765.
READERS. The SEMA Action Network or SAN is a notice from SEMA and gives valuable information about legislation pro and con towards the sports hobbyist. I find it a must read to keep up on new and pending laws.

13) First race winners of Inaugural HSR Classic 6-Hours of The Glen Weekend crowned Friday at Watkins Glen International. Todd Treffert
doubles up on Friday HSR race wins with Sasco Sports International/American Challenge Overall and Classic RS Cup Victories in his Speed Concepts 1974 #14 Porsche 911 IROC prepared by the 901 Shop. Michael Flynn pulls off last lap pass for HSR Stoner Car Care Global GT Victory in the Irish Mike’s 2015 #95 Porsche 991 GT3 America. Larry Ligas scores another Sasco Sports International Class Win in the Predator Performance 1961 #61 Jaguar XKE. Jeff McKee garners Sasco Sports American Division Victory in his 1964 #51 Ford Falcon prepared by Olthoff Racing. Adam Saal us at saalgoodpr.

14) Saturday, September 23, 2023, 17th Annual Inner-City Marathon & Health Festival Los Angeles Jessie Owens Park
Saturday, October 7, 2023, Apple Valley Air Show. Sunday AM,
October 8, 2023, Long Beach High Performance car show and swap meet. longbeachhiposwapmeet.com, Hidden Pioneers will be attending.

15) CRUISIN BREA Father’s Day Car Show, Sunday, June 18, 2023, from 10am-4pm Brea Downtown, on Birch Street & Brea Blvd, in beautiful Brea, California. The car show is benefiting the Orange County Food Bank. For information contact the promoter, Craig Hoelzel, at Craig@FlyingDeuces.com or 714-671-5833.
CRAIG: A year before your event send me notices monthly. Three months before the event send notices every other week. Since I run about two weeks behind your last notice should be sent 2 weeks prior to the date of your event. Any later than that won’t make it out to the newsletter in time.

16) “Ed Olson raced e-runabouts along with Red Wilson, Ted Peterson, Paul Terheggen, etc, in the early 1960’s. I knew Ed Olson owned a bakery called Pricilla’s Cake Box as a friend and competitor of Red Wilson’s boat racing. I worked for Clay Smith Engineering, originally Smith & Jones, in the early ’50’s to mid-’60’s for 15 years. Ted Peterson had an e-boat with unusual drive set up and Paul Terheggen and his partner were upside down so often they had the engine held in with c-clamps.” Jerry Norek
JERRY: Can you tell us a little about Olson, Wilson, Peterson, Terheggen for our readers.

17) E (Electric) TRUCK TECH SHOW/EXPO. EV (Electric Vehicle) Future Tech Show/Expo builds on future technology by also introducing the E side of Semi’s and trucks by including the E Truck Tech Show/Expo in its exhibits. We have the very best URLs to promote E Semi Truck and Truck show and expo on the web. This show/expo will be the marketing platform to assist the EV industry to get their message and products recognized globally. E Truck Tech Show (spagnani.

18) “One of my authors, Tony Thacker, suggested I reach out to you. I would like to sign up for your newsletter, and I would like to send you samples of Tony’s books. Please advise. Bob Wilson.”
BOB: Welcome. I’ve added you to the Motorsports Newsletter. It isn’t very big, maybe 1100, but it’s mostly directed towards people in motorsports or fans of motorsports. The newsletter is free, I don’t want any reimbursement, but people can post notices (not ads) about what they are doing and their inventions. I do write reviews, but it has been sometime since any publication has taken reviews from me. I don’t solicit books, but if I receive any I will do a review, but I can only return books if a prepaid packet is sent along with the book. I’m not funded, and pensions only go so far these days. I also write, but everything that I do is non-commercial, and I’ll send my father’s story to you if you would like to read it. The Wally & Barbara Parks Story is on PDF and free.

19) “DRIVEN TO CRIME: TRUE STORIES OF WRONGDOING IN MOTOR RACING,” by author Crispian Besley. Swindles: James Munroe (accounts manager who embezzled his way to a racing McLaren F1 GTR); Lord Brocket (jailed for staging the theft of his classic cars, including Ferraris); Andrea Harkness (stripper who ripped off NASCAR). Evro Publishing books are distributed in North America by Quarto Publishing Group USA. Books can be ordered from Quarto by email: sales; phone number: 800-328-0590; or website: jvstropus