Motorsports Newsletter 7/11/23

By Richard Parks

1) Photo of Rodger Ward, two-time Indy 500 winner, by Charles Embrey.
EDITOR: I personally knew Rodger Ward, but late in his life when dementia had begun to rob him of his vitality and memories. In a span of 18 months, and for 12 events, I stopped by Rodger’s home in Lake Forest and gave him a ride to reunions, and races. His eyes lit up with the memory of old friends, but he could not remember me and would ask, “Do you know where the guy is that brought me here?” Just being in his presence was a gift I will never forget. The same was true with Danny Oaks, who was nearly blind when I first met him. There are so many stories these two men, and others, told me. I paid for tickets when they were not comped, but it was a pleasure to do so. Are there other grand old men and women of motorsports who have been overlooked as they aged? If so, find them and offer them transportation to events. You will be ever so blessed and thankful for the experience. That I CAN tell you.

2) Celebrate the Ed “The Camfather” Iskenderian’s 102nd Birthday at Lions Automobilia Foundation and Museum, Rancho Dominguez, California on July 15, 2023. Lions Automobilia Foundation and Museum invites enthusiasts and fans of the legendary Ed Iskenderian, affectionately known as Isky, to join in a celebration of his 102nd birthday. The event promises an exciting lineup of guests and activities, including a car show with food trucks and live music, and the chance to explore the remarkable 100,000 square foot tribute to southern California’s car culture and the renowned Lions Drag Strip starting line recreation. See LionsAutomobilia.org. Lana Chrisman

3) Fred Van Senus just passed away. He was the owner of VSI, in Hammond Indiana, which he sold to Meyer, after Fred’s son passed away from cancer. This is so heart breaking. Just a good soul. From Don Smith and Michael Kunzman

4) Following schedule is courtesy of SHERM PORTER fuely32.

JULY 22 Groovin’ in the Grove Classic Car & Vintage Trailer Show, 315 N. Kellogg, Santa Barbara Elks Lodge, Santa Barbara, CA. For info: https://www.groovininthegrove.org/.

JULY 28-30 NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, CA. For info: www.nhra.com.

JULY 28-29 Hot August Nights, Virginia City, Nevada. For info: 775-356-1956 or www.hotaugustnights.net.

JULY 29-30 Tesla Takeover 2023, Fields at Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, CA. The largest Tesla owners’ event in North America, presented by T Sportline. For info: www.Eventbrite.com/e/tesla-takeover-2023-tickets-411772902837?aff=erelexpmit.

JULY 29 2nd Annual Tavares Family Super Show, Lowrider Sanctioned Event, Salinas Municipal Airport – For info: 831-240-1333 or pete or www.tavaresfamilycarclub.com.

JULY 29 20th Annual Woodies at The Beach, Santa Barbara City College, 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, CA. sbwoodieclub.

JULY 31-AUGUST 5 ZCON 2023, Southern California. 36th Annual International Z Car Convention, Motorsports, Car Shows, Social Events, Special Guests and Industry Leaders. For info: www.zcon.org/conventions/2023/.

5) Good to hear the Oscar Koveleski article is close. If John Gay needs photos, please have him contact me. I have many of Oscar from the 1960’s onward. Dave Nicholas DAVE: Thank you so much for helping out on this project.
JOHN: Dave Nicholas has photographs from the 1960’s-on of Oscar. If you need more photographs, please contact him. Dave and Oscar were members of BarcBoys. Thank you, John, for doing the photographs, which I have trouble with. I appreciate this very much.

6) Hi Richard. Lake Gairdner (South Australia State) has restricted access and like many dry lakes tends to be wet at inconvenient times. It is a long drag from here, over 1000 miles, and some of it is over dirt roads. One of our VSCC of Western Australia members, Alan “Shep” Shephard, his son Phil Shephard with family members and friends took Shep’s E-type Jaguar to the lake a few years ago and set some remarkable speed records. Other than that, I have had little input from Lake Gairdner. I do have a copy of Phil’s book, “The World’s Fastest E-Type Jaguar,” which tells the story of their trials and tribulations, but I know very little about more recent events at the lake. There is a link to the web site of the club that organizes events there, dlra.org.au. On the web site you will find that Phil Shephard still holds the E/GT record at 170.068 mph, set in 2015. Regards, Bob Campbell, Western Australia
BOB: Thank you for the update. Al Teague, Mary West and other Americans attended the “Thunder Down Under” in the 1990’s and getting to Lake Gairdner was half the fun. They had a wonderful time and perhaps Al and Jane Teague will weigh in and give us an update of that special land speed record attempt.

7) This must be on every automotive-minded person! It is ONE of the very BEST museums and it covers a TON of different avenues of motor sports. Bill “Speedy” Smith created a great showroom. While in Lincoln you can also visit the Capital Building and the University of Nebraska. Take some time to see all of these places. The Museum of American Speed, 599 Oak Creek Drive, Lincoln, Nebraska 68528. Contact the museum at museumstaff. John Towle

8) The Top Gun Drag Strip in Fallon, Nevada is one of the few remaining examples of the bygone era of American Ingenuity, Family Participation, Automobile Competition and Old-Fashioned values of Sportsmanship, Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Leadership, and facing challenges that you learn to work to overcome. Top Gun provides these opportunities. This facility needs every effort to be saved. Jim Clark
https://www.gofundme.com/f/topgun-drag-strip-repairs?utm_source=customer-andr&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet.

9) British Drag Racing Historians John Hunt sent in the following: 50th Anniversary of the 1973 Petersen Publishing International, from now on will all be 60th Anniversaries. http://www.eurodragstereventcoverage.com/features/1973internationals_pt1/default.asp, and http://www.eurodragstereventcoverage.com/features/1973internationals_pt2/default.asp. John Hunt and Nick Pettitt

10) EDITOR: I received this question. “I don’t know how to operate a desktop or website. How do I create a newsletter like yours?”
My newsletter is JUST an EMAIL, but as I learned more, such as the color font, size font, Bold font, Underline font and Italics font I have made my “email newsletter” function. At one time I had 5500 email addresses but that took me weeks to send out a newsletter. Over time people drop off due to deaths, requests to be removed, or never send a response and I remove them. My list is at 1000 for the Motorsports Newsletter and 200 for my Family and Friends newsletter. It now takes 3 days to send out one newsletter. I’m sure that you have some sort of newsletter for your members and drag fans. It is a fantastic way to keep up with events and to learn. I started in year 2000 and can’t seem to stop. Work at it. I knew nothing and it took me some time to figure out that BCC (blind carbon copy) was important. You always send mail out in a BCC format with your email address in the TO bar. Make your own newsletter and have fun with it. Newsletters are fun and one can learn a great deal.

11) I believe your comment/question is spot on. We have seen the younger folks more concerned with having a smartphone than having a driver’s license. Hot Rodding and Racing will continue however “money” will be required to compete and sponsorship funds are hard to come by. Top Fuel and Funny Cars will need more than the normal 16 cars that show up each weekend. But “money” is the problem. Gone are the days when 2 or 3 guys could put some dollars together and build a Dragster of Funny Car. Albeit a lot of money. But nothing like today’s money. Sportsman Drag Racing is a great starting point but very little TV coverage so unless you go to the drags you won’t know about these entry-level classes. It is up to the performance parts manufacturers and local distributors to help the local tracks keep the Wednesday night and Weekend events going strong. I sure hope this happens. John Towle
JOHN: Sometimes SMALL is better. The NHRA, like NASCAR and GRAND PRIX rely on the LARGE shows and that is costly to run and needs constant revenue streams. There are small groups, like the Junior Dragsters, Go-Karts, Quarter Midgets, 5/8th size stock cars, VW (small motors) and Oscar Koveleski’s idea of the Kid Racer cars. The numbers of participants are not large, but they are varied and race all over the USA and in Canada. There are oval track Ice Racers, Tractor Pulls, Southern Mud dashers, motorcycle Speedway Bike, Land Speed time trials and much more. Racing is varied and somewhere, sometime, new groups will pop up and thrive regionally. You can’t stop people from enjoying competition and speed. What can be done is provide sanctioning and insurance for these groups and offer safety rules to race by.

12) a) SEMA Show 60th Anniversary Party, Friday, July 21, 2023, 6pm to 9pm, Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Anaheim, California.
b) Exhibitor Registration Opens for 2024 MPMC Media Trade Conference. Motorsports parts manufacturers will develop strong connections with media to promote their brand in Anaheim, California, January 30-February 1, 2024.
c) Star Athlete Tim Tebow to Highlight SEMA Show Main Stage Experience The best-selling author’s keynote is part of a robust education program available to all SEMA Show attendees. SEMA Show, October 31-November 3, 2023, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. Sent in by Don Smith.

13) VTOL FUTURE TECH SHOW/EXPO. VTOL Future Tech Show/Expo LLC is under the umbrella corporation of EVVTOL. VTOL Future Tech Show/Expo showcases the Electric and hybrid-electric propulsion in an exciting new approach to vertical flight aircraft design and investing in the future of quiet electric VTOL revolution of aviation. VTOL Future Tech Show (spagnani.

14) The BREA FATHER’S DAY Car Show on JUNE 18, 2023, in Downtown Brea was a huge success, and everyone had a great time. It was the biggest show in 29 years and you can check out all the vehicles and winners at news.

15) CMA PLANNERS of Las Vegas. #1 event planner in Las Vegas. Can handle all events during SEMA WEEK. Contact is Terri Myers at 702-896-9383. From Don Smith, PWA Founder & Former Director Emeritus, Member: SEMA Hall of Fame & Person of the Year Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation – Champion’s Member, and International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Member.

16) EDITOR: Short biographies are important. That is how you truly get to know someone. Every organization should have short bios on file. My system is based on NOUNS. I start you out like this:
John Doe Biography, written by John Doe with Richard Parks, 8 July 2023.
John Doe was born on …. to …. and …., in (city and state).
Grew up in
Went to schools
Friends
Racing history
What are you doing today
Here are the RULES:
Take 5 minutes to answer quickly.
Send to me to edit. I will then send it back to you with more questions.
Answer the questions in RED.
Don’t do research, just write.
Respond with information that you want in your story and remove what you don’t want in your story.
Have FUN with your bio.
That’s it. A simple way to create a history of yourself in about 2 hours or less.

17) One wonders why I never had a ‘real’ career. It’s very simple. I had a dad who drew cartoons every day and a stay-at-home mom. Did you know that DRAG cartoons is (kinda) the history of drag racing? Those cartoons you read was what was happening in the drag racing world at the time. Your sponsorship with Drag Cartoons Comic Paper, helps me keep it alive! Deadline is September 1. Thank you! Robin Millar, MPC-DRAGcartoons, 310-529-1831-cell, www.laffyerasphalt.com, Long live the flies.

18) EDITOR: If you would like my latest review just email me at RnParks1 and I will send it to you.
BOOK REVIEW: “How to Build Affordable Hot Rods, Best Options for Your Budget,” by Tony Thacker, foreword by Billy F. Gibbons. Reviewed by Richard Parks, 8 July 2023.
“Do you love cars, working on cars, making them special to suit your personality and with a garage where you can find the time and tools to perfect your art? Then all you need is Tony Thacker’s “How to Build Affordable Hot Rods, Best Options for Your Budget,” by CarTech Publishers.”

19) EDITOR: Just came across this. If our High Schools won’t give vocational training to our youth here is an alternative. Urban Workshop 9th Annual Open House. A look inside Orange County (California) largest DIY makerspace and the community, July 15, 2023, from 1pm-4pm, free entry, 365-A Clinton Street, Costa Mesa, California, 92626 (949-296-2153), www.UrbanWorkshop.net.
July 10th, 2023, WLD201 – TIG Welding Basics 2 pm – 5pm WLD101 – MIG Welding Basics 6 pm – 9 pm Tuesday,
July 11th, 2023, AUT101 – Auto Lift Safety Basics 6 pm – 9 pm CAD201 – Autodesk Fusion 360 Basics 6 pm – 9 pm CNC200 – CNC Router
Concepts 6 pm – 9 pm MAC201 – Metal Lathe Basics 6 pm – 9 pm WOD101 – Woodshop Basics 6 pm – 9 pm Wednesday,
July 12th, 2023, CNC201 – CNC Router 1: Programming 6 pm – 9 pm LAS101 – Laser Cutting & Etching Basics 6 pm – 9 pm Thursday,
July 13th, 2023, CNC202 – CNC Router 2: Machine Setup 6 pm – 9 pm MTL101 – Metal Shop Basics 6 pm – 9 pm WLD101 – MIG Welding
Basics 6 pm – 9 pm WOD101 – Woodshop Basics 6 pm – 9 pm Friday,
July 15th, 2023, WLD101 – MIG Welding Basics 9 am – 12 pm
Don’t let your kids be bored this summer! Get them enrolled before the classes fill up. It’s easy to enroll on our website. Remember to create the new account in your student’s name and add your contact information. Each student will need to be enrolled separately.
Summer Camps classes run through August 25th. We challenge young students to use traditional and modern tools to work through projects and make things they never thought they could. Real tools and real projects. levels 1-4, ages 10-16. From Hidden Pioneers