Motorsports Newsletter 1/14/24

By Richard Parks

1) Paula Murphy’s Final Finish Line (Serialized pt 2), by LandSpeed Louise Ann Noeth.
It’s not hard to believe both Don Schumacher and Paula Murphy would have found the same scrap of humor in their passing that leaves so many of us who knew and loved them in various levels of bereft heartache as we rewind moments of marvelous memories. For me, it is Paula’s lifelong undaunted perseverance and velcro attachment to motorsports. Know this: in her later years she might have required a walker to get to her car, but once strapped in, the woman was a better, more alert driver than 95% of the other people on the road. I was honored to stow and fetch her walker every chance I got. And this is written without an iota of embellishment. For me, my favorite memory was when “Mr 500” Andy Granatelli invited Paula, me and my hubby Mick Lanigan to the May race back in 2010. Through my contact at GM, I was able to arrange for Paula to reprise her Novi laps on the track back in the 1960’s when she became the FIRST woman to drive on the Brickyard. She took control of that year’s Camaro pace car. LandSpeed is at louise.

2) “Last year, on February 10, 2023, Andrew John Baechtel, affectionately known as JB, left us peacefully. Since then, your kind messages and condolences have been a source of great comfort and strength to us. We are now preparing to honor JB’s remarkable life and legacy in a way he would have loved. We warmly invite you to join us in this celebration. It will be held at Maxwell Industries, the home of the Speed Demon, on January 13, 2024, at 11am, food at 2pm, and continues to 5pm,at 4277 Transport Street, Unit F, Ventura, CA, 805-798-0953, Steve.

3) Passings in 2023. In order not to overwhelm readers with grief this will be serialized in coming issues.
“In addition to the drag racing professionals we recently lost, noted Sportsman drag racer Ed Sigmon recently passed. His first major claim to fame was winning the 1968 NHRA Winternationals with his “Snarpeezel” Dodge-powered MG/TD modified sports car. This was followed by number of Super Gas and Comp machines…the latest being a V-6 powered street roadster. He actively drag raced for some 60 years.” See: https://www.nhra.com/news/2023/memoriam, and
https://www.nitromater.com/threads/ed-sigmon-passes.48412/. Bill Holland

AND: Ed Sigmon a veteran NHRA Sportsman racer best known for his decades in NHRA’s Comp eliminator class, has died December 18, 2023. He was 81, Sigmon began his racing career in the mid-1960’s when he raced a pink Dodge-powered ’50 Chevy NS went on to win the 1968 Winternationals with his Modified Sports MG and decades later won the Pacific SPORTSnationals in 2009 and 2011. See: https://www.nhra.com/news/2023/memoriam.

AND:“Sherm Gunn, who built scores of race cars from his M&S Welding emporium in Southern California and who for years also competed in Funny Cars, also died recently at age 80. Gunn, who also had a solid career in Fuel Altereds before his Funny Car days, is perhaps best remembered by fans for his upset-riddled victory at the 1984 World Finals where he defeated the highly sponsored entries of Kenny Bernstein, Don Prudhomme, Billy Meyer, and Mark Oswald to win his only NHRA national event Wally.” See: https://www.nhra.com/news/2023/memoriam.
AND:“Steve Condit, who with his late brothers Dave and Billy fielded the immensely popular L.A. Hooker Funny Cars of the 1970’s and beyond, has died. You can read more about the Condit family in this tribute to brother Dave written after his passing.” See: https://www.nhra.com/news/2023/memoriam.

4) Royce Rumsey just published “Véritable Ouvre d’Art.” Above all else, Ettore Bugatti considered himself to be an artist. The Bugatti family was steeped in famous artistic skills and patriarch Ettore combined the skills of Jean (son), Rembrandt (brother) and himself in the full execution of his cars, which were the principal expression of the Bugattis’ collective engineering, design abilities and sensibilities. An automotive artistic masterpiece, the famous Bugatti Type 35B of the Lyon Collection Ettore’s absolute dedication to the expression of complete and pure excellence, which he labeled such as “Pur Sang” (throughbred or literally ‘pure blood’), was embodied in his famous cars like the magnificent Type 57 “Atlantic,” the majestically mythical Type 41 “Royale” and arguably the most iconic racing car of all time, the Type 35 masterpiece.
EDITOR: Royce’s photos and short texts can be found at roycer924_2. It’s free and you just let him know you want to receive his exquisitely well-done photographic work and stories through email.

5) Written by MICAH WRIGHT: “When I first started chatting with Brian King via email over four years ago, the primary topic of discussion was his carbon fiber AWD Cutlass and not his custom Plexiglas projects. Little did I know that I would someday be discussing his creative, yet utterly unorthodox methodologies all over again, but for a very different project entirely.” For the full article go to dragzine.com. From Don Smith.

6) Jim McFarland tribute, written by Dave Wallace Jr for Hot Rod Magazine. SERIALIZED (final in the series)

On working for Robert E. Petersen:

“I liked him a lot. He was more than fair, overlooking some mistakes I made along the way. I learned from him a lot about people, how you should treat them in a cutthroat business. Like Roger Penske, Pete recognized good people with talent, and let them do their thing.”

On beating Bill Jenkins:

“Don Evans and I took the red Camaro to the Winternationals in 1967. It was the first year for Super Stock Eliminator, so all the big factory racers were there. Jenkins’s Chevy II held the class record and was a heavy favorite. I told Don Evans, “Bill’s a shoo-in here; you’re not gonna win anything. We just want to put this car in front of the crowd, make a respectable pass, get lots of pictures taken for Chevrolet’s benefit.” As luck would have it, our two cars were called out of the lanes together for Round One and Bill left the line with two bulbs on the tree, red lighting!”

7) Happy New Year! Always enjoy the compilation newsletter, it seems to take on a life of its own, threading together drag racers, and motor sports in one seamless ticker tape style. I loved your observation and commentary on your admiration of stepmom Barbara Livingston Parks. The way she backed your dad and worked hard to appreciate him was not lost on me. I’ve read some of Barbara’s efforts and input & feel a kindred spirit there! Susann Kidder
Susann: Barbara had an unique story, one in which she never told anyone, and it took her letters and research to discover the real Barbara.

8) Cars & Coffee is back this Sunday at the Segerstrom Shelby Event Center, January 7, 2024, from 7:30am to 9:30am, 5 Whatney, Irvine, CA 92618. From: Segerstrom Shelby Event Center info.
EDITOR: The newsletter comes out weekly and this notice was received too late on the 5th. Please allow several weeks’ notice for your events.

9) I’m working on a book on Bob Sorrell, and it turns out he formed the aluminum bodies for nearly 40 dragsters in the late 50s and 1960s. I’m looking for someone with a deep library of high quality drag racing images. Can you help? Thanks, Mark Brinker
Editor researched and found this: Bob Sorrell Custom Roadster, by Rik Hoving, July 24, 2017, https://www.custom
carchronicle.com/custom-history/bob-sorrell-custom-roadster/. Around 1948 Bob Sorrell sets out to create a unique Custom Roadster using 1941 Mercury and 1940 Lincoln body parts. Bob Sorrel was a well-known designer/engineer and craftsman who is best known for his Aluminum and Fiberglass Sports Cars, which were popular in the early and mid 1950’s. One of his cars graced the cover of the October 1955 issue of Car Craft Magazine. Bob Sorrell created beautiful design sketches from the ideas he came up with and was able to turn those designs into real cars.
AND: The one that didn’t get away: 1954 Sorrell-Manning Special to cross the block in California, by Kurt Ernst, 05/14/2015 https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2015/05/14/the-one-that-didnt-get-away-1954-sorrell-manning-special-to-cross-the-block-in-california. The one that didn’t get away: 1954 Sorrell-Manning Special to cross the block in California Classics. Bob Sorrell was an artist who worked in aluminum and fiberglass, translating his one two-dimensional mechanical drawings into stunning automotive bodies. When his sleek aluminum SR-100 sports racer body debuted at a 1953 Petersen Motorama event, the overwhelmingly positive reception prompted Sorrell to create a fiberglass-bodied variant for production. Seven examples were originally constructed, but only six were delivered to customers; in July, the SR-100 that Sorrell kept for himself, the 1954 Sorrell-Manning Special, will (be auctioned) Santa Monica, California.
CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT: I am not looking for info on Bob Sorrell. I have names of 40 dragsters he built. Many are famous cars and folks don’t realize he built the body. I’m looking for someone with a huge collection of drag racing photos from the 1960’s. Such a collection would have many of his cars. Thanks. Mark Brinker at mark.

10) “These are the 16 names I want to start with for the HP trading cards. You will need to send your picture in to me to make your card. Let me know if you’re interested as we have others that want to get a card.” Bill Montgomery of Hidden Pioneers
BILL: This brings back memories of the trading cards that the NHRA signed up for in the 1990’s and ran for about two or three years. For some reason they never quite caught on like they do for football, basketball and baseball, and the contract was cancelled, probably by the card companies involved. I suggested to my Dad that we put a one page insert into National Dragster with a price guide determined by collectibles stores, but the idea died. I still think trading cards can be a good idea to attract young people into racing, say from the ages of 6 through 96. What do our readers think? By the way, I have bought and inherited about 3 cases of the cards and have no one to trade with.

11) The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is the only hall that honors all major American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American motorsports values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition. Founded by Larry G. Ciancio and led by inaugural President Ronald A. Watson, it held its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier such hall until his passing in 2019. Originally based in Novi, Michigan, it relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2016 and greets nearly 150,000 guests a year in its museum. The MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc. For more information on additional sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, visit the MSHFA at glevy. From: Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Adam Saal is at saalgoodpr.

12) Saturday, January 20, 2024, Autobooks/Aerobooks will feature two book signings and a chance to meet the authors. Route 66 The Ultimate American Road Trip, by Jim Hinckley, plus Road Trippin’ a Guide to the Best Western USA Road Trips Ever, by Steve McCarthy. 10am to 2 pm. Autobooks-Aerobooks is located at 2900 W. Magnolia Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505, 818 845-0707, tina.

13) I’m writing about Veda Orr and wondered if there is anything in Wally’s minutes that indicated exactly when SCTA allowed her to run. Tony Thacker
TONY: You might talk to Jim Miller and Landspeed Louise Ann Noeth. The dates (circa late 1930’s and 1940’s) will be hard to track down as Karl Orr was someone the SCTA did not want to tackle head-on, and he pretty much put Veda in the car when he wanted. Veda also did so much for the SCTA that members simply turned a blind eye to the “Rules.” Then the SCTA made the Veda Orr Rule that exempted Veda from “No women allowed to drive rule.”

14) Hidden Pioneers wrote: Team Hidden Pioneers with our star point guard Jeremiah at https://www.youtube.com/
hiddenpioneers.
EDITOR: Jeremiah is a Tik Tok sensation and 10 years old. He represents the future.

15) Buford, Georgia (January 10, 2024): Former Formula One driver, Hall of Fame honoree and well-known racing school owner, Allen Berg and his son, Mazda Spec MX-5 racing champion Alex Berg, have announced a new motorsport competition service named Berg Racing that’s aimed at paying it forward with full driver support in the highly competitive 2024 Mazda Spec MX-5 Series. This year’s roster of MX-5 events series events will see Berg Racing being on-site and participating at more than 20 racetracks across the country and a season that runs from January 3, 2024, to November 29, 2024. Allen Berg questions. Sent in by Doug Stokes at stokes28doug.

16) LA Auto Show. The show is a hollow shell of its former self. Same is true of most auto shows around the world. These days I can cover any car show more efficiently from the comfort of my office behind the screen of my MacBook Pro. In the past I had visions of creating an Automotive History Project. In 2023 I wrote three books all for kids. John Dinkel isat
eleven.tenths.

17) COOL CRUISE Car Show in La Verne, California on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The COOL CRUISE Car Show in La Verne is just around the corner. Already we have a lot of people registering for this show. Old Town La Verne is a great place for a car show that has been running for the past 29 years. Entry forms are available at news.

18) Always good to read through your newsletters, keep ’em coming. As well as being a member of the British Drag Racing Historians, helping out with the Pioneer Stories, I also have my own website, ‘British Drag Racing & Hot-Rodding Archive’ nickp7871.
NICK: You’re not that far behind and we are impressed with the level of energy and enthusiasm that UK drag racers have shown. In many ways we Americans are trying to catch up with the Brits.

19) From: EPARTRADE at team. Mark Miles, President and Chief Executive Officer of Penske Entertainment Corp, joined us for the 4th Annual Race Industry Week. Hosted by Marshall Pruett of RACER.com.
AND: Doug Kalitta, one of the most successful Top Fuel drivers in NHRA history winning the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel Championship after finishing second in points six times, joined us for the 4th Annual Race Industry Week. Hosted by Joe Castello of WFO Radio.

20) DAYTONA BEACH, Florida, January 9, 2024. Veteran motorsports executive Chris Ward has been named President of Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR), taking over the top leadership position of the IMSA-owned vintage and historic sports car racing sanctioning body from David Hinton. The management announcements were made today by IMSA President John Doonan as the organization prepares for this month’s season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 25–29, 2024, and HSR makes plans for its first event of the year, the Spring Fling at Sebring International Raceway, March 8–10, 2024. Hinton will remain on the Board of Directors. From: HSR Communications adam.

21) Our online training program goes national this year to about 10M plus web visits. Goal is to make it common knowledge that working a trade combined with mastering digital arts makes a new age style of trades master that can build, create all their own marketing materials and sell nationwide with the power of Amazon. wefilm1.

22) I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Lyn St James, Racer, mentor, speaker, Co-founder Women in Motorsports North America, www.womeninmotorsportsna.com, www.lynstjames.com.

23) Gerry Belton’s involvement in organising the 1964 Drag Festivals – Part 1. Gerry had a stand at the 1964 Racing Car Show in January featuring an Allard Dragon-dragster which created a lot of interest and useful contacts for the Drag Festivals. The British Drag Racing Association was formed, and practice days were organised. Different venues around the country were looked at as possibilities for the Drag Festival and the RAC were contacted about exempting the American participants from some of their strict regulations. See http://www.eurodragstereventcoverage.com/features/gerry_
johnhunt.drn.

24) Don Hawk, Chief Executive Officer of SRX, joined us for the 4th Annual Race Industry Week. SRX is the all-star racing series that gathers the biggest names in American motorsports from various racing disciplines. Hosted by Jeff Hammond from SiriusXM, Channel 90. From: EPARTRADE at team.

25) Petersen Automotive Museum info. On this American Car Showdown, a 1993 Vector W8 and a 1992 Dodge Viper go head-to-head in this drag race special. Hosted by Matt from Carwow, find out which one of these amazing American supercars takes home the victory. Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

26) DRAGSTRIPS in the USA & Canada. National Speedway Directory, 2504 Lake Ave, Wilmette, Illinois, 60091
Northern Thunder Dragway, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, 1/8-mile.
Northland Motorsports Park (Formerly Prince George Motorsports Park), Prince George, British Columbia, 1/4-mile.
Northwest Tennessee Motorsports, Gleason, Tennessee, 1/8-mile.
Numidia Dragway, Catawissa, Pennsylvania, 1/4-mile.

27) THE SHOP Magazine at theshop. The February 2024 issue of THE SHOP magazine, featuring a look at the 2024 Drag Racing market, is now available online. Drag Racing, Work Trucks, Paint Protection, Film, Website Fixes, etc. Jef White & THE SHOP team, PO Box 530067, Birmingham, AL 35253. Sent in by Don Smith.
AND: Dragzine Newsletter newsletter, and Don Smith. Drag strips in Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Dakota announce unfortunate closures. Our sport has welcomed a lot of great, positive news over the last year, from the construction of new tracks, the revitalization of existing facilities, the reopening of such jewels as Illinois Route 66 Raceway, a billion-dollar entity investing in NHRA drag racing, and much more. But in a down economy, there’s bound to be some less-than-ideal news and it came in one big wave last week.

28) I found this interesting shot by Eldon Snapp. Bet you know someone in it. Jim Miller
READERS: Jim Miller found a late 1930’s photograph of the Road Runners car club members, but unfortunately, I could only recognize my father in it. Jim works for the American Hot Rod Foundation and uploads thousands of old photographs, captioning where he is able to track down the people and cars in the photos. KUDOS to Jim for his labor in recovering our history. Eldon Snapp was an original member of the Road Runners and a close friend of the family.

29) Know your motorsports personality. Bill Lattin, SCTA President and Pat McDowell, Past President. Lattin and McDowell are both land speed competitors and race directors and have been very involved in preparations for the land speed events held at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Compiled from Epartrade.

30) Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic Sebring 12 Hour. Toni Seiler scored his third Classic 12 Run Group win and fourth overall HSR Classics victory in the Waite-N-See Motorsports 1969 #17 Lola T165 in Group A. The Group B race was won by Kyle Collins in GMT Racing 1972 #8 Chevron B21. In Run Group C, Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss won in the Matador Motorsports 2017 #02 Cadillac DPi. Stuart Wiltshire in his #10 Acura ARX-05 DPi placed second. Patrick Womack who co-drove his FedEx 2014 #11 Toyota Camry won in Run Group D with NASCAR star Joe Nemechek. The top GT finishers in each Run Group were also honored in the Classic 12 Victory Lane. The list of winners includes Clair Schwendeman and Alan Sevadjian in the 1968 #137 Duntov Motor Company Corvette Roadster (Run Group A), Ken McKinnon and Mike Bruns in the Predator Performance 1972 #01 Porsche 911 RSR (Run Group B), Thomas Gruber and Marco Seefried in the TAG 2016 #991 Porsche 991 GT3 (Run Group C) and Russell Wittenberg and Bryan Collyer in the 2012 #113 Porsche 997.2 Cup car. Adam Saal is at SaalGoodPR.

31) BLAST FROM THE PAST. From The Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way. 15 SEPTEMBER 1924, Jimmy Murphy at New York Fairgrounds. “Jimmy Murphy was born James Anthony Murphy on September 12, 1894, in San Francisco, California and passed away on September 15, 1924, at the age of 30 in a racing accident at the New York Fairgrounds during the AAA sanctioned 150-miler. Murphy was an established star in racing having won the 1921 French Grand Prix, the 1922 Indy 500 and the AAA Racing Championship in 1922 and 1924.”

32) Steve Gibbs, written by Dick Martin 2016. SERIALIZED for the Motorsports Newsletter.

“Dode Martin and Jim Nelson of Dragmaster restored the dragster that won the 1964 Winternationals and donated it to the NHRA office in North Hollywood,” Steve said. “It just sat there; it was more of a decoration than anything else. But it helped lay the groundwork to someday have a museum to preserve NHRA’s history and house historical dragsters. We began collecting drag racing artifacts. Initial conversations about a drag racing museum were a fantasy more than anything else,” Steve said. “But when Don Garlits started his museum in Florida, I could see cars getting away from us. I respected what Don was doing, but drag racing started in California, not in Florida, so it was only natural as drag racing history started to accumulate that we get involved with a museum. I talked NHRA into letting me rent a 1,500-square-foot building in a little industrial complex right across the street from the Pomona dragstrip. We didn’t call it a museum, we called it Historical Services. We had Calvin Rice’s dragster that won the 1955 Nationals, Art Chrisman’s dragsters, and we eventually had 15 cars and memorabilia jammed in the small building. John Zenda ran Historical Services at that time. When John passed away, Greg Sharp became the director. It was in 1998 that the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum on the Pomona Fairgrounds became a reality.”

Dick Martin can be reached through Gone Racin’ at RnParks1. To see the captioned photographs go to https://www.motortrend.com/staff/dick-martin/.

33) After World War II, Philip F. Walters, missing a kidney and part of a lung, he continued his astonishing run of success in midgets. Over time, he partnered with Bill Frick to create the Cadillac-powered “Fordillac” hot rods and race cars. Then, wealthy sportsman and inductee Briggs Cunningham (1997) invited him to join an American expedition to Le Mans. The Cadillac they drove, nicknamed Le Monstre, was hugely popular, but just a precursor. Soon Walters and Frick were helping Cunningham design and develop his own cars, which Walters drove to a number of major victories, including two at Sebring (1953, 1955) in three tries and two in the Watkins Glen Sports Car Grand Prix (1951, 1954) in three attempts. From Adam Saal at SaalGoodPR, 321-890-2848.

34) Wayne Hofmann to race 1995 throwback theme in honor of late father Al Hofmann in Funny Car Chaos Series. Written by Madelyn Marconi in Dragzine.com. “The 2024 Funny Car Chaos Championship tour kicks off at the season opener in Ennis, Texas April 4-6, 2024. In attendance will be over 50 Funny Cars qualifying to compete in a 32-car “run whatcha’ brung” field, and amongst the entries will be Wayne Hofmann, son of the legendary Al Hofmann, who will be sporting a special tribute paint scheme to honor his late father. Wayne, of New Preston, Connecticut, has been racing the Funny Car Chaos series since 2022, but has been around the sport of drag racing, alongside his father, since the day he was born. Hofmann is excited to run this tribute paint scheme on his car in memory of his father and their passion for drag racing they both shared together.” Sent in by Don Smith at dcs1755.

35) From Hidden Pioneers Bill Montgomery. In order to sign up and attend the NHRA YES Program, simply go to jbaadilla.

36) I’ll notify the rest of the group and about their bio and your father’s history. I’ll offer to forward this on to whoever wants a copy. The BDRH Pioneers page is on the eurodragster.com website and the direct link is http://www.eurodragster.com/
news/features/blogs/pioneers.asp. The Hall of Fame https://britishdragracinghof.co.uk/. John Hunt is at johnhunt.
drn.

37) STORIES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST FROM THE GONE RACIN’ ARCHIVES; WRITE TO RnParks1.

EASYRIDERS BIKE SHOW 2012

EASYRIDERS BIKE SHOW 2013

EDELBROCK EXHIBIT 2006

38) About the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: The MSHFA is the only hall that honors all major American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American motorsports values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition. Founded by Larry G. Ciancio and led by first President Ronald A. Watson, it held its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier such hall until his passing in 2019. Originally based in Novi, Michigan, it relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2016 and greets close to 150,000 guests a year in its museum. MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc. Adam Saal is at saalgoodpr.

39) HIDDEN PIONEERS: When disconnected youth transition into education and employment, the effects are seen not only within the youth’s personal lives, but in modern-day and future society as well. Prime Motivation is working diligently to address this problem through offerings of several innovative Career and Educational Expos throughout California. It is with these expos that we intend to ultimately positively impact the growing epidemic of disconnected youth. We need your help and support to take this tour Nationwide today & tomorrow.

40) BLAST FROM THE PAST…… From the Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way. “NOVEMBER 1937 The SCTA has its first organizational meeting. The book my father was working on just before he passed away was one that he valued more than anything else and it had to do with the early history of the SCTA dry lakes land speed racing history. He had kept the original minutes of the SCTA from the time he was the Secretary, President and then General Manager and from which he had the handwritten minutes of Board meetings transcribed.”

41) Rosco McGlashan, from Aussie Invader at rosco. “December 2023 newsletter for Australia’s World Land Speed Record Challenger. The book, ROSCO The Fastest Aussie on Earth: The amazing true-life Story, has been a great success, and is full of incredible true stories about my life, some sad, some funny and

42) It’s our time now as we get ready to go back to the Moon. Please get up to speed on our mission “Artemis” is here NOW! Artemis I – NASA HiddenPioneers.

43) Tim Wilkerson Announces Retirement and his son Daniel Wilkerson takes Over Seat of SCAG Funny Car. newsletter and Don Smith.

44) Coastal 181 Book Store (serving East Coast racing fans) www.coastal181.com or 1-877-907-8181. Titles include: “Billy Foster, the Victoria Flash, Plus a Walk Through the History of Motor Racing in British Columbia,” by Bob Kehoe. “Ken Miles, the Shelby American Years,” by American Photographer Dave Friedman. “The History of America’s Speedways Past and Present,” by Allan E. Brown. “Godspeed, the Story of Page Jones,” by Page Jones.

45) Paul D. Escudero, one of our long-time readers, has just published a screen play titled Sanctuary City. Let’s all hope it gets to Hollywood and becomes a block-buster movie.

46) DRAGSTRIPS in the USA and Canada. National Speedway Directory, 2504 Lake Ave, Wilmette, Illinois, 60091
Fulton Dragway, Fulton, Mississippi. 1/8-mile.
Gainesville Raceway (Formerly Auto-Plus Raceway), Gainesville, Florida. 1/4-mile. Mentioned in my father’s story.
George Rays Dragstrip, Paragould, Arkansas, 1/8-mile.
Goathill Speedway, Belzoni, Mississippi, 1/8-mile.

47) The 2024 Historics Sportscar Racing (HSR) calendar begins right back at Sebring International Raceway next March for the sixth-straight year with the season-opening HSR Spring Fling at Sebring, March 8–10, 2024. The race will be run as an HSR headline weekend event for the first time in several seasons. The Spring Fling sets the stage for the 72nd running of the iconic 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race the following weekend. Adam Saal is at SaalGoodPR.

48) John Hunt of the British Drag Racing Historians Association wrote in about their group. Here are some of the articles that they have on file for UK drag racers. Due to length this will be serialized. Chris Dossett: “I have been aware of Drag Racing for as long as I can remember. My two older brothers were big motorsport fans and went to the NDRC meeting at Martlesham in 1970 to see what the sport was all about. I was four at the time and considered too young to go with them. After that first visit, they didn’t bother much with circuit racing, they were hooked on the quarter mile. It was another four years before my relentless pestering resulted in them taking me to my first meeting at Santa Pod. My sketchy memory prevents me from remembering exactly which meeting it was, but I do vividly recall my first encounter with the sight, sound and smell of the Stardust Funny Car, a few extraordinary moments of time that ensured that I too was hooked.” John is at johnhunt.drn.

49) “The word legend is often overused in sport, but Edsel B. Ford II, who we all know as ‘The Godfather’ has earned that title,” said Jim Farley, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company. “For decades, Edsel has been the architect and chief supporter of Ford Performance Motorsports. Through the tough times and the good times, Edsel has been steadfast in his support for Ford teams around the world. I know how much all our teams value it when Edsel is at the track and when he can’t be, he’s the first to reach out to offer his congratulations or support. This honor from the MSFHA could not go to a better recipient and all of us at Ford want to say thank you to Edsel for all he has done for the sport, and for us.” From Adam Saal at saalgoodpr.

50) EDITOR: The following is serialized. “In 1954, with the cooperation of the Ontario Timing Association, there was some racing at the track in Kohler, and 1955 saw the full operation of the drag racing facility. Things were simple and low-tech in those days, as cars were driven to the track or towed in makeshift trailers. During the 1960s, the track was recognized as Kohler Dragway, Super Boss Dragway, and Cayuga 1320 Dragway. It was operated by several individuals throughout this time but always managed under the watch of the Mehlenbacher family.” Bruce F. Mehlenbacher is at Bruce.

51) Know your motorsports personality. Mike Burch, Chief Operating Officer of Speedway Motorsports (Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Sonoma Raceway, and Texas Motor Speedway). Compiled from Epartrade.

52) “My favorite photo EVER. That’s my tuner Reggie in my smoke. My car has been under the knife this season but she’s coming back hugger orange instead of matte black.” For the photo write to Kelly Anderson, founder of GIRLS of Irwindale at girlsofirwindale.

53) 2024 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Season Schedule
March 7-10: 55th annual NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Florida. The race will also include the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout.
March 21-24: 64th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, California.
April 5-7: 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, Phoenix, Arizona
April 12-14: 24th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada.
April 26-28: 14th annual Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, zMAX Dragway, Charlotte, North Carolina.
May 17-19: 24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance, Route 66 Raceway, Chicago, Illinois.
May 31-June 2: 11th annual NHRA New England Nationals, New England Dragway, Epping, New Hampshire.
June 7-9: 23rd annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tennessee.
June 21-23: TBA
June 27-30: 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Summit Motorsports Park, Norwalk, Ohio.
July 12-14: TBA
July 19-21: 35th annual Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Seattle, Washington.
July 26-28: 36th annual DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California.
August 15-18: 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minnesota.
August 28-September 2: 70th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Indianapolis, Indiana. The race will also include the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout.
September 12-15: 39th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, Pennsylvania.
September 20-22: 16th annual Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals, zMAX Dragway, Charlotte, North Carolina.
September 27-29: 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals, World-Wide Technology Raceway, St Louis, Missouri.
October 10-13: 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals, Texas Motorplex, Dallas, Texas.
October 31-Nov 3: 24th annual NHRA Nevada Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada.
November 14-17: 59th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, California.
From Andrew Wolf, Don Smith and Dragzine.com.

54) About HSR: Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at racetracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned racetracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/
SaalGoodPR

55) I just had 6 New Novels come out December 29, 2023, on Amazon. In 2022 and 2023, I published 14 Novels and one screenplay. I’m almost done with second screenplay. Then I start the third screenplay for this Novel: United States Space Force Project Jupiter Book Trailer (youtube.com) In my lifetime I published 25 Novels. 3 are in Chinese, others are in Japanese, German, Italian, Spanish, and French. I’m going to republish a Novel I previously published on Amazon in Russian, French, German, and English. Look at the size of this book: (2245 pages in 4 languages): Amazon.com: Drones Robots Trains & Aliens eBook https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CR73VWKD/ref=sr_1_9?crid=25Y67NGYR8NYY&key
words=paul+d+escudero&qid=1703954420&s=books&sprefix=paul+d+escudero%2Cstripbooks%2C179&sr=1-9. Paul Escudero

56) Oakley Motorsports, a distinguished name in the world of racing engines, is proud to announce an exciting partnership with Fuel Factory, a leading manufacturer of high-performance fuels. Fuel Factory USA, 4431 William Penn Highway, Suite 6, Murrysville, PA 15668-1946, Sales.

57) We started talks with Haworth to get more premium product for our workbench line. Haworth bought the company that build’s Ferrari interiors and luxury yachts and amazing office furniture. I told their CEO of my plan to help them create a new dealer channel going to the mechanical industry that is again a revolutionary path to get to 30,000 dealers, adjusted from what I learned at Briggs & Stratton when I worked as a designer/innovator for them back in 2001. Our current manufacturer for a good percentage of our workbenches is preparing to launch 2024 ads for our Adamstand workbenches and they put us on their website. wefilm1.

58) John Hunt of the British Drag Racing Historians Association wrote in about their group. Here are some of the articles that they have on file for UK drag racers (SERIALIZED). Jerry Cookson wrote, “Nowadays, having been involved in some of the early No Prep events, I’m largely confined to commentating at National Sprint Association events at Westonzoyland, Somerset, editing the NSA’s The Sprinter magazine, as well as administering two prime Facebook pages; Memories of a ‘Warwickshire Drag Strip’ and ‘UK Drag & Sprint Strips That Time Forgot’. I’m also a selector and director of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame as well as editing HoFTalk, the online magazine for the BDRHoF. From my vast collection of drag racing artifacts I have supplied material for two of British drag racing’s nostalgia websites; UKDRN, Acceleration Archive and recently Chris Dossett’s excellent and well documented Trakbytes site. And despite all this I’m still enjoying life on the other side!” John is at johnhunt.drn.

59) Global Summit videos Day One: THE 1ST ANNUAL GLOBAL TRANSPORTATION & TECHNOLOGY DIVERSITY SUMMIT. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPVY5BPKOZM. From Bill Montgomery of Hidden Pioneers.