Pat Foster

[draglist]

As the recent comments on the board indicate, we did lose our hero Pat Foster on March 27. He went out the way he wanted to, just as he lived his life. I will be moving this thread to the Lost Friends section. bp

[223rd&Alameda]

A real nice deal about Pat was in the "Readers Choice" issue of National Dragster recently. It has great info on Pat and all the cool cars he drove.


223rd & Alameda

[Gator]

Rest in Peace Pat.

[draglist]

I got this email from Cindy on Thursday. Do not miss Don Ewald's tribute... bp

http://wediditforlove.com/Foster.html

Well, our Patty passed away this morning at 4am...he was in great spirits up until the moment he closed his eyes.

I miss you already, Foster...
Cinder

[draglist]

One of my most treasured photos. From the inaugural National Hot Rod Reunion. I got a chance to introduce my son Jason to my all time hero drag racer, Pat Foster. Who knew he would be so gracious and kind? bp

[jim sanders]

Great photo BP

[pro70z28]

Great Photo BP. Jason will remember that one too.

[WildcatOne]

Great photo, BP...Rest in Peace, Pat. He was the greatest. WC1

[draglist]

Thanks, guys. I just sent the following to Don Ewald's site along with the photo of Jason and Pat...

As a guy who came in on the back end of the boomer age, I caught up with Drag Racing in 1972. That year, the hot class was fuel funny cars and the baddest of the bad was Pat Foster in the Barry Setzer Vega. Photos and stories of Pat and that car left an indelible impression on me. The sight of it still stirs the heart strings when I think back to the magical years when I first fell in love with the sport. How much I regarded Foster back in the day didn’t occur to me until one of my sisters said something just a year or so ago. In discussing how I’m still hanging in there with my drag racing hobby, she recalled, “I still remember you talking about Pat Foster and the Barry Setzer Vega.” This woman, who doesn’t know anything else about drag racing except what she’d overheard from me 35 years ago in our childhood, laid the entire phrase on me, word for word. I was taken aback. She didn’t remember me talking about Garlits, about the Snake, about the Mongoose, about Shirley, none of ‘em. But she remembered me talking about Foster and that badass cinnamon red Vega.

In later years along came the internet and the Standard 1320 Group, where I was privileged to join and which contained so many heroes of mine, including the MAN, Pat Foster. Through correspondence online, I thrilled at his stories, which he kindly offered to let me post on my website. Then, at either the CHRR or NHRR, I got to meet Pat and found him to be a unique combination of no nonsense practicality and kindness. This photo of Pat and my son Jason from the inaugural NHRR at Bowling Green is of course, precious to me. I was not much older than Jason when I first started following Pat and now here he was, taking Jason aside to show him the sparkling new Jade Grenade and to pose for a photo. I’ve had a lot of thrills in Drag Racing, but getting to know Pat Foster and then introducing my son to my childhood hero ranks right up there.

Here is the link to Don's site again. He's had a few more entries since I posted the other day. bp

http://wediditforlove.com/Foster.html

[RickO]

Just found this, Pat at OCIR.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBWZHeXpil8