By Richard Parks
1) EDITOR’S CORNER: Sad news to report. Elienisse Zoe Diaz Rodriguez, age 7, passed away from a Junior Dragster accident at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida recently. She loved being in her dragster; it was one of her great loves in life. We send our condolences to her family and friends.
Had a nice conversation with Chic Cannon. He worked for the NHRA in the very early 1950’s when the HQ was located on First Street in Los Angeles and even before that when NHRA was in the Trend Bldg. How many of you remember those days? Call your friends. Offer to pick them up and take them to the races or reunions. Time goes by so quickly.
AND: All links in the newsletter need to be copied and pasted into your browser in order to work.
AND: Yes, I am behind in the news, but I’ll catch up.
2) REMEMBERING OUR LOST FRIENDS DEPARTMENT: For Auld Lang Syne 2024, by Chris Romano & Bob Storck.
Rick Ferkel, 84, was a member of the Sprint Car Hall of Fame and lived up to his nickname of the Ohio Traveler routinely running over 70 races per year, mainly with the World of Outlaws.
“Doc” Simpson was the track physician at midget and Sprint Car tracks in Colorado and eventually at IRP and Belleville, among others. He was a member of the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Jeff Nuckles, 66, raced midgets in the Midwest until a 1984 crash at Eldora left him paralyzed from the chest down. He went to work at his family’s Columbus Motor Speedway proving that a wheelchair was no handicap to a race director.
Sean Vardell was a regular at Millbridge Speedway in NC and started the Carolina 305 Sprint Car tour.
Mark Schuck was a long time USAC Silver Crown owner.
Dean Billings, 68, raced with the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association for much of his career before suffering a traumatic brain injury 25 years ago. He was a two-time Dairyland Midget Association champion and track champion at Wilmot.
Rocky Moran, 74, got a chance to drive at Indy with his hero Dan Gurney and then got two more shots with A.J. Foyt. Out of money and opportunity with Indy Cars he turned to a successful sports car career running for Gurney’s Toyota team with his day of days coming in 1993 with a win in the Daytona 24 Hours.
Rick Baty founded the United Rebel Sprint Series, and this year was inducted into the Belleville High Banks Hall of Fame.
Wild Willie Stutzman, 92, was a super/modified legend.
Gary Irvin, 81, raced in the three major USAC divisions from 1968 to 1999.
Central Pennsylvania Sprint Cars lost owner Joe Harz, who scored 169 wins along with Williams Grove championships with Lance Dewease and Fred Rahmer.
Walt Dyer, 90, fielded the #461 “brick mobile” for over 30 years and was a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
Lynn Paxton, 80 was a Hall of Famer who amassed over 200 Sprint Car feature wins mostly in Central Pennsylvania in addition to numerous track championships.
Clyde Swartz raced Sprint Cars in the Mid-Atlantic states.
Parnelli Jones, 90, won in everything he ever drove, including an Indy 500 win in 1963. He had the good sense to retire from open wheel racing after almost winning the 500 again in 1967 but turned his attention to winning a Trans Am championship in 1970 and raced the Baja before he stopped for good. He wasn’t a stranger to Indy wins, however, as with partner Vel Miletich he won the 500 twice in a row with Al Unser Sr.
Paul Goldsmith began his career on bikes, winning on the beach at Daytona. He raced six times at Indy with a best finish of third in 1960. He turned his attention to stock cars and won a USAC championship and nine NASCAR events, including the very last race on the beach, before retiring in 1969. He was 98 years old.
Emily Vogler, 93, lost a husband and son the sport. She also founded the Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Foundation, raising over $400,000. A profile in grace and courage.
3) WE GET MAIL DEPT: A) How about requesting persons who want to stay connected to send in a NOTICE, including their email address, stating that they want to be included in a VIRTUAL MAILING LIST. Then your readers can add them to their Racing email list. When they mail to the List the SUBJECT LINE should read MOTORSPORTS Newsletter. This concept could lighten your load while you can write Editorials, etc. Dale Cook, at B_Eagle@Comcast.net.
B) Pay Dirt: The Story of Supercross, the documentary from filmmaker Paul Taublieb, and narrated by actor Josh Brolin, is now playing exclusively in theaters nationwide. From Paul Taublieb
C) Love the newsletters. Don’t know if you knew Joe Rusz of Road & Track passed away last week. I wrote an obit which is on the R&T website. John Dinkel
D) Cool Cruise Car Show Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Downtown La Verne, CA. Craig Hoelzel at Craig.
E) We just bought a perfect 1954 Doretti and it is said maybe 50-75% have survived…may become a “Buretti” the Max Buick Modified as he (Max Balchowski) modified 6 Dorettis. Wishing you all the best for the New Year. Ernie & Elaine Nagamatsu.
4) Books from Dalton Watson Fine Books: The Art of Conservation: Alfa Romeo SZ Coda Tronca, by Corrado Lopresto, Gautam Sen, and Paolo Di Taranto. Lamborghini: At the Cutting Edge of Design (2- volume set), by Gautam Sen. Maserati 300S (Revised, 2-volume set), by Walter Baumer. See: www.daltonwatson.com.
Books and Manuals from CarTech Publishing, 6118 Main Street, North Branch, Minnesota 55056, 1-800-551-4754,
www.CarTechBooks.com. How to Restore Your 1947-1955 Chevy Truck. How to Rebuild VW Air-cooled Engines: 1961-2003. How to Restore Your Chevy Truck 1967-1972. Truck Beds: How to Install, Restore, and Modify.
5) Lifetime Achievement Award for those who contribute more than 4000 hours of service in their lifetime. Along with the ultimate honor of presidential recognition, recipients will receive a personalized certificate, an official pin, medallion or coin and a congratulatory letter from the president of the United States. Bill Montgomery received this award in 2024 from the White House. Hidden Pioneers is at hiddenpioneers.
A Hidden Garages production, from Hidden Pioneers. Mad Mike, Co-Director of Hidden Garages; Special interview of Mad Mike from Pimp My Ride on YouTube. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSD2kCQGPzg&t=232s.
6) ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Lion’s Roar Automobilia Foundation Newsletter: Long Beach West Lions Club to sponsor youth club, Greg Sharp’s “Simpler Times”, new exhibits, community outreach program, 2790 E Del Amo Blvd, East Rancho Dominguez, CA 90221-6008; opportunities, upcoming events, contact media.
7) This Week on Cars Yeah Podcast, Ginger Baker Rust interviews Danny Drinan, CJ Olivares, Miranda Seymour and Danny Sullivan. Ginger is at 118 North Main Street Norwood, NC 28128 or info.
8) Bob Larivee Sr, The Man Who Created the Rod Show – Saturday, 8 February 2025, 11 AM-3PM, at Autobooks. From:
Autobooks-Aerobooks at manager, located at 2900 W. Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505. 818- 845-0707, www.autobooks-aerobooks.com.
9) My latest little piece of Hemmings.com. Remembering Mr Ed Trailers and Mike Kuhl. Here’s hopin’ that you’ll enjoy & share widely. Go to: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/carspotting-new-life-for-a-1960s-fueler-and-hauler/. Dave Wallace Jr
10) Charlie Peter, winner of both the 2024 Touring 2 and GT-2 SCCA National Championships, was named the recipient of the Road Racing Drivers Club’s (RRDC) Mark Donohue Award. Mike Shank, team owner of Meyer Shank Racing, which competes in IMSA and INDYCAR, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club with the 2024 Phil Hill Award. Patrick Long was named the 2024 recipient of the RRDC Bob Akin Award. From: Judy Stropus
11) The schedule is set for the 52nd annual RPM@Daytona Workshops at the Shores Resort and Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, February 9-11, 2025. Begins on Sunday, February 9, with “The BluePrint Engines Big Game Party” presented by Hoosier Racing Tire, MyRacePass, EventSprout and Racetrack Wholesale. From: Racing Promotion Monthly: Ideal newsletter for auto racing promoters. Joe Skotnicki jskotnicki.
12) Royce Rumsey just published “Historic Hamtramk.” John Lazenby’s 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe Town and Country wagon at Irvine Ranch Historic Park. For the full article and excellent photos go to: roycer924_2.
13) MORE MAIL DEPT: a) I first started racing in my junior year of high school. I started with the lowest class there was F/S, a stock 1949 Ford. On a good day you may go 70 MPH and yes, my dad did have a fit. I had raced Saturday night at Lawrence Kansas dragstrip and won a trophy. The following Sunday morning my friend came to my house and my dad opened the door for him. “Well,” my friend asks my dad, “what do you think of the trophy that Ray won last night,” and did that get my dad’s attention. “So, you have been racing, have you?” From that point on, he got involved. I ended up driving AA/Alters, Top Gas, Top Fuel, Fuel Funny Cars, Alcohol Funny Cars, and Alcohol Dragsters. Won 5 World Championships in NHRA, AHRA, ADRA, and US Nationals. Thanks for asking Richard. Ray Motes (See you next year).
EDITOR: Ray is referring to Steve and Gloria Gibbs Nitro Reunion, possibly at Famoso Raceway. Stay tuned for future news.
b) Renault is trying to break land speed records with EV Streamliner. The Renault Filante record 2025 is the brand’s rolling lab for future tech. Sent in by Ron Main at ron.
c) Happy to announce that the CA Army National Guard Band will lead the Track Walk at the NHRA Winternationals on Sunday, March 30th. Join the parade up and down the strip and enjoy the music while doing it. Later, they will be performing and marching throughout the pits. Marvin Weston
d) Maurice McCoy says, are there any events in the 2025 year?
EDITOR: Several people send me news of events, but they are usually California news, and I can use news from elsewhere as well. Will post events in the newsletter as I receive them. What area is Maurice interested in?
14) Frederic Lequien, CEO, FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), and Marius Louvet, Director of Marketing and Communications, joined us for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week. Also interviewed, John Doonan, President, IMSA, hosted by Richard James of RACER.com. Chris Stewart of Gridlife, joined us as well. Hosted by George Tamayo. Larry Foyt, President, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, joined us for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week. Hosted by David Malsher-Lopez of RACER.com. Also interviewed were Alex Palou, Mike Hull, and Barry Wanser of Chip Ganassi Racing. team.
15) Lead Writer Diego Rosenberg is a native of Wilmington, Delaware and Princeton, New Jersey, giving him plenty of exposure to the charms of Carlisle and Englishtown. Though his first love is Citroen, he fell for muscle cars after being seduced by 1950s finned flyers—in fact, he’s written two books on American muscle. But please don’t think there is a strong American bias because foreign weirdness is never far from his heart. With a penchant for underground music from the 1960-70s, Diego and his family reside in metropolitan Phoenix. From: Diego Rosenberg diegor at The ClassicCars.com Journal: Your daily dose of steel, rubber and soul.
16) BLAST FROM THE PAST…… From the Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way. 26-29 JANUARY 1950
Bob Barsky broke from Pete Petersen and Lee Ryan to form his own Hot Rod show which he called the Motor Sports Show in conjunction with the Russetta Timing Association (RTA). He bragged that he would top the previous attendance of the 1949 Hot Rod Exposition car show that was produced by Hollywood Publicity Associates (HPA) and included Petersen and Ryan with the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) doing the hosting.
17) VSA (Vintage Speedcar Association) Newsletter of NSW (New South Wales, Australia) issue #247 October/November 2024. A good number of speedway cars were displayed in the Clarendon Pavillon over the two days. On Display were: Modifieds: #2 Ron Scheer, #86 Ronnie Scheer, #54 Richard Wroe, #66 Shane Fullager. Speedcars: #5 Sid Middlemass #25 Brian Linigen, #95 John Green, #67 Terry Young, #8 George Liebrand. Compacts: #3 Mark Kerr, #76 Clarke Wheeler, #10 Jeff Freeman. Stock Rod #76 David Hunt. Plenty of sunshine with a light breeze made a perfect two days for the people to see our display and ask questions about the various types of Speedway cars. VSA club member Terry Young and Compact club member Jeff Freeman (seated) enjoy the display. From: John & Maria Green at ajkake.
18) Charles Rollins, Joann Brock’s son-in-law, also mentioned how Ray Brock and Ak Miller would torment each other in a kidding way. He talked about the rich stories Ak would tell them and referred to it as Miller’s Syndrome; “for making a good story better.” Rollins said that Miller (was) still collecting a small pension from the Army for his WWII war injuries. Ak interjected and said he was fortunate to have kept his toes after suffering frostbite in the Battle of the Bulge. Rollins thanked Bruce Glasscock for restoring the El Caballo de Hierro racecar. He then said that Ak’s cars had unusual names, like The Misconception, and The Blob, because the cars were nothing to look at. Miller brought the house down in a surge of laughter and applause when he retorted, “I came to race, not work on my car.” (source Charles Rollins June 28, 2005)
19) 2025 NHRA LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES SCHEDULE: NORTHWEST DIVISION Firebird Raceway: May 16-18, 2025. Yellowstone Dragstrip: June 26-27, 2025. Yellowstone Dragstrip: June 28-29, 2025. Woodburn Dragstrip: July 10-11, 2025. Woodburn Dragstrip: July 12-13, 2025. Pacific Raceways: August 7-8, 2025. Pacific Raceways: August 9-10, 2025.
Concho Valley Dragway has joined the NHRA Member Track Network in the NHRA’s South Central Division (Division 4).
Located in the heart of West Texas, Concho Valley Dragway. The Winger family, led by Mark Winger, emphasized safety, community and the future of drag racing.
NHRA officials announced today that DENSO will continue as the title sponsor of the annual NHRA national event at Sonoma Raceway. From: nhracommunications.
20) VSA (Vintage Speedcar Association) Newsletter of NSW (New South Wales, Australia) issue #247 October/November 2024. Chromefest 2024 Report and photos by: Kevin Gilkison Cars, chrome, and tunes from the good ol’ days. The event was blessed with perfect weather over the two days that the vintage speedway cars were displayed, which was a relief after some pretty ordinary conditions in previous years. It is a pretty tough gig at Chromefest, with Saturday set up from 6:30am, and Sunday kick off from 7:00am. So, it is handy that our designated area is right beside The Entrance Hotel! It is important to keep hydrated! The event was again extremely successful, and there was an enormous variety of interesting vehicles, stalls, music, and entertainment. A quote from the organisers is “Everyone’s passion, energy, and dedication made for an incredible weekend, and the most memorable Chromefest ever.” From: John & Maria Green at ajkake.
21) Books on Cars Year website mentioned by those appearing on the Podcast.
John Hames – The Script, for the movie Le Mans.
Jay Leno – Stile Transatlantico, by Donald Osborne.
Robert Nagle – Go Like Hell by A.J. Baime, by A.J. Baime.
Bob Gurr and Bob Hall – Mazda MX-5, by Jack K. Yamaguchi.
Luca Dal Monte – Enzo: Power, Politics, and the Making of an Automotive Empire, by Luca Dal Monte.
22) Vintage Metal magazine (robertcampbell4.
23) BLAST FROM THE PAST…… From the Wally & Barbara Parks story, We Did It Our Way. 22 JANUARY 1950 Hot Rod Coordination Program
A meeting of great importance in drag racing history is probably the least known event. The Hot Rod Coordination Program began at 4pm in the anteroom of the Oakland Exposition Building just as the National Roadster Show was ending. The purpose wrote Acting Secretary Gordon Vann was, “… for the purpose of establishing a plan for bettering publicity, developing a volunteer Safety Inspection Program and to obtain enough manpower to aid in lobbying issues in State and local legislation.” Attending were George Radnich from the SCTA, Wally Parks from Hot Rod magazine, Gordon Vann from the CNRA, Kirke Powell from Castlemont High School in Oakland, Gene Winfield from the VTA and G. H. “Tiny” Snell. It was a plan put forward by Officer Ezra Ehrhardt, but most likely there were many others who also added to Ehrhardt idea, including my father.
24) ADDITIONAL PASSINGS IN 2024. It was a tough year for Modifieds, by Chris Romano & Bob Storck.
Long time crew chief Greg Narducci left us all too soon. Greg was at the helm of many Modified wins with car owner Brad LaFontaine.
Veteran crew member Wayne Anastasia, 65, died of injuries sustained in an accident in the garage area at Martinsville.
Billy “Bear” Calicchio, 62, was a fixture in the Modified world as an owner and crew chief to stars like Ted Christopher.
Bugs Stevens, 90, was, quite simply, a redwood in Modified racing taking numerous track championships and three NASCAR championships on the trot from 1967 to 1969. After winding down his Modified career he took a Pro Stock championship at Seekonk. Legend is not too strong a word.
25) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America auctioned off Davey Allison’s “Superstar” 1992 Ford NASCAR race car at the “Bring a Trailer Auction” for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. From Adam Saal
26) The Lion’s Roar newsletter: Lions is supporting wildfire victims’ program with SEMA, Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation; formation of the Long Beach West Lions Club. The original Long Beach West Lions Club from the 1950’s was one of the nine clubs that formed the Lions Drag Strip, promoting racing and educating the youth about our hobby and traditions. Join today. From: media.
27) Wally’s stories: courtesy of DRIVE Magazine, by Wally Parks (title: PRIVILEGE OF DISAGREEING AMIABLY)
A few examples: When the well-known operator of the Santa Ana and later Lions drag strips (concerned about oil and fuel blowing into the faces of hoodless front-engine dragster drivers) suggested requiring a small deflector-visor mounted on the cowl, it was Big (who wasn’t ‘Big’ then) who most adamantly opposed the ruling. And when the NHRA tightened its rules requiring better scatter shield protection for clutches and flywheels, he also was a critic of that measure. Much later, when NHRA mandated transmission reversers – to save time and improve safety by eliminating on-track and U-turn push starts – his personal condemnation was loud and widespread. And yet when his later experiments, like closed dragster canopies, tiny front wheels with plastic tires and other hoped-for advantages simply failed, their basic motivations were never criticized as being silly.
28) Books on Cars Year website mentioned by those appearing on the Podcast.
Rodney Kemerer – Tales from the Garage by Rodney Kemerer.
Tom Jensen – Cheating: An Inside Look at the Bad Things Good NASCAR Winston Cup Racers Do in Pursuit of Speed.
Mark Davis – Corvette by David Newhardt.
Nigel Tunnacliffe – Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmul.
Frank Loughridge – The Birth of Hot Rodding by Robert Ganat.
Antonio Melegari – Dirt Don’t Slow You Down by Magnus Walker.
Peter Zaidan – The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
Tony Principe – Shoe Dog by Phil Knight and A Common Thread Jennen Principe, Tony’s wife.
29) Wally’s stories: courtesy of DRIVE Magazine, by Wally Parks (PRIVILEGE OF DISAGREEING AMIABLY)
No one pretends that rules-making is easy, or that NHRA or any other racing sanction body can produce the right answers for these highly critical questions all of the time. Considering its vast number of contestants (35,000 of whom are licensed drivers), its number of competition classes (well over 200), annual sanctioned events at 140 tracks (over 4500 events) and the relentless search by racers and manufacturers for new levels in performance, NHRA drag racing’s overall safety record is unmatched in motorsports. Suffice to say that some ‘silly rules’ may have been a part of NHRA’s trial-and-error efforts, but overall, it’s the best there is. And as for NHRA’s technical department – active from coast to coast, and often thankless – it can be credited for much of today’s NHRA stability and its continuing forward progress. A lot of strange things emerge out of bygone years’ history – when you’re Lookin’ Back.”
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