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Father of the National Hot RodAssociation Wally Parks (1913-2007)

promoted a “speed week” in 1949 at thefamed Bonneville Salt Flats, where race carsran “against the clock.” Acceleration wasthe main concern, not high top speed.Some say this was the origination of theterm “drag racing,” which supposedlymeant “drag” the gears to hold thetransmission in gear longer than normaland others thought it meant “drag your carout of the garage and race me!”

Steve Gibbs known as “Capt. Hook,”and former NHRA vice president andcurrent Wally Parks Museum boardmember, came up with the original conceptof the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunionin 1992 with the help of some other NHRApeople and now (October 19-21, 2012), 21years later, it represents a uniqueconvergence of drag racing and hotrodding that bring to life the excitinghistory of high-performance motorsport.The Reunion is presented by theAutomobile Club of Southern Californiaand benefits the Wally Parks NHRAMotorsports Museum in Pomona,California (producers of the event).

Larry Fisher, new executive director ofthe museum and first time attendee of theReunion said, “It is not only a reunion buta homecoming, a chance for many toreturn to hallowed ground and to celebratethe earlier days of our sport and of hotrodding. The museum is here to collect,preserve, exhibit and interpret vehicles,

stories and artifacts that represent ournation and the world’s fascination withspeed and style in all of its forms.”

Thanks to the Auto Club, the region’soldest and largest motor club (since 1900),it maintains a special interest in the area’scar culture and has preserved three racingvenues (two historic)—the legendary

Famoso, where everything old is new again. STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOWARD KOBY

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

NHRA National Hot Rod Association

John Smith lights em’ up on theJungle Jim ’75 Vega tribute.

Richard Wilson’s ChryslerAirflow gasser is wild..

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Pomona Raceway, Auto Club Speedway inFontana, California, and the fabled FamosoRaceway near Bakersfield, California. Thegoal was to enhance the drag racingexperience for competitors and race fansalike. Drag racing’s popularity has explodedacross the nation yet the NHRA and AutoClub have not lost sight of the mainobjective—to provide competitors a safeand legal place to race their colorful fastand powerful machines.

“Race the strip, not the street,” has beenthe unofficial phrase of the NHRA since it’sfounding in 1951 by the inimitable WallyParks. Amazingly, Famoso still has the lookand feel of a drag strip from the 1960s,which is what draws thousands ofcompetitors and fans to the Reunion fromaround the world including Europe, Asia,Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It’s aone-of-a-kind American car lover’s dream,much more than a car show, it’s livinghistory with nostalgic drag racing, famouscars and hot rod heroes.

Steve Gibbs once said, “I have beenfortunate enough to have been involved inmany of the sport’s major developmentsbut I have to say that my role in thecreation of the Reunion is probably thething I am most proud of.”

The Reunion is a three-day festival ofloud, nitro-filled smoky burnouts on thequarter-mile track, including a car showalong the famous Famoso Grove, a hugeswap meet offering everything from a frontclip for a ’57 Chevy to a set of used pistonsfor a Ford flatheadV8 and an opportunityfor fans to meet the legends and stars of thesport. At the free honoree reception at theDoubletree Hotel in Bakersfield on Fridaynight, showman “TV Tommy” Ivo (GrandMarshal) was introduced along withhonorees Jim Brissette, Mallicoat Brothers,Jim Nicoll, Marv Ripes and Ed Sigmon.

“TV Tommy” earned his nickname byacting in almost 100 movies and 200television shows and then went into dragracing. In the 1960s, Ivo designed and builthis unbelievable four Buick-engined dragster,supposedly the most famous and lucrativedrag racing exhibition car of all time.

Back on the strip, Justice Brothers carcare products annually assemble anoutstanding Reunion Spotlight exhibitalong the tree line “Grove” honoring agroup or individual who contributed to the

NHRA Heritage Top Fuel WinnerAdam Sorokin gets it whoa’d.

Grand Marshal “TV Tommy”Ivo had a ball.

The re-created K.S. PittmanWillys goes up against the

Mazmanian Willys.

Holy Toledo is right! Dean Oberg’s Jeepster FC wowed them.

Sonny Messner’s GMC Carryall—push truck perfection.

“Dyno Don” Nicholson ’70 Ford Maverick Pro Stock was on display.

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sport. The Stags Car Club of Ogden, Utahwas the subject of the presentation thatincluded two gorgeous Chevy-powered bigblock 1940 Ford Coupes that ran in themid-11s at around 120mph.

Along with more than 200 races in 10classes including Nostalgia Top Fuel (15entered), Nostalgia Funny Cars (37 in thefield), Nostalgia Eliminator I, A/Gas, ProMod, AFX, 7.0 Pro, A/Fuel and JuniorFuel, an exiting gasser battle exhibitionmatch race was staged between the BigJohn Mazmanian Hemi-powered ’41 Willystribute car (driven by Bones Balogh)against a re-creation of the K.S. Pittman ’33Willys (driven by Fred Bear). The ’41 hadmechanical problems so the Pittman Willystook home the bragging rights.

Saturday evening the sky was lit withthe much anticipated and popular “CackleFest”—a tribute to the old days wheredragsters from the ’50s and ’60s are push-started in front of thousands of cheeringspectators, swing a turn onto the drag stripand idle or “cackle” with nitro flames andfumes filling the night sky (10 gallons ofnitro fuel burn in less than five minutes).

The spouting hot header flames from theblown Chrysler Hemis flare up high in thecool night air with an ear-piercing melodythat the crowd can’t seem to get enough ofwhile bringing tears to their eyes.

“A Cackle Fest is like a barely controlledatomic bomb,” said Greg Sharp, curator ofthe Wally Parks Museum.

The Reunion is also the season finale ofthe NHRA Hot Rod Reunion Heritage

nostalgia drag racing series, which was wonthis year by Adam Sorokin in his 377cidsmall-block Chevrolet-powered (only Chevyin the field) Top Fuel dragster clicking offhis quickest run ever—5.697 sec. Later,Rick Williamson came away with the racevictory over Sorokin nabbing the muchdesired Reunion Wally Trophy with a5.80sec elapsed time at 235.23mph. The55-year-old Williamson said, “I’ve beenracing since I was 16 and this is my first winand it really feels good to win one for once!”

Jason Rupert in a ’69 Camaro Funny Carclinched his second-consecutive NHRA HotRod Heritage Series Championship whileMike Lewis won the Reunion title drivingthe Henry Gutierrez’s Brand X- themed ’71Mustang Funny Car at 244.38mph.

The California Hot Rod Reunion createslasting memories at old Famoso, which isas lively as ever and a must attend event forthe hard-core drag racing fan—a drag thatyou don’t want to miss.

Garlits car) and it must have beenperfect timing because Garlits finallysaid, “If you come up with $150,000 I’llget the car out and put it back togetherfor you.”

Messner said, “I’ve got the money,”and Garlits froze and said, “You’ve got$150,000 to throw away on an old pieceof pipe? You called my bluff and myword is good.”

Garlits wanted SR III to be like it wasin 1960 and handled the entirerestoration using an original 392Chrysler and an Isky Nitro roller cam.Messner says that the car is “ready torace, 1960’s style.”

Messner takes the iconic slingshotdragster across the U.S. to nostalgiaevents including the Winternationals,World Finals, Las Vegas and the Hot RodReunion. He also re-created the 1960GMC Carryall push truck that Garlitsused back in the day, making for aperfect trip back in time.

In February 1960, teenager SonnyMessner went to Lions Drag Strip in LongBeach, California, to see Don Garlits race.A conversation struck up and Garlitsasked Messner if he was helping anyoneat the track and he wasn’t, so Garlits said,“Stick around. I’ll need a little bit of helpwith Swamp Rat III.”

Messner got in Garlits’ push truckand “when the nitro fumes came insidethe truck I was hooked,” said Messner.Since then he’s worked on everySwamp Rat until Garlits retired fromdrag racing in 1992.

Swamp Rat IIIB was the first car intothe 7-second bracket but was heavilydamaged on the highway while undertow on a trailer. For years Messnerbugged Garlits for the car, whichrested in Garlits’ shop rafters, havingnever been repaired.

About 10 years ago Messner madeanother try to buy the car (noone else has ever owned a

PICK OF THE LITER 1960 Swamp Rat IIIB

Chevy-powered AA AlteredFiat Topolino gets it goin’..

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