Gone Racin��To the 11^th Annual Car Racers Reunion

Hila Sweet�s annual Car Racers Reunion was held April 7^th, 2002, at the Victorville Fairgrounds in Victorville, California. Over 230 racers, fans, family, mechanics, car owners and friends showed up for this event. Some of the participants were Bob and Fuzzy Anderson, Art Bagnall, Jim Bartosh, Bob Bates, Andy Casale and his beautifully restored blue and white midget, Dale Crossno, Joan Denver and Bud Meyers, Jay East, Bob Falcon, L.G. Forrester, Billy and Wayne Fulton, a host of Larry Funkhouser�s family, Cliff Heathcoat, Lloyd Hendrickson, Ken Hillberg with the Billy Vukovich car, Jim Horan, Glenn Howard, Ed Hudson, Fred Laia, Bobby and Darrol Irvin, Walt and Dottie James of Willow Springs, Ray and Nancy Alcaraz of the Racers of Balboa, Peter James, Parnelli Jones, Edith Klessig and her Cheesecake Derby ladies, Hal Knight, Barry Knowlton, Bob Lague, Betty Townsend Leary, Danny Letner, Bob Lewis, Steve Logan, Keith Loomis, Paul and Jasper Lopiccolo, Norman Malone, Earl Mansell, Buff Marquand and Mike Uribe of the Bean Bandits, Dave Martin, Michael McClain, Mel McIntosh, Don Melton, Jim Moore, Duane Morgan, Roy Morris, Jim �Irish� Murphy, Al Ocampo, Hoyt Platt, Ralph Foster, Penny and Marvin Porter, Don Read, Mal Redwine, Chuck Robbins, Preacher Rogers, Rosie Roussel, Eugene Russell, Stan Schiedecker, Harry Schooler, Tony Simon, Bob Stanclift, Gary Stewart, Jack Summers, Bob Sweet, Fred Tomlinson, Ron Toth, Sam Tribble, Ed Van Eyk, Ray Vodden, Ann and Billy Wilkerson, Gene Woods and Larry Wormsbecker.

Over 25 vintage racing cars were on display, including sprint cars, midgets, the Bean Bandits yellow 1950�s dragster, souped up stock cars and a beautifully beat up old Jalopy. Some of the cars did exhibition laps, if you could call them that, for the racers were born with lead in their feet, and the age of the cars and drivers melted away as they whirled around the course. Up in the stands was Parnelli Jones, hooting and hollering whenever one of the drivers grazed the wall or spun out. Hila Sweet reminisced about the match races she had with the men, beating several of the men in attendance, including Parnelli. Lively banter, bench racing, old memories and plenty of good-natured teasing was the order of the day. Men and women were weighed down with photo albums, trophies and hall of fame plaques to show off to their friends and the kids in the crowd. Entire families came to the Reunion to share in the memories of the men and women who �put on the show� back in the 1930�s, 40�s, 50�s and 60�s. Promoters like Harry Schooler talked about the glories and agonies of producing racing events. Harry passed out an abridged edition of the book he is working on, and it is packed full of facts, people, places and events. The difficult thing with lively reunions like Hila�s is the fact that there is only so much time, while there are so many interesting people to talk to and share stories with. The day began to draw to a close and one by one, they began to leave. We wanted it to go on forever. Hila knocked herself out on this event, serving Mexican style food, or a choice of more traditional American roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy.

The day began cool and sunny, but turned into the most beautiful spring day imaginable. Hila�s reunion is the second one of the year, following Walt and Dottie James CRA Reunion. Hila spent a lot of time planning for the right time of year, and paying attention to every little detail, and it shows in her event. The beautiful weather was perfect for racing, and for spending time in and out of the Hall where we were stationed. Earl Mansell recounted his days racing at Legion Ascot, in the 1930�s and at Muroc Dry Lake in the 1920�s. �Jumpin� Jack� Summers was the auctioneer for the raffle and kept the crowd enthralled with his quick patter of words. Carroll Shelby donated a set of $700 tires and Joe Oddo donated a certificate at the driving school at Irwindale Speedway.

The reunion was video taped by Richard Marcella and Bob Kindoll for their program, The �Racing Show.� Check your TV Guide for air times or call Richard at 1-800-270- 7948 for details. Ed Justice Sr and Louie Senter are planning another car racers reunion for this November. Check in the Automotive Calendar of Events or email the address listed below, and don�t forget to mark your calendars and come to these fantastic events. The men and women who thrilled us fifty years ago with their daring abilities as they spun around the track, are here at these reunions with stories and memories of events that will keep you spellbound. Bring cameras, videos, pens and notepads and get autographs and stories to cherish.

Gone Racin� can be reached at or on the following website www.oilstick.com

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