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I'm finding this all so interesting. I can't add any facts to your story (on the Spurgin/Giovanine roadster) from this side of the Pond (England) as all the info rests with you guys. But keep up the good work. Great stuff. Steve Havelock
Steve: Send us some land speed racing stories from England and the continent. We need more European history on land speed racing. Glad you like the newsletter
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The shop where Marvin Faw operated was on Venice Blvd just east of Crenshaw. He did some work on the Ansen cars for Bonneville in 1950 including the Lockhart replica that Jim Miller mentioned in the last newsletter. There was also a gas station on that corner, Bronson I believe, where Dick Guldstrand worked for a while. Faw's aluminum shaping was 1st class. I'm going to get more info on that replica for Miller as soon as I have time - the engine in the picture has the Joe Davies 4 cam heads. Bob Morton
Bob: Thank you for the update.
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Crane Cams closed its doors and laid off its employees on 2/24/09. Harvey J. Crane founded the company in 1953 as Crane Engineering and the company was well known in high-performance and racing for its engine valve train components and camshafts. The employees bought out the company from Crane in 1979. The company was sold to Mikronite, which is an industrial technology firm in 2006. Don Garlits
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My name is John Hollansworth; Eric Studer suggested I send you a note. I think he had given my name to you and thought you might have some interest in putting some info about me in your publication. I doubt that I would be newsworthy enough to be of any interest but if you would like some info let me know. As an aside I am President of the Collectors Foundation. The CF does some of the same thing your organization does like providing scholarships to young people who help perpetuate our hobby. There might even be some synergism that might tie our efforts together who knows.
John: Thanks for writing. As for "newsworthy," well we never know what future historians will consider to be important, so we gather it all. One man sent me his story and he never was a racer, but he observed what was going on in racing and his story was one of our best ever. So send us your bio and we'll know whether it's valuable. But even if a person doesn't have a story that portrays their life around hot rodding, land speed and early drag racing, they still have a story that should be left to their family and children and we encourage everyone to leave their story for the future. Please write back and tell us what the Collectors Foundation is and what its goals are.
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If you are going to give any type of credit for this help could you please mention my friend Jerry Stohler? He owns the Mitchell Muffler Shop roadster pick-up and it is his library that all this wonderful pre-war literature comes from. He has been collecting pre-war lakes stuff for many years and I wouldn't have been able to find the history on Sandy's car or Russetta without him. Jerry also wrote a nice bio for Jack Mickelson so he could get a replacement timing tag for his roadster and I think they sent a replacement trophy. I wrote Jerry this afternoon and I am assuming he is going to give me the OK to pass the bio along to you. I'll keep you posted. On another note Bill Erickson is a friend of mine; he owns the shop where the Spurgin/Giovanine/Borgh car is. We're getting him out to the swap meets and shows to help him with parts and making all the little connections necessary to get a car that done. Michael Brennan
Michael: I will let your letter credit Jerry for his efforts. The newsletter is an open forum, wherein all of us contribute what we know about hot rodding, land speed and early drag racing. So all you have to do is write your bios and stories and send them in. After we do a full issue to the Spurgin/Giovanine/Borgh Roadster, we would like to also research and investigate other famous land speed cars. So we would definitely like to have you and Jerry tell us something about your projects.
Caption
Jack Mickelson bio jpgs.....All 10 photos/jpgs are part of the Jack Mickelson Biography, sent in by Michael Brennan, from the work of Jerry Stohler.
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This was sent to me by Jerry Stohler. In lieu of me attempting a re-write I think if it is pre-faced in regards to what it was originally written for it would be just fine but that's only my opinion. It has many of the elements of the other bio's I've read and could easily be used for content instead. The nice part about all of this is the SCTA did in fact re-issue Jack another timing tag for that wonderful run. Regards, Michael Brennan
Michael: I looked at the story and it was very interesting and I believe it should be written up as a story. The problem that I have is time. I don't have any to be able to discover how to enlarge the print and then rewrite it onto a 1997 Word Document, which is how I do the bios. In order to get through the volume of mail and correspondence, I have to jettison snail mail and anything that isn't a simple email. It's easy for me to work from an email, for all that I have to do is hit the "forward button" and work on the text, storing it as a Word Doc until it is finished. So I won't be able to follow up on this story without some help. That can be from Jack Mickelson, Jerry, you or another person. Another problem is that the pages have been scanned into a jpg format and I don't have any way to use "select all," then "copy," then "paste" to transfer the written text to a format that I can readily use by the "forward" process. I don't know any other answer to give you other than someone must retype it, or we can just send it to Mary Ann Lawford at [email protected] and ask her to post it as a jpg photograph. It will be very hard for people to read it or to make copies for their own files. My experience is that when the technology and effort become more difficult, the number of readers drops to a very small number. I wish I could say that I might find the time to do it for you, but that wouldn't be honest. The chance that Jim Miller or I could do that are close to zero. Jack joined the Western Timing Association, the SCTA and the Gophers Car Club and we could really use some info on the WTA and the Gophers. I have tapes from Dante Gonella, Johnny Ryan and other Gophers and it is a fascinating club and one worth writing about. Boy, did they have fun and they weren't known as the "bad boys of the SCTA" for nothing. See what you can do, because I will publish everything that you can send me about Jack, the Gophers, WTA and the SCTA.
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If you know anyone who would like these old SCTA Newsletter publications have them contact me direct. Here is a description; Fourteen magazines from 1994, 1995 and 1996. I'd rather just hand them to a single person rather than distribute them piecemeal. They all have been gathering dust around my workshop and in my office files. I need the space. Bob Falcon
Bob: I'm sending this to Jim Miller and he lives out your way (Burbank) and if he wants them he can arrange to pick them up on one of his jaunts. If not, I'll put this in the newsletter and if anyone asks me, I'll refer their message on to you to determine whether you want to deal with them. You might also donate them to the Justice Brother's Museum in Duarte or the Motorsports Museum in Pomona, both of which are not too far from you.
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Just inquiring about this book? Re: Gone racing. Jackie Arnett, San Diego, CA 92107
Jackie: Are you Joaquin Arnett's daughter? If so, please let us know how he and Vi are doing. Gone Racin' is a by-line that I write my articles under and publish at www.hotrodhotline.com. Perhaps you are referring to a book that I reviewed at the website and since you are from San Diego, it could have been Johnny McDonald's fine pictorial, San Diego Motorsports, 100 Racing years, which Joaquin Arnett of Bean Bandits fame lent many photographs to make the book complete. If that is the book you are referring to, McDonald is located at www.100racingyears.com or at the Ramona Home Journal office, 709 D Street, Suite 201, Ramona, CA 92065. Phone: 760-788-8148, according to a Google search.
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How is it that the drag racing community, many authors and a bunch of websites consider Goleta, California and Joehnck's exploits up at the old Marine base the first legal drag race? And through all of this there is no movement to preserve that strip of asphalt. I have been to an awful lot of drag strips in the U.S. and all the major facilities, but even I was taken back a bit when I stood on that old road, thinking of Tom Cobbs, Vic Edelbrock Sr & Jr, Fran Hernandez, Towle and Joehnck. That must have been something. I've spoken with Bob Joehnck about some type of memorial and he ran into a mess with a bunch of people that put together a presentation not really worthy of the historic value to the drag racing community or how the added flow of people into such a small town could generate revenue for them. Anyway just my two-cents and we know how far that goes today. Your opinion on the matter would be appreciated though. Michael Brennan
Michael: I never saw the races at Goleta, but one of my friends up in the Santa Barbara area did. His name was Don Edwards and he was an early Hemi man, especially in boat racing. It's a complicated question and perhaps I don't have any answers. One, drag racing is as old as mankind is and predates those old Ben-Hur movies by hundreds of years. Was Goleta the first? Well we are still trying to figure that one out and my short answer would be no, it wasn't. Not even close. But that doesn't take away from Goleta, because in a way, they were "among the first." Santa Barbara County is an unknown hot-bed of racing. Besides Bob Joehnck there was Danny Oakes, Jack Mendenhall, Tim Rochlitzer and a number of important racers in the area. Just to the South were Dave Marquez and the Motor Monarchs. I have a few stories on them at the website www.hotrodhotline.com. What made Goleta so important? They were the first track that we know of that formed rules, safety patrols and organized WITH the support of the local community. Before that there were some very sophisticated drag racing done on the streets and highways of California. Ak Miller told me about "the Great Race," and I think I've written about it someone. In these "unofficial drag races" the racers formed their rules, distances and spectator control, with the highway patrol officers often blocking off the streets and gambling was very prevalent. When C.J. Hart formed the Santa Ana Drags, a year later than Goleta, his first event included paid admission, something that people who were there at Goleta told me did not occur at their race. Also, the Santa Ana Drags riveted the nation and set it on a course toward safe and sanctioned drag racing and literally killed dry lakes racing. So each is great in its own way and each helped to set the stage for the most popular form of motorsports racing with four wheels. Does Goleta need to be remembered and a plaque placed to commemorate it? Yes, it definitely does. Will it gain the respect that it deserves? Probably not. Why? The people who used to live in Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties were people of the land and they had automotive skills that were needed to farm and ranch the land. The new residents of these counties have moved there within the last thirty years and they are very ecologically and environmentally oriented and hot rodding and drag racing are not high on their agenda. I've gone there many times to help with motorsports activities and it's a changed place. Not only is Goleta gone, but the old Santa Maria Drag Strip is no more. I've spent my time in the court house in Santa Barbara and my view is that it will be very hard to convince those in positions of power to honor the automobile or racing. It's only my opinion though and I invite other opinions as well.
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If Jim doesn't want the magazines I will contact Greg at the museum. In fact I probably have another bunch of automotive literature to donate. I didn't know the museum had a media research center. Bob Falcon
Bob: The motorsports museum in Pomona doesn't have a media research center, but it has an archive warehouse and eventually it may turn into a research center. The Petersen does not have a research facility. It is costly and time consuming to create such centers, but we are hoping someday that they will have places for historians to do research.
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Thank you allowing me to monopolize your time, I understand the commitment this must be and affording me the in-depth answers you have provided is very generous, thank you again. I am pretty quick on a keyboard so I will re-type Jack's piece in word. I'll have to get with Jerry regarding individual jpegs. Is there a program I could just write it in and drop the pics and captions were they are supposed to go? Michael Brennan
Michael: There are several ways, but the best way is simply to send me a plain email without attachments. Just type the story out on your email screen and send it. It's the simplest way and the way that our website owner asks me to do. The problem with attachments is that everyone seems to have a different program and they are not always compatible. For example, when I use Word, it is the easy 1997 version. Those that use the absolutely monstrous 2007 version give me fits and in many cases I have to send the 2007 Word version back to them with a "Kill or retype" request. You aren't monopolizing my time and I love what I do, but I am IT when it comes to the newsletter. I'm the editor, researcher, copy boy, mailman, gofer and secretary all wrapped up into one. To get the newsletter finished and out each week requires a lot of time and I have to be efficient in what I do. Thank goodness I have Jim Miller to research photographs and Roger Rohrdanz to get the photos processed and sent to www.hotrodhotline.com and www.landspeedracing.com, or I would simply refuse to do photos and stick to text only. What book or booklet did this bio come from? Is it available for sale? Below is a guideline to give to Jack Mickelson to get more biographical details from him. Next, we want to get his stories. A story is different from a bio. Bios are meant to be factual and filled with data. Stories are observations of events and we need all the stories that Jack can remember. Please send me your bio and stories and those of your friends. We need your input as well.
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I am Joaquin & Viola Arnett's daughter, and I live here in San Diego. My dad is at Lakeside Special Care; he has Alzheimer's' disease. He is still up and active which is cause for the unfortunate move to the facility, it is a long story about safety for both mom and him. He is happy; he can move around the grounds freely, he is well other than the illness itself. His friends and family visit with him, mostly the young bean bandits. My mom is now living with me. She is here and is happy to hear from you. She says "hello, good to hear from you and to keep in touch." I am giving you her email but she does not have lengthy replies. She just learned how to use email and is learning still. I was reading an article late last night I think, it was the San Diego Motorsports, 100 Racing Years, but it mentioned it being off the market due to something about Garlits, I am fuzzy as it was late...one of those places I got your email from.
I was also reading a couple of things on the web you reviewed and wrote. I am attempting to put a little blog of some sorts about my dad and his love of the racing. I really appreciate you contacting me, mom says you are a great person with lots of knowledge about the sport and knew dad. She and dad really admired your father; I have been learning more about the sport online. Any tidbits you can give me please feel free to do so. I will contact the webpage for the book. Thanks for the email and nice message; hope to hear from you again. Jackie Arnett Sonka
Dear Jackie: Your father and mother have always been close to our family. They are very special people and trendsetters in racing. Joaquin had so much to tell us and we were not prepared back then to copy all the stories and photographs that he had. Your father was a very generous man and one of the all time great racers. The Bean Bandits were a very respected team and pioneers in drag racing. Our Society and newsletter is concerned with land speed racing, hot rodding and drag racing up to 1959 and your father and the Bean Bandits represent exactly that very time that we are concerned with. So anything that you can provide, we will publish. I was there the day your brother died at El Mirage. Sonny was very much like his father and it hurt your family and us very deeply to see such a tragedy happen. He was going about 250 mph at the time. I went with Joaquin to Bonneville and it ranks as one of the highlights of my life to be with them as your brother Jeff drove the streamliner. To see Joaquin and the other Bean Bandits was to go back in time to the real era of drag racing and land speed racing. I can't say enough about what the Bean Bandits and your father meant to racing. The history of the club is deeply tied into Paradise Mesa drag strip, one of the earliest pro strips from the earliest days of drag racing. I am very glad to see that you are taking an interest in a very important era and in one of the most important race teams at the beginning of the sport and will help you in any way that I can.
There are two possible books that you are referring to; The Johnny McDonald book, San Diego Motorsports, 100 Racing Years, and The Fast Lane; The History of NHRA Drag Racing. The Fast Lane got into trouble because it didn't provide any photographs of Don Garlits, though it did give lots of references and text space to Don. Some say that it was because of a feud, but it was more likely just sloppy reporting. It gives a two page pictorial portrait of your dad and the Bean Bandits that is excellent though. Jack Stewart has a garage full of the books for sale. McDonald's book doesn't have an index and I couldn't find anything on Paradise Mesa or early drag racing in it, a major, major flaw as drag racing in San Diego was just as big as oval track and boat racing, and bigger than road course racing in volume.
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I am still collecting data on Sandy Belond. I have all the shops address and his connection to Hedman, Edelbrock, Orr and Porter. I am still working on the timeline though. It will be a few months at least; I can only plug things in as I get them and check them out. I'm looking every day but it is a slow process, as you know. The car is a long story to punch out on a key board. It is very complete and I am hoping to get it over to Bill Burkes to get his opinion, but so far all the pre-war guys that have seen photos of it say yes, but it has been so long. I want to close all, if not most, the possible timeline gaps. I am also working on the Hartwick history for a friend named Mike Degles; he has a beautiful Hartwick tribute car. I'll keep you posted on that one too.
Jaime Gonzalez used to work with me doing some film work; he is the young man that just purchased Evans Speed and Equipment, Earl Evans old place. Jaime is real big in preserving the past also. That place has guys like Johnnie Ryan and Al Teague stopping by all the time and Jaime records all the conversations they have. After you mentioned gathering Gopher info, I spoke with him about putting together a Gopher reunion he was very excited. Do you have a contact list for any of the members? I'd like to see if we could do this, imagine the stories that could come form that. I'll make an attempt at calling in a day or so, I have a real busy schedule for the next few weeks. Michael Brennan
Michael: I met Jaime at the SCTA Awards Banquet and will let him know that I talked to you. He's the kind of young people that we need to revitalize the sport. A Gopher Reunion would be special. It was a special club, but some of the wild things they were known for cannot be put into print. One story that you will enjoy I can tell, courtesy of Johnny Ryan. The Gophers were known for their irreverence and wild parties. On the way to one party they spotted a flatbed truck carrying watermelons from a farm to market and a couple of the guys who were passengers jumped onto the slats of the truck and climbed into the bed where they tossed watermelons to other Gopher members in the roadsters that were following the truck. How many melons ended up on the road Johnny didn't say, but the club had a huge watermelon feast that day. I know that Dante Gonella and Johnny Ryan were Gophers and maybe they can get a list going and we could hold a reunion. They were a fine club and known for "stealing away" good dry lakes racers in order to enhance their club points at the lakes. The reason they chose the name Gophers cannot be divulged in a newsletter that is read by mixed company. We look forward to seeing your articles soon.
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I myself have not been that involved with the racing thing as I grew older it was more of a thing dad (Joaquin Arnett of the Bean Bandits) did with the boys. However, I did go to the drags every weekend until I was old enough to want to do other things. Most of the time we went to the Paradise Valley (Mesa) drags and the Southern California drags. Back then we could play all over the place and like you probably remember the infancy phase of drag racing. I did go to the nostalgic drags and some of the events with my dad, and I was there in Florida when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. We did lots of things together and we all had great childhoods. He was so inventive and creative. My dad loved people and talking to them. He was a story teller and filled our house with lots of fun and joy. He still likes to talk he is just very confused. This had been occurring for a few years before we realized he was ill. Thanks for the info on the books, and your help. Who is Jack Stewart and where is his garage? Would he have The Fast Lane? I have just begun this little project, so any help you offer me is greatly appreciated. I have not done this kind of thing before. I am a retired RN, so I am making time to do something dad would have liked. Mom and I have been going through his photos and stuff and OMG they are so many. Even as recent as 2004, I took a couple but I don't know who the people are. So I have a handful of stuff, with Mike Nagem gone I have few resources left that knew all the guys back then. If you don't mind me asking, I notice you do a lot of writing, and when you said, "Send it into the newsletter," what did you mean? I noticed on the web page of the nitrogeezers there are little bios of the racers. I should probably begin with something like that; however I know most of the personal side of things but not the facts of the actual races so I am struggling with how to proceed. Again many Thanks for taking the time to listen. You have helped to validate my thoughts and ideas about my dad which I appreciate. Jackie Arnett
Jackie: I will send you Jack Stewart's phone number and you can order a copy of The Fast Lane directly from him. Any stories, photos or bios on Joaquin Arnett can be sent as a simple email to me and I will post it to www.landspeedracing.com via the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians newsletter, which I edit. Go to the website and sign in, it's free, and then you can see all the comments about our racing history, including that on your father. We also have articles on www.hotrodhotline.com, under guest columnists, Richard Parks. Below is a guideline to start writing your dad's biography.
Readers: If you have any questions or stories about the Bean Bandits, their cars, members and history, please send them in to the newsletter. Joaquin, Larry Shinoda, Calvin Rice, Melvin Heath, Dave Marquez, Emery Cook, the Chrisman's, Don Garlits and a number of the early straight-line and drag racers were there in the early days as drag racing evolved from street and land speed racing. The Pioneer age of drag racing can be roughly dated as the decade from 1949 through 1959. The very rise of early drag racing severely handicapped dry lakes and land speed racing for nearly a decade and a half as the land speed racers went into drag racing and left the lakes behind.
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My name is Lyle Larson; I have raced and worked with Dodge Vipers since 1995. I have also raced in, Sportsman, Pro/Stock and Top/Alcohol Dragster classes in NHRA. Doug Herbert (Top/Fuel Dragster) has been a long time friend of mine (I signed his license) currently is building a "Land Speed Record" car that will be powered by 2 Viper engines, and I have been working with him on the engine development program. I have always wanted to go to Bonneville and this project seems to be the ticket, I look forward to any suggestions and advice you would share with a newcomer. DC Performance, the Viper Shop. Our web site is www.dcperformance.com. Lyle Larson
Lyle: It is nice to meet you. Our newsletter is devoted to the history of all land speed racing, all hot rodding and drag racing up through 1959, although we do report on other motorsports racing events from time to time. We have about 500 viewers here at www.landspeedracing.com and we welcome your reports on your land speed racing project. Bonneville and dry lakes racing is much like drag racing, except that it extols individual achievement and creativity over large scale sponsorships and money. Other land speeders will readily share their knowledge as it is the attainment of speed more than the desire for fame and fortune that motivates land speeders. Send in reports of what you are doing and a few photographs of your car and team and we will post it here. Also, get on the emailing lists of some of the guys, like George Callaway and Ron Main so that others will know what your project is like. I've found that the land speed guys really care about each other. One of the reasons why is that a bad result makes everyone look bad, but a new record gives everyone something to go after. Another advantage of knowing about the history of the sport is that it helps new land speed racers avoid the mistakes of the past. Just about everything that you can think of has been tried at one time or another in the last 112 years, including the prop-driven cars mentioned by Franklin Ratliff. You didn't mention what club you have joined or if you wish to run as an independent.
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Editor's notes: The following comes from the www.dcperformance.com website.
DC Performance is a complete performance shop that specializes in service, performance upgrades and tuning for high performance vehicles and racecars. After 20 years in the automotive industry Dan Cragin (President) decided to form a team of professionals to start a performance orientated business. Dan came from 12 years as a Dodge Viper specialist. He prepared, raced and maintained hundreds of these vehicles. Dan selected individuals who shared his passion for performance and Motor sports. From this team a very unique and dynamic business was formed.
DC Performance has a balanced team of managers and technicians to cover all your performance needs. Dan Cragin gives each customer one on one consultation to meet the demanding expectations of the performance-orientated customer. Tony Parr offers assistance on parts orders and shipments and overseas the main office at DC Performance. He uses his experience of 10 years as a general manager at a Dodge Dealer to make sure operations run smoothly. In 2008 DC Performance added a new and dynamic partner, Aaron Cohen and Abbott Automotive. Aaron brought the European market to DC Performance with an emphasis on VW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes Benz and BMW automobiles.
DC Performance and Abbott Automotive are proud to have 4 professional technicians, including a world-class tuning and diagnostic expert, Chris Jensen. Our facility features 7 workstations, 4 vehicle lifts, complete diagnostic equipment and an in ground Dynojet chassis dynamometer and Dynapack AWD Dynamometer. We offer flatbed service and long distance shipping of your vehicle. DC Performance and Abbott Automotive welcome your business! 3370 So. Livonia Ave, Los Angeles, Ca 90034. Tel: 310-841-6996. Toll Free: 800-841-8979
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I signed up to the website and I am getting acquainted with it. Looks good. I am going to the Big 3 swap meet today and see Ruben and some of the guys. The nostalgic signs company at http://www.pasttimesigns.com/ is making metal signs of the 1953 cover of Hot Rod magazine. This is the one that has a photo of dads' (Joaquin Arnett's) dragster. They have obtained the consent for usage of it and we will be receiving royalties from the sales. I have seen the sign and it is really neat, I can purchase them wholesale and sell them they have told me. I like the way they look. You can see similar ones on their site. I will keep you posted on my progress. I will get going with this and make it fun. I am going to get my mom to do some of the bio stuff. She has known my dad since they were 4 years old. Jackie Arnett
Jackie: I spoke to some people from the Past Times Sign Company at the Grand National Roadster Show last January and did a short write-up on their company. They seemed very energetic and driven to succeed. They showed a real zeal in finding all the old signs and a willingness to add to their inventory and market their products. This is what I found on the internet.
Past Times Signs is located at; 926 Fesler Street, El Cajon, CA 92020. Phone:
(619) 562-5264. See http://www.pasttimesigns.com/ Email: [email protected],
or [email protected] for assistance.
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Jerry Stohler, the author of the Jack Mickelson piece, wrote he has all the photos used for Jack's bio on CD. I'd like to give your email to him so you can get them in whichever format works best for you guys and I'll send the text as a word file. I have it very close to being completed, I am just making it read a little better and re-writing parts to story form. To answer a past question. Jack Mickelson's bio was a letter sent to the SCTA, written by Jerry on behalf of Jack, so Jerry could get Jack a replacement timing tag, which they (SCTA) did replicate. I appreciate the offer to tell my own story but it is still in the making and hopefully there are many more chapters, a few of which I hope will include helping to preserving the past. I am really interested in early drag racing and would like to be able to bring clarity to its beginnings. A project I have that you may find interesting is my amassing of a collection of early drag racing trophies from all the drag strips in CA before 1960. I do have a list of all California drag strips and airfields from 1949, used as drag strips, in a word file, if you think the readers would be interested, it is complete and up to date. Michael Brennan
Michael: The purpose of the Society of Land Speed Racing Historians (SLSRH) is to find, research, preserve and cherish our straight-line sports and hot rodding in general. We would be glad to list Jerry as the author and post it to www.hotrodhotline.com, guest columnist under the Gone Racin' by-line and also to archive your story as well someday. Biographies are different than stories. Bios are more factual in nature, whereas stories are observations of events that teach us lessons about the past. Every interested person in straight-line racing has a story or stories to tell, and if you consider that bench racing is the art form, then there are a lot of stories to record and save. We are interested in your list of California drag strips and the trophies that they gave out. Another person that you would enjoy talking to is Bob Frey, the drag racing announcer, who is on a project to find and record EVERY drag racing result of EVERY drag race ever held from the first race up to the present, anywhere in the world. It is a passion of his to record the events, times and results of every drag race ever held. I checked the internet and also www.dragracecentral.com for an email address for Frey and came up empty, but if you check with the NHRA, you might be able to locate him and compare your records with his and I'm sure he would be interested. The rule of the SLSRH is to publish what is sent to us, unless it is restricted by the sender or owner. I just heard that J.D. Tone has resigned as the timing tag coordinator and that is a huge loss as J.D., or 'Mr Grumpy' as we like to call him, was very thorough in his research and completely honest and straightforward. J.D. would tell you when you didn't deserve a duplicate tag and when you did. He kept meticulous records and helped keep the timing tag awards true to their original purpose. When one received a timing tag, it meant something special, because it was earned, it was recorded and it was above board and honest. The integrity of the timing tags was an obsession by J.D. Tone and we will all miss his presence in the program.
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See http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090227/CARNEWS/902279984. Crane Cams says it plans to reopen after restructuring according to Auto Week Magazine. Don Rudy
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My Uncle Billy Hankins received factory money to build and race acid-dipped big block Cadillacs back in the 1950's and early '60's. I know that he ran in Southern California but do no know if he raced at Santa Ana. My Father convinced me to run at Lions on Wednesday nights instead of street racing. I soon figured out that my cars could win if other folks drove them. As a kid I hung out at Lenard Uncer's house. His daughter Adel was the real attraction, but I watched him build motors and cars, and must have learned something along the way. Thank you for your wonderful articles. Greg Allen
Greg: Below is a guideline that we use to write biographies. Will you write yours and send it back to me? I'll edit it and send it back to you with more questions and when it is complete, I'll post it on the website at www.hotrodhotline.com. We would like to know more about you, drag racing in the '50's and '60's, Uncer, Adel, Hankins and what it was like to grow up during the Golden Age of drag racing
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I will do some more research on the '32 from a different approach and see if I can find more information. Will keep in touch. Marshall Robilio
Marshall: Thank you for your efforts to help us find the Dave Marquez 880 drag racing roadster that won the 1955 and '56 NHRA Nationals. We would like to do a complete story on the car, it owners and drivers and its crewmembers. It was an outstanding car and Marquez and the others never got the notoriety that they deserved.
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I was at the Big 3 this weekend. It was nice seeing the young bandits. Fabian is such a nice young man. He has repainted the Bean Bandits streamliner and included all the names as my dad always has. He has put Sonny Arnett's name on the tail section it looks striking! I also was able to see a couple of the old guys. This was a bittersweet thing for my mom. I did meet with Greg of Mightysigns at the Pasttimessigns. He is very nice and professional. He gave me the background on the company. I am going to tour the production shop next week. A man named Ian Cunningham owns the business and Greg has become his partner. I found out from Scot on eBay that a place called Dudes Motorhead was selling Bean Bandits T-shirts on eBay, so I emailed him since we are not selling anything on eBay. When I asked if he was a Bean Bandit he was surprised since he just sold one to a person in Oregon. He gave me the name of the guy he got them from. A man named, Lee Schelin, he used to own a company named RaceLine located in Laguna Niguel and made the Ts for Dad. He now has a webpage at www.Standard1320.com, Nostalgia Drag Racing. Do you know him? You know so many people in the racing world. He still has the artwork for them and has offered to reprint them if we wanted. He seems very nice and his website is interesting also.
I have started to put together some info on the streamliner that I found my brother Jeff Arnett wrote a while ago. I also found another story about a trip my dad and his buddies took to Baja in the early '60'ies. They went on their motorcycles. It was a classic trip. So I am embarking on this journey and appreciate your help and expertise. Could you give me Jack Stewart's phone number & address so I can order a copy of The Fast Lane from him. Thanks for all your kind assistance. One more thing, perhaps, you can ID a couple of the guys in this photo, I took it a couple of years ago, we took my dad's roadster up to a private museum (collection) near the La Costa turnoff on hwy 5, his name I think is J. Layton or something like that and he had lots of old motorcycles, cars, planes etc for his personal private collection of memorabilia. I am at a loss for his name and those in this photo. Such it is, this is just one of many. Thanks again, Jackie Arnett
Jackie: We are glad that you are organizing this historical search on your father's Bean Bandits club. Greg seemed very nice and since they got the NHRA contract, must be on the up-and-up. I met Fabian and he is very dedicated to the history of the club. Lee Schelin is the president of the Standard 1320 club, which has a blog site dedicated to the Drag News era, from 1957 through 1971, though they discuss and talk about all kinds of nostalgic drag racing. They are very zealous. Pete Millar got me into the club and the first day I logged in my email box was overwhelmed with 200 emails, so I could not continue unless I emptied my email box about every half hour. Lee has always been a very fair and supportive person and if your father dealt with him, then you can as well. I will send you Jack Stewart's phone number, but you should call him first. Your father was a first class bicycle rider who took up the sport to increase his lung size after some sort of illness or accident almost took his life. Joaquin Arnett always kept his weight down, which is probably one reason his cars were lighter and his reflexes quicker. He told me about the bicycle trips that he took and they were extremely long. I will include the photo for others to look at. The man's name is Jim Lattin and he indeed does have a museum second to none and that includes the Petersen, Motorsports and San Diego museums. I recognized Don Francisco sitting to the right of your father. The other three men are going to yell at me for not recognizing them. I'll ask Jim Miller if he can help.
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Billy Hankins passed 20+ years ago and there is nobody left in our family that knew any about his racing days. Lenard Uncer (Louie) briefly took an interest in me because I liked his daughter, asked good questions for a punk kid, and we both had the stuttering thing. He told me and showed me how to get a stock engine to perform and hold together by centerlining tolerances. He would go on and on about how an engine was only part of a performance package - the horsepower had to move the car forward and that everything in the car had to be stout enough to at least finish the race. Everything else was just excess baggage. He would say, Oh ya, the car had to stop too. At the time, everything he said was way over my head. But when I built my first car four years later and realized who Lenard was, his word rang painfully true. My first car fell apart every time I got into it. Cars 2, 3, 4 were progressively much better. Strangely, Adel Uncer is not listed in the Uncer family tree, but we did go to school together at either/or Post Elementary and Irvine Intermediate school in Westminster, CA. We were in the same grade and about the same age. I was born in '53.
Whilst in High School I worked at M&M Auto Salvage, Torrance CA and Sparky's Shell, Carson CA. M&M taught me about 'what goes into what' and how to find raw materials for building cars. Sparky was a master mechanic and I tried to soaked it up like a sponge. Sparky did business with a couple of good machine shops that did excellent work and I ended up working there too, part time. Soon I was building and modifying cars for my friends by donating my time to something I loved whilst using their money. I built cars with Larry Koerner, Mike Spriggs, Rick Truhan, Jim Pangborn, and Scott Calder. La Quinta High School (Fountain Valley), Huntington Beach High, Pheneas Banning High (Wilmington) Nathaniel Narbonne (Harbor City) I don't think any of these guys raced beyond high school. I used to race these guys (street and Loins) and they would beat me every time. We would trade cars and they still beat me. Then they would race other kids that beat them, with my car, and win. That's how I found out that I could build a good car but could not drive worth a flip!
However, I also loved playing music in a band, surfing, and electronics. Burglar and Fire alarm systems, building and modifying guitar amps, is what got me through college. Sylvester "Papa Dee" Allen of War (world is a ghetto - spill the wine - Cisco kid) was one of my customers. Papa Dee was a low-rider. I was a hottie and hated low-riders. Then I found out that Papa Dee's '52 Chevy had a 427 Corvette drive train and we became friends. But, my wife's family (Earl C. Whitehead and crew) raced at Lions in the mid to late '50's. His son Gary (my brother-in-law) was with Earl every step of the way and still has many of the pictures and trophies. I still run into folks that remember Earl's "White Horse" and Gary's "Southern Comfort." If you like, I could ask him if he would be interested. Thanks, Greg Allen
Greg: We report on a number of areas, some of which only interest a few of our readers, but we don't limit anything that comes to us in the way of knowledge. Some of our stories, articles, reports and news items are geared for the present, such as events, reunions and obituaries. Some of our historical articles are meant to stir interest in the past. The purpose of the newsletter is to report on hot rodding, early drag racing and all land speed racing from the very beginnings of the automobile to the present. Another purpose is to archive this knowledge and keep it for future generations and we have no idea how they will use it, so we just record every bit of data that we can find. That includes your life story and that of those around you. How important it is to others we do not judge. As an editor I am not concerned with whether the readers are entertained or not. That isn't our aim. We uncover facts, publish them and let our readers use the facts to create their own histories. We are non-profit and we generate no income, nor do we expend it. So, your memories are just as important as anyone else's, in fact they are more important, at least for those interested in what you know. This eclectic way of recording history is the opposite of what you may have had to learn in high school. We follow whatever topic is discussed at the time, sort of like a blog. If people want to discuss Lions drag strip, then we give them plenty of space to do so. The next week it might be a 1930's Malcolm Campbell land speed car that draws people's attention. Last week we went into detail about the Spurgin/Giovanine Roadster and this week we have several letters concerning the Bean Bandits and Joaquin Arnett. I do get requests and some angry demands, where readers tell me that I ought to do it like a professional magazine. But I'm not into competing with other fine publications. The SLSRH newsletter follows an interesting story wherever it leads and it gives lots of power to those writing in to generate the stories and news items. Tell all your friends and fellow drivers that their stories and memories are always welcome here.
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Besides being nostalgia drag racing's premier event, the March Meet is also the season opener for the NHRA's Hot Rod Heritage Series. See release for details. Photo attached is Bucky Austin, who won the 2008 Hot Rod Heritage Series Funny Car Championship. March Meet Kicks-Off 2009 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, Mar. 6-8, 2009. Legendary race part of drag racing's 8-race nostalgia series. The 51st annual March Meet is the lead-off event in the NHRA's 8-race nostalgia drag race series. The 2009 Hot Rod Heritage Series, now in its second season, gets the green light at historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Mar. 6-8. "We're honored to once again kick-off the Hot Rod Heritage drag racing series," said Blake Bowser, vice president and general manager of the Kern County Racing Association, operators of Auto Club Famoso and producers of the March Meet. "Nostalgia drag racing fans are in for a great weekend of racing, fun and affordable entertainment." According to the NHRA, the Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series was created to "help preserve NHRA's rich history and tradition while capitalizing on the success of nostalgia drag racing competition." Series champions will be crowned in 14 categories based on year-end points. Last year, Troy Green won the inaugural Nostalgia Top Fuel championship, while Bucky Austin claimed the Nostalgia Funny title. Both are expected to defend their titles, starting at the March Meet.
"The Hot Rod Heritage series appeals to drag racing fans young and old," said Peter Clifford, NHRA executive vice president and general manager. "It's a great way to introduce the younger generation to the history of our sport and give fans young and old a glimpse of racing the way it used to be." And what better place to kick-start the series than the famed March Meet at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, which expects overflow crowds again this year. The Hot Rod Heritage series will also end the season at Auto Club Famoso, Oct. 16-18, at the California Hot Rod Reunion. Among the highlighted stops in between are Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho, for the 38th annual Pepsi NightFire Nationals and Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif., and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In all, there will be eight independently produced events with each class of competition competing at and earning points toward series championships at five of those eight events. There are 14 categories: They are Nostalgia Top Fuel; Nostalgia Funny Car; A/Fuel; Junior Fuel; 7.0 Eliminator; AA/Gas Supercharged; Nostalgia Eliminator 1, Nostalgia Eliminator 2; Nostalgia Eliminator 3; A Gas; B Gas; C Gas; D Gas; and Hot Rod.
2009 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Schedule
-- Mar. 6-8, March Meet, Bakersfield, Calif.
-- Apr. 3-5, Nostalgia Sportsman Shootout, Fontana, Calif.
-- May 15-17, Las Vegas Speed Spectacular, Las Vegas, Nev.
-- June 12-13, Arizona Fuel & Gas Nationals, Wittmann, Ariz.
-- July 10-11, WCTA Fremont Reunion, Sacramento, Calif.
-- Aug. 13-16, 38th Annual Pepsi NightFire Nationals, Boise, Idaho
-- Sept. 11-13, Southern California Shootout (tentative), Fontana, Calif.
-- Oct. 16-18, California Hot Rod Reunion, Bakersfield, Calif.
Now celebrating 51 years of racing, the March Meet is a three-day affordable speedfest that enthusiasts call "the jewel of Nostalgia Racing." It attracts drag racers and spectators from around the world and also includes a hot rod car show, swap meet and a vendors' midway. The 2009 March Meet is also the first race of the Hot Rod Heritage Series, the NHRA's 8-race nostalgia racing series. The Grand Marshal this year is NHRA World Champion Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon. Tickets: a Super 3-Day Pass for $75 can be purchased online now and can be picked up at the track the week of the event. There are no service charges for tickets purchased online at www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com. Individual day tickets for the event will go on sale Mar. 2, but will be available only at the track. Ticket prices are $25 for Fri., Mar. 6; $30 for Sat., Mar. 7; and $30 for Sun., Mar. 8. Sent in by Bill Groak.
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Caption:
Joaquin Arnett in the Bean Bandit t-shirt sitting in the middle chair, Don Francisco in the red shirt sitting on the right, Ron Main standing in the back with the red shirt. The others aren't known. (Taken at Jim Lattin's museum in North San Diego County, California?) Photograph courtesy of Jackie Arnett Click Photos for Larger View
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