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Thanks for the memories,
Chas!
9/15/03
 unday
morning, right before leaving for one of the
largest Drag Race/Car shows ever produced in
Southern California, I got a very disturbing
call from long time friend and fellow photographer
George Chrisopolous saying that Charles Strutt
had passed away on Friday. The person that introduced
me to Drag Racing in the early 1960's was Charles
Strutt.
As a young teenage boy interested in cars and girls, of course, I ran around with the likes of Charles Strutt, Mike Walker (M-W Design, former bracket race and formerly tuned for Jay Payne among others. Walker is still involved with Richard Schroeder's Jet Focus and Jason Rupert's Lucas Oil backed Alcohol FC), Dan Shannon (became a very successful race car fabricator and raced Sports Cars, Artist and photographer too), Brad Franks (now owns Bradley Furniture in Pasadena, Don Bye (where are U Don), Frank Gaylord (former transmission shop owner, passed away in 1982) and Dean Hensley (motorcycle racer, artist, designer, very success businessman; Dean was confined to a wheelchair for most of his life due to a tragic motorcycle accident, but became a premier mirror designer). Dean passed away in 1995 in a car accident. The most talented man of
them all was Charles Strutt. We all became close friends in the early 1960's while building model cars. Strutt's models included drag racing vehicles that he had seen and they were the BEST around. He always won first place, and I used to think that it was because he was a little older than the rest of us, except Mike Walker, but it was sheer talent. Strutt was born September 24, 1944, went through the entire Pasadena School system, and even got his AA degree from the University of Colorado Blvd Pasadena City College in 1978.
I'm telling you, this guy was extremely good at everything that he got involved with. It started with the model cars, then lettering and design, then he built his own street/bracket 1957 and it flat hauled ass! Next he got involved in building Porsche engines with the late Bill Hanyon, at Scientific Automotive and they were the best at that. Charles always had one problem: he just seemed to lose interest quickly. Next he decided to go back into photography full time, first at his home doing portrait work, which got him a job with Charis Studio's in Pasadena, California. Once again after the death of his mother, Margaret, he became a semi-recluse, but found a new love, bicycles!
Charles' next adventure was building and riding mountain bikes. He worked with a couple of different bicycle companies locally in Pasadena including Pasadena Cyclery. "Chuck," as he was known in the bike industry, could build you a bike from the ground up, or just do a tune up like he did to my GT Mountain Bike. He became the best, but got laid off when his health was beginning to fade.
 Charlie
never gave up his true love of photography,
animals, and nature. This Saturday all of his
close friends will gather at one of his favorite
mountain bike routes, to celebrate his life.
Chas, you will be missed. If it wasn't for Charles
and all of the rest of my wonderful childhood
friends, I could have missed out on my chosen
career!
On the Nostalgia Drag Racing and what's happening there, as Charles would have wanted it, sorry I missed the debut of the Dale Trasin owned English Leather/Mongoose 1972 Corvette. Dale poured mega bucks into this piece after he found it in original (in pieces) condition, but took it to the master, Pat Foster, to be rebuilt the way it came right out of the shop. Foster did his "magic" then flew in veteran artist and lettering expert John Glaspey from Ventura, California to finish this beauty. Unfortunately that was the rain out weekend at Indy, but everyone including the original mechanics on the car
(Larry Board & Pat Galvin) thought it was wonderful. When it began to "cackle" it was like 1972 again. I'd sure like to see the "Mongoose", Tom McEwen just make a half pass in it!
Pat Foster's next projects include the finishing touches to the famed Surfers Top Fuel Dragster. Adam Sorokin (son of the late Mike Sorokin) will drive it. This is going to be one fantastic machine. Kenny Youngblood has done an incredible drawing of the "Surfer" car, which I believe will be available at Famoso in just another month. By the way, if you haven't got a room scheduled for the famed CHRR on October 3-5, good luck. I got one just last week, but had to call at least ten different motels. There should be a lot of nice new cars at the CHRR 2003. I know the Ewald Brothers (Don & John) will have the "Bankamericar" T/F there for the cacklefest. By the way, NHRA Museums' Greg Sharp and Sam Jackson announced that there will be night qualifying in Top Fuel this year, then the cacklefest. This is going to be an awesome show so if you can, put it on your calendar. We at www.dragracingonline.com will do full coverage of this history-making event. Our staff of Gil Rebilas, Darr Hawthorne, Zack Hawthorne, and a host of others will be out in force!
Congratulations to Les Davidson and his awesome crew at the California Autofest, which featured new and old cars and live bands (Elvis was in the house). I don't believe they got the 5000 entries but there was a good 2500+. Proceeds went to the Ronald McDonald Foundation. It was great to see John Diana, CEO of Buckaroo Publishing, on hand at this event! Mark Richter (NHRA Museum Photographer) got some great bracket photos to go along with my car show stuff, which will be up in a couple of days. 
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