Summer Means Fun!
7/8/05
Jeff Burk Photo |
oy,
it used to be with this Nostalgia racing that we would get
maybe four events a year and we liked it. We would get on
our favorite message board and talk about what new cars
we had heard about that might show, the guys who we had
heard might quit, the absolutely insane ones that were going
to cross over and run the big show etc., etc. To my dismay,
the message boards have calmed down a bit. A lot of the
old dogs have tired of the punks that talk trash about the
old dudes and a lot of storytellers are gone, but…
The racing sure has heated up! Just look at the rundown
the summer of ‘05 has in store. I felt a little playful,
so I went into early fall just for the heck of it.
I count 18 different races going on around the country
and those are only the ones I know about! I’m sure
a little detective work by you regarding your local track
could uncover a few more in your neck of the woods. Are
we getting spoiled or what!
Hey, I’m sure you all have heard about
my buddy “the ride stealer,” I mean Ron Capps,
driving Gaynor’s car at the Pomona Goodguys race in
August. Contrary to the rumors floating around, I knew about
it from the beginning and am all for it. This is shaping
up to be a boon to not only Gaynor’s team but nostalgia
racing in general. Hats off to Jeff Gaynor, the Goodguys,
Mopar and Don Schumacher for thinking outside the box. We
might see some continued involvement if we mind our P’s
and Q’s.
Heard about a couple
of cool Cacklefest cars that are in the works right now,
the first one belongs to my boss Bobby Hansen. He is in
the midst of restoring the Wynn’s Scorcher, a Jim
Davis built AA/FD that was run by Hansen, his father-in-law
and was mainly driven by his brother-in-law Ronnie Graham,
with occasional fill-in driver duty by Hansen himself. This
car ran mainly in So. Cal. with its best voyage being a
6.97 (or thereabouts…the time slip is at work and
I’m at home trying to beat that darned deadline!)
that was run in ‘66 at Carlsbad. The time held up
for a few weeks as the quickest in the country, I think.
At least that’s what the beat up old Drag News at
the shop says. Hansen hopes to make the Hot Rod Reunion
this October.
Another car being put together by none other
than Troy Cagle and Dick Mosley will be the Cagle &
Newhouse juggernaut. Parts are being brought together as
we speak and they also hope to make a Hot Rod Reunion debut,
possibly with a shoe who has been displaced for one race
by some celebrity ride stealer.
Speaking of the Cackle guys and gals, did
I hear wrong that 80 or so cars are looking to make the
CHRR? Let me know if you’ve got an actual number because
if that’s true, they will have to start the show at
noon!
You have probably already heard that Mike
Demarest has passed away. I only knew Mike for 6 years,
but admired his accomplishments when as a young lad I became
addicted to fuel altereds. And the baddest of the bad was
the Nanook, which Mike helped Dave Hough run that insane
and historic 6.18. I met Mike when he brought a job into
the shop and we hit it off instantly. I kept in touch periodically
and reconnected when, as Mike liked to put it, he “talked
Gaynor into letting me go for a ride in the Funny Car.”
At the time, Mike was helping Gaynor with his Funny. We
ran with Mike for almost a full season when he said he wanted
to stay home and work on the 15 oz. Coupe. Mike was getting
close to finishing its restoration.
