For the tenth consecutive year, the Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, is the presenting sponsor of the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion. The Automobile Club of Southern California has been serving members since 1900. Information about their products and services is available on the Auto Club's web site at www.aaa-calif.com.

2002 Reunion Grand Marshall Marvin Rifchin, whose M&H Tire Co. pioneered the development of the modern drag racing slick was in attendance during Top Fuel sessions. (Zak Hawthorne photo) All smiles at the Reunion were the World's Fastest Austrian Gerry Steiner and Mendy Fry the newest member of the 250-mile-per-hour club. (Zak Hawthorne photo)

The Museum's "Living Museum" program brings some of the legends of the sport together with the fans who grew up cheering them on. This year, the Honorees included Grand Marshall Paula Murphy, who arrived at the track on Saturday in "Rodzilla," an oversized vehicle designed to resemble an older hot rod. Murphy's accomplishments include many firsts in many facets of racing, including drag racing, Indy cars, sports cars, stock cars and grand prix cars. [Note: see our InnerView with Paula Murphy by Cole Coonce]

Additional Honorees are drag racers Bill Alexander, The 'Frantic Four'
team, cartoonist, writer and photographer Tom Medley, cylinder head builder Joe Mondello, and engine tuner Amos Satterlee. The Justice Bros. "T.V. Tommy" Ivo Reunion Spotlight Award was presented to the Dust Devils of Ridgecrest, who still operate the world's oldest continuously used drag strip.

Part of this year's Cacklefest was the restored Holy Toledo jeep funny car owned and driven by Ed Lenarth. After his drag strip career Lenarth campaigned the same chassis and body for years at the sand drags and later in mud drags. In the staging lanes Ed hinted at bringing out a new Jeep to compete next season with the current crop of Classic Nitro Funny Cars. (Zak Hawthorne photo)

Since its inception in 1992, the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion has offered hot rodders and racers the opportunity to reunite with old friends and reminisce about "the good old days." The Reunion included competition on the racetrack, a car show, a chance for fans to meet the legends and stars of the sport, a barbeque and Saturday night's highly popular "Cacklefest," which this year involved 37 of the early-days-style front-engine dragsters being push-started, then all gathered together on the drag strip starting line with engines "cackling."