WHO'S CHOICE?
Loved your Hall of Fame article. I did not realize how many
lame ass dudes are actually in that deal. It appears the
only obvious omission was the kid who cut Big Daddy's lawn
when he was gone racing! It appears to be an "old boys
(mans)" club, with" BIG" throwing non-deserving
accolades at some of his cronies. As you stated some of
the oversights are head-shakers.
I guess my old boss and pal Terry Capp will never make
it in, as he didn't burn-down "BIG" when he won
INDY '80. A new selection commitTee is in order -- without
Garlits on it.
Keep up the excellent work.
Huge fan,
Kevin Dreher
Canada (eh)
P.S. Look forward to the "MAZZ" story you promised.
HOF CORRECTION
On your info on K&M, Jimmy never won the 32-car meet
at NED, however in '74 they won the first three meets of
the season at NED. The Grande American win was their car,
but Don Roberts driving, beating TV Tom in the final. In
the mid-1980's the Top Fuel car Jimmy drove. Don Marshall
was also a partner in that car along with the Cherry brothers
and John Keane. That car was the former Gary Ormsby car
that ran 5.54 seconds at Fremont at the Golden Gate Nationals
in the early '80s.
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Also of note, this is the same car that Tommy Johnson drove
to a 5.01 in 1989/90. Jimmy is still living in Rhode Island
and I saw him in late 2005 at NED helping the guy that had
bought Tony Nancy's last front-motored digger
Don is living in Florida and has been to a few of the reunions
at Bowling Green and Bakersfield with Sy Sidebotham, who
has restored the front motored K&M digger.
Todd Berube
MORE POTENTIAL 'FAMERS'
I appreciate your "looking into" the Garlits Hall
of Fame. I have noticed a few items that I feel have allowed
some to make it and definitely some have been left out.
I feel some who have made it are there because of popularity
and not so much achievements.
Having said that, myself and the Mazzman have both nominated
Jack Jones a couple of times, and so far, he remains on
the outside looking in. Too bad, "Collecting"
Collete is in. Jack's accomplishments FAR outweigh his and
I believe, if folks would take some time to research it,
would put Jack in there "in a New York second!"
Ask Mazz, he knows....
Secondly, there is someone who invented (or re-designed,
actually) several pieces of equipment, that revolutionized
the sport for a number of years. The man is Leonard Abbott,
who produced the Lenco "Shur-Shift" Transmissions,
both Overdrive and Underdrive units, as well as some of
the first "full-floating" rear-end assemblies
and bullet-proof axle and gear sets. Amazing for a man who
had only a sixth grade education. He was the true essence
of a "design-engineer" -- not to mention a friendly
and personable individual. His first taste of business came
when he bought a three-wheeled Cushman Scooter with an ice-cream
box on the back. He sold it out three times on VJ Day during
all the celebrations. Leonard Abbott needs to be recognized!
Jack Jones is still mentioned in the same breath as some
of the "Best Leavers" in the business. . .he too
should be in the Hall.
Thanks for the great job you do with DRO and for opening
our eyes to some of the inside situations, be it good situations
or bad.
Regards,
Rik Chidester
Poulsbo, WA
