Bruce
Yeah I was there and do remember the incident. It was Jack Ewell( AKA
Shaky ) driving for Jim Kamboor Jack also drove for Jack Stecker from San
Pedro Muffler. These are the guys I was hanging around as well as Bob Fugatt
who gave me my 1st 200 mph ride at Bonneville in his rear engine Mod.
Roadster with Joe Maillard's injected Chrys. on fuel. God those were the
day's Bruce. I was lucky enough over the years to run at all of the Southern
Calif. Drag strips except Carlsbad. Went there and didn't like the track. It
was to easy to get off the edge into the rocks.
Lions was my home from the day it opened till it closed. I missed the races
a lot for two years while serving my country. But did do a little Sports Car
racing in Washington State as well as some northern style drag racing. I was
room mates with Gene Adams, how lucky was that.We went to sheldon race way
on Many occasions and even got to see Lloyd Scott run the bustle bomb up
there. Wow, love this old stuff. How many can say I saw Jim Kamboors JADO
Coupe run on the salt. A lot like Art Christmans rear engine Coupe. Better
quit this could go on forever.
Glen
----- Original Message -----
From: <FastmetalBDF@aol.com>
To: <land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2001 5:51 PM
Subject: Fwd: AIRSTRIPS FOR DRAGS & AIRPLANES / OTHER RAMBLINGS
> Return-path: <FastmetalBDF@aol.com>
> From: FastmetalBDF@aol.com
> Full-name: FastmetalBDF
> Message-ID: <b6.16b949ff.2856bf6e@aol.com>
> Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 20:42:22 EDT
> Subject: AIRSTRIPS FOR DRAGS & AIRPLANES / OTHER RAMBLINGS
> To: jdincau@qnet.com, land-speed@autox.team.net
> MIME-Version: 1.0
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>
> Jim, when I lived in Los Angeles from 1956 to ' 58, I never did
get
> to the
> San Fernando drags, but did get to see dragging at Santa Ana, Lions ( LADS
> ....... Lions Associated Drag Strip, later known as " the Beach ", at
223rd
> and Alameda ), Pomona, still running as we all know, and also San Gabriel
.
> Lions was close to Bell ( nice town in those years ), so we went
there
> more often than the others . The racing was fantastic, and I' ll just drop
a
> few
> of the team names that were running : Emory Cook & Cliff Bedwell, who set
> the world record ( at Lions ), Jack Chrisman's fuel Chrysler ' 29 sedan,
> Jim Kamboor, Reath & Mailliard's deuce coupe, Yeakel Bros Caddy engined
> rail, Masters & Richter's beautiful Nesbitt Orange Spl, Romeo Palamides
> equally
> impressive rail, Fritz Voigt, and many others I can' t think of at the
moment.
> Sure, this was before the 200mph speeds and seven or eight second
> ETs ....... but racing was much easier on the pocket book then . I think
> that I could have seen Tom Bryant run at one or more of these tracks in
those
> days, but he was one of many entrants ...... didn't get to talk with him
until
> Speedweek 1987 ...... as I recall I talked with him right after he had
some
> major engine problems ( of a cardiac nature, wasn't it, Tom ? ) I did
get to
> talk at length with him when he visited our pit at last year's Speedweek,
> and he is a walking ( and hard charging ) racing & automotive
encyclopedia,
> to be sure . Getting back to Lions ...... It is the only strip where I
ever
> saw
> a Chrysler Hemi rail coming full tilt down the asphalt ......
> FROM THE FINISH LINE TO THE STARTING LINE !!!
> It was one of the above mentioned dragsters ...... a rail, and the
> driver was EXTREMELY unhappy with the flagman's start to put it
> mildly ...... he locked up the slicks and slid across the starting line
> and jumped out and went after the starter ...... by now many crew
> members were converging on the scene, along with officials, and
> what looked like the start of a small riot was avoided in a short
> time as cooler heads prevailed and removed one very angry loser !!!
> It was an unforgettable scene from many wild and wacky dragstrip
> memories of mine, and I wonder if anyone reading this was there to
> witness it also ? Jim / Tom / Glen / Doug O, or maybe Gene Barbee ???
> Time clouds my memory banks ...... I cannot recall which of the
> two drivers it was, so I won't mention either of them ...... but it was
the
> loser who was the wrong way rail pilot that afternoon in' 56 or ' 57
........
> As to airplanes ...... I didn't pay attention to them at Santa Ana,
> but those blimp hangers were really something ........ isn't it known
> as John Wayne Airport nowadays ? Nice tribute to The Duke !!!
> Back on the east ( right ) coast, we were running our cars at the
> long gone Charlestown, RI Auxiliary Naval Airfield in the early 60s
> ( racing started there around ' 56 or ' 57, not sure ) and it was a fairly
> common occurrence for the Navy to order all cars and personnel off
> of the strip and starting line while a ( usually twin engine ) plane
> would land, or take off . The Navy oversaw and allowed the racing
> there ( Southern New England Timing Ass' n officiated these events )
> and the atmosphere was laid back, informal, and FUN !!!!
> It was NOT about money then ..... it was the camaraderie and fun
> of us all trying to do, as Jim B. says, "The Best I Can With What I Got
!!!"
> Saw MANY of those guys yesterday at that strip' s reunion ......
> Two of them in their 80s !!! Marvin Rifchin of M & H Tire Co
> ( drag slicks of yesteryear ) was there, 86 years old, and Ralph
Bannister,
> 82, brother of the late Fran Bannister, who ran a 32 Ford roadster at
> Bonneville in 1950, after driving it out ( and back afterward ) from
> my home state of Massachusetts ! One of my EARLY heroes !!!
> The years of informal FUN racing !!! What memories in my
> Rear View Mirror .......
> Enough of my rambling !!! Thanks to those of you who didn't
> hit "delete" part way through .......
> Bruce Ferguson,
> Doubting I' ll be at the reunions in my 80s .........
> >>> Not for us to know <<<
> " Study like you' ll live Forever ......
> Live like you won' t be here Tomorrow "
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