List,
A couple of years ago, Jeff and I talked with Joaquin Arnett, I should say,
listened to him. This guy has forgatten more about exotic fuels than most of us
will ever learn. It seems he hooked up with a guy in the Armed Services, during
WWII, and came away with knowledge of, and connections for buying chemicals to
which most didn't have access. He is a very interesting person. My first
contact with the Bean Bandits was at the Santa Ana Drags in the mid-fifties.
Tom, Redding CA (where it is raining and 50 degrees) - #216 D/GCC
Wester S Potter wrote:
> The Bean Bandits were about the first to use nitro as a fuel in drag racing.
> They won something like 137 straight races as top eliminator if I remember
> correctly. This would have been in the mid '50's. Joaquin Arnett just
> sparkles when you ask about it. He told me that at some meets, other drag
> racers would leave their "rail jobs" on the trailer when the Bean Bandits
> would show up because they knew they would lose in a head to head race. The
> Bean Bandits used a 50/50 blend because that was the easiest way to mix it.
> Apparently other racers didn't catch on to exactly what they were doing for
> some time. The Bandits were running flatheads and competing very
> successfully with ohv V8 engines. Once the ohv guys caught on however the
> Bandits quickly started to lose more consistently. Great stories about what
> went on with the Bean Bandits during those days. One rumor that was rather
> common was that they used either whiskey or tequila to flush out the engine
> after a race. They had one black guy on their pit crew along with a bunch
> of Latinos. This was at a time when blacks were usually only accepted in
> similar situations in the army. Joaquin says that they didn't have the
> money to buy fancy speed equipment so the nitro was their leveler.
>
> Mary West says she remembers them as a bunch of good looking guys who were
> always smiling and having a good time. One of her happiest moments was when
> they made her an honorary member of the club five or six years ago. The
> tee-shirt they gave her was suspiciously small.
>
> Wes
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