A Bonneville '49er ... 200 MPH Club member ... and one of my LSR heroes! #505 BURBANK ENGINE SERVICE Blown Gas Roadster / Blown Fuel Roadster A/BGR - Duane McKinney - August 1992 - 282.384 mph AA/BGR - Duane McKinney - August 2001 - 272.707 mph AA/BFR - Duane McKinney - August 2004 - 282.356 mph #42 SUNDOWNER 'Vette Blown Gas Modified Sports / Blown Grand Touring Sports D/BGMS - Duane McKinney - August 1988 - 242.411 mph C/BGT - Duane McKinney - August 2006 - 248.028 mph B/BGT - Duane McKinney - August 2010 - 251.838 mph Godspeed Duane!
Sad to see that. I think he is in a photo I took at the starting line in 1998 when the clocks got knocked out on Thursday with the Turbinator sitting next in line. The whole who's who of land speed racing was collected around that car for a while.
Duane became a member of the L.A. Roadsters in the late ‘70s: ... and then, in November of 1990, Duane (& Tom Schauppner) founded the California Roadsters (based in Orange County):
Here's Duane in his Deuce Roadster at the 55th Annual L. A. Roadsters Show & Swap Meet: image by Sherm @fuely32 Porter
Several years ago Duane was sitting in line near us getting ready to make a run in his Sundowner and he walked over to our Corvette and started asking us a few questions. Then he told us some of the amazing history of the Sundowner. Since we were a couple of rookies, We were impressed and pleased that he took the time to share with us. Rest in Peace Duane
I remember seeing that pic of the Sundowner many times somewhere in the past . I’m not sure where,,,but I remember it,,,,,cool picture for sure. Probably in some cars magazines when I was young,,,,,really interesting to know he was the guy driving it then . Excellent videos,,,,,sad to hear of his passing . Even more sad that we only hear about a lot of this stuff after they are gone . This was their moment in the sun,,,,the glory of speed ! Tommy
Duane was a great guy and one of the best drivers ever to run down the salt. He was the only one that could control that 4 wheel drive roadster of Glenn Deeds. He always had a smile and great advice for us rookie drivers, we truly have lost another great one! R.I.P. Duane, God Speed! It was an honor to have known you!
Todd Olson asked me to post some stories about Duane during our racing together at Bonneville. So here's the first one... Duane was pretty good at knowing how fast the car was going, at least "I" thought so. He didn't know the gearing although he did know what rpm he was turning. We'd pick him up after a pass when we started running speeds over 225 mph with my turbocharged small block. He'd say that was about a 230 pass or some such number. We'd go pickup the time slip & yep 228.xxx. So one day I asked how he knew if he was on a fast run? He said "see that gas filler cap, it pops open whenever the car runs faster than 225". I had remembered seeing him climb out of the car & slap it shut after a pass but didn't give it a thought. So if you look closely at the two photos you will see the gas cap cover in the open position. It was snapped in place before a run but when the car would run over 225 mph the air pressure under the car would pop it open... I'll post more over the weekend. Godspeed Duane...
Condolences to the Mckinney Family and Friends on the passing of Duane...certainly very accomplished in everything he did, living much of it in an exhilaratingly fast manner...May he Rest in Peace... @HEMI32, Thank you for sharing this loss to the Community of go fast... Additional thanks to the others sharing their memories around this Veteran Hotrodder.... Regards, Stogy
Being one of the original 49ers Duane has given so many of us the inspiration needed to get on the salt and try to run as fast as possible. He is a part of the incredible history of Bonneville will be missed.
Another fun one. Shows the true talent he had as a shoe... Duane was a hell of a fabricator and drove many different cars at the salt, Frank Currie of Currie Rearends had built a Boss 429 street roadster that he wanted to drive to Bonneville then run 200 mph with it. This was a 500 inch fuel injected monster & every time Frank would get near the number he would spin out. He asked Duane to see if he could find the problem. Duane promptly went out & ran 205 mph, Frank got his number... I'm going to miss him.
Duane comes from a family of "Traditional Hot Rodders" ... Here's Duane posing with his uncle's Sprint Car (at the Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska): image by Dick Roseberry Duane's older brother Bob (Robert E. McKinney) designed & built DOHC conversions & speed equipment for Bangers: REM Engineering Ad REM OFFY REM equipped banger in a 1932 Model B Roadster Steve Nelson's Belly Tank Lakester was powered by a ’32 Ford Model B block with a REM DOHC cylinder head. In 2014, Steve got into the "Bonneville 2-Club" by setting a new V4/FL record at 201.804 mph
...the genius of man and Hotrod is incredible...that's one Model B that is worlds apart from its mild mannered lifestyle of the Yesteryear...
Michael @Dynoroom LeFevers - Thanks for sharing these stories in this little tribute to one of our LSR heroes ... much appreciated!
Perhaps Duane's fellow club members, Don @hotroddon Lindfors and/or Phil @philly the greek Whetstone have some stories or memories to share?
Taking the baton from Hemi32 , let me share a few memories of Duane McKinney . I first met Duane after becoming a member of the California Roadsters club in 1993 . He was a quiet and unassuming man with a gentle disposition and a pleasant personality , I liked him right away . As time would pass and I would learn more of Duane's talents as a fabricator , body and paint man , and as a race car driver , on thing stood out . Duane was not one to boast of his accomplishments or his talents as many do , he would let them speak for themselves . As the co-founder of the California Roadsters ( along with Tom Schauppner ) he has helped guide our club in the direction it has followed to become a group of successful , fun loving and caring members . With that , I would say , "thanks Duane" for the last 27 years of good friendship , fun times and some really great rod runs ! RIP
It's been a year now since we lost Duane ... so I thought I'd bump this tribute thread with a (circa mid-'50s) pic of him with his chopped Deuce 3-window Coupe: image from the Duane McKinney Collection (©AHRF)
Glad you bumped this, I missed it the first time around. Wow, how I would have liked to be a fly on the wall while he told stories.
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