That's great Rocky. Having the car there is a nice tribute. RIP Mr. Pittman Another legend gone..... Appreciate the ones we have left.
K.S. Pittman sure is known as one of drag racings most celebrated drivers and fabricators... As many of us are aware, he's probably most renowned for his part in the ultra-compe***ive "G***er Wars" during drag racings formidable years, his cars always looked sharp (uh, make that ABSOLUTELY PRISTINE!) and he consistently performed a**** the top of the heap... Quite a long time ago, I think it was at one of E'Town's very first Old Time Drags & Rod Run (now known as the Nostalgia Summernationals & Old Time Drags & Funny Car Reunion), K.S. Pittman brought an A/GS car out to the event, I clearly remember how the beautiful car "AGGRESSIVELY BOUNCED" its way down the quartermile, it was quite a sight to see, I'll never forget it-- I immediately fell in love with the car and grew to appreciate the cl***ic "G***ers" for their beauty and their brawn... He also brought the car to one of E'Town's big wed night "under the stars" Thrill Shows, the car had an unfortunate incident while doing a burnout, it got out of shape, resulting in a rear dent-- nothing major though... Here at Drag Racing Underground we have a good amount of footage of K.S. and his G***er, I believe some of that footage is featured on our "From England To Englishtown" video... For those younger folks who would like to learn more about K.S.Pittman's history, there's Leah Kerr's informative book, "Driving Me Wild- Nitro Powered Culture", featuring the story of K.S. Pittman (yes, it's the same book that dedicated a couple of pages to your's truly with the Big Stick thing, as well), the portion of the book dedicated to K.S. Pittman gives the reader interesting insight into K.S. Pittman's illustrious racing career-- He had a truly incredible racing career (there's also other "G***er" legends like Stone-Woods-Cook featured in the book)... I'd like to offer my sincere condolences to K.S. Pittman's family... There's definitely no denying that K.S. Pittman contributed an awful lot to the sport of drag racing... K.S. Pittman will most certainly be missed... I'm really looking forward to seeing the East Coast G***ers club do their thing at the E'Town Nostalgia Summernationals in July, they do a d*rn good job of keeping the K.S. Pittman "G***ERS ARE A BLAST!" spirit alive... Long live the cl***ic G***ers and K.S. Pittman's memory... Diana
Nice man, great racer. Rest in Peace K.S. The great g***er drivers of the sixties are leaving us all too fast.
Very nice Fred....I agree....there was only one K.S. Tiger Pittman...and there will never be another. We've been all blessed to have known him and to have raced with him. You'll do fine in the 33 this season. You'll have the greatest g***er co-pilot of ALL time riding along. Rocky
I had the honor of being K.S.'s crew chief for the g***er shootout(1989&1990).Working and traveling with K.S.&LaVaun was a truly great time in my life.I would learn something every minute,on and off track.That Texas gentleman style came out no matter where you went.And Lavaun,the racing and building of new cars would not have happened if not for you.I will miss all the good times and memories we have had.I will miss hunting for a place to get ice cream. Will see you in Mineral Wells. Adios, Dusty PS. Thanks Johnny for the opportunity
What a nice gesture Rocky. The tribute car and the S & S crew has to be the world's longest funeral procession from Philly to Texas, what great friends KS had. I met him once at Etown when he had that USA racing 40 and still have an autographed hero card from that day. Condolences to the family from the Old Farts Social Group.
Rocky has had a hard time getting down to Texas in the bad weather, but they arrived in Mineral wells yesterday for the Funeral today, Rocky is going to fire up the tribute car one more time for K.S. Pittman. R.I.P.
The trip to Mineral Wells Texas was a long one, but a very rewarding one. Dave Hales, myself and Freddy Bear made the trip with heavy hearts. The journey was full of stories of K.S. and how he touched each of our lives. When we arrived in Mineral Wells, LaVaun Pittman, K.S.'s wife requested we display the car in front of the funeral home. Here's a shot after we set her up. Before the service started, the guests gathered around for a final fire up and salute to K.S.....a very emotional and heart felt moment....I'll post some more pics and stories a little later.
I just saw this...sad news indeed. RIP Mr. Pittman. My condolenses to all his family and personal friends.
The memorial service was a very emotional one. It was so nice to see so many people from all over the country be there to pay their respects. Barb Hamilton was there along with Johnny Rocca. We all had a chance to spend some time together going over memories of K.S. It was real cool to see Jim Oddy there as well. I thought it was a very cl***y move to see him there paying respects to a man who in had done battle with on the drag strip for years. When we fired up the 33, we had LaVaun in the drivers seat...she is quite the lady and K.S. was very lucky to have her in his life. Rocky
In 1965, K.S. was headed back east for his eastern tour, on the way he stopped in Mineral Wells Texas (his home town) for a match race with Stone Woods and Cook. The day before the scheduled race, K.S. made a test p*** in his record holding 33 Willys. On the run, K.S. went close to 150 mph but the strip had a curve in the shut down area and he was going too fast to negotiate the turn. The first pic is the result...! not pretty. Luckily K.S. was OK and walked away with only a minor scratch. With the help of some the local residents, we were able to locate the old drag strip. Today, it's a site for a trailer park. Even though the drag strip closed permanently that day in 1965, you could still make out where the strip was. As we stood there on these hallowed grounds, you could all most hear the roar of a chrysler hemi...! As a kid I heard stories about the crash, and to be there at the spot was really something special to me. Listening to Fred, Dave, Johnny Rocca and Barb share the same sentiments made it even more emotional.
I just got off the phone with rocky. He is still in florida because of the snow situation in P.A.. Once he gets home he will be updating this post on his trip and hopefully K.S.'s daughter tammy will be posting some stories on her dad. G***er Girl
Met K.S. at Charlie Overfelt's a few years ago. He was still gettin' around pretty good then. Told some really good stories and signed a model of one of his cars for me. What a guy!
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