As some of you know, C J "Pappy" Hart is pretty sick. He's 91 years old and I guess they've got him on morphene now. The good news is that they've got him his own e-mail address so if you want to send him your best wishes directly, you can e-mail him at CJPAPPYHART@aol.com
Thanks for the info,Joe. We owe a LOT to C.J.Hart,a man that made Drag racing into a"respectible" sport.He along with AK Miller and Lou Baney,started the first orgainized drag strip. I think it was at the old Santa Ana airport,in Los Angeles,CA. May he,and his family be in our prayers. Let's all send a message to him. BTTT, Glenn
I was at the NHRA Museum at Pomona a few years back when I met a nice old gentleman looking at the memorabilia. I said,"You look like an old drag racer." He replied, "I'm Pappy Hart." Visited with him for quite a while. Very nice man. Showed me lots of stuff I would have missed. Pictures of his wife drag racing back in the days, etc.... It was like having my own personal guide. I wish him well. He did lots for our sport. Thanks for the info, McCray
He was the strip manager at Lions in the late 60's. Always well organized, and more than fair to the racers. Definitely in the legend class.....
I've had the pleasure of meeting him a few times over the years at various events. We had a nice talk at the groundbreaking ceremony for Irwindale Dragstrip a few years back. Pappy is sharp as a tack, and it was cool talking with him and Wally about the good NEW days...seeing these two OG drag racers give their blessing to a new SoCal dragstrip was pretty cool, and if you live out here you'd know these two guys are at all kinds of events. They are really accessible, kind, and love to talk about the old days. Wally's no spring chicken, and having the chance to meet both Wally and Pappy on several occasions has been really cool for me. Of course, I'm sure it was pretty cool for them to meet me too. I bet they're posting on another AARP Hot Rodders board about*********ting with Scotch...heh heh...!! Get Well Pappy! Scotch~! Scotch~!
Just got this reply from CJ....Well, I****ume its from a family member. Hi "Good Friends of Pappy"... Thank you for caring enough to send e-mails and cards thanking "Pappy" for his dedication to Drag Racing and wishing him well. "Pappy" is seriously ill after a stroke on May 26th. We are doing our best to keep him comfortable. This enclosed message is to inform you about what happened to "Pappy" when this whole thing started. We appreciate your many get well wishes. The family and friends of CJ "Pappy" Hart Message follows...... This note is from cjpappyhart@aol.com and the family and friends of CJ "Pappy" Hart. On April 29th, 2004, Pappy celebrated his 93rd birthday. Up until recently, Pappy was signing autographs at the Motor Sports Museum and Dougs Headers here in California. He was driving the freeways and on one occasion answered his cell phone while driving!!! This Motor Sports Hall of Famer was hospitalized on May 26th with a stroke, and is currently resting comfortably at his sons home in California. He has his good days and his bad days, but we continue play videos of Drag Racing, NASCAR Racing and Wrestling Shows for "Pappy to watch. Prior to Pappys stroke, Jerry, Pappys son and Joanie, Pappys daughter, provided a device whereby "Pappy could push a*****on for help in case he was in trouble at home. This turned out to be a real life saver!! The family was alerted and found Pappy very weak and his speech was impaired. After a bit of persuasion, Jerry convinced him we needed to get help! Jerry told him we needed him to get well enough to travel to the Hot Rod Reunion! It worked and Pappys daughter Joanie called 911. "Pappy walked to the waiting gurney outside his home****isted by 6 wonderful firefighters and paramedics. If you know Pappy he is not one to go to a hospital! Thanks to Dr. Joe Oliver of National Hot Rod for his attention to "Pappy. Joe visited "Pappy at the hospital and talked to staff, hospital administrators, and convinced them to treat "Pappy for his stroke! Its really amazing how fast things happen when someone can explain the situation to other professionals. Thanks also to Dave Wallace for getting the word out to the racing community. We know we will never be able to reach all the people who think so highly of Pappy, but with Daves help we have been receiving wonderful get well wishes to Pappy We encourage you to continue to send your well wishes to "Pappy. Heaven knows he has out lived most of his Santa Ana Drag Strip friends, but we****ure you he will hear your e-mails. Thank you again from the Hart family. Please send your good words and memories about the old days and that will make Pappy very happy at cjpappyhart@aol.com Send all cards to: CJ Pappy Hart C/O Jerry Hart 203 Saratoga Ave. Placentia, CA 92871-5526 Dave
Received this from Pappy's family this evening: We regret to inform you, but "Pappy" passed on to the Great Drag Racing Track in the Sky tonight at 5:00 PM. We will keep you informed on the arrangements. The Hart Family
Drag racing is the only sport whose creation was inspired by a bayonet. And C. J. "Pappy" Hart was there the day the Marines landed in Orange County, CA. In the late 1940s, hot rodders gravitated to the vast California airstrips built by the military during World War II, then abandoned. Mile Square had been a Navy facility, code-named for its square mile of concrete paving. On weekends, Hart and his pals showed up with stripped-down coupes and roadsters to race across the flat, unobstructed surface. "We used to run off seven, eight abreast," he remembers, chuckling. "With that many cars running, you'd have to beat somebody!" One Sunday morning, the racers were routed by a company of U.S. Marines with fixed bayonets. Hart's buddies went back to the street; and he went looking for another place to race. The manager of Orange County (now John Wayne) Airport offered an unused landing strip, provided that Hart pay the airport 10% of the proceeds and secure insurance. With less than $1,000, Hart, his late wife, Peggy, and two backers opened Santa Ana Drags on June 19, 1950. Admission was 50 cents, race or watch. Unknowingly, Hart was creating a major American motorsport. "I didn't invent drag racing," he insists. "That sort of thing's been going on ever since there was cars. When I was growing up in Ohio, every stoplight, every night was a race. I'd say the racing's been going on ever since they built Model-A Fords. They couldn't keep the Model-Ts together long enough to race very far." Evolution occurred quickly at Santa Ana. Initially, any number of cars would simply accelerate from a rolling start as far as their owners dared. Thus, one of the first issues to be addressed was track length. "There was a lot of talk in those days that quarter horses were faster than cars," explains Hart, who borrowed the distance from thoroughbred racing. Because the general public could relate to quarter-mile times, Hart shrewdly calculated that adopting this distance would fuel publicity about - and acceptance of - his motorized quarter-mile. A stopwatch soon gave way to homemade electric timers. Necessity was the mother of classification. At first, Pappy segregated his "stockers" according to manufacturer axle ratio, vehicle year and engine displacement. When dry-lakes racers began showing up with modified machinery, he added "hot-car" classes, along with drag racing's first cash awards. His "Dollar-A-Mile" program paid the Top Eliminator $1 for each mph in the final round. By 1959, when Hart lost his airport least, Santa Ana had been featured in a Life magazine cover story and become the model for drag strips everywhere. Pappy eventually resurfaced as manager of the legendary Lions Drag Strip (1965-71), then served as a hands-on consultant to various race tracks and sanctioning bodies. As recently as 1998, he was touring the nation with NHRA's Safety Safari..... he will be missed by all ....... Story by Dave Wallace
Thanks for posting these messages. I didn't know Pappy Hart, but news of his illness and death really touched me. I sent a letter to the family just letting them know of all the kind thoughts from people Pappy never even met. It's sad to hear of a good man passing. I think I have that '58 Life magazine, and will try to find it (fingers crossed).
I was at Pomona yesterday and noticed one of the track workers was weeping. C.J."Pappy" Hart has passed on. I told Don Ewald and he teared up as well. If heaven really exists, there is a really good track manager there now. R.I.P. Pappy Hart. See ya in the lights.
Pappy gave us gas money once so we could run. Who else but Pappy would do that for a bunch of kids? And from what I've heard, we weren't the only ones he helped either. It's a long list. That's why I started this post. Thanks for posting that 50Fraud. I didn't want to be the one to do it. So long Pappy...
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