George Poteet (400+) and Danny Burrow (300+) because they are my friends and they have balls. Dick (Bandit) Valenzuela because he is also my friend and a veteran of the golden years on the lake beds and salt. And finally Bill Burke, because I walked by his house every day on my way to elementary school in the mid 50s and always had neat stuff in his garage and driveway. He not only changed the sport he tickled the hot rod gene in me and made it come out.
Mickey Thompson. My dad is not a car guy at all, but he had a paperback copy of Mickey's biography. I read it at about 10 years old, and really affected my fascination with cars. To read about a guy with no high school laying out the challenger chassis in chalk on the floor, figuring out one shifter moving four transmissions, feeding four diffs to turn land speed tires that he had to design... And then going 400! Amazing. I think in 58-59 he set 30+ different records. In the 80s I read about Al Teague and his liner in a single car garage and was impressed by him too. The whole scene at Bonneville is filled with guys like that. While I do admire guys like Poteet and Kugel, because it's not only money in this sport ( there are a lot of big money spent yet unsuccessful efforts) it's the guys with creativity and ability overcoming lack of funding that I cheer for more. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
My Step-great Uncle, Bill Summer's Goldenrod. God I wish I was older to have really known him before his passing. Bill and Bob's Legend will be passed down through out the family tree, I will do all my power to make sure of that. Uploaded with ImageShack.us Mopar runs deep in the family...
I don't think you need worry too much. The Goldenrod will live on for a very long time. I was fortunate enough to be able to see it being restored at Mike Cook's. A fabulous machine. Looking at the details Bill and Bob Summers came up with ingenious solutions and incredible workmanship.
The list is huge. All the volunteers who make it all happen, they're all heroes in my book. Being a kiwi, Burt Munro is right up there But the guy I look up to the most is a guy from NZ called Chris Harris. Chris went to Bonneville in 1988 with a 27 roadster and a dream. A dream that was cruelly shattered when he wrecked the car and came home in a wheelchair. That hasn't stopped him though, and he's been back a number of times since with a well built and engineered 32 roadster with his son Lincoln driving. Lincoln has a 200 hat and they held the C/GR record for a year or two. They are coming back this year to continue the quest for a B/GR record after a mechanical hiccup cut them short last year. And , remember, these guys aren't driving a few hundred miles,or even across the country. They're travelling halfway around the world to "have fun, go fast & stay safe" The "Bonneville" people are a marvellous bunch. And I love going there. If you haven't been, get there. You'll never regret it
How about this guy: "By contrast, Wright's July 2, 1955, record was simply and unassailably a world record for any motorcycle - two runs averaging 185mph (298kmh). Stunningly, these were achieved not on the huge expanses of Bonneville but on a narrow Canterbury road still drying out from rain the night before and on a pretty-much standard production motorcycle. However "standard" is a word that fails to do justice to the almost impossibly glamorous 1000cc V-twin Vincent Black Lightning. Just 31 were built and they were effectively a competition-prepared version of the British company's road-going Black Shadow. The capabilities of Wright's Lightning had been further tweaked - greased? - in New Zealand by the attentions of a brilliant precision engineer, Scottish immigrant Bob Burns, who provided the streamlined shell and turned the engine to breathe a little extra magic into its innards. The Tram Rd setting at Swannanoa, 35 kilometres northwest of Christchurch, was bordered by gravel verges, wire fences, some people and, on one side for part of the 1km stretch, a hedge. On Wright's first run a sound like a gunshot pierced even the scream of his engine. He'd hit a bird, but continued untroubled. Although the Vincent was handling well, a thought intruded into Wright's concentration about the 150mph mark. "I realised as I was gripping those 15-inch width handlebars, and with the stark knowledge that I had only 2 inches of steering leeway, that I was now completely in the hands of the good Lord above." On the second run, just at the point where the high hedge on his left side stopped, a wind gust hit the side of the Vincent's fish-shaped shell pushing it across the road and towards spectators. An instinctive and exquisitely delicate correction saved who knows how many lives. This time Wright stepped off his bike with a chalky complexion, to confirmation from an International Motorcycle Federation timekeeper that the 187mph run meant he was now the world-record holder. Burns then attached a simple sidecar to the bike and broke the record for sidecars, his two runs averaging 162mph (261kmh). Russell Wright was born in 1929 in Invercargill, the eldest of four children of Charles Herbert and Isabella Wright." I guess a whole lot of you have not heard of Russell Wright - and he came from the same city as Burt Munro.!!
What a great post. There are so many great ones who have been to the salt. I have to add elaborate on Don Vesco however. Not only was he an innovator with balls of titanium, he was down to earth and was willing to share with anyone he met. I met him in 87 or 88 when he took time from his extremely busy schedule to help me, a nobody, run a production class bike. I owe him for a record which I would have never have gotten without him. When I was working in Socal a couple of years later, I would go by his shop in Temecula and hang out. He was always cordial and full of helpful advice. While there are others who were humble, helpful and fast they could never be a better person than Don. He was the coolest Dude I ever met. I miss him.
Don't know if anyone has mentioned Jim Feuling. Hell of an inventor, engineer and a racer. I have one of his experimental Quad 4s
Mickey Thompson Art Arfons Ak Miller Art Chrisman Earl Evans Alex Xydias Gene Winfield Craig Breedlove Dr. Nathan Ostich The Summer Bros. Barney Navarro Russ Eyres and the list goes on...
Yes MR DODGE,Chris is an inspiration to us all. The way he has embraced the whole deal and got into racing with Lincoln is amazing. He too is my Hero, followed closely by Bert.
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And many of Vans engines are still in the garage, and in his late 70's is still building engines. The C motor is currently in a newer firebird.
How about this guy? Crashes his home built car, at 427 mph. Gets out and turns off the electrics. Helps get the car loaded. Drives himself to SLC for xrays and such. Bob Dalton
I look up to the little guys who raced for personal glory. I would consider guys like Charles boogie Scott who went 238 mph at age 72. Rich Fox who raced for many years. Phillip Landry a local who races a turbo charged Flathead in Fox body Mustang.
Dave Spangler went 500 mph this year. I'd say that's pretty good. I think he is about 78 years old. A hero to all us old guys.
Heros in LSR come to each in many ways. I'm not sorry to say if your wealthy, buy a car, pay an engine builder, and set records because it was a dream you get my respect. That's all. If you build your own car in a garage, your own or others, skin it, paint it, true your own tires/rims, assembly the engine your self whether you set a record or not you have reached "hero" status with me. There have many mentioned here so I need not mention them again. One cannot do everything alone but many have come close. Records are a great accomplishment and possibly the only item many look at but some of our heros in LSR never reach it but attain the hero status by reaching the goal of doing their best...
Well, mine is Dave Koskela who did 263mph in 1979. And only because he’s friends with my father in law and I can call him if I have any questions and hear wild stories of racing and building his cars. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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