Hi porky the pirate was my dad. I remember going with him to fremont raceway and baylands as it was later called while i was growing up. Just trying to find others who remember him and get some stories for his two grandsons. Thanks for your posting it meant alot
Porky the Pirate's real name was David Huntington Jr. He used to get me and my high school friends in free at Fremont Raceway on the pit side even!! He was much loved there and he really was a great welder. All my guy friends liked him so much and thought he was hilarious. They wanted him to come to the high school auto shop to talk about his stories. All he wanted was to be around the racers and the tracks. He gave up all the material things to have that kind of life and he loved it. All you race guys out there meant alot to him and the fact that you remember him is so awsome. You made my day thats for sure. If you want you can email me at hunbe222@aol.com and I'll get you all the info you want on him. I have 2 brothers who were with him thru most of his adventures. Its soooo sad his grandkids never got the chance to know him. I love racing to this day because of him. Thanks again for mentioning him. He would have loved the publicity!!!
Porky the Pirate was my dad. His real name was David Huntington Jr.He was a character for sure but he loved all you guys at the racetrack and there was nowhere he'd rather be than the track. Thanks for the stories and if you have any more I'd love to hear them. So would his grandsons who unfortunately never got to meet him. Thanks chili Phil you're awsome.
You're welcome. The ol' Porkmeister was something else. Are you planning on attending the CHRR or Dragfest? Come visit the Vipers Pit. We'll raise a glass to your pop.
Great seeing this thread, I've mentioned Porky the Pirate sveral times over the years and always get blank stares. I remember seeing him at every race at Lake Ming and Famoso in Bksfld approx 1975 thru 1977. More pics would be great if anyone has some. Greg
who was the guy that used to ride on the front of the funny cars when they were doing a burnout to the start line ?
Broadway Bob Metzger, Great Lakes Dragway - Union Grove Wisconsin. Quite the character and still alive and doing good at 80 i believe. This was on the front of jet dragsters.
I saw that guy, Broadway Bob, back in the day like sittin in a lawn chair, The Grove was a great place to take a date "to get her killed", but if she lived she had a great time. I remember back in the day you had these crazy guys and the crazy stunts like burning the cars with the jet funny cars, flaming parts flying every where, it was great.
I missed the big news that Porky the Pirate had been officially identified. As a few others have mentioned, the stories about these racing characters need to be compiled.
TELLING THE STORY OF: JUNGLE JIM AND PORKY THE PIRATE Fremont Raceway in Northern California was never my favorite. I could never seem to wrap my arms around the place, but there was one race every year that was very successful. On New Year’s Day we ran the Nitro Bowl at Fremont and always packed the place. The radio ads went: “Are you tired of the “This” bowl and the “That” bowl...well get off the couch and get out to Fremont Raceway for the NITRO BOWL.” Of course the event featured an all star cast of funny cars, usually the top eight we could book in along with a couple of wheel-standers and jet cars. A little known fact was that Jungle Jim Liberman was originally from Fremont although he lived most of his adult life in the East. Jungle begged me for years to come run the Nitro Bowl. Well, this one year I signed him up and we used him big time in the ads. Naturally, he didn't show up. I got several calls and a half dozen or so people came to the tower and demanded their money back because of no Jungle. I was, to put it mildly, pissed. Wouldn’t you know the following years Jungle whined and whimpered saying he would make it up to me if I gave him another chance. And so, God knows why, I decided to book him again along with Don Prudhomme, Tom McEwen, Ed McCulloch, The Blue Max, Gordie Bonin and an all star cast. Several days before the race Roland Leong called and wanted to know why I wasn’t using his Hawaiian car. ”There’s a lotta Hawaiian boys in the Fremont area, Donah,” explained Leong, “and besides, you know Jungle won’t even show up.” New Year’s happened to be on a Sunday and the day before I went out to the track to make sure everything was ready. Leaving I stopped at the gas station next door...the attendant came by and asked if I had something to do with the track. When he found out I was the main guy he asked, “Will the Hawaiian be running tomorrow?” “Sorry, pal, not this year,” I answered. “That’s a mistake,” he blurted, “there’s a lot of Hawaiian boys around here.” Obviously a Roland plant, but it got me worried especially since it was 50-50, maybe not even that good of odds, Jungle would even show up. New Year’s Day arrived bright and clear with a long line at the front gate. And who’s at head of the line at the pit gate? Surprise of surprises, Jungle Jim, in person. “Hey man,” said Jungle, “told you I’d be here. We came out around midnight, smoked a couple of beers and slept right here.” With a huge crowd certain, you’d think not much could go wrong at this point. Wrong. Here comes Jungle to the head of the staging lanes at 10 a.m. and demands to make a test run. I argue to no avail and of course he blows up in the lights. “Sorry man,” Jungle whines, “I blowed up my fuel tank and it can’t be fixed.” McEwen is standing in the back of the tower and whispers to me-“Tell Jungle you won’t pay him a single cent and see what happens.” And I did. “You can’t do that, man,” cries Jungle. “I tried.” “No deal, Jungle,” I said. “No run, no money. First round is at noon. Be there or be square.” Not even 10 minutes later, Jungle comes to the tower and asks to have Porky the Pirate paged and have him report immediately to Jungle’s car. Now let me tell you about Porky. He’s a grubby looking guy with only one leg who wears a World War One, chrome German helmet with a spike on the top. He has a hollow aluminum leg which he fills with a gallon of rum and runs a plastic line directly up to his mouth. If you catch Porky early enough, he’s a helluva welder. Later in the day all bets are off. Wally Parks nearly went into convulsions when Porky snuck into the U.S. Nationals one year and he went up to the starting line and started waving a flag on the end of a long pole directly in Don Garlits’ face as he staged. At 11:55 exactly, I played the National Anthem and on the final notes fired up the first pair of funny cars. Guess who? Jungle himself, against the legendary US Army Plymouth Arrow and the Snake. With the crowd going crazy, Jungle somehow whips the Snake and from there on the day seems uneventful. After the storm, the racers get paid, the fans leave, and I sit down to have a cold one and relax. Just then a nice-looking man in the blue blazer and slacks along with his young son, asks, “Are you Mr. Doner?” “I’ve got a big problem,” he says. “Tell me,” I answer. “It’s not something I can tell,” he explains. “It’s something you got to see for yourself.” A couple of security guards, off-duty Fremont cops, are standing by and I decide to take them along for this adventure. It’s dark and I mean REALLY dark. We’re using one security guard’s flashlight to guide us through the pits, up to where the man is leading us. Finally we arrive at his car and half the side has been torched off. “That’s just the half of it,” he says. “Look at this.” The front of his car has somehow been welded to Porky’s truck. When the security guard looks around with his flashlight, there’s Porky complete with his helmet in place, passed out, right in the dirt. “Don’t touch a thing,” says the security guard, “I’ll be back in 10 minutes.” “You’re not going to arrest him, are you?” I ask. “Hell no,” says the guard, “I going to get my brother. He’s a professional photographer. I need a picture of this. Nobody will believe me otherwise.” If this was ever made into a movie, the credits would now roll with the following information. The nice gentleman in the blue blazer had a door and fender replaced on his car and received a complete new paint job. Further he received two lifetime passes to all seven International Raceway Park facilities. Porky the Pirate was placed on Double Secret Probation. Jungle Jim smoked a couple more beers and went down the road playing his harmonica and describing the incident as, “Far Out!” This story was borrowed from Competition Plus
The above is why when the Vipers award their Porky the Pirate prize, nobody admits to getting it. As Joe Walsh says: The smoker you drink, the player you get.
I missed this one over the years....just read thru it & Lynyrd Skynyrd FREEBIRD came on the station and I just about teared up! Chili Phil & hunbe222 you fellas Rock!
Yeah, brain fad is a terrible thing to waste. I just remembered another Porkie the Pirate adventure. At a WCS race at Fremont, Porkie was grumbling able some a-hole who was hassling him about his rig blocking pit space. That night someone welded a chain to his guys racecar around a telephone pole.
My friend Kackle Ken found these historical artifacts in his stash. A rare find with Porky's hand writing.
The most entertaining thread on the HAMB in a loooooong time. Life has become to sanitized today and the lack of "pirates" is an unfortunate byproduct. Frank
Knew this guy faily well. Used to sponsor him and his travels. Porky the Pirate. Just opened a storage box that had some save pics and posters he gave me. What ever happened to him?
i was at Baylands and watched him take a big hit of nitrous and fall on the ground, face first writhing in the dirt and then get up and say......"wow what a rush", and walked away with gravel in his face.
That story by Riceman was a hoot ! I've been a drag racefan all my life , and having lettered a lot of cars from the '60's on ,I've heard many simular stories from many a drag racer . I think that if Mr. doner were to write a book , it would be a best seller . Of course it would have to be labeled fiction , since no one would belive it !
The Jalopy Journal
