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Photo of the Day
𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟿, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
Danny Sakai is captured in his Modified at the June 15 S.C.T.A. races in 1941 at Muroc. The engine was a warmed over Ford flathead fitted with Mal Ord heads and intake. He ran 123.45 mph and 125.52 mph that day for a first in class.
©AHRF/Al Jerauld Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚃𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹𝟶, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
Always a mystery….. In 1941 a couple of Midgets showed up at the Lakes. The only clue as to who put on the race is the roadster in the background. If you look to the left of the Midget’s nose, you’ll see a roadster that says “Sidewinders” on the hood. It could mean this was an S.C.T.A. meet. The Midget was powered by a Ford V8-60 and used a Model A rear end. The S on the tail means it’s a Southern California car that also ran in the North and Central part of the state.
©AHRF/Leonard “Whitey” Johnson Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
Bill Kenz (on the left) and Willie Young at Bonneville on September 4, 1953 next to their Floyd Clymer Motorbook Special number 777. The Class E Streamliner was powered by two 1946 Ford flathead V-8’s displacing a total of 592”. Driver Young grabbed first in class with a speed of 255.31 mph and upped the ’52 record of 244.66 mph to 255.411 mph.
©AHRF/Robert Kenz Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚃𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
Bill Burke built this slick little Bantam bodied car for Bonneville in 1951. Running in Class B Modified Coupe and entered as the Burke and Dahm Brothers, the purple ride ran 141.509 mph for second in class. Power was supplied by a 249″ Mercury flathead. Burke later sold the car to Mickey Thompson. Thompson painted it yellow and changed it to a twin-engined powered ride featuring a belly tank nose. Thompson later narrowed the original nose of the car and put it on his streamlined dragster. ©AHRF/Joe Henning Mystery Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟼, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
Just one look and we knew whose ride this was… but we had to make sure, so out came the Russetta programs to confirm. Yup, sure enough it was Bob Pierson’s famous Hot Rod Magazine cover car from August of 1948. Looks like the top had just been lowered, as you can clearly see that the white car was still sporting primer. At the July 25, 1948 Russetta meet, the car had its stock top. At the August 15, 1948 meet, when this shot was taken, Bob ran 115.38 mph to take first in class. He also ran at the September 12, October 10 and November 7 meets that year.
We’re happy to say that this very car, in fully restored condition, not only exists today but was displayed in our AHRF booth at the 2020 Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona for all to see. Big thanks to its owner/caretaker, Jim Bobowski, for so generously making the car available to us on that very fun weekend.
©AHRF/Jack Herron Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟽, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
On March 3, 1959, “T.V.” Tommy Ivo brought his fully clothed Buick motored dragster to the Santa Ana Drags. Always the showman, like flagman and strip promoter C. J. Hart, Tom wowed the crowd with a few wheel-stand starts like in this shot. His best run that day was 148.87 mph in 9.43 seconds.
©AHRF/John Howe Collection via Leslie Long Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸8, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
The Cragar headed Modified belongs to Navy man Gus Rollins of the Outriders Car Club. It still shows the number and Outrider ID that was on the car when it ran at Harper Dry Lake on May 19, 1940. Bob Taylor thinks he’s the one sitting in the passenger seat of the ’29 Ford in the background according to the caption on the back of this photo.
©AHRF/Taylor Family Collection via Howard Humphrey.
Photo of the Day, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
Photo of the Day
𝚃𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙳𝚎𝚌 𝟹𝟷, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
Arnold Birner of the Bungholers is seen on his way back to the pits after a run of 118.42 mph on July 20, 1941 at the second S.C.T.A. meet of the year. The Ford-4 engine had a Riley 4-port head on it.
©AHRF/Henry “Bud” Heyer Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚆𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚂𝚎𝚙 𝟸𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
After migrating from St. Louis to Bell, CA then Maywood, CA in 1922, a young Roy Richter bought his first motorcycle in 1931. He made trips to Muroc that same year. Soon after, he and his school buddies started hanging out at Bell Auto Parts. Upon graduating from Bell High School in 1933, he took his first ride in a race car at Jefferies Ranch in Burbank. Soon after, he built his first car, a midget racer. Fast forward to 1936, and Roy Richter left Los Angeles and rented a workspace from Mert Harris in Royal Oak, Michigan to build some race cars. This shot shows the Stagger Valve Fronty powered ride he built for Harris. It’s called the Gardner Special and was driven by George Lynch. Lynch went on to compete in over 300 races and made it into the ’49 Indy 500 to only crash on the second lap. In the summer of ’37, Richter headed back to Los Angeles where he rented some space from George Wight at Bell Auto Parts. There, he started building Midgets out back. When George died, Roy bought the Auto parts business from his widow. This Frank Smith photograph is numbered H238. ©AHRF/Chet Knox Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝚃𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚂𝚎𝚙 𝟸𝟼, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
This cool looking top chopped Willys was run by the Grist Brothers. The wrenching on its Chrysler engine was provided by Joe Mailliard Automotive. It’s seen slightly behind the Aultizer-Kibler Blown Merc flattie powered “A” running in A Coupe and Sedan. The Willys was slow off the line, but went on to win the contest by a nose at 109.75 mph in 12.91 seconds. The location was the last drag race event held at the Santa Ana Airport Drag Strip on June 28, 1959. We have the old A-Ford running 101.00 mph on January 18. It ran 101.6 on April 5, and 101.69 in 13.51 seconds on June 14. We also have the Willys previously running 109.75 on June 21. ©AHRF/John Howe Collection.
Photo of the Day
𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙽𝚘𝚟 𝟷𝟻 , 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
Photo of the Day
𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙽𝚘𝚟 𝟷𝟼, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
Photo of the Day
𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
This Ford Pickup ran in the Coupe and Sedan class at Bonneville in 1954 as the entry called Woody’s Wagon out of Los Angeles. It was powered by a Mercury flathead and ran 120.32 mph for a 19th place finish in class out of 30 entrants. That’s all we know.
©AHRF/Joe Henning Mystery Collection.
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