The California Hot Rod Reunion is not just a race, it is an experience!

Bakersfield, California (Dec 23 2011) To close out my 2011 season, here is my last report of the year, about the best event I attended this year, hope you enjoy.

The California Hot Rod Reunion (CHRR) is the last stop of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series at the historic Auto Club Famoso Raceway, Bakersfield Ca. Having been to the March Meet a couple of times, I was very much looking forward to a similar kind of race, just in nicer weather. But the CHRR has so much more content than a regular Heritage race, it really is quite difficult to comprehend what is so special until you attend one for yourself. In the same respect, I can't do it justice by writing a normal race report, I am hoping you will indulge me in reading about my experience with some drag racing greatness.

As mentioned off the top, I had been to the March Meet (MM) in recent years, and in discussion with other photographers, the common theme would be “if you like the MM, you'll love the CHRR”. They would wax lyrical about how much more it was and how the MM was just a race. And I'd be looking around at all the nostalgia race cars and thinking how much more could there be than this?

Usually by the end of the season we have spent all our money running around the Northwest trying to document some of the local greats of their day. So money to go down to California from Vancouver, British Columbia generally is not available. Well, our good friend Ron Huegli, who drives the 'Tiki Warrior' BB/Funny Car in and around the Northwest, convinced my wife and I that we really should try and make this race. So first of all I checked to see if there was any Canadian interest, and was very pleasantly surprised at the quantity and quality of Canuck participation, so I duly contacted Dale, here at Canadian Drag Racer Magazine, and we went ahead with getting some credential's. It was then up to my wife and I to find a way down there.

You hear lots of stories from years gone by about how racers lived from race-to-race, scratching a living anyway they could and driving the length and breadth of the country to do it. Well in today's world that happens far less, but from my viewpoint it seems less of an adventure in life. I've been fortunate to have got this far in my life not to having had to live a 'real' life adventure, but in trying to make our way down to the CHRR there was a little part of me that was, somehow, feeling like we were embarking on one.

So we decided to drive down, we had our budget which when it ran out, that was it, and we had our stops figured out (with thanks to some good friends along the way). In an effort to try and not wear ourselves out before we got there, we took two and a half days to drive down, enjoying coffee and Denny's down through Washington and Oregon. Then in California we had reached the home of the In-and-Out Burger, itself part of hot rodding and drag racing folklore here in the Southwest. In-and-Out had concession stands at some of the older SoCal tracks back in the day like Irwindale and Orange County and if food ever comes up in conversation with drag racers from the South, it will usually include the famed In-and-Out. So now we are beginning to feel like we're on a drag racing pilgrimage, our mecca was the historic blacktop of old Famoso Raceway (now Auto Club Famoso Raceway) and our road there was through sunny California that still has the sights and sounds from yesteryear.

We would arrive in Bakersfield on the Thursday evening, a town built around industry, and less around tourism, but it has everything you could need, as it was also a town that had become a city as it spread out over Kern County. The track is about a twenty minute drive from there through orchards and nut groves. The roads are long and straight, and it is easy to imagine some racing going on in the dead of night back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. For this race, you need to arrive early, especially if you're carrying camera gear as the parking lot fills very quickly in the morning and folks end up parking up and down the roads leading to the track. Again, probably not that well received today, but the norm back in the day. So we tend to be driving in as the sun is just cresting over the horizon, there's a light mist through the nut groves giving a golden glow to everything it touches and making for a warm and friendly look to the day.

Once we parked and got my gear placed at the track, it's a great time to wander the pits. The crowds at this race are big and busy, but in the time before the first car goes down the track there is a calm about the place. Race cars are being uncovered, hung-over heads are stirring, proud car owners are dusting off their prized possession and there's a whiff of fried bacon in the air. As the sun rises higher, the staging lanes go from dark to a bright golden color of reflected sunlight, the contours of these lovely classic cars have a golden lining.
 
But then it's that time, the day's first call for cars to the staging lanes. Each morning the first class out is the 'Exhibition' class. This is a class with a wide spread vehicle type, you'll see rat rod style street cars, gassers, hot rod racers and pro-bracket race cars. At this race it was great to see Mission Pro-Bracket racer Ross Walker out in his wheel standing Acadian that he took to the No.5 position in the Mission Raceway Park (MRP) Pro Bracket championship this year.

Mission Raceway's Pro-Bracket racer Ross Walker

Over the three days of events here you will see eleven different classes of race cars. We've already spoken of exhibition, next up would be the AFX racing class, this is a nostalgia class for the factory experimental cars and super stockers from the hey-day of the muscle car. The 24 cars here were big, unapologetic, wheelstanding machines, with big block motors and big grins behind the steering wheel, a lot of fun to watch! And just like their AFX counter parts, there were a small group of Willys gassers on hand to do some heads-up exhibition runs, nothing quite like seeing a gasser '41 Willys smoking the tires, very cool indeed. Next up we have the A/Gas racers, nostalgia body styles, but modern powerful drivetrains, in this class you'll see some racers transition from Pro Mods, Pro Street, and Gasser classes to run under this group of 31 entries. For this event it was a 7.60 index and close to 180-mph which should be pretty comfortable for most of the cars here. Canada had a great ambassador in the class with Brent Harris from Edmonton, Alberta. He brought his '33 Willys out to play and put on a great show, but was not in the field by Sunday morning. His lovely bright yellow racer first saw action in the late sixties with the legendary Twig Zeigler and Brent has been campaigning it since the mid '90s, a car with real drag racing history.

 Edmonton, Alberta's Brent Harris - '33 Willys

Now we move onto the more long and skinny style cars, starting with Junior Fuel. The small block, alcohol dragsters run low 7's and race heads-up, for this event they were the small field out there with just seven cars. Another index class on the cards was the Nostalgia Eliminator, running a 7.60 index there were a great collection of dragsters, altereds, and funny cars. There were 29 cars for the field of 16, no Canadians in this one, but some of the prettiest dragsters out there and cool burnouts. That leads us into A/Fuel dragsters, these front engine diggers running top alcohol drivetrains are fast and fun running mid to low six-second passes. There were 12 cars for an eight-car field and the No.2 qualifier was Les Davenport out of DeWinton Alberta., with help from Jirka Kaplan he ran a 6.29/215-mph. On Sunday Les would make it to the semi's where he lost to event runner-up John Harless.

I'm going to move onto the big guys now, starting with Top Fuel, which for many years was the class at Bakersfield and, with a 16-car field for this event, it wasn't too shabby this time. There were no racers flying the maple leaf this time, but with the top qualifying spot at a 5.59/255-mph by Jimi Young, it was a fast exciting show with not too many mechanical issues. On race day the Heritage series Top Fuel champ Brett Harris would race his way to the final where he took the win over a charging Tony Bartone to cap off a great 2011 season.

In what is now the biggest class of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series, the AA/ Funny Cars, there was a strong fast field. Thirty-four cars for the first round of 16 made for an exciting qualifying. Canadian, Claude LeVoie from Sherwood Park, Alberta brought his GTX nitro breathing funny car to the event. He had run 5.80's comfortably over the season, but 'only' managed a couple of 5.90's in the two qualifiers at the Reunion. However, in a field with a 5.88 bump it wasn't good enough, but his passes look good and he can go home happy with his runs, albeit with some broken engine parts and a smaller wallet than when he left. As for the class, the number one spot was set at an awesome 5.69/246-mph by Paul Romine who towed over from the East, set the No.1 qualifying speed and then broke and not be able to race. The final would be Kris Krabil vs. John Hale, and Krabil put up a very stout 5.78/248-mph, but John Hale had one heck of a tune up and flat out beat Kris with a 5.58/255-mph, an unbelievable run. Jason Rupert would be the Series Champion for 2011.

Claude LeVoie from Sherwood Park, Alberta - GTX Nitro Funny Car

I left the 7.0 class for last as, for me, it was the most entertaining class of the weekend and had the largest Canadian participation. As it suggests, it is an index class of seven-seconds, entrants are dragster, altereds, and funny cars. Just about all the cars in this class are sporting big blown engines on alcohol, and very capable of running 6's, so unless the set-up is off by a chunk, most pairs get down the track side- by-side and it's very cool to see fast funny cars running with dragsters or altereds. There were 30 cars for the 16-car field and the quality was top notch shown by the unreal bump spot of 7.05 to get in the race. There were five Canadians in this class, four of which could not get inside that tight field, Joey Steckler from Edmonton, Alberta in his beautiful '69 Corvette ran a 6.98, Cody Anstead out of Spruce Grove, Alberta. could only manage 7.78 in the metallic orange '69 Camaro, then came Darrell Webb, a true showman in the burnout process, he would not make the field with a 7.08 for the Edmontonian in the cherry Nova. Even more frustrating must be Ron Sekura also running out of Edmonton, Alberta in the tire blistering silver '69 Camaro body funny car, he did not make the show with a 7.07, but in the show would be Cal Tebb, in the absolutely beautiful '69 GTO Judge funny car. Cal, like the others races out of Edmonton, Alberta ran a 7.01, good for the No.5 spot.

'69 Camaro of Ron Sekura running out of Edmonton, Alberta

'69 Corvette of Joey Steckler from Edmonton, Alberta

The Rocky Mountain Funny Car Association should be very proud of their showing at this event, and as always, the Sekura team would bring colour and fun to the race with the best team of cheerleaders / back-up girls in the sport lead by the very lovely Nanette James. The second qualifier was particularly entertaining as the crowd really got into it, as we saw some runners lay down 7.00's and 7.01's and starting positions were decided by thousandths of a second. During the race Cal Tebb would race his way through the rounds of eliminations to the semifinals where he went out at the hands of event winner Ronnie Lennon. I was totally thrilled with this class over the weekend, with the quality of cars and racing.

Nanette James and the Sekura team cheerleaders / back-up girls

By now you are wondering why I've only talked about the racing if there was so much more. Well this was the 20th edition of the CHRR. It all started with a one-off event where the history of the sport could be remembered, legends were recreated, and stories could be embellished. It was such a success, they did another one, and so on for twenty years, every year gets just a little bigger and better. I've talked about the great racing that could be seen there, the big fields of cars, the tight racing, but I haven't mentioned what we got to see in between the classes. History, this is one event where, if you are lucky, you will see a gathering. It could be icons from a misspent childhood, it could be inspirations that brought you to where you are today, or it could just be memories brought back to life at the crack of a throttle.

All through the three days, whether it be during the transition of a racing class or a track clean up, the crowd got to see some of the great fuel cars that created this history, live once again as they were fired up with the help of a period correct support vehicle and run down the return lane. It could be a 'Swamp Rat', or a 'Hustler', or how about one of Ed Pinks top fuel cars, or even one of the Allison V12 'Green Monster' racers with dual slicks followed by a restored Shirley Muldowney dragster. And on track there were runs by the 'Rat Trap' altered or the Bradford Topolino, and this would not be a nostalgia event at Famoso without the 'Winged Express' doing some wild, wheel spinning blasts down the lanes.

On the Saturday night it was cackle time, I did not know what to expect and kinda had to roll with the punches so to speak. But as the last car went down the track, the staging lanes started to fill with 50, yes fifty, restored fuel cars that were early ‘70s or older. Then legendary announcers Dave McClelland and Bob Frey made their way to the start line and one-by-one, introduced these legendary machines. Silently they rolled up the track being pushed by their start vehicles, and gathered at the top end of the track. Then one-by-one, they were push started on the return lane, cackling past the packed stands, greenish flames flickering out of the exhaust. TV Tommy Ivo motors past the crowd in his original racer waving to the crowds just like he did decades earlier, Larry Dixon Sr. behind the wheel of the 'Speedmasters Fireside Inn' dragster rolls through.

There was a lone Canadian owned car in the cackle, it was the 'Outcast 1' Fiat Topolino altered of the Egbert Bros. / Seaman / Cooper, running out of Edmonton Alberta. and had Vern Scholz driving, it was one of the few cars that was at the first Hot Rod Reunion. It really was one of the coolest things to see, these restoration master pieces rolling by under their own power. Candles flickering, they made their way around onto the start line once again and drove up the track to be parked on-mass from about the 1000ft mark back toward the start each spending a few minutes cackling and cracking the throttle before shutting off, sometimes seeing who could outlast the other with the car next to them. The drivers sitting with open faced helmets, their eyes would be highlight with the glow from the header flames and camera flashes firing all around them, there was no doubt who the stars were that evening. Once the cars were all parked and shut off, the crowd was allowed to come onto the track and get up close to these iconic machines, probably a little nerve racking for some owners, but a very neat experience for all.

For me (I grew up in the UK) I would read the odd 'Hot Rod' magazine, so I'd heard of the 'Snake' and the 'Mongoose', I knew who 'Cha-Cha' was and 'Jungle Jim', I remember seeing pictures of all the big names of the day, even Linda Vaughn, or 'Miss Hurst Shifter' as I knew her, was someone I learnt of through the pages of magazines. I would go to Santa Pod Raceway, where we had our own racing heroes like Dennis Priddle, and 'Bootsie' Herridge, but it was always something when the track brought over some US drivers for match racing. We had Don Schumacher, Gene Snow, to name a couple, and my favourite growing up was Raymond Beadle with that electric blue Mustang II funny car. Every time he did a big burnout, I'd be there mouth open wide, and I still have my hero card from that time!

Canadian Drag Racer Magazine's own Paul Grant with the lovely Jungle-Pam-Hardy

By the eighties I had work that pulled me away from home a lot and I lost touch with the whole culture around the sport, and it has only been in the last few years that I've got back in touch. So imagine just how overwhelming it was for me to get a picture with Miss Hurst Shifter, still looking every bit the beauty queen she was years ago. I got to meet Raymond Beadle and geek out a little whenever the 'Blue Max' was on track, and we hung out with 'Jungle Pam' one evening, an absolutely adorable woman. Throughout the weekend you'd see faces of legends, past and present, hanging out doing some bench racing, making the day for fans of the sport like myself, showing themselves to be race fans just like everybody else.

What was the California Hot Rod Reunion? it was a great nostalgia race, it was an awesome car show, and it was a rolling museum of the world of drag racing. Overwhelming at times, for sure, as there is just so much to see and do if you are a fan of this sport, but overall, it is an incredible experience that can only really be understood when you make the pilgrimage yourself.

I hope everyone has a great off-season, and we'll be back before you know it. See you out there.

Paul Grant
Canadian Drag Racer Magazine

Race Results:

Nostalgia Top Fuel -- Brett Harris, N&P, 5.725, 255.73 def. Tony Bartone, McKinney, 5.693, 269.29.

Nostalgia Funny Car -- John Hale, Chevy Camaro, 5.589, 255.97 def. Kris Krabill, Plymouth Arrow, 5.783, 248.75.

7.0 PRO -- Ronnie Lennon, Bantam, 7.014, 197.97 def. Greg Howland, Corvette, 6.993, 200.38.

A FUEL -- Kin Bates, Tuttle, 6.261, 222.25 def. Jeremy Sullivan, Davidson, 6.717, 195.65.

Junior Fuel -- Bob Lander, Lander, 7.115, 186.69 def. Don Enriquez, Farr, 7.238, 185.21.

Nostalgia Eliminator I -- Tim Brown, '23-T Ford, 7.782, 159.78 def. Dan Schrokosch, Tuttle, 8.008, 157.54.

AFX -- Joel Miner, Plymouth Belvedere, 10.302, 130.40 def. Lynsi Martinez, Dodge Dart, 9.063, 148.17.

A/GAS -- Dean Hall, Impala, 7.644, 167.53 def. Rob Patten, Corvette, 7.625, 178.33.

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