I'll never forget when I was a kid and the new issue of HOT ROD would arrive and there was that great picture of Wally looking back at you over his shoulder from that roadster on the Editorial page....... Wally towered over everyone in this hot rodding sport......I'd say the only guy who came close may have been Ak Miller...... We should all celebrate his long life and his great accomplishments!! Godspeed, Wally......Ak, Vic, Eddie, and all the rest are waiting for you! Brucie
He will live on in any young gearhead with an itch for speed that gets grease under his fingernails, and grow bigger than life, as true ledgends most deservedly do. R.I.P. and a postumous pat on the back for a life lived to the fullest. GV
Another Cornerstone of hot Rodding is gone. But never to be forgotten. ...... """When World War II came, the plant was converted to the production of tanks and Parks tested them. He became part of an exhibition tank drill team until the Army grabbed him up and eventually sent him to the South Pacific. While in the Philippines, Sgt. Parks decided he needed a V-8 jeep and built it with an engine commandeered from an old passenger car. The result was the world's first Jeep rod, open exhaust and all. It changed his career. He became a troubleshooter for the Army, travelling all over the Philippines in his hot Jeep.""" http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/halloffame/1992/Wally_Parks_main.htm When Parks became editor of the monthly enthusiast magazine Hot Rod, he had the forum and the power to form the National Hot Rod Association in 1951 to "create order from chaos" by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport. He was its first president.
Amen to that, I Took the 31 rumbleseat out for it's first run in 5 years. Sunny weather and thoughts of all that Wally contributed to hot rodding and racing. I couldn't help but think of what a different world it would be without the major influences of what Sargent Wally Parks Brought to the table. It was a good day for a drive in the banger. .
I met him at one the twilight cruises. He was just a regular guy,talking to everybody. I said hi and shook his hand. He spent most of the night sitting in a chair,or should I say,throne! If you would ask him a question about the early days,he would go off into another world and make you feel like you were there. He told me about a guy who built a car,but was affraid to drive it. He said he told the guy"Hell,i'll drive it!". Then he ran it down the 1/4 mile. I sat down by him and just listened to him tell stories all night. There were many old racers there,cause they were debuting a restored roadster. The guy who raced it was there and got to start it up. Everybody went crazy! That was the one and only night I met him. What a cool memory. RIP Wally...The Godfather of Hotrodding.
I read my first Hot Rod magazine when I was 9 years old in 1953. the magazine had Bill Neikamp's AMBR winner in it. It changed my life. Even then Wally Parks was steering the future of hot rodding along with "Pete" Peterson. For 20 years NHRA and drag racing was a dominate influence in my life and the Name Wally Parks will forever be associated with those fun and educational times. R.I.P. Mr. Parks Frank
What a big loss to all of us, nobody will be able to take the place of a man like he was! What an unbelievable life he lived and how many things he did for hot rodding! He will never be forgotten!
A class act that will never be equaled for what he brought to the sport of hotrodding. God speed and rest in peace, Mr. Parks.
A super sad day in our community. Just imagine our world without him. Condolences to the Parks family. Lets all try to live up to the standard that he set.
Sergeant Wally Parks 754 Tank Battalion, Americal Division, New Caledonia, South Pacific Solomon Islands Battle of Bouganville RIP. What you did for us later in your life in no way compares to what you had already done. Thank You.
Man I just got back from putting a dear friend in the ground today ,and wanted to look at the board for some relief ,,THEN THIS. SH*T ............ GOD SPEED Wally .......... All our prayer to the family,from N.C.
RIP, and all that. BUT, the man saw/did EVERYTHING most of us could only imagine. If I could see the world through someone else's eyes, Wally just might be the choice. Think about what he's done and seen.
RIP I hope he understood what he meant to so many people. Not many visionaries live long enough to see their vision become a reality. He won't be forgotten.............we won't let him be forgotten
Another legend lost. The men who were there during the beginning are going fast - if you know one, talk to them, listen to their stories, keep the past alive. RIP, Mr. Parks - you are missed.
Wally was the tallest giant upon whose shoulders today's hot rodders stand. It's a black day for anyone who loves Hot Rod magazine, the salt, and the drags. Our champion, our hero is fallen. Love live Wally Parks!
his service means more to me than ANY of his later exploits............A true GIANT when you add in his accomplishments after the war.
I agree. I'm sure he had no regrets about his accomplishments. He did it all, and is the reason that we get to do what we do. If I accomplish 10% of what he did, I'd be stoked.