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Stone, Woods, & Cook

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, May 17, 2007.

  1. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,633

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2014
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  2. jangleguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2004
    Posts: 2,668

    jangleguy
    Member

    Agreed - it doesn't get much iconic than S-W-C. As for the race thing, I'm sure that's why we didn't see more pix of Stone and Woods. My pal Jamie (Dr.Lockjaw) and I are finishing up a resto of Ernie Nicholsons "Super Stude" gasser right now. Getting info on that car has been a real trip, due to Ernie being another rare early black drag racer.
    Nice piece, Ryan. Thanks,
    Scotty
     
  3. SWC were true sportsmen and competitors. I never could stand Big John Mazmanian(SP) after seeing him standing in the pits screaming racial slurs at Stone and Woods. it just wasn't acceptable even in the 60's.
     
  4. Paul
    Joined: Aug 29, 2002
    Posts: 16,386

    Paul
    Editor

    I think it's also significant-
    certainly to a lesser degree-
    that the car ran a 394 Olds
    when it seemed everyone was running the 392 Chrysler

    definitely influencing my choice in motors for more than a few cars
     

  5. Gotgas
    Joined: Jul 22, 2004
    Posts: 7,175

    Gotgas
    Member
    from DFW USA

    My dad told me they were black men; he saw them at Green Valley as a kid. He was surprised obviously, since you're right - it never was made "public."

    And now that I think of it, I don't think I've EVER seen a photo of them. That is a damn shame.
     
  6. 5window
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 9,516

    5window
    Member

    I did a Google search and found no pictures of Stone or Woods. These guys were legends when I was a kid. I agree with Ryan that the fact that this was a multi-ethnic team is both cheering that race wasn't an issue and saddening that it never(couldn't) be mentioned. All we cared about was that the car was cool and FAST.
     
  7. Larry T
    Joined: Nov 24, 2004
    Posts: 7,875

    Larry T
    Member

    They switched to a Hemi in early 64. As racers they did what it took to be competitive. As a side note, I think Ohio George started with a Caddy.
    Larry T
     
  8. JimA
    Joined: Apr 1, 2001
    Posts: 4,796

    JimA
    BANNED

    There's a picture of Leonard Woods in the new Rodder's Journal along with a big story on his first Willys.
     
  9. Posted by Ryan

    I’m guessing these photos feature Cook and his buddies although I am not sure who is who… Noticeably absent are Stone and Woods - both black men and both important Drag Racing pioneers

    I believe it's K.S. Pitman, Wayne Arteaga, Doug Cook, and i'm not sure on the 4th guy. I think Wayne Arteaga lived in the mid-west(?) somewhere and he'd put up the west coast guys whenever they went that way to race. Gave them a place to stay AND fix their cars. I don't know the reason for Stone and Woods not getting the notoriety of Cook, but it's usually the front man (driver, lead singer of a band, etc) that gets all the fame anyway. I've got no shortage of Stone and Woods pictures in my old magazines, but like i said, it's the driver usually. A pretty good exception was Mazmanian. His name was out there no matter who drove his cars. My 2 cents. Either way, Stone Woods and Cook are in my opinion about the MOST memorable team in drag racing history, PERIOD. Great racing, great memories!

    PS-i think the above car was a B/Gas car, Swindler B (the chrome reverse wheels were seldom seen on that team) driven by Doug Cook's brother. Dig the show car interior!
     
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  10. 50Fraud
    Joined: May 6, 2001
    Posts: 10,101

    50Fraud
    Member

    Two stories about SWC:

    1) Saw them run at Lions in the early '60s. Standing at the finish line and watching the car come toward me, the loudest noise it made was the induction roar -- couldn't hear the exhaust over the mega-sucking sound until it passed me.

    2) My friend Jeff Wasserman was called to do a sign painting job on a race car. He went to an address in South Central LA and found a small single-car garage standing in an otherwise vacant lot. Puzzled, he went to the house next door, and was told that he was in the right place. He opened the garage to find the S-W-C Willys! He was not permitted to move the car out of the garage, and had to letter each side in a space barely wide enough to move.
     
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  11. Larry T
    Joined: Nov 24, 2004
    Posts: 7,875

    Larry T
    Member

    The black and white pictures are all from Don Montgomery's Supercharged Gas Coupes book. It's a must have for any gasser freak.
    Here's another pic from the book. I believe the T on the headlight stands for trophy, meaning they won their class that day.
    Larry T

    [​IMG]
     
  12. bobby_Socks
    Joined: Apr 12, 2006
    Posts: 938

    bobby_Socks
    Member
    from ǑǃƕǑ

    Great article, I learned something new today. Love the old drag racing stories and history.
     
  13. jangleguy
    Joined: Dec 26, 2004
    Posts: 2,668

    jangleguy
    Member

    Actually, the "T" sticker means they went through tech. Wayne Aertega is from Missouri. I believe the other guy in that shot was Pittmans crewchief, who's name I forget, but he's my buddys father-in-law. I'll show him this pic and see if we can get a positive ID on this individual...
     
  14. 1950ChevySuburban
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 6,187

    1950ChevySuburban
    Member Emeritus
    from Tucson AZ

    Thats always been one of my favorite cars since day one, and it's THE WILLYS that any others can compare up to. I'd like to see pics of all 3 guys posted, if someone out there has any?
     
  15. theres a picture of the team when KS pittman drove for them in Larry Davis` book `gasser wars`

    monkey
     
  16. Larry T
    Joined: Nov 24, 2004
    Posts: 7,875

    Larry T
    Member

    Good to know about the T, do you know what the "checker" on the other headlight is?

    The guys in the group picture are K.S Pittman, Wayne Arteaga, Doug Cook and Tiny Roberts. The guy in the white t shirt in the other picture is John Hellmuth.
     
  17. RatBone
    Joined: Sep 15, 2006
    Posts: 660

    RatBone
    Member

    Got my Rodders Journal last nite and they have a peice on the SWC car

    also our own Von Franco's car is on the cover! They did a great story on both versions of the kookie car!
     
  18. bobbyhstl
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 56

    bobbyhstl
    Member
    from St Louis

    All of those pictures were taken by either Wayne Arteaga or his brother Eldon. Both are professional photographers and have provided many pictures to Don Montgomery and the gassermadness site. They were taken in Wayne's garage in North St. Louis. He and my brother often provided pit service to all the name gassers when they were passing through the area.
     
  19. lolife
    Joined: May 23, 2006
    Posts: 1,125

    lolife
    Member

  20. 2002p51
    Joined: Oct 27, 2004
    Posts: 1,362

    2002p51
    Member

    And on a related note:

    This is Tim Woods

    [​IMG]

    He's related to the Woods of Stone, Woods, & Cook but I'm not sure how. He may be his grandson.

    He's been a regular in the NASCAR races at Irwindale Speedway in L.A. for the last few years and is trying to make a name for himself in the NASCAR West Division which runs similar cars to the Nextel Cup guys.

    This is the car he was driving in '05:
    [​IMG]

    He's a good driver and good with the media, but as usual he needs more money behind him to go any further.

    But at least there's still a racer in the family.
     
  21. I saw a picture of the team in Hot Rod or Rod & Custom back in the 90s(?). That was when I first learned they were Black. Also the book Driving Me Wild: Nitro-powered Outlaw Culture! by Leah M. Kerr discusses minorities in racing and car culture. Don't forget the Bean Bandits!
     
  22. Dago Red
    Joined: May 22, 2002
    Posts: 314

    Dago Red
    Member
    from Delaware



    Is it just me, or does he bear a striking resemblance to Nads?
     
  23. TOE
    Joined: Mar 22, 2006
    Posts: 597

    TOE
    Member

    Seems like there's been alot of talk about SWC and their cars in the past few weeks. I tried to dig up photos for the last thread but never got around to it. I managed to find one today. (I didn't take this photo, Mike gets the credit for this photo)

    Here is one of their cars that was shown at Jalopyrama III (2006).

    I'll try and dig up some of the others if there's interest.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2014
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  24. Paint
    Joined: Nov 18, 2005
    Posts: 309

    Paint
    Member

    Here is a pic that I have, can't remember where I found it though.....
     

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  25. Jeff Norwell
    Joined: Aug 20, 2003
    Posts: 14,809

    Jeff Norwell
    MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    Speed has no color.
     
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  26. buzzard
    Joined: Apr 20, 2001
    Posts: 4,335

    buzzard
    Alliance Member

    Toe, I'd like to see more or the pics.

    Anybody have and video footage of the cars?
     
  27. Tim woods is in the photo i described above....he`s maybe 9 or 10 in the shot

    whenever anybody mentions the word `Gasser`...stone , woods & cook always hits the brain first....damn i need to do a drawing of one of their cars

    monkey
     
  28. AlbuqF-1
    Joined: Mar 2, 2006
    Posts: 909

    AlbuqF-1
    Member
    from NM

    I believe Hot Rod had a piece about S-W-C maybe 10 - 15 yrs ago that was written around the fact they were black.

    I saw them run when I was a teen, and that Willys more than any other car symbolizes drag racing to me. Funny cars and rails may be faster, but the Willys looks like a Drag Racer, IMO.
     
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  29. mtm0078
    Joined: Jan 29, 2007
    Posts: 15

    mtm0078
    Member
    from Chicago IL

    I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on drag racing history, but I had never heard that Stone and Woods were black. This is even after reading Hot Rod for half my life and a few books on drag history. It&#8217;s a damn shame since I was always so proud to point out that drag racing was very acceptable of women. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" /><o:p></o:p>
    But, there have been plenty of folks that didn't care about ethnicity on the track. Some one mentioned the Bean Bandits, they were a pretty big club and successful. A local example i know of is two teams that pitted next to each other and were friends, one was called "Dirty White Boy" and the other was called "Snuff Box." &#8220;Snuff Box&#8221; was a black family that campaigned a few cars. From what I heard, they would be working on the cars and every now and then someone walking past would just stop in their steps and be plastered with a really surprised look. Next they would either laugh and walk on smiling or look pissed. Either way, the teams kept turning wrenches to make the next round. <o:p></o:p>
     
  30. THANKS for my new screensaver/wallpaper, or whatever you call it. Great pic
     

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