Folks Of Interest RIP EJ Potter

I lettered two race cars for E.J.Potter in the 60's......the Allison powered Valiant wagon....and the "Electric" Fiat .........

 

RIP EJ,...a real hot rodder!
...if you can get his book or DVD, get em they are great and funny.

 

Bummer! I remember hearing of that guy before I could even drive. RIP

 

Driving the bikes he drove, he was truly a man's man. R.I.P. Pretty cool guy for sure-Jim

 

Sorry to hear that. I never got to watch him make a run but always read everything I found on him through and through when I was younger.

 

Thanks Larry...........Have been curious IF HE was Still with US.

Had Priviledge of seein' HIM do HIS gutsey, " 7,000 rpm's ....Push
IT OFF THE REAR STAND ! " Runs .

Yes R.I.P MR. POTTER

( HIS AGE ??? )

 

RIP wildman

 

I remember him at San Gabriel Drag strip in the late 50's early 60's. when he got into a speed wobble in the lights and stepped off the bike. He was scheduled to make 3 runs and before he would let them take him to the Hospital he got on the PA system and told the fans that he would come back for the last 2 runs. and he came back a couple months later and ran harder than before.
RIP Mr Potter, you faced death more than most and still made it to the end in style!

 

When I was a kid my dad ran a 65 Plymouth at Onondaga Dragway in Michigan. When I was around 6 years old I saw him do a run at Onondaga and it scared the hell out of me. LOL

It was so cool.

RIP

 

Just read his book a few weeks ago,courtesy of a friend.
A terrific read.Talk about down to earth and a funny guy,great take on life.
Met him at the York reunion a few years back.
Sorry to hear.
What a life.

 

I have always been amazed by his ingenuity and balls. I ride a Boss Hoss bike, but would never consider, for a moment, riding like he did

 

Sad. Another brave innovator gone.

 

What can you say!
He was an American original, one of a kind!
An icon of a past era that will never come again.
RIP, Godspeed EJ!

 

Here's a pic I always liked. Early on in his career I suppose.

 

hero ,plain & simple ,great innovator with balls of a rhino to ride like he did ! godspeed

 

Rip e.j.

 

Years ago I had a conversation with him. He seemed like a genuine and a good person. He was friendly but not self-promoting. He actually seemed a little shy. He wasn't at all the wild man one might assume he would be. In his book he minimized who he was and what he did. Even if he felt he could/should have done more in his life, he did get to be E.J. Potter.

There were drag bikes running faster times than his bike did, but those bikes weren't as outrageous to watch as his runs were.

One of the members of this forum owns one of his bikes.

 

This sucks to hear. A true pioneer gone. I was fortunate to have talked to EJ on the phone once. He will always be my hero. RIP

 

I saw him run several times...the last time was MANY years ago and he came off of the bike at 100+ MPH...He was frickin nuts but entertaining...Rest In Peace Sir!!

 

That sounds like the time the throttle stuck and he jumped off.

 

E.J. was one of a kind,... Clyde and I would take him out for "Rat Burgers" when we went over to see him,... Last time we went to lunch he wanted to go to Subway,.. because it was healthier,... I looked at him and said...

"E.J. after all the near death experiences you've been through and all the risks you've taken all your life,... why the sudden health kick ?" He gave me that goofy smile,.. stared at me a little while and said "Your never to old to learn a few good habits".
Recently Clyde went to see E.J.,.. I was unable to make it, and I felt bad about it (and feel much worse about it now) ,... Afterword I talked to Clyde, And Clyde told me E.J. was totally out of it,... He said the old spark was missing from him,..And He was afraid E.J. was loosing his will to go on........

E.J.,... You will be missed more than you could ever know,......
God speed my friend.

 

The original Motherfrikkin Madman!

 

If it weren't for all the tire smoke you could probably see the trailer he pulled behind the bike to carry his balls in.What a dude!! R.I.P. EJ

 

Never saw him run but you didn't have to see him to admire him...RIP

 

Saw EJ run many times at Onondaga in the sixties. Then later running his pulling tractors. He dreamed big. He also mowed down some pretty good size trees at Onondaga when he stepped off in the traps!

 

Exactly...RIP EJ, you are missed!!

 

R.I.P. Mr. Potter..

 

RIP Mr. Potter. Who'd thought he would have made it this far.

 

I saw him run at Central Michigan Dragway in the early 60's. The man had no fear. R.I.P.

 

I saw E.J. the first time in 1963 at Detroit Dragway. We were there running at night with our B/S 409 Chevy. I was under the hood setting the timing (at 3500rpm to get total advance) and missed the announcer telling that he was going to make a run. The pitside people made a dash for the fence and I followed to see what was up. There on the starting line was a bike with the rear tire on some sort of jackstand with the engine at what must have been red line, and someone looking over the riders shoulder. All of a sudden the jackstand flips up, the rear tire contacts the strip and fights for traction amid a smoke screen that engulfed the starting line and off the bike went. The rider calmly adjusted the trajectory of the bike like he was riding on a tricycle down the sidewalk and blasted down the track in what at the time seemed like an impossibly short time. I don't recall the speed or E.T. but I think I stood there slack jawed for what must have been a couple of minutes.
Some time later I got to watch him make a pass in his "slot car"
Fiat and his Puller tractor but those are stories for another time. There have been some great showmen in my lifetime but E.J. easily makes the top five on my list. Rest in Peace E.J.

Frank