So bumed about this. He would always take the time to speak to anyone with questions or comments. Screen shot from his granddaughter.
Three guys from Tucson built one of, if not the most recognizable drag car of that era and now they are reunited in Eternal Life. Rest In Peace Don Maynard, Lyle Fisher and Red Greth.
Looks old enough to have had a long life, longer than many of us will see. Lets celebrate his life not morn his death..
Great interview, thanks for posting that @HEMI32 . Red was as sharp as a tack and had a good sense of humor too, the kind of guy you'd like to spend some time with.
All of my "RIP ... ?????? ???????" tribute threads are exactly that! ... a celebration of the individual's life and his contributions to this "Traditional Hot Rodding / Traditional Customizing" hobby of ours.
Never met him but wish I had. A man who is a treasury of knowledge, yet approachable and willing to talk with teens and twenty-somethings who want to learn from him--a rare treasure. Sounds a lot like my friend Harold Pilgrim who is 83, still building cars, and knows as much about Y-blocks and '50s Fords as anyone alive. I pick his brain every chance I get because I know he won't always be there.
I fell in love with that roadster the first time I saw it run, those guys knew what it was all about.
Ran into Red at a F.A.S.T. Hillclimb in Tucson and was wearing my Bean Bandits hat. Needless to say, somebody took a picture of us and I can’t find the damn photo. Watching the Speed Sport and Bean Bandit’s cars in a match race at Paradise Mesa was a sight to behold.
How totally COOL.......early on he worked with jalopy, midget, sprint and Indy guys like Roger McCluskey and Bill Cheesbourg.......and realized early on that all these dirt oval racers broke a lot of stuff !!!.......so he switched to drag racing ! I love the fact that he truly focused on the PEOPLE and the FUN of what he did all those years........truly what hot rodding is all about. Have fun
Before the Speed Sport Roadster, there was the LORDS Car Club (Tuscon, Arizona) flathead-powered fuel dragster: left to right: Lyle Fisher, Don Maynard, & Red Greth Red Greth tucked inside his slingshot dragster at the Davis-Monthan AFB Dragstrip left to right: Don Maynard, Mason Downey & Jim Ashenbrenne
Vintage ('55 thru early '60s) photos of the Speed Sport roadsters: 1955 - Red Greth & Don Maynard installing the 6-carb mainfold on the 331ci Chrysler HEMI image by Bill Turney 1955 - Don Maynard sands the fiberglass engine cover while Red Greth and Lyle Fisher work on the engine image by Bill Turney (early) 1956 - one of the roadster's 1st outings at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson Don Maynard (with sunglasses) Red Greth (with one shoe off) image by Bill Turney 1956 - at the Davis Monthan AFB drag strip Red Greth vs. Emory Cook in the Cook & Bedwell dragster image by Bill Turney 1957 - at Great Bend, Kansas Red Greth vs. Bobby Joe Ruttledge image by Don Elliott 1957 - at Great Bend, Kansas Red Greth on a single image by Don Elliott 1957 (August 24th) - at ATAA World Series in Cordova, Illinois Red Greth in the cockpit with crew members Don Myers, Lyle Fisher, Joe Bush and Don Maynard Greth had just run the meets best 9.83 at 169mph photographer unknown 1957 (August 24th) - at ATAA World Series in Cordova, Illinois Lyle Fisher with the Speed Sport roadster image by Ron Johnson 1957 - another Top Eliminator trophy at Paradise Mesa Dragstrip (San Diego, California) left to right: Red Greth, Joe Bush, Don Maynard, Trophy Queen Louise Muller & Lyle Fisher. image by Bob Hardee (early) 1959 - SPEED SPORT roadster image by Ralph Guldahl SPEED SPORT roadster photographer unknown SPEED SPORT roadster photographer unknown SPEED SPORT roadster photographer unknown SPEED SPORT roadster photographer unknown SPEED SPORT Special roadster at Caddo Mills, Texas image by Connell R. Miller _______________________________________________ (late) 1959 - SPEED SPORT II roadster image by Ralph Guldahl SPEED SPORT II roadster at LIONS photographer unknown SPEED SPORT II roadster photographer unknown SPEED SPORT II roadster image by Ken Crawford _______________________________________________ ... and some circa 1959 home movie footage of the SPEED SPORT II roadster at Riverside: video by Junji Nakamura (@jnaki)
Here's some vintage photos of the SPEED SPORT front-engine dragsters: photographer unknown photographer unknown photographer unknown photographer unknown photographer unknown photographer unknown
I didn't know Red hardly at all, but he was always friendly when he'd bring his car over to Bisbee for the small car show there. I'll miss him.
Hello, Thanks for including my late 1959 films from Riverside Raceway in December and also from Bakersfield in March of 1960. They are the only color films showing the famous Speed Sport Roadster in its late 50s early 60s form. We were lucky to be in an era where some of the most prolific drag racing builds started the road to power/fame and more power. My brother and I had been reading about the A/Modified Roadster called the Speed Sport Special in the local Drag News paper, every week. It was pretty amazing that it was setting speed records everywhere except in So Cal. So, the reading and acknowledgment continued until one cold, December morning in 1959. We had heard that the top drag racers in the USA were coming out West to challenge the top racers from the Westcoast. So, upon arriving in the cold morning in Riverside, we set out to see some of those we only saw in the Drag News paper every week. The Greek, Bobby Langley, Don Garlits, and of course, the orange Speed Sport Special Modified Roadster, (Red Greth, Don Maynard, and Lyle Fisher) were some of the non-So Cal racers in attendance. December 1959 Being bright orange, this Modified Roadster stood out from all of the rest in the pits and on the raceway. It wasn’t just the bright orange-red color, but it was the total presentation that impressed most of us. The idling in the pits was impressive, the rump-rump throttle was really impressive and the full on power runs on the dragstrip made everyone stand up to see it in action. The long, tall walled, canyon on both sides of the raceway accentuated that powerful sound, as it whipped by showing some great runs and eliminations. Mr.Nailhead 1959 A cold, So Cal day at Riverside Raceway, we also saw the famous Speed Sport Roadster with its memorable scoop, too. Jnaki Speed Sport Roadster vs The Chizzler…short Friday Art We all knew the Speed Sport roadster was a killer, straight arrow, handling machine in the quarter mile, even with all of that power. 1960 When my brother and I went to the Bakersfield Smokers March Meet in 1960, the first race car we saw/enjoyed up close and personal was the bright orange Speed Sport Modified Roadster. The color films of the modified roadster are still some of the rare, “in action” shots of the famed rear engine roadster. Speed Sport Roadster two brothers Bakersfield vs Hill, Acala and Tony Waters. If one were to see this red roadster in the next lane or on the elimination board, it would be intimidating to say the least. The race record speaks for itself. There were many copies of this design, some were fast, others, not so much. But, no one or thing ever matched the history and intimidating design of this modified roadster. New Photo: photographer unknown
Anytime I ran into Red he would always want an update on my coupe. He was super awesome to talk to. When I first got my driver's license I was able to work a summer job at Bill Cheesburg shop. He never talked about Indy. He was always really nice to me and showed me anything I wanted to learn. I sure miss talking to him as well.
The Jalopy Journal
