Losing another Gasser driver

Anyone familiar with drag racers/gasser drivers knows that we are living in a time of losing some of the biggest names the sport will ever know.
The list of famous drivers is the whos who list of racing. Just the other day (March 12th) we lost the famous funny car driver Shirl Greer at the age of 75. He was a former NHRA champion and a really nice guy.
K.S Pittman was one of the greatest Gasser men of all time and Bob Tasca SR. had some of the baddest funnys around. Now their gone.
We are on the verge of loosing not just another great driver but a super nice guy. Pork Zartman was the driver of the Filty Forty Willys owned by Charlie Hill . Pork was known for his driving and shifting skill as he always came out of the box with the front end hanging up in the air.
Pork is terminally ill with stage 4 cancer and it has progressed from his chest to his brain. As of this post he is recieving morphine to ease the pain and will no longer be able to verbally communicate with anyone.

Im sorta new here and I hate to post this bad news but my passon runs deep for the founders of the sport and maybe someone could start a - Gone but not forgotten -thread in honor of our fallen heros.
I sent a photo of Pork with Linda Vaughn and a shot of his Willys. G.S.

 

It has been a very hard day for the S&S family and ourselves. Most of us talked to pork just last week and were in hopes that he could still beat this awful thing called cancer. As of a phone call today we found out that that wasn't going to happen. We have become very close to pork over the last 5 years and have had a lot of good times with him. We know that our car has put a smile on his face more than once. Our love, thoughts and prayers are with him now. Love you pork.

 

This is terrible. I know he has been going through cancer treatment, but had hoped evrything would go ok. Just can't take much more news like this.

 

Thanks for being an inspiration, Porky. Hope you get to terrorize some clutches in Heaven-

 

Although I had never met Pork, from the postings to the group he was an inspriation to all that knew him and loved by all, My thoughts and prayers are with him and family.
bob urban

 

Yes, Shirl's funeral was today. I hope and pray for Pork and his family. My partner on our dragster Larry Putz has cancer also and is undergoing treatments. So many good old guys have left and or are nearing the end. Sad, very sad. Lippy

 

We got a chance to talk with Pork at the HHR in Bowling Green two years ago.

Vicki grew up in the same town as he lived, and remembers him from her early years. They had a great chat, and shared memories and laughs.

I remember him banging gears at York US 30 Dragway.

Great guy. It's too early for him to check out.

Prayers to his family and friends.

 

Grant Zartman here. Im going to be brief as you can imagine the past few days have extremely been hard watching my grandfather and my hero go thru something this terrible. I want to thank everyone for your condolences, I will let him know your thoughts are with him. Hopefully I can update soon.

 

Sad news indeed. Pork is a good friend of me & my Dad.

 

Pork is a great man, I am speechless! My heart goes out to Robin and their family.

 

As Ken said, it was wonderful to reconnect with Pork in Bowling Green - I remember him mostly in his adventures outside of racing and what I remember most is that he always had a smile.

My heart, which has been heavy all day, goes out to Pork's family.

As mentioned by Ken above our prayers are with you all.

 

one of the best 4 speed men to ever hold the clutch in.

 

Pork Zartman and the Filthy Forty was always a great crowd pleaser at the drags.... I used to watch him do HUGE wheelstands at York US30 in the mid 60's. Got to know him better at the York nostalgia shows, he alway's had a story and a smile to share, a great guy that will be missed.

 

Read again, he hasn't passed. But is very sick with advanced cancer

 

I saw the Hill & Zartman "Filthy Forty" for the first time during the Drag News Invitationals at Dragway 42 in 1963 and was simply amazed. To me, that car epitomized the word "gasser".

Pork Zartman has led a very colorful existence and certainly can be numbered as one of drag racing's best 4-speed operators EVER!

There is a REAL campaign going on to preserve the legacy of people like K.S. Pitman, Shirl Greer and - sadly - Pork Zartman. It's called "Project 1320". Read about this project here: http://www.project1320.com/
It's our chance to DO something to preserve drag racing history and the memory of those who made our sport what it is today.

 

Thank you for the clarification. He is still hanging in there. I see him every day.

 

Please pass these thoughts on to him. I loved all the gassers in the 60s but the Filthy Forty was my favorite. Tell him all his fans are pulling for him.

 

I don't know him, but my thoughts and prayers are with the ones who have lost their dear friend.

 

Get well Soon Porky! I've read about him in my Gasser War's book. I also followed the thread on the Willys Repop. Glad he got to see it - this got to be the coolest thing ever. He's a great inspiration for us young guys.

 

If anyone wishes to send Pork a "thinking of you" electronic card you can do so through the Hanover General Hospital in Hanover, PA

http://www.hanoverhospital.org/pages/patient_greeting.asp

I addressed mine to Pork Zartman, his first two initials are H.G., but Hanover is a small hospital I feel certain he will receive the card under Pork Zartman.

Thinking of you Pork !!!

 

That's a bummer. Is there any relation to the car in post #22 of this thread....
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=312548&page=2

 

Thanks a lot for that link Vicki! I just sent mine to Pork. He's a great guy and maybe all the support will be of some comfort to him. Mike

 

My prayers go out to them and their families.

 

Do we know what room he is in? The card asked for a room number.

How about it HAMB? This guy needs to know we remember and care.

 

The two cars that Charley Hill owned were the Dirty thirty and the filthy forty. I know Pork drove the Forty but Im not sure about the 33.

 

pork drove the forty. when his business obligations took over his time Larry Roberts shared the driving duties. The 33 was driven by Bob Palmer. When Wanda gets home she will be able to tell you all what room he is in. Larry

 

>>>>>,That's just too sad for werds ,,i lost my wife of 26 years to cancer in '05 ,,and a close friend to a brain tumor last year ..K S Pitman was in the Alzheimers Hospital in Springfield ,Mo ,,so i kinda know what him and his family are going thru ,,it's not gonna get any better guys ,,as the years roll on ,,we're gonna loose more of the greats that made our sport the best on the planet ,,
my prayers & thoughts go with Pork and his family and friends ,,he IS one of the greats ,,!!!

 

I just found a shot of Pork driving the Dirty Thirty. Sorry the pictures not that good. I also included a great Jack Dunn photo of Pork in the 40.

 

Randy,
I know where you got the picture of the dirty thirty from and i know what it says underneath it but we have had alot of conversations with pork. I specifically asked him if he ever drove the dirty thirty and he said no. By the time charlie was running this car pork was out of dragracing and attending college. I'm not sure if that means he never drove it but he said that he never raced it. If you go to the thread "Historical tech of the filthy forty and look at post #151 you will see an article with the correct information. If anyone else has anymore information please feel free to post.

 

Wanda,

Sorry for the wrong info on the Dirty Thirty. I wasn't sure, but I saw the picture on the website and the article said it was Pork with the car.

I hope you like these pictures we took at the Willys Home Run 2008.

The pictures of you and Pork in the 40 were taken during the parade lap on the track when S & S were honored.

We caught Pork taking a snooze beside our trailer and I just couldn't resist taking a picture!