Great post. Bookmarked (no pun intended) the link to buy the book next time I place an Amazon order. Edit. Just ordered a used hard back copy from Amazon for $5.73 with tax and free shipping.
I have not heard of this book. I too will look for it. The last few days I have been thinking of Big Willie Robinson as his Charger is going to be sold. I only ever saw him on TV and magazines, but what an ambassador for good people he was.
Great post Ryan, my hat is off to you. Excellence recognizes no barriers, including those artificially imposed by ignorance. Hot rodders should be particularly aware of this given our history of being legislated against. Motorsports, and the NHRA in particular, makes no impediments for race, creed, or sex.
Where I work it's probably 90% bruthas, all awesome guys. Some of um are into cars, no trad guys tho. But they love the shoebox. They are into the modern speed though. I have got some crazy stories of Goin out partyin with these guys, lol. I invited um all out to the lake once a few years ago to do the boat thing. I went to the dock and pick um up, and they're all dressed like we're Goin out to the club or something.... Lol. I said wtf? And they said shit, we didn't know what to wear! Luckily I have a lot of swim suits....
Right there with you on Big Willie and Tomiko too! Too bad his Daytona is slightly OT here as I'd love to post some shots of it. The King of Terminal Island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/"Big_Willie"_Robinson
Don't forget Wendell Scott, Bold pioneer. Fearless driver. Skilled mechanic. Devoted family man. World War II veteran. Danville, Virginia, native Wendell Scott was all of those things and much more, which is why he is a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2015. He was active from 1963 to 1970. HRP
We used to go to his bracket races at Terminal Island Dragstrip. He sure was a character. The track closed, then opened back up in the 90's. Til some jackass shot somebody over a flirting incedant. Then Long Beach closed it for good.
BTW, the 1977 racing movie, "Greased Lightning" was loosely based on the true life story of Wendell Scott. HRP
I just watched that (again) the other night. My grandfather was always big into stock car racking way back in the day. He always pulled for underdogs and Wendell was one of his favorites.
Maybe some of you SoCal guys remember Mark, with the white 63-64 Nova? He raced out of TeamC shop in Bellflower. Think he was from Lynwood. We used to meet up on Sundays, for the Street Races, at Stonewood Shopping Center in Downey. Around 9ish, Mark would show up with a few guys and a Fuel Altered Fiat, and try to get anybody to race. Mark also hung out at Scottys, on Whittier Blvd. Never could get him to race my VW, lol. But, he was right there every time I won! Fond memories.
"You get as much good luck as you do bad. You can't use luck as an excuse." Booker T. Jones. From New England Antique Racer Hall of Fame Booker T. Jones Car Owner/Driver Class of 2003 As an African-American, Booker Jones realized that breaking into racing would be tough, but he didn’t realize how tough. Finally, when he was unable to persuade anyone to let him drive for them, he tried his hand at building his own car. After his first race, at Miller’s Falls, Mass., Booker knew that competing in a race car was something he wanted to do. In those early years, he found that drivers deliberately tried to wreck him. His answer was to build stronger cars that could stand up to the punishment, and, when he was pushed, he pushed back. He slowly gained a reputation as a racer to be respected. Booker was one of the original low-buck back yard racers but competing against big dollar teams and names like Geoff Bodine, Richie Evans, Bugs Stevens, and Ron Bouchard, Booker proved that he could be consistently competitive. With the help of a handful of good friends, including Ray Anderson, Rick McNally, and Bruce Bentley, the cars and motors that Booker put together at his Springfield auto repair shop ran up front with the high dollar teams. While Booker won’t be remembered for many wins or championships, he will be remembered for his generosity and a sincere willingness to help out his fellow competitors Late in the 1967 season, Pete Hamilton was barely leading the NASCAR National Sportsman point championship and his car was unable to compete in an important race. Without hesitation, Booker offered the #27 and Pete garnered enough points that allowed him to be the champion. Booker followed the career Wendell Scott, a fellow African American who drove a Grand National car. One of Booker’s biggest disappointments was that he was racing at Utica-Rome one night, and missed Scott, who came looking for Booker to warm up his Grand National car at the Thompson Speedway. Bones Bourcier recently paid tribute to Booker in the February 2003 issue of Speedway Illustrated: “He drove NASCAR modifieds around the Northeast for what seemed like a hundred years, and yet when he died this past July at the age of 74, it was not his racing you remembered. It was his friendly smile, his big right hand shaking yours. He was everybody’s buddy.” Breaking into racing is never easy, but Booker Jones overcame tough odds to persevere as one of the few African Americans in racing. We welcome him into the NEAR Hall of Fame. Noted Racing Journalist and Author Bones Bourcier presents Booker's award to the Jones family.
The Jalopy Journal
