Best drag race I ever saw,65 maybe 66 or 67 Manassas ,Va. K.S., SWC, Big John and Gene Altizer, little 1/5 mi track. seems like back then he was around here[MD VA] all the time. Can never repay him for the great memories. God bless K.S. and his family.
Its very sad to hear that K.S.'s time on this earth is coming to a end. The comforting part is he is surrounded by loved ones and isn't in pain. My heart goes out to Lavunn as she has been by his side and I know what she is going through is very difficult. When I was getting ready to make the first pass in the K.S. tribute car, my thoughts were with him. I wasn't really sure if this was the right place to make the first pass, the last thing I wanted to do was take this tribute to the greatest gasser driver of all time, and a hero and friend of both myself and my Dad and not represent him well. I wasn't sure how this run was going to happen, but when I staged the Willys and hit the throttle at the green, she left really hard and instantly started to lift the front end, at first I thought it was just going to ride the wheelie bar and make it through, then she started to climb towards the sky, in what I felt was a salute to K.S.. K.S. was one the toughest racers I knew and one of the best show men ever to get behind a wheel. This was for him. When the time comes to say good by to him, I know it won't be easy. The easy part will be knowing that he is in a better place and knowing he's with my Dad and the countless other friends he has made. Rocky
Hope K.S. knew how much of an influence he was to a bunch of zit-faced teenage drag race fans back in the day. Legend of Drag Racing just doesn't seem like enough of a description to me. I am sure that God was just wandering around his pits and thought he needed a good gasser shoe. K
Father in Heaven, we humbly ask that you Bless the Pitman family, Give them your strength dear Lord. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen
Saw him many times at Beeline Dragway in Scottsdale in the sixty's run against Johnny Loper, Stones Woods and Cook, Ohio George. and Big Maz. Saw him stand his Willys on the rear bumper and almost went over!!!!Those were GREAT days! They'll all be missed but not forgotten. John
Any update on KS? I used to live about a half mile away from him in Granada Hills, back in the day (sixties).
It will be another sad day for Gasser fans when KS "goes home" to join other legends. Hats off to LaVaun for her love and devotion to him, especially through tough times. Great that Rocky Perrone and Bob Clayton did tribute cars to KS as this will keep his name alive. As much as we expect and no matter how much preparation, it's never easy when the time comes. I salute LaVaun and my deepest sympathies to the Pittman family. Vic
wow,THAT is a prayer!I owe my passion to these guys.Even though I never saw him race,these oriiginal gasser guys steered my course through life,
Amen to all of the above ^^^^ But... This was posted almost 2 weeks ago.... anyone have an update of some sort?
GodSpeed KS, At least I got to hang out, talk, watch, race with, (not against) and admire a true legend. Goldy
I just learned that K.S. passed last night. Rest in Peace with all the other drag racing Legends who have left us.
Damn ! K.S. was my long time hero since the '60's;loved his style of racing.My condolences to his family;sad,sad day !!
Sorry to report that K.S. died Sunday. he was one of the greatest builder/drivers EVER! And we were friends. DAMN!
K.S. Pittman sure is known as one of drag racing's most celebrated drivers and fabricators... Probably best known for his part in the ultra-competitive "Gasser Wars" during drag racings formidable years, his cars always looked sharp (uh, make that absolutely pristine!) and he performed within the top of the heap... Quite a long time ago, I think it was at one of E'Town's very first Old Time Drags & Rod Run (now known as the Nostalgia Summernationals & Old Time Drags & Funny Car Reunion), K.S. Pittman brought an A/GS car to the event, I clearly remember how the beautiful car "aggressively bounced" its way down the E'Town quartermile, it was quite a sight to see, I'll never forget it-- I immediately fell in love with the car and grew to appreciate the "Gassers"... He also brought the car to one of E'Town's big wed night "under the stars" Thrill Shows, the car had an unfortunate incident while doing a burnout, it got out of shape, resulting in a rear dent-- nothing major though... Here at Drag Racing Underground we have a pretty good amount of footage of K.S. and his Gasser, I believe some of that footage is featured on our "From England To Englishtown" video... For those younger folks who would like to learn more about K.S.Pittman's history, there's Leah Kerr's informative book, "Driving Me Wild- Nitro Powered Culture", featuring the story of K.S. Pittman (yes, it's the same book that dedicated a couple of pages to your's truly with the Big Stick thing, as well), the portion of the book dedicated to K.S. Pittman gives the reader interesting insight into K.S. Pittman's illustrious racing career-- He had a truly incredible racing career (there's also other "Gasser" legends like Stone-Woods-Cook featured in the book)... I'd like to offer my sincere condolences to K.S. Pittman's family... There's definitely no denying that K.S. Pittman contributed an awful lot to the sport of drag racing... K.S. Pittman will most certainly be missed... I'm really looking forward to seeing the East Coast Gassers club do their thing at the E'Town Nostalgia Summernationals in July, they do a d*rn good job of keeping the K.S. Pittman "Gassers are a Blast" spirit alive... Long live the Gassers and K.S. Pittman's memory... Diana
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