My brother has owned the 27 Ford pickup in that video since 1974. http://www.krusebrotherscarclub.com/Don-s--27-Ford.html
Ryan, just like your experience, I was in the Ferguson's Race Shop studying the Eddie Miller lakester when Don II said go ahead sit in it. Once I slipped into the tight cockpit, I could see the salt in my mind, feel the vehicle bounce over the surface,,,, and I have pictures. We are lucky fools!
Great story and outstanding film footage of some very cool hot rods from back in the day. Thanks Ryan
I would say "pictures, or it didn't happen", but I don't think that'll fly on this one! Beautiful car to be sure, now if 'ol Wally just would have towed you to the parking lot and said "hit the go pedal!"
Ryan, Red Greth, one of the owners and I believe the driver most of the time, has a little house in a remote village here in NM and I met him one day at the local post office, and helped some getting this little adobe house updated and fixed up like he wanted. He and his wife Marge (who has since passed) are some of the nicest people I have ever met in drag racing. Over beers, Red has told me some of the things these guys did in the mid 50s to make that car run like it did - and they were World Champs outrunning the top fuel cars of the day. Red has the framed Kenny Youngblood poster of that car hanging on the wall of the house, and I admire it every time I stay there when I need to travel down there on business. I mentioned this to Red, and the next thing I know a poster shows up at my house here in Taos. Great car, great guy, one of the true pioneers of drag racing.
I saw it, (or at least a car that was advertised as the "Speed Sport Roadster"), at Byron Dragway, (Byron ILL.), in about 1986. Unfortunately, something broke at the starting line and it made a hard left turn into a wall. Not sure if it was the original Speed Sport Roadster, but that is how it was described.
Thanks Ryan, great to watch and really enjoyed it. That little buggy is a perfect time capsule in my opinion and you lucky dog got to sit in her. The images in that video reminds me of when I was a kid hanging out at the great lakes drag strip in Wisconsin. Damn, that was fun.
I first saw the Speed Sport roadster at the 1960 March Meet. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. It was built by 3 kids from Arizona, Gary (Red) Geth, Lyle Fisher, and Don Maynard. Red and Lyle shared the driving for a while, then Red became the regular driver. I had the very good fortune to have a discussion with Red a couple of years ago about the roadster. I mentioned that I always thought his signature air scoop was the best design ever done. Humble as he is, he graciously thanked me for the compliment. A few weeks later, he called and said to come look him up at the CHRR at Famoso. Red dug out the original 1957 mold, and made one of his scoops for me! It is now worn proudly on my current RPU.
The rivalry between the Speed Sport roadster and the Bean Bandits roadster started in the mid fifties at the old Paradise Mesa drag strip east of San Diego. The first time I ever felt the ground shake when a drag car fired up was there when these cars were lit off. I met Red Greth about 10 years ago at a FAST hillclimb at Pacaho Peak and happened to be wearing a Bean Bandits hat. Got some pictures somewhere of us with the correct hats, his a Speed Sport hat of course.
I fell in love with the Speed Sport roadster the moment I saw it at the 1960 March Meet. The roadster was built by 3 kids from Arizona, Gary (Red) Greth, Lyle Fisher, and Don Maynard, who later was the wrench for the Greek. A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune to have a conversation with Red about the roadster. I mentioned that I have always admired his signature air scoop design. Humble as he is, he graciously accepted the compliment. A few weeks later, Red called, and said to look him up at the CHRR in Famoso. Red had dug out the original 1957 mold, and made a Speed Sport blower scoop for me! It is now worn proudly on my current RPU.
A very cool car..... I like how back in the day, the push car just follows the drag car down the strip during it's run!
Does anyone know anything about Lyle Fisher?? Several years ago,we were going to the CCHRR up in Bakersfield but stopped by the NHRA museum in Pamona,,While we were there,the owners of the "Speed Sport"were there picking it up to take it on to Bakersfield..The next day as we were loading up at the motel,heading on out to the track,this fellow comes up and asked if he can have a ride out to the track with us.His name was Lyle Fisher..he told us that he was kinda out of sync with current owners so was not invited by them to tag along with them,We let him ride to the track with us..sorry to say,Lyle was just a little drunk. We never saw him after arriving at the strip.I'm sure he asked us as he knew of the car we were taking,,Bobby Langleys Scorpion. I just wondered what ever become of Lyle..
That's a nice video, and a nice car. A trad RED, going neck to neck with a trad FED! That's awesome. Is it disrespectful to call it a RED, because that's what it looks like to me. It are they both slingshots? Non the less, that's a beautiful care, lakster looking from the front, roadster looking from the back and awesome in profil. Any info on the white coupe with the flames on the rear left 1/4 panel? Now I'll go an read about that little beautiful brown truck.
They went everywhere with that roadster in the '50s. It was far ahead of it's time and well built. Here it is at Bob Osiecki's meet in Chester S.C. in 1957. I had the pleasure of seeing it and hearing at Bakersfield after the restoration. Those 8 long straight pipes exiting behind the rear axle made more noise than anything there.
Hey Ryan, ,,,great story,,, afew years ago I went to the race at Bakersfield,, the following Monday may flight home out of Onterio was late so Alan Miller and I went by the Museurm,,,,as luck would have it......The Speed Sport Roadster was being retuned,,, so we helped them unload the car off the trailer,,,,it is hard to steer leaning over the car,,,,,Lucky me !! They ask me to get in the car and drive,,,So there we go,,,, cruseing thru the museurm and backing it to its resting place under the hugh Lyons Drag Strip painting.........yep I did it,,,,and I still smile when I think about it. Sammy Mahan
Ryan, I just talked to Red here in NM, he was heading back to Tucson and will be looking this up tomorrow when he gets home. BTW, he has a molded foam product company, and made some crown molding for the living room that holds 4x6 photos- it goes all the way around the living room, and there's some pretty famous folks up there, mostly just kickin' back and having fun.
Ryan is so right,and I too have always thought this was the coolest hot rod drag cars in existence. HRP
I got to watch the Speed Sport roadster run a couple times at the old Colton drag strip back in the 50's. That's a sound that will go to my grave with me, forever locked in my brain. How I wish I could see and hear it just one more time.
That is so cool in so many ways. push cars chasing the racers down the track. Tire smoke after they got moving. FE and RE and hot rods and run anything you got, simple garage built stuff. Love it!!
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