Photos by Marc Gewertz
They say it was the biggest ever, and they came from all over the world to participate in the 18th annual California Hot Rod Reunion presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. They came with Funny Cars — 32, I’m told. They came with 16 Top Fuel dragsters, Fuel Altereds, race cars, muscle cars, street machines, rat rods, customs and even a 9-cylinder drag bike. They came like pilgrims to the West Coast mecca of drag racing: Auto Club Famoso Raceway near Bakersfield, Calif., for one of nostalgia racing’s biggest events to race and pay homage to the sport’s heroes including, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen, “TV” Tommy Ivo, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and so many more who came to recapture the glory days of quarter-mile drags.
What’s also great about the Reunion is that all the proceeds benefit the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. No sooner was it over that we were thrashing on a big display for the 50th Anniversary of the Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals. Scheduled for February 11-14, 2010, the Winternationals promises to be one big party for nostalgia fans. A new exhibit sponsored by Banks Engineering honoring Mickey Thompson will open on Thursday, February 11. The Automobile Club of Southern California will host its Night of Champions on Friday, February 12, and there will be a Racing Collectible show on Saturday, February 13. Saturday will also be the day of a big banquet honoring the legends of our sport so for further information about events at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, visit our website at http://museum.nhra.com or call 909.622.2133.
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