2/8/06
ANOTHER
HALL OF FAME NOMINEE
I've always wondered why a Southern California drag racer who came
from Ohio, named Ed Lenarth, never gets a mention, ever. He built and
ran a rear engine dragster, called the Yellow or Top Banana with chain
drive before rear motor cars were the norm. The Sixties he built and ran
two funny cars before there really were funny cars, both Jeeps. The first
jeep, The Secret Weapon, toured the county and the Holy Toledo saw service
until open roadsters were outlawed at most events.
The Seventies saw Ed build a really trick rear engine sidewinder funny car, which he didn't like being short, and finally turned it into a dragster. That last dragster failed to be successful with the end of 392's and the sky rocketing costs.
Ed seemed to be a creative little guy whose inventions only were noticed for a splash of the moment and the photos of those cars must be lost forever. He has just recently restored the Holy Toledo and has shown it at the Hot Rod Reunions. I'm sure there's others, but I notice that everybody who sees that Jeep has some memory of it.
Mike Thompson
MORE NOMINEES
The Hall of Fame could not be complete without Denny Savage, Tripp Shumake,
and Shirl Greer! These men beat the tracks to death from coast to coast
and border to border. Some of us were just putting our bicycles away when
these men started racing. I am one of the many that were befriended by
these kind and gentle men. To some they may have been "just racers,"
but to me they were friends. When they were in the Midwest they would
always have time to go to dinner with my wife and me or just sit around
the trailer and chew the fat. It was always a thrill when we would go
to the track and hear one of them yell at us saying "Hey, I know
you." It was like starting a friendship all over again. Old funny
cars and good friends. GOD, I MISS'EM!!!
Jimmy Montgomery
Round Lake, IL
ONE MORE
Although you seem to want to honor only drivers, it occurred to me that a worthy candidate might be Don Hardy. Back in the '70s he commanded both Pro Stock and Funny Car fields --like you rolled Jerry Haas and Murf McKinney into one. Food for thought.
Bill Holland
'FOREIGN' CARS IN PRO STOCK
Hey Jeff...ya musta been reading my mind -- well, if I had one. YouR
editorial really hit the nail on the head on both subjects. Like it or
not the environmentalists are always looking for a cause. But the big
deal is the "foreign cars". There is no reason why a Honda or
Toyota shouldn't be running in Pro Stock. Just don't change the rules,
the engine and minimum weight rules have made the racing very close and
I am sure the "imports" can build a high hp 500 incher.
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As we know, most of the "foreign" car are built here anyway.
I've been around dealerships all of my life. Go look at the window sticker
on any domestic car, they have to list the local and "foreign"
parts on the car as well as final assembly point. Mopar builds trucks
in Mexico and some of the big cars in Canada. The Stratus is a Diamond
Star project with Mitsubishi. Oh well...!
From what I hear, the Sport Compact Series is not drawing many cars or
much of a crowd. If NHRA was smart, they'd close that deal down and integrate
some of the cars into the big show and, of course, allow the foreign cars
into Pro Stock. My guess is they would gain spectators and entrants.
Well, thanks for continuing to put out interesting thoughts. Maybe someday
someone in Glendora will listen!
Best regards,
Gary P. Jackson
Temple, Texas
