It's been said after every CHRR that "this was the best one yet" and we wonder what Steve Gibbs and Greg Sharp can possibly do to make it any better. Thus, it came as no surprise that the 2007 show was, in my humble opinion and that of many others, the BEST ever. I flew out on Thursday morning from my home in Virginia and was at the track around two on Thursday afternoon. The racers were getting settled in the pits and some of the display cars and cacklers were being unloaded in The Grove, the nicely shaded area behind the pit side stands.

The first new car I spotted was the un-mistakable Tognotti car from Sacramento with it’s unique body flares at the slicks. Owner Larry Crossan and John Dearmore have done a terrific job in restoring this one. The yellow paint job is stunning and the car lacks only lettering to make it complete.

Just down The Grove were two more cars making their debut ..the Shrank Brothers Desoto dragster and the injected hemi Scotty Fenn TE440 car of Bartlett Brothers and Moore (photos are in the gallery) Then I spotted one of the “must see” cars..the partially restored Zeuschel, Fuller&_Jimmy Nix car from 1965/66. Owner Larry Anderson had the chassis work done by John Shoemaker and Kent Fuller is going to finish the body. Larry is the engine man. The finished car will no doubt be a star attraction next year.

 

I wandered over to the pits just in time to see Joe Passalaqua and his crew unloading “The Smirnoff Special”. Wow! Double wow!!! I have a special affection for this car as I crewed on it at the 68 AHRA Winter Nationals at Beeline The vodka folks have it exactly right….this one leaves you breathless. Joe was parked next to Ron Johnson’s rig with the Tommy Ivo “Barnstormer” making it’s CHRR debut, and the Shubert & Herbert chevy fueler.

 

 

Just around the corner, I spotted Chuck Goebel tending to the Yeakel Plymouth Special, the car brought back from Australia last year and restored by the team of Baney, Rossi and Goebel. This one is a jewel..as evidenced by it’s receiving the award for the most authentic restoration. Among other new cars this year were The McCloud Brothers & Dave McKenzie top fueler, the absolutely gorgeous “Starlight III’ restored by Bill Turney of Tucson, and Bill Crosby’s “Scorpion V”… the Bobby Langley car from Dallas restored/ recreated by master metal man Don Ross. Another new car, “The Northwind”, had a special parking place by the tower as driver Ed “Ace” McCulloch was the Grand Marshall this year. The freshly restored Mondello & Matubara fuel altered also had prime parking in The Grove.

 

Friday morning was cool by CHRR standards. The pits were packed by mid-day and the spectator count seemed to be way up from previous years. The Grove was literally overflowing with display cars and street rods . The crowd was likewise huge at the Friday night doings at The Doubletree. Steve Gibbs had five cars set up for the cackle following the awards ceremonies . It looked, sounded..and felt like a mini “Ring of Fire”. The cars were the Tommy Ivo Barnstormer, The Northwind, the Yeakel Plymouth Special, the Mondello & Matsubara altered, and the Wild Willie funny car of Willie Borsch.

 

Qualifying continued Saturday with a few delays due to light rain showers. Notably absent from the compressed schedule were the nitro funny cars. Too bad, as those who couldn’t come back on Sunday missed a great show. Local Bakersfield racer Brad Thompson was #1 in Top Fuel with a stout 5.741 at 255.89.

The highlight of the event, as always, was the Cacklefest on Saturday night. Wow! It had to be the biggest crowd ever at a reunion. There were over 70 cars cackling this year.. and a drag boat! The parade took forever it seemed, but it was worth every second to those of us who love this stuff. The non- push start cars were lined up on the track and along the wall in front of the stands. Don Prieto’s “Hustler” was the first in line, followed by the McCloud Brothers & McKenzie and then Childs & Albert, Mondello & Matubara and the drag boat. They started these cars..and the boat… first and then had the push start cars come down in front of the stands and park on the track… as in past years. What a hoot it was! Only four cars failed to fire this year..not too bad considering the total number. The loudest and strongest cackler, by my senses, was Dave West in the Beebe & Mulligan “ Fighting Irish”. Others may argue the point, but from where I was shooting, it was the one that really got my attention.

Sunday was completely different weather-wise with nary a cloud in the sky. The elimination rounds started around noon after Red Greth made his traditional pass in “Ol’ Noisy” complete with Rick Stewart waving the green flag. It doesn’t get much more nostalgic than that. Full results of the races are posted on www.dragracecentral.com so I won’t repeat it all here. One of the strongest performances of the day was by Bucky Austin in Steve Plueger’s "Northwest Hitter" Plymouth Arrow. There were 19 funny cars in the nitro funny car show and Bucky was the only one in the 5s. He ran a 5.91 in the final over Terry Capps. Brad Thompson never slowed down from his qualifying runs in top fuel and ran a huge 5.72 at 261 in the final over Pete Kaiser. One more thing I must mention…Brendan Murry made some passes in his “Running Wild” fuel car for the first time since his fire and crash at Columbus. It was great to see him back on the track again.

Something special this year was the visitors from England who came across the pond to race the “Honky Tonkin’ 57 Chevy and the “Extreme” fuel altered. These guys had a grand time and so did the fans watching them having fun.

 

Jerry “The G-man“ Gross, Tom Parnaby and I were late to the In “N Out on Panama Lane Sunday night and missed.. for the first time in eight years..the mini-cackle of The Magicar and The Vagabond. It was not the perfect ending of the weekend we had hoped for, but it was a chance to see many of our friends one last time before we all went our separate ways. I’m already anxious for the 2008 National Hot Rod Reunion at Columbus. G-Man will be there with Terrible Tom Barnhill for the debut of Tom’s “Swamp Duck I”, his recreation of the Brougher & Reese fuel car from Pittsburgh. Until then, it’s back to exchanging messages and pictures with everyone on nitrogeezers.com , the Standard 1320 Group and the Gas-FX Group. See you at the next reunion!

CLICK HERE for lots More Photos

 

Paul” Hutch” Hutchins