Contact: Traci Hrudka
Quarter Mile Foundation
Phone: 440.888.0088

hrudka@sbcglobal.net  (or)

Steve Cole, WRITEWords

Phone: 330.725.5462

scole@4writewords.com

Parma Heights, Ohio (December 22, 2015) – The Quarter Mile Foundation was fortunate to receive a donation from Beech Underwriting (Maidstone, Kent, UK) to allow the filming of interviews of seven British pioneers of drag racing and the performance aftermarket prior to the Installation Gala Dinner of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame on November 21, 2015.  The interviews took place at the famed Savill Court Hotel in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, UK. 

Interviewer John Price, long-time announcer at Santa Pod Raceway and presenter of many hot rod shows and drag racing related TV programs in the UK, drew out some of the early history of drag racing in Great Britain and how the racers from the United States and the aftermarket companies, influenced the sport and assisted the its transplantation into Britain and Europe.

Price’s subjects included racers, track officials, and a warehouse distributor.

The interviewees were (in alphabetical order):

Stu Bradbury – Longtime Chief Starter (starting in 1967) at the famed Santa Pod Raceway (Wellingborough, Bedfordshire, UK), and serves as the current Chairman of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

Russ Carpenter – Developed the Daimler hemi engine to run on nitro and ran it in a rear engined dragster.

John Hobbs – A popular drag bike rider who competed in 1960s and 1970s on the “Olympus,” “Olympus 2” and “Hobbitt” bikes, capturing many wins and establishing many records.  The popular “Olympus 2” and “Hobbitt” were radical twin-engined machines.

Gary Page – A versatile racer who raced Altereds, Funny Cars and Top Fuel Dragsters from the 1970s to the present.

Roy Phelps – Founder of Santa Pod Raceway, who took an old Royal Air Force (RAF) bomber base and converted it into a world-class dragstrip. He promoted many events at the track, and Europe, bringing in many big names from the U.S.

Barry Sheavills – Another very talented and diversified racer in the Altered, Top Methanol Dragster and Top Fuel Dragster classes.  He was the FIA European Champion in 1998 and first driver to break the four second barrier in the UK.  He was also the first European racer to exceed 300 mph in the quarter mile.  Andy Carter also ran 300mph in the other lane, but Sheavills was credited with being the first, since he was faster than Carter.

Steve Trice – Director of US Automotive, is a major warehouse distributor for U.S. performance parts brands in the U.K. and the European continent.  US Automotive is one of the major sponsors of the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

The Foundation also received a digital recording of the racing bench racing session later in the afternoon with a number of the U.S. contingent participating in front of a select audience.  The participants were: Eileen Daniels – NHRA Nostalgia Series administrator, Ron Hope – Rat Trap Fuel Altered racer, Fred Larsen – the Sundance Kid team, Norway’s first drag racing team, Bruce Larson – USA-1 Funny Car and 1989 NHRA/Winston Champion, now a Nostalgia Funny Car racer, ‘Waterbed’ Fred Miller of the Blue Max Funny Car team and Bob Muravez (aka Floyd Lippincote, Jr.) driver of the legendary twin-engined Freight Train Top Gas dragster.

The stories which were told regaled the audience for nearly two hours, and set the tone for the Induction Gala to follow.

The seven interviews added to the international history of the sport in the Foundation’s interview inventory.  The inclusion of these seven interviews increased the total interviews collected to 240 interviews, before the addition of interviews done at the 2015 Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis, Ind., and Detroit, Mich. in December.

Traci Hrudka, Chairman of the Quarter Mile Foundation said, “The inclusion of these interviews, along with the ‘bench racing’ session is a significant step to expand the Foundation’s interview process to include the international aspect of the sport and industry outside of North America. 

The Foundation would like to extend its sincere thanks to Beech Underwriting, and its Managing Director, Geoff Stillwell, for the welcome contribution that allowed the interviews to be captured.”

*  *  *  *  *

The Quarter Mile Foundation is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit foundation, which is producing PROJECT 1320, a for-television documentary film series about the history of drag racing and the parallel growth of the performance automotive aftermarket.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For additional information, contact:
Marlene Richmond
Tel (352) 245- 8661 or (877) 271-3278
FAX (352) 245- 6895
email: marlene@garlits.com

Presenters named for 2016 International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Induction Dinner Presentation

Ocala, Fla. (December 3, 2015) – Some of drag racing’s most illustrious personalities have been tabbed to present members of the “Class of 2016” to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame (IDRHoF). The event which will be held at the Paramount Plaza Hotel & Suites in Gainesville, Fla., the evening of Thursday, March 17, 2016.

Included in the cast of presenters are three Top Fuel dragster World Champions and a Funny Car World Champion.

Ray Goodman (Memphis, Tenn.), himself a member of the Hall of Fame, will be a co-presenter to his friend and driver, Preston Davis (Bartlett, Tenn.), along with International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) six-time Top Fuel World Champion, Clay Millican (Drummonds, Tenn.).

Inductee Jack Doyle (Wakefield, N.H.) will be presented by IDRHoF member, Roger Gustin (Ironton, Oh.). Gustin was a pioneering jet Funny Car driver, and the highly respected promotor of the long-running Super Chevy Shows – Chevrolet-centered show car and drag racing events.

The late Marvin Miller’s presentation will be handled by Steve Gibbs (Huntington Beach, Calif.), the long-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Vice President of Competition, who had a lifelong friendship with Miller, and who will present Miller’s son, Steve, to the audience.

Mark Oswald (Houma, La.) will have two-time NHRA/Mello Yellow World Top Fuel Champion, Antron Brown (Pittsboro, Ind.), driver of the Don Schumacher Racing/Matco Tools car, as his presenter. Oswald has served as a co-crew chief for both of Brown’s championships.

Presenting Briton Dennis Priddle (Yoevil, Somerset, Great Britain) will be Don Garlits (Ocala, Fla.), the Founder/Chief Executive Officer/Curator of the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing, of which the IDRHoF is a vital part. Many feel that Priddle has had a similar role of leading the sport of drag racing to popularity in Great Britain and Europe as Don Garlits had in North America.

Early Funny Car legend, Gas (Gaspar) Ronda (Palm Desert, Calif.) will be presented by 2012 NHRA/Mello Yellow World Top Fuel Champion, Jack Beckman (Norco, Calif.), who drives the Infinite Hero Foundation Funny Car for the Don Schumacher Racing team, and an avid admirer of drag racing history.

The Founder’s Award will be presented by Don Garlits, and long-time nominating committee member, Harry Hibler (Tarzana, Calif.) to Rockingham Dragway owner, Steve Earwood (Rockingham, N.C.), for his life-long dedication to the sport.
The honorees are selected by a committee of veteran drag racing and performance industry figures. The selection committee consists of: Steve Gibbs (Retired Vice President, NHRA), Harry Hibler (President, Zircon Corporation), Ted Jones (Masters Entertainment, Retired President, IHRA) and Greg Sharp (Curator, Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum). Don Garlits carries a tie-breaker vote for the selection committee, if required.
Additional information is available by calling or emailing Marlene Richmond or Ally Dearth at: (352) 245- 8661 or (877) 271-3278 toll free, fax (352) 245- 6895, email: marlene@garlits.com or ally@garlits.com The Don Garlits Drag Racing Hall of Fame is recognized as a 501(c)3 educational not-for-profit organization.