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Contact: Traci Hrudka
Quarter Mile Foundation
Phone: 440.888.0088
hrudka@sbcglobal.net (or)
Steve Cole, WRITEWords
Phone: 330.725.5462
Parma Heights, Ohio (January 25, 2015) – The Quarter Mile Foundation, in conjunction with the management of the Performance Racing Industry Show (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Ken Lingenfelter (The Lingenfelter Collection, Brighton, Mich.), were able to record the recollections of 25 drag racing and performance aftermarket industry people.
The Indiana Convention Center was the site for 20 interviews done between December 10 and 12, and five Detroit-area interviews were done at The Lingenfelter Collection in Brighton, which houses over 150 iconic vehicles.
Interviewed at the Performance Racing Industry Show (PRI Show) were: Ronnie Ball (Contingency Connection, former IHRA employee), Marvin Benoit (Quick Fuel Technologies), Preston Davis (“Tennessee Bo-Weevil” Top Fuel/Funny Car and nostalgia dragster driver), Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle rider), Bob Glidden (10-time Pro Stock NHRA World Champion), Charlie Henry (retired Marketing Manager, Chrysler Corporation MOPAR Performance/Direct Connection), Ron Hope (“Rat Trap” Fuel Altered racer), Dave Hough (“Nanook” Fuel Altered racer), Dave Kirkland/Scott Lumbert (“Spirit of Texas” Top Fuel Hydro drag boat), Paul Lee (McLeod Clutches), Steve Lewis (PRI magazine/show founder), Jim Luikens (sportsman racer, performance automotive marketing specialist), Bill Martens (General Motors Performance Parts), Louise (“Land Speed Louise”) Noeth (automotive historian/journalist), Dave Sebring (former Top Alcohol Funny Car racer, manufacturer), Larry Shepard (retired Technical Manager, Chrysler Corporation MOPAR Performance/Direct Connection), Chris Thomson (K&N Filters/Airaid, former SEMA Board Member), Vic Wood (Aeromotive, SEMA Board Member), Jeep Worthan (Autometer – retired, former SEMA Board Member).
And for two days in the Detroit area (December 14, 15), the Foundation interviewed five additional people at the highly acclaimed Lingenfelter Collection facility. The interviews were done against the backdrop of some of the automotive industry’s most interesting and desirable cars.
The interviewees were: Joe Hilger (retired Vice President for DaimlerChrysler Global Service/MOPAR and “Father of the modern Hemi”), Fritz Kayl (Automotive engineer/founder Katech Inc.), Ken Lingenfelter (co-founder of Lingenfelter Performance), Jim Oberhofer (Vice President – Operations, Kalitta Motorsports, crew chief – Doug Kalitta MAC Tools Top Fuel team), and Jon Oberhofer (Kalitta Motorsports crew chief – Del Worsham 2015 NHRA World Champion DHL Funny Car team).
Additionally, Linda Vaughn contributed more depth to her previous interview’s insights at the PRI Show.
Quarter Mile Foundation Chairman, Traci Hrudka, commented: “The generosity of the Performance Racing Industry Show management, and at of Ken Lingenfelter, gave us platforms to expand the Foundation’s inventory of interviews, and gaining some important new perspectives regarding the growth of the sport and the performance aftermarket.
“We were particularly pleased to gain some insight into how the automakers have utilized drag racing and their participation within the performance aftermarket structure to extend their engineering and marketing reaches.”
With the addition of these 25 new interviewees, plus the seven interviews done in Great Britain in November, the Foundation now has 265 interviews of different individuals from the sport and the performance aftermarket.
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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.
