The Good Old Days Again at Famoso
The California Hot Rod Reunion has been characterized as a yearly “Geezer Woodstock” and the sixteenth edition of the Famoso Raceway event was by all measures a very successful event. From the Friday night Cacklefest gathering in town on the packed parking lot at Bakersfield’s Double Tree Hotel to the full grandstands at the dragstrip, spectators and fans rubbed elbows with drag racing’s legendary names like the Snake and Mongoose, Gas Ronda, Brad Anderson, Dale Pulde, Butch Leal, Junior Thompson, the “Frantic Four,” Grumpy Jenkins, Don Garlits, Walt Stevens, Tommy Ivo and many more including Reunion Grand Marshal Ed “Ace” McCulloch.
This year’s official Reunion honorees were “Lil” John Buttera, Rocky Childs & Jim Albert, Gary “Red” Greth, former Orange County International Raceway head Mike Jones, and Mike Kuhl & Carl Olson.
Don Garlits brought out a couple of his “Swamp Rat” dragsters and signed autographs for lines of his fans. His “Wynn’s Charger” is now powered by a nitro-fed, late model 392 as a Mopar development project from Chrysler.