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Joe Amato, the five-time NHRA/Full Throttle (formerly NHRA/Winston Drag Racing Series) Top Fuel World Champion and the former co-owner of Keystone Automotive Warehouse, made a donation to the Foundation to support the effort to capture the history of the sport and performance automotive aftermarket's history with first person narratives from the influential personalities.
Amato has been very interested in the Quarter Mile Foundation's efforts for some time, donating his time at the 2010 SEMA Show, signing autographs, in addition to talking to his drag racing and industry contemporaries about the importance of the PROJECT 1320 program.
"I really want to make the industry and the sport of drag racing very aware of the importance of this documentary project," Amato said. "We need to tell the story about the sport and the industry it built, so the young people who follow in our footsteps understand the effort and the sometimes brutal sacrifices that were made.
"I want my support to, in a sense; tell people that I 'endorse' this, and that the concept is a solid one.
"What just happened to one of the legends of both drag racing and the aftermarket, Joe Mondello, should serve as a wake-up for us! I saw Joe at Don Garlits' International Drag Racing Hall of Fame induction dinner, shortly after he had completed his interview for the PROJECT 1320 documentary. Three weeks later, he was gone! We need to understand how priceless these legends and pioneers are, and if we cannot get the recollections of their careers and to tell the stories of their peers who have died, these first-hand stories will never get recorded, and we all are poorer for it!"
Traci Hrudka, Chairman of the Quarter Mile Foundation, stated, "Joe has been a quiet, behind the scenes supporter of the Foundation. In addition to his very generous and welcomed contribution, Joe has volunteered his time and influence several times over the past months to advance our efforts. He has been there to offer quiet encouragement and advice, and this generous donation on his part is further proof of his belief in this important endeavor.
"We hope his commitment to the Foundation and PROJECT 1320 will resonate within the drag racing and aftermarket communities."
Amato also observed how the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) is reaching back into its archives to enhance the association's 60th Anniversary of organized drag racing. "The NHRA is getting many of the surviving legends of the sport to help tell the story of 60 years of drag racing," he said. "They're bringing back many of the heroes and the special cars from the old days to help tell the story, and to perpetuate our sport and the industry.
"Many of the kids that are racing today, as well as getting into the aftermarket, do not appreciate how we got here! Folks like 'Big Daddy' (Don Garlits), Shirley (Muldowney), 'Grumpy' (Bill Jenkins) and so many others can help tell those stories...they bridge the gap between then and now."
Amato added, "What the NHRA is doing is great, and gives fans at the races a chance to see and hear 'how it was,' but once the race is over with, those memories can fade. But in conjunction with the PROJECT 1320 documentary, those stories and images of how things were and how progress was made – on the track and making the parts (that made things go) – the memories and history are forever." View
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“Innovators in fuel systems” is more than
just a by-line. Quick Fuel Technology since it’s
inception in 1998, has grown exponentially in its
11 years of business culminating into the benchmark
by which performance carburetors are measured.
The growth and success of Quick Fuel Technology is
attributed to the strength and determination of its
staff. All of the innovations you see on this website
are the product of a team that is both experienced
and involved in motorsports. We continue to develop
new products so that we can stay on the forefront
of innovation. Over the years Quick Fuel Technology
has made considerable strides to become a stand-alone
carburetor manufacturer. This increase in efficiency
and capability has allowed us to continuously upgrade
our products while keeping the prices low. View
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The
company was founded in 1964 by 24-year-old hot rodder
and drag racer, Joe Hrudka. Called "the epitome
of the blue-collar hero" in a 1984 “Cleveland
Magazine” profile, Hrudka dropped out of college
after a semester to drag race with his brother, Tom.
In the course of winning back-to-back National Hot
Rod Association championships in 1961 and 1962 in
their trademark Willys gassers, the Hrudka brothers
realized that faulty exhaust gaskets were a big problem
to many racers – hurting performance and requiring
frequent replacement. Upon investigating the problem,
young Hrudka created the durable exhaust gasket that
launched the company, and gave it the name. Joe and
Tom started selling the parts under the Speed Specialties
name in the early 1960s and incorporated his company
as Mr. Gasket in 1965 in Parma, Ohio, a suburb of
Cleveland.
Another racer-founded company, the Hrudkas and Mr.
Gasket grew because the racing legacy served to gain
the respect of fellow racers who understood that the
company cared about building products which would
fit their needs with performance and durability.
The company grew, moving into a wide range of aftermarket
marketplaces – clutches (Hays), safety and suspension
parts (Lakewood), plus manufacturing and marketing
a wide range of products under the Mr. Gasket brand
(mostly engine appearance accessories).
The company’s ownership has changed periodically
over the years, but the Mr. Gasket name has always
been an icon in the high performance aftermarket.
Today, it is covered by the Prestolite Performance
umbrella, but remains true to the core roots of the
brand. Racers and street performance enthusiasts still
turn to the Mr. Gasket name as the source of engine
gaskets and other components in their quest for power
and performance. View
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Mallory
Ignition has been a mainstay of the automotive industry
– both the OEM market as well as the performance
aftermarket – for generations. Formed in Toledo,
Ohio in 1925, the company grew quickly, and to be
closer to the automakers, and Ford Motor Company in
particular, founder Marion Mallory, Sr., moved the
company to Detroit, Michigan ten years later. “Boots”
Mallory, son of the founder, moved the company to
Carson City, Nevada in 1969.
Marion Mallory, Sr. was a prolific inventor, specializing
in the automotive market. It is reported at one time
Mallory held the second largest number of patents
in the world, and only Thomas Edison held more. His
major focus was ignitions and fuel timing systems,
but he also invented a breakerless magneto plus improved
distributors and coils.
It was not too long before Mallory magnetos found
their way into motorsports. For many years, nearly
every Indianapolis 500 winner used a Mallory ignition
on the Meyer-Drake/Offenhauser engines. The company’s
mags were found on winning sprint cars, and Mallory
distributors and coils were in NASCAR’s winner’s
circles with great regularity. Drag racing used Mallory
ignition products heavily, and it was in the fuel
and alcohol classes where the company’s Super
Mag II dominated for over 20 years.
Sold to the W.R. Grace conglomerate in 1976, the Mallory
brand joined Mr. Gasket and several other premium
performance brands, which as a group were known as
The Performance People, and the Race Services trailers
were fixtures at major motorsports events across North
America. When Grace divested its automotive brands,
Mallory moved through several owners, and today is
again paired with Mr. Gasket under the Prestolite
Performance umbrella. View
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Lori
Johns was an immediate fan and media sensation when
she burst onto the Drag Racing Scene. Lori was one
of the most popular drivers and was featured on
television programs and covered in many publications
never before reached in the sport of Drag Racing.
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Moroso
Performance Products began in 1968, when founder Dick
Moroso, one of drag racing’s most successful
modified production class campaigners began to manufacture
products which were needed by racers for improved
performance and reliability. The company’s success
brought Dick’s racing career to a close, but
opened a new chapter to build his company to be a
leader in the growing performance aftermarket. His
on-track experience led him to design, test and manufacture
all-new or dramatically improved products –
all aimed at meeting the racer's needs.
The racing and the growing street performance markets
appreciated the fact Moroso products were designed
and built for racers - by a racer! The racers bought
Moroso products, won with them and the guys on the
street bought them because they were race-proven…a
recipe for success.
Dick Moroso was also responsible for many innovations
in the structure of the high performance industry.
He was one of the early manufacturers instrumental
in nurturing the warehouse distribution (WD) network.
He realized the distribution system was critical to
getting his products to the local speed shops and
into the hands of the racers and street enthusiast
customers.
As a racer and businessman, Dick Moroso exemplified
the spirit of the pioneers of the sport and the industry
it built. Unfortunately, Dick lost a gallant fight
to cancer in 1998, and today his son, Rick leads the
company from its headquarters in Guilford, Connecticut.
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NHRA
was founded in 1951 by Wally Parks, whose initial
mission was to get racing off the city streets and
highways and into safer, organized venues. He also
wanted NHRA to provide guidance to timing clubs and
tracks and soon thereafter NHRA was hosting national
events, as tuning cars became as much a hobby as a
necessity.
At first, NHRA was largely a regional sport with events
like the U.S. Nationals and Winternationals serving
as the only opportunity for all of the sport’s
stars, including the iconic “Big Daddy”
Don Garlits, to convene in one location and compete
against one another. As the sport grew through the
1970s, with the emergence of motorsports stars like
Shirley Muldowney and Don “The Snake”
Prudhomme and Tom “Mongoose” McEwen, more
and more national events were added and a Series was
born.
The next step in the evolution of NHRA’s top
professional series was precipitated by two of NHRA’s
all-time greatest drivers and team owners, Kenny Bernstein
and John Force, who reached out to corporate America
and sold the sport to the likes of McDonald’s
and Budweiser and Castrol, among many, many others.
It was also during this era that many of the sport’s
speed barriers were broken, including most notably
the 300-mph milestone that was first achieved by Bernstein
in 1992.
In the past decade, NHRA most notably established
relationships with the Coca-Cola Company (as it’s
title sponsor via its Full Throttle Energy Drink brand)
and ESPN2 (as its TV partner since 2001) that have
given the Series stability. Also during this period,
there have been major renovations and/or expansions
to tracks in Gainesville and Pomona to accommodate
a growing fan base, and the all-important motorsports
market of Charlotte was brought into the fold when
Bruton Smith opened what he has famously called “The
Bellagio of Drag Strips,” zMAX Dragway, in 2008.
With a deep field of popular young drivers including
Ashley Force Hood and Matt Hagan, and new and renovated
tracks around the country, and committed TV and title
rights partners, NHRA is well-positioned for the next
decade and beyond. View
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Headquartered
in Norwalk, Ohio, the International Hot Rod Association
(IHRA), a division of Feld Entertainment, promotes
professional, semi-professional and local level racing
opportunities for drivers at all levels. Visit IHRA
online
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A
love for cars, trucks and SUVs is the motivating force
behind the Specialty Equipment Market Association
(SEMA). This trade association, which was founded
in 1963, consists of a diverse group of manufacturers,
distributors, retailers, publishing companies, auto
restorers, street-rod builders, restylers, car clubs,
race teams and more.
SEMA members make, buy, sell and use all kinds of
specialty parts and accessories to make vehicles more
attractive, more unique, more convenient, faster,
safer, more fun and even like-new again.
The companies that founded SEMA—and the entire
specialty parts and accessories industry, for that
matter—were started by people who loved cars
and trucks and turned their hobby into a career. Most
people in the industry today still feel this way.
That’s one of the things that makes SEMA and
its members unique.
Today, the organization performs many services for
its members and for the hobby as a whole. Perhaps
most importantly, SEMA works hard to protect consumers’
rights to drive accessorized, customized and vintage
vehicles. SEMA keeps close tabs on legislators in
Washington, D.C., and also in each state within the
United States, so SEMA members and anyone who loves
cars and trucks can protest pending legislation that
might harm our hobby, as well as endorse legislation
that’s good for car lovers. SEMA also has helped
numerous consumers interact with car dealers, who
sometimes try to get away with charging for repairs
on a modified vehicle by claiming (wrongly) that specialty
accessories have voided its warranty.
Every year, SEMA also presents the world's premier
automotive accessories trade show held in Las Vegas,
Nevada. This is where manufacturers unveil their latest
offerings, while buyers, distributors and members
of the press walk their feet off to see it all. Visit
www.SEMAShow.com
for more information.
The variety is astonishing, from restyling accessories
and automotive organizers to engine parts, restoration
supplies, street-rod components and safety enhancements.
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On
June 11, 1994, Margie and Robert E. Petersen fulfilled
a longtime dream when they became founding benefactors
to start the Petersen Automotive Museum, donating
$5 million to the Los Angeles County Natural History
Museum. In April 2000, the Petersens contributed an
additional $24.8 million dollars to the Los Angeles
County Natural History Museum to retire the bond debt
and establish the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation
as an independent nonprofit organization. Overall,
their gifts to the Petersen Automotive Museum total
over $30 million. Today, the Petersen Automotive Museum
stands as the nation’s premiere automotive museum,
serving thousands of visitors each year. Visit Petersen
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Southwest Valuations has been focused on providing
value opinions for unique, exotic, historic and racing
vehicles since 1972. Jon Lundberg has a 55-year background
in motor sports and the specialty aftermarket. As
both company owner and consultant; he was elected
by his peers to three consecutive terms on the SEMA
Board of Directors. As a professional valuer, Lundberg
has completed the equivalent of an academic Ph.D.
becoming credentialed as an “Accredited Senior
Appraiser” by the American Society of Appraisers.
Today, the company is fully digital and ready to serve
vehicle collectors, builders and individual car owners
with a 38-year record of both market awareness and
precision reporting. View
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The
Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing opened in 1984 and
chronicles the history of the sport of drag racing.
90 race cars are on display as well as several of
Garlits' "Swamp Rat" cars. The museum is
home to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
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The
Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by
the Automobile Club of Southern California, long a
dream of NHRA founder Wally Parks, opened to the public
April 4, 1998, after years of planning and months
of hard work cataloging and arranging the exhibit.
Housed in a 28,500-square-foot building on the edge
of the historic Los Angeles County Fairplex, the Wally
Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum's mission is to celebrate
the impact of motorsports on our culture. We collect,
preserve, exhibit and interpret the vehicles, stories,
and artifacts that represent our affection for, and
the influence of, automotive speed and style in all
its forms. We are the place to view and learn about
hot rods, customs, racecars and speed records, and
the West Coast's role as the historic center for their
past and present development. View
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The
NMRA Ford Nationals is the #1 all-Ford motorsport
show in the U.S., attracting the most racers, fans
and sponsors. The NMRA developed the largest number
of serious Ford drag racers through solid rules and
class development combined with the largest all-cash
purse & contingency program in Ford racing –
over $3.5MM. NMRA event action can be found regularly
in 5.0 Mustang, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords,
and in Race Pages, the NMRA’s own in-house publication.
View
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The
National Muscle Car Association is the oldest (est.
1992) and most recognized all-domestic drag racing
series in the U.S. The NMCA Edelbrock Hot Rod &
Muscle Car Nationals event series features the best
is Chevy vs. Ford vs. Mopar heads-up drag racing action!
NMCA competitors are attracted by the huge purse &
contingency program (over $3.5MM) as well as complete
series exposure on the internet on StreetlegalTV.com.
NMCA drag racing is regularly featured in Car Craft,
Popular Hot Rodding, and Fastest Street Car, the NMCA’s
own in-house publication. Every NMCA event also features
a huge, all-domestic auto show & shine as well
as a giant manufacturers midway and swap meet. View
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The
Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW) is a non-profit
organization that provides financial and emotional
support to qualified individuals involved in drag
racing accidents at a track. From 1985 through 2008,
DRAW provided a total of $3,117,317 in financial assistance
to 639 racing families. In 2008, financial assistance
totaled $247,500. No one receives a salary and all
office work is done from the homes and businesses
of the volunteers. Anyone, including racers, team
owners, sponsors, track owners, manufacturers, fans
and more can become involved in DRAW. DRAW has remained
strong throughout their existence due to the generous
participation of volunteers and contributors who loyally
support them. DRAW's motto is "Fast Help For
Fast Friends!"
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For
its first three decades drag racing was free of strict
rules, corporate influence, formal protocol and most
behavioral restraints. Overall, drag racers were not
politically correct - in fact, just the opposite.
NHRA was made up of hard core racers, not wimpy accountants.
There were no "cookie cutter" cars or hospitality
rigs but open trailers and spare parts in milk cartons.
From the early 1950's through the 1970's dragsters
were, for the most part, financed out of pocket and
innovation was foremost... many paid the ultimate
price for that innovation. Very few racers broke even
- let alone made a living... for what other reason
would we do it? We loved it! View
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Draglist.com
is a drag racer's paradise: 75,000+ drag racer stats,
10,000+ links, daily photos and stories, weekly movies,
free photo classifieds, great columns and features,
an online store, a free PC game, and much, much more.
Visit
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RacersReunion.com was established in January 2008
to provide a medium for race fans to connect with
former drivers and other racing celebrities while
creating a historical account of contributions made
by all participants. The site was initially set up
as a social network for stock car racing and later
grew to include other forms of racing and an online
radio channel called RacersReunion(((RADIO))).
Drag RacersReunion has grown steadily since its launch
and now includes thousands of vintage photographs
and a weekly talk radio show on RacersReunion(((RADIO)))
hosted by veteran drag racer Sam Auxier Jr. More drag
racing radio shows are planned as well as RacersReunion
events. "Ensuring the future remembers our past"...
Visit
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PROJECT 1320 and the Allard Chrysler Action Group
(ACAG) of Great Britain have established an alliance
to help restore Europe's first dragster, the 50-year
old Allard-Chrysler, currently residing at the National
Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire in southern England.
In addition to assisting the effort to restore the
classic car, built by the famed British automaker
and industrialist, Sydney Allard, and being managed
by the ACAG; there is an effort underway to develop
an exchange in 2011 between the National Motor Museum
and the NHRA-Wally Parks Museum of the Allard-Chrysler
and the famed Mooneyes dragster, which is also celebrating
its 50th Anniversary in 2010.
The history of the Allard-Chrysler and Mooneyes
The two cars have a shared history, as Sydney Allard
and Dean Moon established a friendship during the
construction of the Allard-Chrysler (which was born
when Allard saw a feature story about Chris Karamesinesí
then-new Chizler dragster in the pages of a 1960 HOT
ROD magazine). Allardís car was completed in 1961
and ran at many UK sprint meetings during the next
three years. It was the only dragster in Europe until
1962. Dean Moon challenged Allard to a series of races
between the two cars in Great Britain in 1963. The
Allard, driven by Sydney Allard himself, ran against
the Moonbeam dragster, powered by a blown small block
Chevy on gas and driven by Dante Duce.
The first event was held on the now defunct Club Straight
at SilverstoneÇ home of the British Grand Prix. They
then raced at the famed Brighton Speed Trials event
by the English Channel, which included a late-arriving
Mickey Thompson, with his nitro burning Harvey Aluminum
Special to further stir the imaginations of the young
British racers. Church Lawford and Debden were two
more venues, and this series of events launched drag
racing in the U.K. and over the next few years into
Europe and beyond. SEMA President at the time Ed Iskenderian
arranged for SEMA to present the SEMA trophy for the
series awarded to Allard after the match races ended
in a draw. The trophy was long forgotten until recently
uncovered at the club house of the Brighton and Hove
Motor Club (organizers of the Brighton Speed Trails).
It has since been presented to the ACAG for display
next to the Allard at Beaulieu.
Allardís efforts recognized
The efforts of Allard (an accomplished road racer,
rallyist and hill climb specialist who successfully
competed in the major European events of the '50s
and '60s in his own factory cars) gained him induction
to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1991
with the inaugural group at the Don Garlits Museum
of Drag Racing in 1991, recognized for his efforts
to launch the sport of drag racing in Britain and
Europe.
Todayís efforts
Currently, the ACAG and Quarter Mile Entertainment
Foundation (QMEF Çthe parent organization of the PROJECT
1320 documentary film series) have embarked upon an
effort to obtain backing in Great Britain, the United
States and Canada to make the exchange a reality.
Both organizations are beginning to seek individuals
and corporate backers to make it happen.
The tentative plans include placing each car in static
displays at the respective museums, plus 'cackling'
both cars at a limited number of events in Britain
and the United States. If possible, there is a desire
to place the two cars together at Brighton prior to
the Allard-Chrysler being shipped to Los Angeles.
The most immediate need is to build the Allard's blown
354 cu. in. Chrysler Hemi. The original engine and
blower were used in a more modern Allard Chrysler
built in 1965. The Quarter Mile Entertainment Foundation
has solicited several engine builders in the U.S.
and Canada with hands-on experience in restoring old
blower engines to be able to 'cackle' with no problems.
One of the unique aspects of the Allard is the fact
it was built to the 'sprint racing' rules (the predecessor
of drag racing in England) of the early 1960s, which
required the engine to be completely covered by body
work. This necessitated the Roots-style GMC blower
to be driven directly from the crank using a Potvin
conversion, with ducting delivering the pressurized
air to the intake manifold. Once the engine builder
has been selected the engine assembly will be shipped
to England when completed.
Spearheading this effort are Brian Taylor, Chairman
of the Allard Chrysler Action Group and author of
the definitive history of drag racing in Great Britain,
CRAZY HORSES, with support from the groupís Patron
Nick Mason, who is known as the drummer for the iconic
rock group, PINK FLOYD; and Traci Hrudka who chairs
the efforts for the Quarter Mile Entertainment Foundation
in the North American market.
At present, several British entities are supporting
the effort in different ways, including the famed
Santa Pod Raceway (Britainís premier drag strip),
leading warehouse distributors of American performance
parts (U S Automotive, racecar builders Andy Robinson
Racecars), insurance company Performance Direct, along
with Time Travel DVDs and the website accelerationarchive.co.uk;
with interest from the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.
Most of the restoration funds have so far been gathered
by ACAG members from donations and selling merchandise.
In the U.S., the NHRA-Wally Parks Museum has expressed
strong interest, as has the management of Mooneyes
USA, which owns the Mooneyes car that is on loan to
the NHRA-Wally Parks Museum.
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WRITEWords
is a marketing communications company which provides
clients with marketing communications services. WRITEWords
serves as an alternative to full-time staffing to
produce marketing support materials.
WRITEWords specializes in businesses which require
assistance with the production of sales/marketing,
image collateral materials, advertising copy, news
releases, website content, editorial materials, technical
and sales training materials, photography, editorial
product placement and related areas.
WRITEWords is owned by Steve Cole, a 30-plus year
veteran of providing communications services for sanctioning
bodies and leading companies in the automotive aftermarket.
View
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As the logo implies, TwoToGo is a web site devoted
to record and preserve the history of Twin Engined
drag cars. The picture of our first Twin (still
unidentified) is dated 1949. That tells us that
Twins have been with us from the early days of drag
racing.
Joel F. Naprstek, Byron Stack, and Dennis Friend
were members of the same Internet newsgroup. Someone
was always coming up with a trivia question. One
day Joel asked, "How many Twin Engined drag
cars can we name"?
The search began, old Drag News, National Dragster,
Hot Rod, Car Craft, Modern Rod, Popular Hot Rodding,
any and all the magazines that had been safely tucked
away were now being looked at again to find Twin
Engined drag cars.
This group was 150 + hardcore drag racers and fans.
It worked, from a small beginning list of 45 Twins;
we now have 201 Twins with 500+ photos.
Proud to say we have a photo or photos of all the
known "First Ten Twins" some even in color.
We also have a photo tribute page devoted to Chris
Karamesines, featuring over 100 photos, possibly
the largest photo collection of its kind.
Visit
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