SEMA News, May 2011 - Project 1320 update
The Quarter Mile Foundation—the effort to preserve the history of drag racing—reported that interviewing continued at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Florida, and at the Don Garlits Drag Racing Museum in Ocala, Florida. The Foundation gathered another 19 interviews during the mid-March weekend. Noted drag-racing historian Don Gillespie interviewed Joe Mondello, Rich Guasco, Roger Gustin, T.C. Lemon, Herm Petersen, Eileen Daniels, Marvin ("Starvin' Marvin") Graham, Ray ("Tennessee Boll Weevil") Godman, Don Hampton, Jimmy King, Bob Stange, Jerry Gwynn, Dale Funk, Barbara Hamilton, Dick LaHaie, Darrell Gwynn, Dale Emery, Australian pioneer Jim Read, Jim Head and Jim Walther. The gathering of interviews will continue as additional funding is generated. Support from fans continues to grow from the organization's website and at nostalgia drag-racing events as well as some selected NHRA races. "Right now, our goal is to have this done by 2013," said Steve Cole, a member of the Foundation's board of directors. "We now have 45 interviews completed." The Quarter Mile Foundation also reported that its website is receiving an upgrade to reflect the expansion of the organization's programs plus deliver added features for fans and visitors. The website will have behind-the-scenes footage and outtakes as the interviews are compiled and edited, which will allow those who are members of Friends of Project 1320 and the Brotherhood of the Quarter Mile to follow the progress of the documentaries' production. "Many fans and racers as well as some professional photographers have been supplying the foundation with home movies and photo albums of drag racing in those early days," said Traci Hrudka, Foundation chairman. "Many have given us use of their materials for background B-Roll footage to illustrate what the pioneers are discussing in their narratives." The Foundation's board of directors and advisory board are comprised of racers and industry veterans. The project is focused upon the historic and educational aspect of what has happened over the past 60-plus years, and it is their belief that the stories and information it will convey will also be entertaining. As Dave McClelland put it in a short promotional piece for the Foundation: "This is our last, best chance to capture our history from those who were there at the beginning."
Contact: Traci Hrudka Quarter Mile Foundation Phone: 440.888.0088 hrudka@sbcglobal.net (or) Steve Cole, WRITEWords Phone: 330.725.5462 * * * * *

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