June 2007

The weather for the second meet of the year was the complete opposite of last month. Beautiful Spring temps, soft breezes and gentle evenings made for a very pleasant weekend.

As racing began on Sunday morning the impound crew waited  anxiously to hear a time from the Vintage Hot Rod Shop D/BStR. Young Donnie Cummins has been training under the umbrella of Vintage Hot Rod owners Dave Davidson and John Beck. Donnie, the grandson of Don Cummins of the famous Larson and Cummins team, did not disappoint. He ran a 200 MPH pass beating the last meet speed of 192 and gaining membership into the El Mirage 200 MPH Club. Everyone was a little choked up at the hat ceremony. Mary Lou Larson, wife of the late Fred Larson, mentioned that she would like a ride in roadster now.

While we were all happy about Donnie, the same joy could not be shared for Al Eshenbaugh. We thought that Al would be able to duplicate his performance of last month but, it was not to be. I know Al will be back in impound soon.

Other club members making a good showing include Willie Freudiger bumping last month’s F/FMR record of 186.2 to 186.4 MPH. The Moreland/Noonan/Lux  rear engine modified roadster ran in the H/FRMR class this month with Bob running at 167 MPH.

I still contend that this car is a favorite for the championship this season. Bob Jucewic drove the Cohn Jucewic Monza in the D/CGAlt class this time, setting a new record of 200 MPH. The motorcycle impound saw Jack Costella’s belly flopper streamliner make a pass at either 153 or 162  in the 250-S-G class depending on who’s timing slip you are reading. I will get this straight real soon, I thought that both speeds were significant enough to mention. Kent Riches moved out of his streamliner onto the Riches-Nelson 750-SC-G bike to set a new record at 151+. John Noonan rode the Noonan/Moreland 1350-SC-BF rig to a record of 187. A question, will we see two Noonan/Moreland vehicles on the cover of the rulebook in 2008?

Dan Warner