Sports
The Guy Who Took Drag Racing Off the Streets
In this episode of 'Pass Gas,' host Joe Weber dives into the fascinating story of Wally Parks, the visionary behind the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Discover how Parks transformed th...
The Guy Who Took Drag Racing Off the Streets
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What's up everybody.
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This is Nolan Sykes.
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Actually it's Joe Weber.
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Nolan is out this week because he's in Bonneville doing speed week stuff and speaking of speed
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we are talking about Wally Parks and the genesis of the NHRA the governing body for all drag
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racing in the US.
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This dude is like a super interesting character was there from the beginning of hot rotting
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and tuning and kind of formed it into this safe thing that we know of today.
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It's a really interesting story.
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I'm so excited for you to hear it.
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So let's jump into it.
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A short 100 miles northish from where the Peterson Automotive Museum sits today there's
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a very flat bit of land dubbed Rogers Lake formerly Merock Dry Lake and that stretch of
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salt flat is where a young Wally Parks got his first taste of speed or at least the 1933
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equivalent of it.
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This was truly the Wild West of racing.
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White Earp had died in bed still wearing his shoes just a few short years before in 1929
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and the Great Depression was finally mercifully crawling to an end.
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It was that sweet spot in history where anything felt possible.
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Barrels of whiskey were being delivered to dance halls again.
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The lone ranger was riding the airwaves and the southernmost point in the US, sloppy
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joes opened for business giving car enthusiasts a new destination.
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Back at the salt bed Wally crammed into a 1925 Chevy and stomped on the long thin accelerator
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pushing it across the flats.
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He clocked in at 82.19 miles per hour more than double while your average 1925 American
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car could muster.
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But Wally wasn't there just to feed his need for speed.
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He was soaking it all in.
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The barely controlled chaos of those time trials unfolded in front of his eyes and he was
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already blueprinting how to improve it.
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He saw the dust, the oil slicks, the burning rubber and thought, I'm the guy who can make
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this whole fast car thing a safer way of life.
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But how did a young kid from a desolate town in the dry plains of Oklahoma set the standards
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for drag racing across the entire US?
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How did curbside carnage result in his desire to save lives and legitimize an entire sport?
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And how did say no to nitro help prove the National Hot Rod Association of all people
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were serious about safety?
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This week on pass gas Wally Parks in the NHRA.
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What's up?
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Welcome back to pass gas.
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I am your host Joe Weber with me is Bart Bidley Meyer.
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We meet again Joe and Steph Gutierrez.
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What up?
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Thank you guys for joining us.
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It's been a minute.
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Yeah.
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You've been in the studio here.
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It has been a fat man.
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Actually, I'm glad you noticed that bar.
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I've missed your energy.
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Thank you.
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You missed the LeBubu's I think.
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Yeah, if you really love it, don't you get a tattoo?
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Bart's been on a kick, guys.
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Getting me, letting me get a LeBubu tattoo.
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I don't know why you wouldn't get one.
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You're super into that.
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You have tattoos, so you're not against the concept, right?
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Yeah, I just don't know.
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Why not a LeBubu?
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I think the concept of having a silly little LeBubu right next to all my hard ass tattoos
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is not the move.
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Okay, that's a good point.
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You got some hard ass tattoos.
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And then I'm not going to fill up this one because then how am I going to flex in the mirror?
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That's what you should do.
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You should put the LeBubu right there.
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And you could make it jump up and down when you do that.
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Wait, is that actually a really cool tattoo concept?
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I know.
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If someone else is willing to get it, that'd be amazing.
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I just want to see it.
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I should get one of those like Mad Magazine 40 fold out.
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The ones where you fold on my fat folds and I'll make, oh, look, it's actually like a woman now.
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It's a card.
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Now it's a woman.
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It was a post.
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I don't know why it got served to me.
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But it's a lady got the sun, the earth and the moon and did them to scale.
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And when she held her arms out, it was to scale how far the earth and the moon from each
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Would that just be two little dots?
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No, they're about, they're like that.
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That's pretty cool.
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That's pretty cool.
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Like quarter sized.
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I mean, that's quite a party trick.
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I imagine she's just going out places and doing this.
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I'm in time size.
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That is, yeah, it's kind of dorky.
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Yeah, I mean, obviously she was a nerd.
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Yeah, right?
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That's their space.
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And if her arms ever grow, then she's going to have to get on cover.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Don't do Pilates.
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Today, we're going to be talking about Wally Parks and the genesis of the NHRA, the National Hot Rod Association.
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We've done a couple videos with them on the main channel.
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I think the finale of last high low season was held at an NHRA event, right?
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I think it was our own event.
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Yes.
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But we did have like NHRA dragsters and stuff there.
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Yeah, I think it was, they helped us get that track, set it up and stuff and...
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Which is a really nice track.
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Yeah, Tucson Speedway.
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Great track.
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But I'm not super into drag racing.
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This is kind of No One's Wheelhouse, No One Intended.
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But have you guys ever gone to like an NHRA event other than that?
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You've done pretty good amount of racing, right?
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Since starting with Dona, yeah.
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And it's been really late.
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Wait, can I...
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You can do that.
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Actually, YouTube just allowed person here.
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Oh, okay.
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You can say, Fart, it's not your daddy's YouTube.
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But yeah, I've been to a few NHRA events.
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The one that they have in Pomona, the Pomona dragster.
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Yeah.
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That one is owned by In-N-Out and is strictly only for NHRA dragsters.
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I thought you were going to say it's strictly for like people buying burgers.
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That's it.
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The drive, it's just a long drive-through.
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You always drag shit on it.
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You have to grab it on your run.
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I'll take my protein style.
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Oh my god.
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That was the track that Brittany Force beat the record on.
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I think last year and she just beat it two more times this year.
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She hit 3.41.
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3.41 in like three and a half seconds is nuts.
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Funny cars scare the shit out of me.
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Yeah, I'm waking up.
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Do you guys know anything about Wally Park?
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She's called Scary Cars.
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Yeah, that's honestly fun.
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Yeah, why do they call them funny cars?
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Actually, wait.
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You want to look at Google the...
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Yeah, the analogy of funny cars racing.
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Okay, Google AI is telling me...
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Because they have clowns in them.
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That's kind of damn it.
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The term funny car originated in the mid-60s to describe a new type of drag racing...
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That doesn't help at all.
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They were just funny cars.
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I guess it's just like the actual like the way it looks on the exterior.
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Because it's just a dropped on like body type.
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This is telling me that it just means it refers to the unusual or strange appearance.
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The proportions are all weird.
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It does look funny, you know?
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Yeah.
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It just seems a little...
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Yeah, on the nose and underwhelming.
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It's like a funny bone.
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That nothing funny about a funny bone.
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Should we get into it?
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Let's do it.
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We all know what funny cars are.
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Okay, cool.
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Wally Park's was born on January 23rd, 1913, in the dusty farmlands of Goldtree, Oklahoma.
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Oklahoma was not exactly okay at the time.
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The fertile land was starting to dry out.
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People were starting to notice.
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People like Wally's folks.
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So when his family like half the country at the time packed up and chased a dream all the
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way to California in the early 20s, a whole new world opened up for this curious kid.
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The speed bug was contagious and the wide open expanse of the Mojave Desert just outside
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of LA became the perfect playground for anyone itching to push all those new machines to
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their limits.
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Wally had the natural mechanical genius of a hard-scrable farm boy and it showed.
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Scrable is hard.
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You guys good at Scrable?
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I'm...
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I pride myself.
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I don't want to say I'm very good at it.
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Yeah.
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But I will say...
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I will say I'm very good at Scrable.
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People get mad at me.
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I either one that like fills in the gaps and does three words at a time.
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Yeah, I do a lot of that stuff.
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I do a lot of...
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My wife hates playing games like that with me because I want to win.
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I like taking advantage of the rules.
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Yeah.
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So I don't know.
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It's hardwired into me.
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I'm sorry.
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Ain't no shame we're trying to win, Bart.
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Yeah.
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Bart's out there trying to destroy his loved ones.
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But it's such a...
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It's such a...
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Make sure that he's the king.
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I'm aware that it's not a positive trait of mine that I want to beat people at stupid
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games that should be fun.
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Yeah.
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I'm aware of that.
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Well that has a good...
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But I'm so good at them I can't not do it.
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I can't help that I'm so good.
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Yeah.
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It's a burden.
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It's my cross.
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It's a burden to me.
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It's my cross.
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It's my cross.
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It's my cross.
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I like words.
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I like words.
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I like words.
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Yeah.
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So that's...
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I think that comes up a lot where you're just like, well the etymology of this is blah,
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blah, blah.
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And the way that you're saying it is actually the wrong context.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Well especially now when the kids are learning new words.
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Yeah.
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You're like, well what does that mean?
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And sometimes I'm like, like, make you give an answer and it'll be like, but it's a little...
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You know, yeah, I had something she's like, just sh** shut up.
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What does bro deadass cook mean?
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It didn't take long before Wally was a fixture in the early hot rod scene.
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You'd find him perched on the edge of the sun cooked like beds throughout the late 20s
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and 30s.
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He wasn't just watching.
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He was learning.
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Wally was writing safety manuals in his mind long before he'd made a name for himself
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behind the wheel.
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But as anyone very involved in any kind of racing knows, it wasn't just about speed.
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It was about family.
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By 1937 he was in tight with the Roadrunner's car club, a crew of like-minded speed junkies
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and gear heads who weren't just shown up to set records.
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They were one of the earliest groups sharing what they'd learned racing and wrenching to help
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improve the scene.
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I remember we talked about the Roadrunners in the Customs episode, but at that point
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I think they had already been around for a long time if this is like the early 30s.
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That's crazy.
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You have to figure out everything by yourself for these kind of early engines.
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I wonder what they were doing to like, sup them up, mess with the timing.
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What could you do on those early like a model engine?
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What did you do with that?
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Screwed with compression and timing.
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Yeah, it probably had like six to one compression or something like that.
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That's crazy.
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That's crazy.
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That's okay. I can even think that far back.
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I can smell that car.
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Yeah, for sure.
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These clubs were the soul of early hot rotting.
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They were in formal fraternities built on a shared obsession with fixing cars and breaking
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limits.
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The Roadrunners along with a few other outfits joined forces and became a Southern California
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timing association or the SCTA.
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The predecessor to the NHRA and Wally was right there on day one.
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This was his first true taste of wrangling all that chaos into some kind of structure
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and he liked it.
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When World War II came knocking, the GM plant he was working at was forcibly converted
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into a tank assembly line and Wally volunteered to put them through their paces and see how
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they could be improved.
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Wally got so good at tankery that he became part of the US tank exhibition team that showed
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off new products and offerings for the US Army.
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That'd be a cool show to go.
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And Uncle Sam liked the cut of Wally's jib so much that they sent him to the South Pacific.
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Oh my God.
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It seems like punishment.
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Yeah.
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Great job.
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All right.
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I'm going to go to the middle of nowhere.
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Yeah.
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Oh, you sure I can't just keep building these things?
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Look, I really like testing tanks.
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Can I just stay in Texas?
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But thousands of miles and limited resources wouldn't keep Wally down.
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He immediately ripped a V8 from a passenger car and crammed it into a Willis jeep.
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That's sick.
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That's quite a flex right there.
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Yeah.
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This was no distress.
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Yeah.
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Oh, yeah.
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This was no doubt the first jeep rod in existence and it helped to put Wally on the radar
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of the Army High Command.
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It wasn't long before Wally was driving his jeep rod with wide open exhaust all over
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the Philippines doing mechanical troubleshooting for the military.
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This combo of hands-on experience, a deep-seated understanding of mechanics and the natural
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urge to organize would become the very foundation of his legendary achievements.
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When he landed back in the States, he left GM to focus on building the SCTA full-time as
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their business manager.
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All over the US, the hot rod scene was exploding.
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Fueled by GI's returning home with all new mechanical skills earned in the field and
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a few bucks in their pocket.
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As well as a bit of PTSD-fueled need for dopamine hits that office jobs waiting back in the
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States just weren't providing.
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That's fair.
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Yeah.
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That sounds alright.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, I mean, imagine we've talked about it before because it's the genesis of so many
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different car cultures of like, ah, I'm going to blow my head off if I don't feel
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adrenaline right now.
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Coming back from war and being shot at and then just having to go back to like the suburbs.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, you need another fake somehow.
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Yeah.
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I'm in a build-up motorcycle.
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Whip some chains around and people.
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Oh my god.
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You got to be all never played road rash on people.
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I didn't know what you were referencing.
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Yeah.
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Road rash was a great game.
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Yeah.
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But this boom brought side effects, mainly illegal street racing.
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The allure of late night sprints on public roads were too hard to resist, but the consequences
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were brutal.
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From bloody wrecks to innocent bystanders gaining caught up in the carnage, hot rotters were
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getting painted as reckless delinquents by big media in the police.
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While it could easily see where it was all heading, it was a ticking time bomb that
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was threatening to blow up legitimate racing altogether.
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Enter Robert Peterson.
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Peterson was quiet and unassuming, but he had a brain for business.
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We talked about him, ah, maybe 80 episodes ago.
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He started a hot rod magazine.
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He started like a media empire and now he has the museum named after him in LA, coolest
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car museum in the world.
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We'll be right back after these messages.
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Now back to the show.
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He knew the passionate and misunderstood sub culture of hot rodding needed a voice and
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most of all that voice had to be positive Peterson and while he hit it off right away.
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Wally ever the pragmatist told him the SCTA was broke then came the counter from Peterson.
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What if the SCTA and Peterson's Hollywood publicity associates teamed up for the first
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ever hot rod show it would be a straight up PR stunt to try and alter the image of hot
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rodders from greasers with switch plates to marketable greasers.
spk_0
This change of switch plates to coms.
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Oh yeah.
spk_0
Hey that's a good idea.
spk_0
Has anyone ever made that?
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I'm going to patent it now.
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Do you put palm in your hair?
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No.
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I don't think I think you'd see my scalp if I did.
spk_0
You'd have that like a New York sewer grade hair.
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Steam coming up from it.
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Oh my god.
spk_0
This wasn't just some funruckers car show.
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The hot rod exposition which eventually launched in January of 1948 at the Los Angeles
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Armory was a hail Mary for hot rodders.
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Before this car shows were more like the Pebble Beach concours del gonson less like a
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car's and coffee behind a grocery store.
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This exposition was to show off and legitimize the greasy strip down loud machines built
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an apartment building parking lots and behind barns and it worked like a charm.
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It was a massive unexpected hit while brainstorming the perfect show Peterson had another
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light bulb moment.
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A magazine dedicated to this burgeoning culture.
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Just you may ask if this is before his magazine.
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Yeah.
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He initially toyed with auto craft but at the end of the day he did the right thing and
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named it hot rod.
spk_0
Because auto craft could have been like off putting to the real hot rodders.
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I feel like you're like I don't want to buy this.
spk_0
I think it's the difference between like science and engineering magazine.
spk_0
You know what I mean?
spk_0
Auto craft is which is what I think was prevalent but then if you call it hot rod it's like
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it's a counter to.
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Yeah.
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It's like if you're talking to a Gen Z.
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Hot rod mechanics.
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And you were like this guy sucks instead of being like Uncle dead ass cooked for real.
spk_0
You know that was so gross.
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That was crazy.
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I like the way Joe formed that sentence.
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It was kind of like second nature to him at this point.
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Oh yeah.
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Yeah.
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I've been saying that for weeks now.
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You're getting it.
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You're using those.
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Thanks.
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If I didn't pull that off I'd probably have to unalive myself.
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Wally was buried under SCTA duties and he couldn't jump into the editor's chair right away.
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But he gave his full blessing recognizing the sheer potential to champion the hot rod cause.
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He was deep down a journalist even if it didn't show yet.
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Richard Parks, Wally's son summed up his dad's straight shooting writing style in an interview decades later.
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Quote, there were no wild hot rodders in his mind.
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They were innovative and creative people who loved the car and love speed.
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They just needed a place to do it safely.
spk_0
That was Wally's dream from day one.
spk_0
That was really nice way to like think and then we're like to him.
spk_0
It really wasn't like these like greasers all badass and shit.
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Yeah, they're just misunderstood.
spk_0
They just needed a place to unleash themselves.
spk_0
Yeah.
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You know.
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Yeah, and I feel like that's still that's so true.
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Problem that today's youths run into.
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I sound like Gen Z yet.
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But it is a really big problem where it's like that's why they always say they take it to the track.
spk_0
Cause I mean in the streets there's so many variables that could very easily go wrong.
spk_0
And yeah, even if there's no one even if there's no one around.
spk_0
Like you could still mess your car up on a pothole.
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You could still do damage.
spk_0
You could kill yourself.
spk_0
There's not you know like streets are unregulated.
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Drag strip.
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They're also not designed.
spk_0
Yeah, for you know, you go someplace where it's designed to race.
spk_0
Yeah, Wally saw hot rod magazine as this church where he could preach the gospel of organized safe racing.
spk_0
I suppose it would be his pulpit, wouldn't it?
spk_0
Back to my stupid word stuff.
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Now what is that?
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Sorry.
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That's a good scrap word.
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Marches can't turn it off.
spk_0
Just grabble on the mind.
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Do the last I'd say five Scrabble games.
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I've gotten five ease.
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Two eyes.
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Nothing to do.
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I can't and my luck was gravel so bad.
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That is true.
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There's a lot of luck involved in what happened.
spk_0
Wally eventually took the editorial reins and under his watch,
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the mag became more than just glossy picks of tricked out cars.
spk_0
It became the definitive voice for the hot rod community.
spk_0
The magazine was pumping out positive vibes and most importantly pushing for legitimate racing venues
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off of the public streets where people were getting hurt.
spk_0
He used the pages of hot rod to illustrate just how dangerous street racing was for the racers
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and the innocent bystanders laying out the future of drag racing piece by piece with each new issue.
spk_0
Wally wasn't just pumping out articles.
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He was growing in an important movement.
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He traveled between popular race tracks and time trial spots
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so he could connect with racers, track organizers and enthusiasts.
spk_0
He was like Johnny Apples, traveling the country,
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planning the seeds that would become the trees that he could use to build his empire of legitimate racing on that.
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Matter for is to.
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That was a lot.
spk_0
There's a lot of legwork to get that one to work.
spk_0
No, don't you see the seeds are like tires and he tires to go fast.
spk_0
And then the apples that fall off that don't get harvested.
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Those are like.
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Those are like juices like gas.
spk_0
His passion is a metaphor.
spk_0
Yeah, it is a really good metaphor.
spk_0
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I knew we could understand it.
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Yeah.
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What's your favorite, favorite apple step?
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My favorite apple.
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Let me tell you something.
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Um, what's the, I love you really like the green ones.
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Green apples.
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Yeah, Granny Smith.
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Yeah, Granny Smith.
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Yeah.
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I'll mess those.
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Those are the best for baking because they stay tart and they, they maintain their
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constant.
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Yeah.
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I like that.
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What's your favorite apple?
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Um, you know, for just snacking, I'd say honey crisp or cosmic crisp.
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Mm hmm.
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Uh, for baking, I'd definitely, uh, Granny Smith.
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I make a mean tartata.
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Bring it here.
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Okay, move it.
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Prove it, Joe.
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Call me Johnny Apple speed.
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His passion was infectious and he started to gather a devoted following of people
spk_0
who believed in his business.
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It's American.
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It's tart tartine.
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Wally's writing in hot rod wasn't just informational.
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It was persuasive.
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He took his readers to school as he broke down technical ideas and laid out all the nuts
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and bolts.
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It's good enough.
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The nuts and bolts are the apples.
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What do we go on?
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The nuts and bolts are like seeds.
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Are we off to it?
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And you need those to grow more apple speeds.
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No, I get it.
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Now I get it.
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Going fast was great.
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He preached, but doing it safely was paramount.
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He ran stories on organized races, profiles of responsible racers and deep dives in the
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safety gear and techniques while carefully positioning advertisers and keeping them happy.
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Wally was also fighting a battle of limitations inside the SCTA.
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While the SCTA was pivotal for early hot rodding, its focus was squarely on land speed records
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out on those dry lakes.
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It simply wasn't ready for the explosion of drag racing, which was popping up on
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airstrips and purpose-built tracks all over the US.
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Wally saw the need for a new organization, one that was custom-built for the unique challenges
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and opportunities of drag racing.
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He envisioned a body that would set standards in four safety regulations and build a new
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national stage for the sport.
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I'm envisioning a body right now.
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Oh God.
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I feel naked.
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His time at Hot Rod magazine, his intimate knowledge of the hot rod community and his
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growing frustration with a lack of effective drag racing organizations, all that converged
spk_0
to plant the seed for his most enduring legacy.
spk_0
Oh good, another seed.
spk_0
And that seed was the National Hot Rod Association.
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So effectively what's happening is he's saying everybody you guys should all race, do it
spk_0
effectively and safely and all these little organizations popped up and he's kind of like,
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oh shit, what have I done?
spk_0
They're all doing it differently.
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Yeah.
spk_0
And so now he's got to take the reins.
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And the SCTA was kind of behind on like they, he was and he wasn't and he was a member
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of it, but not in charge of it.
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That's why I was getting frustrated.
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And on a dry lake bed, like you're not going to crash into people, you're not going
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to crash into the stands and stuff.
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It's a totally different beast than like what was becoming popular and he saw the need
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for like a governing organization.
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That's a fair thought.
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If you know car people, you know they don't like regulations.
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They know like being told what to do.
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So like it's a thin line to tread.
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And that's what he found out.
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The late 1940s and early 1950s were an exciting time for American motor sports to
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say the least.
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The postwar boom brought faster and faster cars.
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Sadly with more speed came more carnage, especially for those on the sidelines.
spk_0
Street racing was rampant and becoming increasingly dangerous and sadly more fatal.
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Public outcry hit a fever pitch and an alternative was needed.
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Wally saw this as a golden opportunity.
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He believed that hot riding could be reframed as a legitimate sport full of clear rules,
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organized and ticketed events, and most crucially safety.
spk_0
He knew that some of the existing organizations were a good start, but they all had a long
spk_0
way to go.
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The SCTA was great for dry lake runs, but drag racing needed its own champion.
spk_0
And so in 1951 Wally started the National Hot Rod Association.
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This wasn't a glitzy corporate launch.
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This was a grassroots explosion fueled by Wally's sheer willpower and the support of a crew
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of followers.
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The initial mission statement for the NHRA was straightforward and simple.
spk_0
To establish rules and regulations for drag racing and to promote safety, dedicated to safety
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wasn't just some catchy slogan plastered on a banner.
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It was the guiding light of the NHRA, a principal Wally would champion relentlessly for the
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rest of his life.
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We'll be right back after these messages.
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Now back to the show.
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The early days of the NHRA were chaotic.
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Wally was a jack of all trades working tirelessly.
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He glad-handed his way across the country smiling alongside racers, track owners,
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and local officials spreading the gospel.
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He immediately faced resistance though.
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Old school hot rotters were unsure about the stack of regulations Wally wanted to drop in their lap.
spk_0
They saw it as an affront to their personal freedoms as we still see nowadays.
spk_0
Any kind of change in rules for racing or EPA regulations, people are like-
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Look what the freedoms when states made driving and drinking.
spk_0
I was just thinking about that as well.
spk_0
I've seen those videos of those interviews.
spk_0
Like what am I not supposed to have a beer on my way home from work?
spk_0
Well yeah, you're not supposed to have a beer.
spk_0
People freaked out when it went down to a 55-mile-hour speed limit too.
spk_0
I remember they in Wisconsin at least, I remember hearing that they were-
spk_0
The government was going to withhold funds for highways and roads unless they changed it.
spk_0
I know there was tons of resistance for that.
spk_0
I'd be pissed too.
spk_0
Yeah, but I think it was for 55 within metropolitan areas.
spk_0
So like is it really good out?
spk_0
The 55 thing was a big government push because-
spk_0
For gas miles.
spk_0
Yeah, and we were in the gas crisis.
spk_0
Wait, so it went down?
spk_0
So they were-
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Oh, yeah.
spk_0
Okay, so in the city areas, these fools were driving like 60.
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If not more.
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Oh, yeah.
spk_0
Oh, yeah.
spk_0
I thought other states drove slower than us.
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It's a lot different now.
spk_0
Yeah, it used to be for that reason the speed limit was 55 and then it kind of got loosened.
spk_0
Yeah, I do remember doing it like in a whole wheelhouse I was doing research.
spk_0
I think the average for most cars 45 is the most fuel-efficient speed.
spk_0
Like anything after that the wind resistance is too much that you're actually like using more gas
spk_0
to just push through the air.
spk_0
But like no, it wants to drive 45.
spk_0
That's boring.
spk_0
Don't tell me how to drive on my way from work.
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Yeah, that's coming.
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After a long day.
spk_0
With my beer?
spk_0
Yeah, with my beer, my road's ready.
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My road's ready.
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The-
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I came back-
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I came back from Las Vegas and it's such a frustrating trip because you're just constantly passing people
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on their right.
spk_0
Because in the-
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Yeah.
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Because no one-
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It's such a long drive.
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That it just keeps getting worse in my head where it's like I don't think I could physically
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get past on my right and stay in the left.
spk_0
Like I don't think I can do it.
spk_0
Yeah, I don't understand how anyone else does.
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Any-
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It's a frustrating drive.
spk_0
I don't know if you guys have been seeing these like the Sony car
spk_0
that's coming out the Afeela.
spk_0
Okay.
spk_0
They're-
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They're marketing it now as like it's got an LED screen that you can put messages on the front.
spk_0
I know.
spk_0
And in the ad that I saw, it was like
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this guy put his-
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It's her birthday.
spk_0
A clap for her or something.
spk_0
And all these bystanders were like walking past.
spk_0
That's so wack.
spk_0
I know.
spk_0
I would use that for malice.
spk_0
Well, you know 99.9% of the time.
spk_0
If people use that, it's going to be like-
spk_0
Get the f*** out of there.
spk_0
Hey, you're like-
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
I would love that.
spk_0
We need-
spk_0
I would-
spk_0
That'd be really, really fun to have around.
spk_0
Yes.
spk_0
I don't think we need more distractions on the outside of our cars.
spk_0
People are already-
spk_0
Only some like individuals can own them.
spk_0
That's what that-
spk_0
You have to have like a-
spk_0
No speeding tickets or-
spk_0
Yeah, you have to-
spk_0
Pretty decent record.
spk_0
I don't want to say perfricht, but-
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
Decent and perfect.
spk_0
I've-
spk_0
I have thought about like having-
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Whenever I drive like my manual cars,
spk_0
everyone without fail is like a foot away from my bumper on a hill and I'm like-
spk_0
I want to be like-
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Move the f*** back.
spk_0
Like sometimes I like roll my-
spk_0
down my window and I'm like-
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Go back.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
But they don't ever look at me like-
spk_0
Anyways, I should just get better at driving manual.
spk_0
I thought you should just use them to push you forward.
spk_0
Then you don't have to worry.
spk_0
I love a love topic.
spk_0
Never heard nobody.
spk_0
Yeah, that's true.
spk_0
Should we get back to Walsh?
spk_0
Yeah, please.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
These hot rotters are getting kind of fed up with all the regulations.
spk_0
Right.
spk_0
Don't-
spk_0
The man is keeping you down.
spk_0
But Wally was a master debater and quite persuasive.
spk_0
Wally knew how to sell his vision in a way that made people feel empowered
spk_0
more than put upon.
spk_0
Wally had his elevator pitch about how safety would improve the sport,
spk_0
not limit it because racers and innocent bystanders would live to enjoy the spectacle.
spk_0
That's true.
spk_0
You can't kill your audience.
spk_0
That's true.
spk_0
That's bad business.
spk_0
That is bad business.
spk_0
spk_0
If you keep doing that.
spk_0
One of the NHRA's first tasks was hammering out consistent rules and classifications.
spk_0
Back in the day, drag racing was a chaotic, free-for-all from track to track.
spk_0
Wally spearheaded the effort to develop a comprehensive rulebook,
spk_0
working with racers and experts to craft a system that was fair,
spk_0
safe and easily understood.
spk_0
This rulebook became the drag bible,
spk_0
providing a desperately needed framework for the sport.
spk_0
As far as rules go, it's comprehensive as an understeady.
spk_0
Oh yeah.
spk_0
It's crazy.
spk_0
I mean, now it's like,
spk_0
my line by my line.
spk_0
I've never read it.
spk_0
Can you tell?
spk_0
But rules are moot without enforcement.
spk_0
Wally knew that.
spk_0
He established a rigorous system of technical inspections and safety checks,
spk_0
ensuring that cars were built and maintained to the highest standards.
spk_0
He also emphasized track safety,
spk_0
working with the owners to upgrade facilities and implement crucial safety measures like
spk_0
catch nets and advanced fire suppression systems.
spk_0
His dedication to safety was absolute unnegotiable,
spk_0
and he wasn't afraid to make tough calls, even if they were unpopular.
spk_0
One of the first times Wally had to put his rule marker status to the test was on March 1, 1957.
spk_0
Wally was setting track records in a 1957 Plymouth in Daytona,
spk_0
but back in California, the cook and bed well dragster driven by Emory Cook,
spk_0
sat three new records in its first three runs.
spk_0
First, cook bested the track elapsed time record.
spk_0
Then in his second run, he tied for track speed record.
spk_0
And on his third run, he beat the world record, which was set by Bobby Allsens
spk_0
in Kenny Lindley's Miss Fire 2.
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That's a cool name.
spk_0
Miss Fire 2.
spk_0
At the NHRA Nationals in Kansas City of the year before.
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Track officials and everyone else watching were stunned that this car blew through all the
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records held at the track and beat the world record.
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When they found out the dragster was running Nitro, C.J. Hart, the owner of the Santa Anna Strip,
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put his foot down and banned the gas, citing the short stopping links at the SoCal strips.
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He wasn't a hater to me.
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I mean, as an owner, like if you had a house party, you don't want anyone dying there.
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They don't have a house party.
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You know the whole house party.
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You just have to take away the ever clear.
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I want to go to some of your parties.
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Does this sound wild?
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You don't want anybody to die.
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You don't want anybody to die.
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Don't have a house party.
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You know how house parties go.
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No, that's not how they go.
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They're not supposed to go like that.
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Now imagine that you own the house and your livelihood is having these parties.
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So you don't want people bringing in crazy shit and possibly dying because that means
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you're going to lose your house and lose your business.
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Does something like a grabber right now?
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It's funny.
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No, I just thought,
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how did you tell me that?
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I just thought it was so funny that you were explaining this to me.
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You're thinking, damn,
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Uncle Dennis crashing over right now.
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And I'm witnessing it with my arm.
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I just rage-bated Uncle right now.
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He wasn't worried about world records or upsetting other racers.
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Heart was concerned about insurance premiums and drag racers
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splatting themselves against the end of the quarter of a mile.
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Wally returned from Daytona and found himself neck deep in a good old-fashioned feud between
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racers eager to go faster and everyone else who wanted it safer.
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Racers were on a tizzy, but Wally said no way and stood his ground.
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And putting health and safety over going a bit faster,
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shine to light on the entire NHRA and legitimize them in the public's eye.
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So good overall, you gotta be the dad once in a while.
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That's maybe a little bit too much for the limitations of the track.
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Let's just keep it to race gas.
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Yeah, that's not so horrible, is it?
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Isn't it?
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But I'm gonna go to the other Uncle's party.
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Yeah, and maybe someone might die there.
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It's gonna be Uncle's cooking over there.
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Over there?
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Yes.
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Let him cook.
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I'm so aware of how old I'm getting.
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And you know, I'm just trying to relate to the bull.
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You're doing a good job at it.
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I'm telling you Joe, you could be let out on the streets like Joe.
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You're dead ass killing it.
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Oh, thanks.
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Thanks, Uncle.
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We can't call each other Uncle.
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We can't call each other Uncle.
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Why not?
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That would have to imply that you see him as your Uncle.
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What's wrong with that?
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Well, if my mom, if my,
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I am not Uncle.
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If my sister gave birth to him and his sister gave birth to me,
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yeah, then we would both be Uncle's to each other, right?
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Is that possible?
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I mean, that situation is possible,
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but I don't think we're each other's Uncle's.
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Chatt, let us know if you can be your friend's Uncle.
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While his personal touch was woven into every part of the NHRA,
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he wasn't a being counter or an uninterested boss.
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He was a constant visible present at races,
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chatting with racers, listening to their gripes,
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offering his own words of wisdom.
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He genuinely cared about the people who made the sport work
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and they respected him back.
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Quote, he knew everyone, his son said later after while he passed.
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He remembered their names, their cars, their families.
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He made everyone feel important.
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I think that's super important for especially a small business
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to like remember everyone.
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It's like a personal touch.
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You want to feel that like homey feeling, you know?
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Yeah, especially with being a track.
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Because you're going to be there a lot if you're really doing this, you know?
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Yeah.
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Garner's goodwill.
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So like you're saying everybody's like,
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this is real sick.
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Well, and then it's like, yeah, but I know him.
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He means well.
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Yes.
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That's the whole thing is like he's not behind the desk somewhere out of state.
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Like he's on the ground talking to everyone.
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He's kind of franchising all these communities into one thing.
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Yeah.
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He's literally just trying his best guys.
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Yeah.
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I can't blame him.
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This personal connection was the secret sauce,
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building the NHR into a unified powerhouse organization.
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Wally fostered a genuine sense of community.
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That feeling that everyone was pulling toward a shared goal.
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He crafted an environment where racers felt heard, felt valued,
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and where safety was a collective pact.
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His influence grew beyond the strip.
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Wally became a revered voice in the broader motor sports world,
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advocating for safety and legitimacy across all disciplines.
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He sat on committees, served on boards,
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and dished out his expertise and passion to drivers who went beyond the straight line.
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He was a tireless champion for the radical idea that motor sports could be both thrilling and safe.
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The NHRA under Wally's unwavering leadership kept growing and evolving.
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The safety safari launched in 1954.
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A traveling road show that hauled NHRA officials and safety experts to tracks all over the US.
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This directly helped to get new drag strips off the ground with a set of pre-cooked safety practices.
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It was a brilliant grassroots stroke of genius that brought marketing and education together
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to solidify the NHRA's national footprint and its fierce commitment to helping the sports grow safely.
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The very first NHRA national event, the Nationals, went down and great Ben Kansas in 1955.
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This was a landmark moment, planting the flag for a premier event that would become a cornerstone
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of the NHRA's schedule, a showcase for the absolute best of the best.
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The first NHRA national championship drags meet set the bar high.
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It was dubbed America's first acceleration championship.
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The event honored drivers and the records, as well as tested out kilometer runs on concrete.
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Even the worst storm in 30 years couldn't keep the NHRA crew from parting hard and going fast.
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Richard parks often wax his poetic about his father's relentless work ethic and his
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unyielding dedication to the NHRA. Quote, he lived and breathed the NHRA. Richard says,
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it wasn't just a job, it was his life's mission. This level of personal investment,
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this sole, deep commitment is what set Wally apart and what allowed him to build an organization that
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has not just survived but thrived over 70 years. Wally's personal life, though often
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inextricably entwined with his work, also shaped his worldview. His burning desire to make
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racing safe wasn't just a professional checkbox, it was a deeply personal crusade.
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He wanted future generations of racers, maybe even his own grandkids, to taste the thrill of speed
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without risking it all by living one quarter a mile at a time. This personal motivation added
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an extra layer of passion and almost desperate urgency to his safety mission. As the NHRA grew,
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it spawned its own traditions, none as incredible as the Wally trophy, handed to the big winners at
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NHRA National Events. Affectionately named in his honor, the Wally is more than just metal.
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The award is an ultimate badge of honor for drag racers. Its very existence is a direct,
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chrome plated, annual shout out to Wally Parks and his foundational world shaping role in the sport.
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Wally eventually stepped down from the NHRA in 1984 but is bond with the sport he formed, never
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loosened. He remained a guiding star dispensing wisdom and perspective like a seasoned sage.
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He was a driving force behind the NHRA Motor Sports Museum in Pomona, California,
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a temple dedicated to preserving the epic history of drag racing and celebrating the trailblazers
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who carved its path. The museum stands as another towering monument to his commitment to the
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sports heritage and its unwavering desire to educate future generations about its roots.
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Even in his golden years, Wally was a familiar, beloved face at NHRA events. He was still there
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mixing it up with racers and fans, his passion undimmed, burning as brightly as ever.
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Wally passed away on September 28th, 2007 at the age of 94 due to pneumonia.
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Wally Parks is more than just a guy who founded the NHRA. He was the conscience of drag racing.
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He took a chaotic, dangerous subculture of backyard tinkerer and transformed it into a legitimate,
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respected, thunderous sport. His relentless, uncompromising commitment to safety saved countless lives,
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making it possible for generations of gear heads to chase the thrills speed in a controlled
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environment. And we thank him for that. Thank you Wally Parks. And if you haven't been in an NHRA
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event, go, go. Yeah. Because they're, they're nuts. It is life changing.
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It is life changing. Until you're there. Yeah. It's one thing to see it on ESPN, the Ocho,
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but to see it in real life and breathe the fumes and cover your ears. Oh my God.
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You feel that rumble in your soul. Yeah. And just the technical aspect behind it, the fact that they
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like rebuild an engine between runs is insane. I also think you, you could never have gotten to
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that point if it wasn't for Wally's rules and regulations and starting it because you'd never
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be able to keep pushing, yeah, in a controlled environment. You'd be doing it somewhere else.
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And who's to say, like, how many lives he's saved just by creating a rulebook and creating these
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technical inspections? Like, it's just the fact that people are like building their own cars at home
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and not thinking about safety. They're going to get checked at these events and they can't race because
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of it. But maybe they go home and like, they can't stop and bring it back. Right. And the things that
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are rules in NHRA, some of it is, well, if I want to do this, this is the rule I might as well put,
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you know, this shut off in the trunk. Yeah. But it also is now your car safer, you know. Yeah.
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I mean, I think, you know, his rules were super, super needed and we are, we're at with racing now,
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which is honestly amazing. Yeah. I love, I love our modern day, like, NHRA events and stuff.
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It with rules and regulations, I feel like you also set the bar a lot higher.
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Well, and you get, that's now that's why there are classes and that's why it makes it almost
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even more remarkable that you could do what you're doing with the known restrictions that everyone
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is under. Yeah. They're also documenting like the records and setting that kind of bar and
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maintaining the records for it. So I think that's cool. I love a good record keeper, you know.
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That's our show. Thank you so much, Steph, for joining us this week. Thank you.
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Thank you. And they get a part. Absolutely. Where can people find you on Instagram?
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at Radical Unsourced Stuff. Go for her and Bids at Bardo.
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At Bids Bardo and I'm Joji Weber, follow us on Instagram, follow,
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doing a podcast on Instagram, like and subscribe and we'll see you next week. Thank you.