POMONA, Calif. - (May 19, 2003) - Midwestern and Southern customizers unite! Gene Winfield, one of the kings of customizing, is heading your way! Winfield, a living legend in the car customizing industry, will be heading up the Custom Car Corral exhibit at the inaugural Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont Automotive Finishes. The Reunion is June 20-22, 2003 at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Ky.
"Having a customizing icon such as Gene Winfield at the National Hot Rod Reunion is a real thrill," said Sam Jackson, executive director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif., producer the first-time show. "Fans of customized cars will get a chance to get an autograph and meet one of the true greats in the customized car field and get to see some really cool historic and contemporary customs in the Custom Car Corral."
Winfield said he was excited and looking forward to the National Hot Rod Reunion, and seeing some of his old cars. "I worked on a lot of cars in the Midwest. I hope they end up in the Custom Car Corral. That's why this Reunion is such a good idea. You get to see famous cars of the past."
Winfield, who has 40 years experience chopping tops, frenching headlights and bending metal into futuristic designs, is one of the key players who started the car customizing craze that first swept through California, then the nation, back in the '50s and '60s. He ranks among famous customizers such as George Barris, Bill Cushenbery, Dean Jefferies and the Alexander Brothers. Winfield-built cars have appeared in more than 20 films, including Blade Runner, Robocop and Sleeper.
Winfield, who runs Gene's Rod and Custom in Mojave Calif., is best-known for the "Jade Idol," a '56 Mercury that took 2 years to build and earned him several awards.
One of the cars that might be at the Reunion's Custom Car Corral is "The Thing," one of Winfield's most famous. Winfield, who also has a booth at the Reunion, said he is tentatively bringing the 1927 Model T coupe he ran in the early '50s. "The Thing will look a little different, he said. "It's being changed from a dragster to a Bonneville Straight Line car."
Produced by the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont Automotive Finishes, will include Crane Cams nostalgic drag racing in such classes at Top Fuel, Supercharged Gassers, classic Funny Cars and Super Stocks, along with a giant street rod, customs, classics and muscle car SoffSeal "show 'n' shine," swap meet for classic car and racing parts, special stage show and has a separate amusement park with rides and games for all ages adjacent to the park.
Bob Glidden, winner of 10 NHRA Pro-Stock Championships and 85 National events in his 30 years of racing, will serve as Grand Marshal of the event. The honorees are Jack Chisenhall, Angelo Giampetroni, Raymond Godman, Ken Hirata and the team of Robert Frakes & Dale Funk. Don "Big Daddy" Garlits is the Spotlight Award recipient.
Many of the popular features of the annual NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion event will also be present in Bowling Green, including the all-time favorite "Cacklefest." This involves early-days-style front-engine dragsters being push-started, then all gathered together on the drag strip with engines running.
The Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by DuPont Automotive Refinishes, will also cater to car clubs, with special contests and activities for clubs. Proceeds of the Reunion benefit the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. The museum houses the very roots of hot rodding. Scores of famous vehicles spanning American motorsports history are on display, including winning cars representing 50 years of drag racing, dry lakes and salt-flat racers, oval track challengers and exhibits describing their colorful backgrounds.
Reunion information is available online at www.nhra.com/museum or by mail. To receive updated information, prospective participants should send a post card or note to National Hot Rod Reunion, P.O. Box 2345, Pomona, Calif. 91769. Or you can call 909/622-8562 for further Reunion details.
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., PST, with extended hours during NHRA national events. Current NHRA members are admitted free. Admission for non-members is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors 60 and older, $3 for juniors six through 15, and free for children under the age of five. The Museum is also available for private parties, meetings, corporate events, weddings and special group tours. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona. For further information on special exhibits, museum events or directions, call 909/622-2133 or visit www.nhra.com/museum.