Later in the year, Atlanta Motor Speedway will host the 1st Goodguys/Napa Auto Parts Southern Nationals on June 15-17. The event will be open to 1972-and-earlier rods, customs, classics, street machines, tricked-out trucks, and musclecars. While Goodguys has held nine national rod and custom events over the years in the Atlanta metro market in Perry and Conyers, Georgia, this marks the first time Goodguys will hold an event at the famed high-banked speedway and its spacious infield.
To register for these brand-new Goodguys events, or any of the 23 events for the 2007 season, visit www.good-guys.com.
Larc Reunion
Were you ever a member of the L. A. Roadster Club? If so, the club is looking for you! That's right! The club will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2007, and members are planning a grand reunion for the weekend before the 2007 Father's Day Show at the famous Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles to mark this significant milestone. So, dust off any memories you have and come share them with other former and current members.
For more information, contact Jack Stewart at (562) 862-2232, or Doyle Gammell at (310) 265-9100. And, don't miss this year's Father's Day Show-it's going to be the biggest and best ever!
Flatheads Forever
After more than 60 years of developing and manufacturing perhaps the best cylinder heads and intakes available for Flatheads, the legendary Barney Navarro has passed the torch to Mike Herman of H&H Flatheads to use his expertise in continuing the manufacture and sale of the renowned Navarro Racing Equipment. Barney made the decision that Mike Herman was best suited to continue to uphold the quality and heritage of the Navarro Racing Equipment legacy. H&H has been building Flatheads and bangers for more than 40 years and is well on the road to a legacy of its own.
Not only will H&H continue manufacturing the favorite wares of the Navarro line, it will actually be reintroducing the '49-53 Ford cylinder heads and dual-carb intakes of days gone by.
For more information on Navarro and H&H products, contact H&H Flatheads at (818) 248-2347, or visit www.flatheads-forever.com.
Hot Rod Historian
Greg Sharp knows his dry lakes racing history, and now he has become part of it. Sharp, the curator of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, was recently named Historian of the Year by the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Buellton, California. He was given the award "in recognition of his many racing achievements and contributions to dry lakes racing."
"I'm honored to be recognized by folks at the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame," Sharp said. "I really respect what they do to preserve the sport and they deserve a lot of credit for maintaining the illustrious history of dry lakes racing."
Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum, said "the award is befitting of a racing historian like Greg." Sharp's love affair with hot rods and dragsters began when he was a highly curious, car-crazy 12-year-old who devoured the pocket-sized enthusiast magazines of the 1950s. Absorbing their contents like a sponge, Sharp has become an expert on the history of hot rodding and virtually all forms of motorsports.
Sharp, a former Los Angeles police officer who spent 28 years on the force, used his storehouse of knowledge to write hundreds of magazine articles-ranging from the history of America's Most Beautiful Roadster to pieces on notable IndyCars to personalities from A.J. Foyt to George Barris. But Sharp didn't just read and write about hot rods; he became a hot rodder himself, participating in all forms of the sport. He has driven street roadsters at the Bonneville Salt Flats, judged custom car shows all over the country, and owns a pristine rod: a '41 Ford pickup. He was also a member of the L.A. Roadster Club for 15 years and has been the emcee and historian for the Oakland Roadster Show since 1989. In 1993, he was elected to the Oakland Roadster Show Hall of Fame.
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona and is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on special exhibits, museum events, or directions, call (909) 622-2133, or visit http://museum.nhra.com.