GeorgiaDragRacing.com - Information about Georgia drag racing history, personalities, activities and events.
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East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame and Reunion 2003East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame and 2003 Reunion After the event that Nancy Wilson and her team put together last year, my expectations ran high for the 2003 Show, Shine, Shag & Dine/East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame & Reunion and I wasn't disappointed. Arriving in Henderson, NC early Friday afternoon (October 17, 2003) my wife (Vicki) and I found the US ARMY/Don Schumacher Racing Top Fuel show car and Ray Gramlich's KemoSabay (a 219 mph un-blown fuel hydro drag boat) already in the Jameson Inn parking lot. Investigating further, I ran into Jack Redd while he was talking to Ray Gramlich and Joe Carter in the parking lot. Joe Carter works for Don Schumacher Racing and he had brought the Army Top Fueler to the event. FE Bob Fermier and Dick Brannan arrived within a few minutes of each other, followed by Phil Bonner and his wife Melanie. The weekend was starting out great and it was soon time to go to Superior Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep for the car display/autograph session with Ronnie Sox, Bill Stiles, and Tom Sneden. On display at Superior Chrysler were Hemi Fred Ristagno's Sox & Martin Pro Stock Duster, Bill Stiles' former '68 Hemi Barracuda SS/BA, two Bob Banning Dodge Bounty Hunters Super Stockers, the Hartsoe Bros. Anglia and several nice street cars. I was finally able to meet Bill Stiles and Fred Ristagno after months of email correspondence. It was nice to see my childhood drag racing hero, Ronnie Sox (and Mrs. Sox), return to Henderson in 2003. I even broke down and purchased one of Ronnie's Sox & Martin Duster Pro Stock diecast models from him. I'll always cherish this model with Ronnie's autograph across the roof (and on the box)! Bill Stiles was nice enough to give me a couple of personalized souvenirs and Tom Sneden autographed a photograph of what I think was one of the best looking funny cars of all time - the 1972 Bob Banning Dodge Challenger. If you never saw this car in person, you really missed out on one beautiful car. Phil Bonner, Sam Auxier, FE Bob Fermier, Bogan Renfroe, Kenny Warren, Nancy Wilson, Bob Wilberger, Jack Redd, Marco DeCesaris, Charlie Fishback and Julio Marra were some of the other celebrities on hand. Even radio station WICE was there doing a live remote. Reed Koeppe and Tangie Branstiter of Reed's Performance (Kearney, NE) showed up with the original Cotton Owens Cotton Picker Dart wagon on a trailer. Looking a lot different (now with the engine in front), the car was being delivered to new owner Marco DeCesaris. Reed had tracked down the origins of this car that was located in Georgia. Reed (The Hunter) is an expert in locating old race cars - if you need help finding an old race car, Reed and Tangie can help you out. After the outing at Superior Chrysler, it was time to head back to the Jameson Inn for the reception. If you're a diehard drag racing fan like I am, it's quite a thrill to look around and see people such as match race legends Malcolm Durham, Ronnie Sox and Phil Bonner sitting together and catching up on old times! Some of the people that I spoke to, or saw, were Joe Jacono, Bob Rosetty, Bogan Renfroe (Bogan owned a series of Cat Skinner Willys gassers and is the current sponsor of GeorgiaDragRacing.com), Bobby Warren, Bill Stiles, Pork Zartman, Gene Altizer, K. S. Pittman, Bud Faubel, Julio Marra, Charles Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Norman Dickerson, Jack Redd, Kenny Warren, Tony and Elaine Jape, Ronnie Sox, Malcolm Durham, Tom Sneden, Jack Merkel, Phil Bonner and Melanie Bonner, Reed Koeppe and Tangie Branstiter , FE Bob Fermier, Sam Auxier and Tom Raley. If you know Jack Redd or Joe Jacono, you know how each of these guys can keep you in stitches. Well, you haven't seen anything until you see Joe and Jack holding court together! Everyone at the reception seemed to enjoy an evening of laughs, bench racing, and probably a little lie swapping! Saturday morning brought cool (some say cold!) and breezy conditions as we headed to downtown Henderson for the beginning of Show, Shine, Shag & Dine day. I'm not sure how many cars were displayed (reportedly over 500), but I never got to see all of them! Entertainment on the street, food vendors, and drag/muscle/show/custom cars of all types were displayed on the closed off streets of Henderson. I ran into a several people that I knew and got a chance to meet quite a few more. Hubert Platt, Dick Brannan, Hoyt Grimes, Larry Grimes, Bill and Jo Holt, Bob Rosetty, Joe Jacono, Rocky Pirrone, Gene Altizer, Rick Stambaugh, Ed Miles, Jack Redd, Norman Dickerson, FE Bob Fermier, Nancy Wilson, Charles Wilson and K. S. Pittman were some of the people that I had a chance to talk to while admiring the cars on display. A moonshine still was displayed on the street and seated nearby was NASCAR great Junior Johnson. Junior was on hand to autograph his new book. I didn't buy a book, but Mr. Johnson did sign several items for Fred Simmons and me. Fred wasn't able to attend the reunion this year, but he had sent several of his Junior Johnson memorabilia items with me. Later Saturday afternoon it was time for the street burnouts. I was fortunate enough to be able to shoot photos from the street and I tried my best to stay out of ace photographer Jeff Tinsley's way. I had met Jeff last year when he was inducted into the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame. Jeff is a great guy and an amazing photographer. When the action began, several cars gave the crowd a thrill, but a motorized scooter almost stole the show! I say almost because when Matt Stambaugh lit the tires on his father's (Rick Stambaugh) blown nostalgia dragster, they did steal the show! For good measure, Matt backed the dragster into the water again and proceeded to smoke the hides a second time. As Bob Frey likes to say, the crowd went wild! Nancy Wilson and her team had managed to top last years' car show in spectacular fashion! Saturday night, the activities moved to the Vance-Granville Civic Center. Bob Fermier rode with Vicki and me to the civic center (which was decorated in a 1950s theme). We sat with friends Hoyt and Larry Grimes and Tony and Elaine Jape. Phil and Melanie Bonner joined us a little later and Hubert Platt and Dick Brannan also stopped by to say hello. The evening was filled with live entertainment by Russell Henry's Tribute to the Drifters and the Memphis Show. The music was great and the dance floor stayed crowded. This party was a new addition to the reunion weekend for 2003 and anyone that didn't attend missed out on a lot of fun! On Sunday morning it was time for the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Vance-Granville Civic Center. The weather was absolutely beautiful and many of the cars that were displayed in downtown Henderson Saturday were also on display at the Civic Center. After a much-too-short morning of looking over the race cars and visiting, it was time to head inside for the ceremony. Many of the 2002 Hall of Fame inductees were in attendance at the ceremony along with the 2003 inductees. Joel Thomas served as the ceremony announcer and the award panel consisted of Nancy Wilson, Jack Redd, Bob Wilberger and Julio Marra. The 2003 hall of fame inductees were: Jerry Baltes, Phil Bonner, Malcolm Durham, Bob Fermier, Gene Altizer, Fred Bear, Dave Hales, K. S. Pittman, Chuck Stolze, Pork Zartman, Joe Jacono, Bruce Larson, Jack Merkel, Jack Olcott, Tom Raley, Ed Sarkisian, Tom Smoker Smith, Bill Stiles, Joel Thomas, Bobby Warren, Kenny Warrren, Becky White, Julius Hughes, Jr. (posthumously), and Charlie Hill (posthumously). Unfortunately, Becky White was injured in an automobile accident and was unable to attend. Ed Sarkisian's health also prevented him from attending the ceremony. Joel Thomas accepted Becky White's award and Mary Randall accepted Ed Sarkisian's award. Julio Marra also announced two new awards for 2003 with Robert Brown being the recipient of the Al Slyvester Memorial Award and Dick Harrell being the recipient of the Jungle Jim Memorial Award. Leroy Brown accepted the award for his late cousin (Robert Brown) and Tom Sneden accepted the award for the late Dick Harrell. Nancy Wilson and her team (Charles Wilson, Norman Dickerson, Bob Wilberger, Jack Redd, Julio Marra and Joel Thomas), the Vance County Tourism Department, Superior Chrysler Dodge Jeep and the City of Henderson (plus all of the other people involved) organized a great show! I'm sure that Nancy is already working on next years East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame & Reunion and I'm definitely going to be there. This event has grown tremendously in its short existence and next years reunion should be even better! More photos from the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame and 2002 Reunion are in our Photo Album. (Sorry, photo album is no longer available.)
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