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Automotive Greats: Whom have you met?


f.f.jones

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I have been a Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society "Not Only Vice President" for over 40 years and gone to virtually every monthly meeting since at Sardi's in NYC for two or three years before that. That is over 43 years  of once a month meetings which is over 516 meetings with a guest automotive related speaker at each one. (This includes the last year and a half of the pandemic and Monthly sometimes twice monthly Zoom meetings) Of course there have been repeat speakers here and there.  Have met and become friends with a large majority of the speakers and try to keep in touch with many that are still with us. I also was on the Board of Directors for the New York Region SCCA and racer from 1982 to 2003 meeting many more people that way. I have met so many people in this hobby and business that I feel that I am indeed blessed.  Automotive executives, Authors, racers, Historians, Public Relations and Marketing, etc.  Meeting people to name a few like Maurice and Rene Dreyfuss, Austie Clark, John Weitz, Stirling Moss, Paul Newman, my good best friend Judy Stropus, Oscar Kovaleski, Leon Mandel, Denise McCluggage, Sam Posey, MaryAnn Keller, Bob Grossman, Brock Yates, Roger Penske, Bobby Unser, my good friend Marty Schorr, etc. I really can't believe how fortunate I have been and I am still only 63 years young. 😉 This without a doubt is the best hobby in the world and am fortunate indeed. I won't continue with names because it just makes no sense and I haven't the time/memory or think it appropriate to take up the space to try to mention them all.  I will say thank you to everyone I have met over the years including on this forum to include a young man (Boy) from Brooklyn NY into this worldwide experience at the age of 22 years old. It took me a long time to feel comfortable in such esteemed company. I still have to pinch myself sometimes that I was accepted by Chowder as an amateur racer and voted onto the Board of the NYRSCCA and that I had the opportunity to meet and contribute in a small way to the automotive and racing experience in a small way.  I love this automotive world with all my heart since I was 5 years old. Sorry for the long post. Hopefully there is much more to come in the future.

 

This photo is me with friends at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours, Racer/ F1 ESPN Analyst David Hobbs, Famous timer and scorer and this years inductee to the MotorSports Hall of fame Judy Stropus, Me and collector/Vintage car dealer Orrie Simko (Wearing shorts) 

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Edited by philip roitman (see edit history)
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I don't usually get out too much, but a few years back at a trade show down in New Jersey near Giants Stadium, I met Chip Foose, Vic Edelbrock and Big Daddy Don Garlits. All were very nice....  Also recently, I was honor to meet two automotive authors / historian greats: Richard Lentinello and Walt Gosden... what a pleasure it was to met these folks, been reading their articles in Hemmings for years !  Oh, if I make it to Hershey this year, Steve Moskowitz will be on my list to meet...😃

* picture : Walt, John Salemmo and me

Steve

 

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Edited by STEVE POLLARD (see edit history)
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38 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

I've heard the name, but doesn't he track Chrysler products

other than just their muscle cars?

 

Not just muscle cars. Decades ago, for Chrysler products of the musclecar era and a little beyond, he quite literally wrote the book.

 

Edited by Bloo (see edit history)
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In the early '70s I drank a beer with Ronnie Sox (Sox & Martin) , Don Carlton and Teddy Spehar (Mopar Missile) in the back of the Sox & Martin car hauler at Bristol Dragway.  I knew Doug Gray and George McCorkle pretty well in the '70s who both had drag race cars and raced at a lot of the big dragstrips in the South like Bristol, Rockingham and others where I went. They weren't best known as great drag racers. They were better known as members of the Marshal Tucker Band.

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3 hours ago, Ronnie said:

 They were better known as members of the Marshal Tucker Band.

MTB has played on my stage.

Super nice guys.

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Derek Bell, winning IMSA racer the year after he co-drove a Porsche to beat Jaguar at Le Mans in '87 (?).  He was guest speaker at a Porsche Club meeting and was a very affable guy.  I also met Wayne Carini a few years ago while walking around the Hershey flea market.  He was also very friendly and had no problem with me taking a photo with him and my brother (who recognized him).  

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I watched Wayne Carini film the segment on the original owner 1955 Dodge at the 2018 Hemmings Concours in Lake George NY, but it was brutally hot and humid and I was laying on the ground trying to breathe so I didn't meet him. When they panned across the field on the tv show they stopped short specifically to keep me off the show, LOL. 

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Picture taken from the ground. I may have been down but I wasn't out. 

 

Actually got some pretty cool angles from there as the cars left...

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You can see my foot in this photo.

But I won't go that far down the rabbit hole and take the thread off topic. They are on my website though: Hemmings Concours d'Elegance 2018 album | El Camino Billy | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy.

 

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I reread the thread and I can't believe I didn't post this. I met Bogi and Faye of All Girls Garage tv show at the Adirondack Nationals in Lake George NY in 2019. They are really cool in person, actually even more fun than on TV. 

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This was my profile picture on Facebook for a while...

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A friend pushed me into answering this.  My life as a new car dealer and my involvement with Oldsmobile afforded me the opportunity to meet a lot of greats.  I served on the board of Automotive Youth Education Services and at one meeting I had the CEO of Toyota on one side of me and the CEO of GM on the other side.  Sure had me wondering what the hell I was doing there (actually talking about automotive education was up my alley).  I have met numerous folks during my career but the great, the truly great guy I knew very well, John Rock.  Former head of Holden, GMC, and Olds.  The single most brilliant and knowledgeable guy in any room on an automotive subject.  He was also inspiring.  Funny as hell too!  Yep, I put in ahead of another hero of the time John DeLorean who I not only met but became a dealer for him.  

 

Thought the same association with Olds I met numerous greats in the racing world.  I have great memories of several very special functions that I was a part of and got some quality time with everyone from Warren Johnson, Eddie Cheever, Tim Flock, Herb Thomas and a lot of the last couple decades of Indy drivers and owners. 

 

Also, of course I met Ed Minnie....  :) Had to see if he was reading...

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Just remembered.

Phil Caldwell was the head of Ford back in the day. Ceo or president. He was also on our board of directors. Once a month we,d pick him up at the Ford hanger and  bring him to ABE for a board meeting. He,d usually come up to the cockpit for a bit of a chat.  Typical business type.

I also took a whizz next to John Denver. As temped as i was i kept my eyes straight ahead.

Is Steve Martin a car guy?In any event he gave me a brief neck massage.

All of the above and a buck fifty gets me a coffe at the local eatery.......bob

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