Beauty

This car what it was (Hayseed) and what it became morphed into an interesting discussion on the Hokey A$$ Message Board. The car had a significant history as a successful drag car however the current owner decided to go the NCRS route and restored it (his car he can do with it what he likes). Somehow I think it is a shame that the history of this car is now lost. Lots of restored ones but only one Hayseed. What do you think?



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And speaking of burn outs...The story of Don Kirby's Beach City Chevrolet Funny car

"Don Kirby found out that it was much more profitable to paint funny cars than to own and race one. Kirby's Beach City Chevrolet Corvette was a fan favorite in the late 1960s and early 1970s Southern California racing scene. With drivers like Pat Foster and Gary Gabelich the red 'Vette received many a booking on the left coast. Things were lookin' good when Gabelich took over the driving chores from Foster but soon everything turned sour at a race one evening long ago at Irwindale, California. Gabelich and the roadster style Corvette were on a banzai run when the 'Vette exploded into a ball of flames. Gabelich bailed out quickly as the fire grew hotter and hotter. There at the end of the Irwindale Raceway, the Beach City Chevrolet Corvette burned to the ground.
The burned out funny car was returned to Kirby's shop to salvage any usable parts. Soon a new Beach City Chevrolet Corvette returned to SoCal funny car wars. Gabelich gave up the driving chores for a chance to drive the Blue Flame at Bonneville. This opened the seat to veteran top fuel pilot Ronnie Goodsell. Goodsell did okay in Kirby's Corvette but the end was near for BCC #2. At OCIR, while on a single run late on a Saturday night, Goodsell left hard in the right lane (looking down the track); in the finish line lights, the 'Vette erupted into a massive fireball. I was on the top of the OCIR tower watching the Corvette's fiery plight as it crossed over into the left lane and missed the end of the guardrail on that side of the track. The car was ablaze and racing backwards through a group of trees at the far end of the pit area. The car was still on fire when it went through an eight foot chain link fence, up a hill, and on to the Santa Ana Freeway. The car stopped in the slow lane and yes it was still on fire. Goodsell wasted no time getting out as a truck driver stopped his rig and was trying to put the wayward funny car's fire out.

Fire trucks and CHP were quick to arrive on the scene and the still smoldering wreckage was loaded on its trailer. The CHP officer handed Kirby and Goodsell a ticket for littering on the freeway. That was the end of the Beach City Chevrolet Corvette."

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OK not directly Corvette related but I thought it was an interesting story for anyone who followed road racing and the Ferrari marque. Interesting connection however.

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Wanted to know a little more about the Ferrari sign.
Luigi Chinetti apprenticed in his father's workshop where he earned a lathe operator's certificate at age 12 then qualified as a mechanic at age 14. In 1917, at age 16, he went to work for Alfa Romeo as a mechanic, where he met another young hire named Enzo Ferrari.

For many years he was the exclusive American importer of Ferrari automobiles to the United States Chinetti applied for American citizenship in 1947, and took the oath of allegiance on 6 March 1950. His naturalization was sponsored by Zora Arkus-Duntov.
 
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