Drag Racers

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by spiceman

My history with Bo goes back to 1968 when at the time he had the 67 BB coupe and the 1968 Conv. w/ removeable HRDTP BB.
As the article you have the link attached reads.......Bo's Corvettes were unstopable, and smashed one record after another up and down the east coast NHRA records winning him the championships titles as well.
Bo's a Orlando fella, his son Michael, and daughter Sherri work their tales off at BLP Products and the business is still located at the corner of Westmoreland and Church st, Orlando. At my last count Bo had 5 CNC mills running up to 50 tools each, his flow benches, and so forth. EVERYTHING to mill racing engines from slab's of aluminum block.
They have a sizeable catalog of race parts, they still build championship drag and Road racing engines, and new Dyno Technology that even NASCAR leases and uses for tech-ing.
Bo and wife Barbara are doing fine, he maybe in his early 70's but brother he get's around like he's still 20 behind the wheel and away from the wheel.
I am sponcering him for the 2012 Corvette Hall of Fame induction.
Bo already in the NHRA hall of Fame, and the Holley Carberators sponcered Performance of a Life Time Acheivement Hall of Fame inductee.
The thing with Motion Performance taking credit for Bo's speed records of his using their parts is bunk in my opinion, and really quite the opposite in truth.
But, that's typical Joel Rosen.
I was with Bo this past Dec. 9th, and presented Bo with a 1/18 exact scale copy of his record setting 67 BB Corvette Model, at a special dinner occassion. Proud to be Great friends, great family, business is still going strong after all these years.
If your going to race against the best, and a dead seriuos racer, then having Bo's years and years of experience is a must.

I would like to know more about you. Whatever you wouldn't mind sharing. I see nothing in your profile that would tell me you're into drag racing. I don't know if you'll understand but I've always been a racer and not really a fan. So many people know all the drivers and race details but all I had time to do was concentrate on me.

Of course I remember the greats and I remember Bo Laws but I don't know the history behind the cars and drivers. I have done some extensive reading about Arnie Beswick but that's about it.

[larrybroga]

Originally Posted by Bob K

Hey Larry, I am so much looking forward to meeting you. A blast from the past! I bought a new 1969 Mustang Mach 1 and then I ordered the '70 Mustang for racing. Like you said, hind sight would have been great.

Good to see you visiting more often. If we could get a bunch of drag racers in here maybe Rich would give us our own forum.

I will stay in touch with you now that I have your web site in my favorites

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by larrybroga

I will stay in touch with you now that I have your web site in my favorites

Do you have one?

[larrybroga]

Originally Posted by Bob K

Do you have one?

Not yet
I'm currently working on one, "Fast & Furious, My Wild & Wooly Past" . I am going to chronicle all my racing which started with the Soap Box Derby, onto 1/4 midgets, hydroplanes (10hp merc class) motorcycle motocross etc etc. I'm still putting all the pictures I can find on the computer. I have to search for a lot of them because a lot were "mysteriously lost" during a divorce It's amazing how many pics I have found on some of the strangest web sites

[spiceman]

Originally Posted by Bob K

I would like to know more about you. Whatever you wouldn't mind sharing. I see nothing in your profile that would tell me you're into drag racing. I don't know if you'll understand but I've always been a racer and not really a fan. So many people know all the drivers and race details but all I had time to do was concentrate on me.

Of course I remember the greats and I remember Bo Laws but I don't know the history behind the cars and drivers. I have done some extensive reading about Arnie Beswick but that's about it.

In my early years like many young men drag racing was a cool thing to do.
Raced my 63 split window in up State NY, Cicero drag way. Was getting to go to college, GMIT. At the same time period, Viet Nam was starting to heat up.
Anyway, I moved to Michigan, Grosse Point woods area, got involved with a local SCCA group of guy's and by this time had a 66 BB conv. Put a ton of money in it but couldn't the rear set as I wanted..........who walks up to ask questions and did I need a hand..........Zora Arkus-Duntov, with pal of his Bunkie Knudson. Once Zora found out I was student of GMI..the question was, Would I like to visit the Tech Center Warren Mich.....HELL YES. 3rd Fl Studio 3.
Well to speed this up......I became an Engineer employed by GM Chevrolet Div for the next 23 years. R&D suspension design , chassis design, and last 8 years with Chevrolet Rce shop. A full life friendship with the best engineer's of their time and mine. I can't express how wonderful these men were in their expertise, and FAR FAR better than I could ever have imagined myself to be.
Further down the road...........I was involved with the hi performance engineering aspects of R&D with the following: March Chevrolet GTP Blue Thunder of the Whitting Brother's , The March Buick LeMans GTPV/6 turbo ( Test bed for the later Buick Grand National Turbo) The Lola Eagle T-800 series Chevrolet V-6 and V-8 GTP , The Chevy SpiceGTP Works LTD of USA of Atlanta, and finally the #65 Chevrolet Intrepid GTP of Pratt Miller/ Bob Riley design for driver Tommy Kendall under direction of then young like myself, Dough Fehan of now GM Corvette Racing.
Retired now for some years, still active in racing, Road Racing, and every so often get a call to design /build and fabricate a race chassis.
Hang out with Blackforest folks and owner Brian Knott, although not as much as I'd like, then there's also my best friend and builder Jimmy "The Shoe" Shoemaker, cheif wrench of many a Daytona 24 and Sebring champion race's.
The list of old friends from the East coast to the West coast go on and on.
Chairman of the very 1st., Grand Sport Reunion held Oct, 26, 27, and 28th 1978 at the Harder Hall resort Sebring, Fl. Where UNLIKE the last reunion of Amelia Island, at Sebring the Grand Sports did battle against one another, rather than just pretty face concours BS.
And the First Reunion had Zora, Gib Hufstader, Ashod Torosion, John Gibson, Fred Price, Dick Giuldstrand, just to name a few or the ORGINAL ENGINEER's of the GS. Orginal driver's there as well. I'm very proud of this reunion as this was the begining of the fame the cars became today. Had it not been for that reunion, the car's would be just another race car as they were prior to the exposer. Why exposer? There were also over a dozen magizine head editors there to cover the event. Something the last Reunion did not have.
There were many reason's for the failure of the last reunion to liver up to expectations of the first, even though all 5 GS did make it, and only 3 of the 5 at the 1st reunion.
The Saker GTS was a design build of my brother and I back in 2004. Motor Tend & Road and Track covered this car pretty close, and it's race in the 25 hour endurance race at Thunderhill. Very beautiful GTP looking car, but A/Sport NASA that weighed in at 1500 pounds w/ 750 HP single spool. Started dead last due to late grid show, and 70+ cars on the track. But, with-in 4 hours worked it's way to forth place.
Now day's, I just hang out and visit with old friends. Oh yes, drop by corvetteflorida to shoot the breeze. YEAH YEAH, I know....long winded and too much information.

[spiceman]

Originally Posted by spiceman

In my early years like many young men drag racing was a cool thing to do.
Raced my 63 split window in up State NY, Cicero drag way. Was getting to go to college, GMIT. At the same time period, Viet Nam was starting to heat up.
Anyway, I moved to Michigan, Grosse Point woods area, got involved with a local SCCA group of guy's and by this time had a 66 BB conv. Put a ton of money in it but couldn't the rear set as I wanted..........who walks up to ask questions and did I need a hand..........Zora Arkus-Duntov, with pal of his Bunkie Knudson. Once Zora found out I was student of GMI..the question was, Would I like to visit the Tech Center Warren Mich.....HELL YES. 3rd Fl Studio 3.
Well to speed this up......I became an Engineer employed by GM Chevrolet Div for the next 23 years. R&D suspension design , chassis design, and last 8 years with Chevrolet Rce shop. A full life friendship with the best engineer's of their time and mine. I can't express how wonderful these men were in their expertise, and FAR FAR better than I could ever have imagined myself to be.
Further down the road...........I was involved with the hi performance engineering aspects of R&D with the following: March Chevrolet GTP Blue Thunder of the Whitting Brother's , The March Buick LeMans GTPV/6 turbo ( Test bed for the later Buick Grand National Turbo) The Lola Eagle T-800 series Chevrolet V-6 and V-8 GTP , The Chevy SpiceGTP Works LTD of USA of Atlanta, and finally the #65 Chevrolet Intrepid GTP of Pratt Miller/ Bob Riley design for driver Tommy Kendall under direction of then young like myself, Dough Fehan of now GM Corvette Racing.
Retired now for some years, still active in racing, Road Racing, and every so often get a call to design /build and fabricate a race chassis.
Hang out with Blackforest folks and owner Brian Knott, although not as much as I'd like, then there's also my best friend and builder Jimmy "The Shoe" Shoemaker, cheif wrench of many a Daytona 24 and Sebring champion race's.
The list of old friends from the East coast to the West coast go on and on.
Chairman of the very 1st., Grand Sport Reunion held Oct, 26, 27, and 28th 1978 at the Harder Hall resort Sebring, Fl. Where UNLIKE the last reunion of Amelia Island, at Sebring the Grand Sports did battle against one another, rather than just pretty face concours BS.
And the First Reunion had Zora, Gib Hufstader, Ashod Torosion, John Gibson, Fred Price, Dick Giuldstrand, just to name a few or the ORGINAL ENGINEER's of the GS. Orginal driver's there as well. I'm very proud of this reunion as this was the begining of the fame the cars became today. Had it not been for that reunion, the car's would be just another race car as they were prior to the exposer. Why exposer? There were also over a dozen magizine head editors there to cover the event. Something the last Reunion did not have.
There were many reason's for the failure of the last reunion to liver up to expectations of the first, even though all 5 GS did make it, and only 3 of the 5 at the 1st reunion.
The Saker GTS was a design build of my brother and I back in 2004. Motor Tend & Road and Track covered this car pretty close, and it's race in the 25 hour endurance race at Thunderhill. Very beautiful GTP looking car, but A/Sport NASA that weighed in at 1500 pounds w/ 750 HP single spool. Started dead last due to late grid show, and 70+ cars on the track. But, with-in 4 hours worked it's way to forth place.
Now day's, I just hang out and visit with old friends. Oh yes, drop by corvetteflorida to shoot the breeze. YEAH YEAH, I know....long winded and too much information.

Thats me with the Intrepid, and the Green Orange white Spice is my Spice #33 SE90P-013

[spiceman]

Originally Posted by spiceman

Thats me with the Intrepid, and the Green Orange white Spice is my Spice #33 SE90P-013

Here for your pleasure

[KBlanke]

Originally Posted by spiceman

Here for your pleasure

Soem very cool stuff there

[85vette]

Nice cars Spice, I saw one of the Eagles at Hendrick's shop in Charlotte, N.C. (the picture is in my profile) How many Eagles were made?

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by spiceman

The Saker GTS was a design build of my brother and I back in 2004. Motor Tend & Road and Track covered this car pretty close, and it's race in the 25 hour endurance race at Thunderhill. Very beautiful GTP looking car, but A/Sport NASA that weighed in at 1500 pounds w/ 750 HP single spool. Started dead last due to late grid show, and 70+ cars on the track. But, with-in 4 hours worked it's way to forth place.

I think only 5 cars had a faster lap than you guys. Check this out:
http://www.nasaproracing.com/norcal/...4-results.html

Was this the car you and your brother designed? Beautiful machinery! Do you still own Spice -013?