Alex Xydias to Host 3 Special Saturday Matinee at NHRA Museum
Series starts Feb. 25 with 'The Hot Rod Story', featuring drag racing from
the 1950s-'60s.
Pass the popcorn because it's showtime
at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile
Club of Southern California. In conjunction with the Museum's latest
exhibit, "60 Years of SO-CAL Speed," Alex Xydias, founder of the famed SO-
CAL Speed Shop, is hosting three special Saturday matinees featuring
vintage racing action he shot back in the 1950s and '60s. The first
matinee, "The Hot Rod Story," is set for Sat., Feb. 25, from 1 p.m.-3 p.m.,
and includes historic drag racing footage. Other matinee dates are Mar. 18
(featuring Sebring footage) and Apr. 1 (Indy 500). Xydias and a special
guest speaker will be on hand to talk about the films. A $20 admission fee
includes popcorn and a soda. All proceeds benefit the Museum.
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According to Tony Thacker, SO-CAL's vice president of marketing, "The
Hot Rod Story" is filmed in sound and color and covers four decades in the
growth of hot rodding. "It begins in the 1930s with extremely rare footage of
hopped-up roadsters racing across the dry lake beds of southern California.
The film depicts the explosion of competition after World War II when Alex
opened the SO-CAL Speed Shop. He goes on to cover the launching of Hot
Rod magazine, racing at Bonneville and the birth of drag racing.
With magazines spreading the word nationwide, the sport began to
grow exponentially and Alex' film covers the first National drag meet in
Great Bend, Kans., in 1955, the first Winternationals in Pomona and the
Bakersfield Smoker's events, as well as the NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis
in 1963. Footage includes front-engine 'diggers' driven by the likes of "TV
Tommy" Ivo, Don Garlits and Connie Kalitta. Cars featured include the Green
Monster, Freight Train, plus Super Stockers like Color Me Gone and the
Ramchargers."
The "60 Years of SO-CAL Speed" exhibit runs through Apr. 9, 2006 in
the Museum's special exhibit hall and features several historic cars, including
the flathead Mercury-powered SO-CAL Bellytank Lakester, the Haas
Bonneville Roadster, SO-CAL Hiboy Roadster, SO-CAL Bonneville '34 Coupe,
SO-CAL 'A' Drag Roadster, SO-CAL Pickup truck and the GM Ecotec Lakester.
The SO-CAL Speed Shop exhibit is the latest in a series of special
Museum attractions which have included "Track Roadsters: The Road to
Indy"; A Salute to Parnelli Jones; 100 Years of Ford Racing' and Edelbrock: A
Performance Legacy.
Named for the founder of the National Hot Rod Association, the
Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California houses the very
roots of hot rodding. Scores of famous vehicles spanning American
motorsports history are on display, including winning cars representing 50
years of drag racing, dry lakes and salt-flat racers, oval track challengers and
exhibits describing their colorful backgrounds.
The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum is open Wednesday through
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., PST. Current NHRA members are admitted free.
Admission for non-members is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors 60 and older, $3
for juniors six through 15, and free for children under the age of five. The
Museum is also available for private parties, meetings, corporate events,
weddings and special group tours. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports
Museum is located at Fairplex Gate 1, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. in Pomona. For
further information on special exhibits, museum events or directions, call
909/622-2133 or visit http://museum.nhra.com.
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