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The District WeeklyWed. October 31
 

WE HAVE LIFTOFF
Legend: Somewhere during Lions Drag Strip’s rich, full life, an overachieving drag racer got airborne and flew like a bird.

Reality: Glen Stokey of Redondo Beach didn’t so much get airborne‚ he just didn’t stop. This was a problem if you were driving a Chrysler Hemi-powered top fueler that turned in a 200-mile-per-hour quarter mile.

And let’s face it—it was 1964. Who wasn’t driving a Hemi? With a parachute for brakes?

“They were fooling with new pull cords,” remembers Stokey, who is 81 and now lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “They had this automatic parachute release that you bumped with your elbow. I didn’t like it, but they wanted me to try it and so I said I would.” See where this is going?

Lions Drag Strip was near the Alameda Street offramp from the San Diego (405) Freeway, between 223rd Street and Willow Street, so when Stokey strapped in, he would have pointed his blower south, at the Pike. He did a burn-out to warm up his hides—and then hammered it pretty hard when the Christmas tree went green.

“Oh yeah,” he says. “That shutoff area [after the finish line] was at least another quarter mile and then I hit the sand trap. It was pretty bad.” Most dragsters back then had brakes on the rear wheels—but, you know, just for kicks. They couldn’t really stop a flying car by themselves.

Stokey went through the sand trap—and did leave the ground at some point. Then he just kept going, eventually busting through the fence and out onto Willow Street. The guide wires from a telephone pole caught him.

“There was a colored gentleman there, he sat and watched the whole thing,” Stokey remembers. “And he said ‘I didn’t know you guys did that.’ And I said, ‘Well, we don’t. The ’chute didn’t open.’ ”

And then Stokey put his car back on the trailer and went to see about getting his broken collarbone fixed—and finding a steak to put on his two black eyes, an added bonus from when his goggles snapped back and hit him in the face.

“The back gate actually went out, it emptied out onto Willow,” says National Hot Rod Association museum curator Greg Sharp. “It was possible to do it. But [Stokey] might be the only one who did it.” // TD

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    I have been working on a book about the women who worked in the aircraft industry during WWII and found out that Douglas hired "midgets" (the phrase used on the cutlines of the photos I saw) because they could fit into tight spaces like the inside of the fuel tanks.
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    Ms. Schipske,
    That's amazing!
    Thanks for letting us know.
    I wonder where these "midgets" lived while they worked at Douglas; it'd make our story better if they lived here. They may have been commuters, though.
    My grandmother worked at Douglas during the war, and I know she drove in from the San Gabriel Valley every day--down Rosemead Boulevard.
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    "Bloody Sunday": 1977 Signal Hill Speed Run. I was one of the few women who entered that race. There were two of us to be exact. The year before, there were no women represented. I thought that was terrible so I entered. I had a great leather outfit made by Bates Leather and was sponsored by my Dad's ship repair company. The other woman, Leslie Jo Ritzma, made it down and got the record for first woman to make the speed run. I unfortunately, as others that day, crashed...(my boyfriend at the time, Herb Spitzer, also crashed...let's just say, it was an exciting day for spectators!) I was not hurt but gave my mother a fright by doing a roll to the side just after the crest of the hill right in front of her! That was a very memorable day for me. I used to skate (roller skates) all the local skateparks and a few empty pools and am still in touch with several of "the guys" I hung with back then. (I'm a triathlete now.) Thanks for bringing some light to a great race, with or without the crashes!...You also got me back in contact with Jim O'Mahoney, a really great guy, that an interview with him alone would make for an interesting article!
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    I am Herbs brother and saw Michelle crash that day. I believe her trucks were tight and didn't turn because she hit a bump at the top and then the cart didn't go stright down hill and she couldn't make it adjust. A really bad eat. But she was one tough cookie! Herb on the other had got to aot 53 mph and his trucks were to loose and he got speed wabbles and got pitched...Someone in this world might have tape of this day...Wonder why they don't hold the ZShell Hill speed run anymo.
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    alright egor was a butler who worked in the house and there were these kids that live and played in the alley behind where he worked and he hated the kids because they were loud and made messes so one night he snaped and hung all the kids
    there's a ledge where u can see a semented door way and thats were it supposidly happend

    drive down the alley at night with your lights out crazy scary
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    I live in the Igor house. The stories crack me up!!!
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    I live in the Igor house. The stories crack me up!!! Email me with any questions.
 
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