United States Air Racing Association (USARA) Secretary, and later one of the founders of the National Air Racing Association and its Southern California Wing, Sandra (Bloom) "Sandy" Chase, observing the developments following Don Whittington's collision with the improperly parked car of Jerry Duty, then Air Race Director. I myself heard the noise of the collision, turned around in time to see Whittington's Mustang stand up on it's nose as it's propeller repeatedly struck the empty car, causing the airplane to twist some 90 degrees to the right as the tail returned to ground level. No one was hurt, but the speculation ran rampant that Whittington -- who had engaged himself in a crash car derby with Jimmy Leeward that same day -- had done it deliberately as a joke. There is no likelihood that any such "joke" occurred, since the damage to the aircraft, engine and propeller, would of course, exceed the value of a Datsun 210, not to mention the safety issues involving the propeller, which had to be replaced, sudden stoppage of the engine, and possible damage to the engine and engine mounts, not to mention, airframe. Plus, there's no way Whittington would drive deliberately into any car in which they could not see the passengers and further, they weren't being paid for a movie stunt. Not a matter of money, but of detailed planning that's required before conducting such stunts.

But, a fun story for Air Racing lore just the same...<g> Tall Tales are how reputations are honed to exquisite sharpness!

Unfortunately, this and one other shot were about all I was able to get of Steve Hinton pulling away in the NAA P-51 hybrid, "Red Baron," Race 5, during an actual Air Race in 1979 while I was flying for UPI with John Putman, in "Ciuchetton," Race 86, a modified P-51D Mustang Racer. We are airborne in the first lap of the race. Note that the direction of the race is clockwise, as opposed to the counter-clockwise course direction at Reno.

We (John Putman and I) were trying to gain on Hinton, which was actually kind of funny since someone commented after one of the heat races that "Hinton flew that thing like a duck!"

Excuse me? That was the fastest damned duck I ever saw in my life!

Literally, at race start, I had him full frame in my Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL 35 mm camera. Guess I had my film speed too slow...

...for in the moment it took me to move my finger from the camera body to the shutter, he was gone!

These two views were the last I took after the race started in which I had anything of the RB-51. My next look at the RB-51 after this shot was taken was on the ground! Hinton is the only pilot in Air Racing's nearly 100 years of events to win four consecutive Unlimited events within a one-year period ~Reno 1978, Mojave 1978, Homestead 1979 and Mojave 1979 ~ something that neither Roscoe Turner, Darryl Greenamyer , Lyle Shelton, Bill Destefani, nor Skip Holm, managed to accomplish during their racing years.

Skip Holm has won in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, all at Reno, with no other Air Races available in between, and if Holm wins this year at Reno 2004, he still will not break Hinton's record of four consecutive wins in Race 4, "Dago Red," of the Dago Red Air Racing Team, owned by Terry Bland, since it took Hinton less than one year to accomplish his feat and it has has taken Holm five, including the 2001 year that was cancelled due to 9/11. Just the same, Holm remained National Champion for two years (2000-2001) since he neither surrendered nor was he challenged for the title. Simply put...there was no race...and you have to defeat the Champion to become Champion. Further, if Holm keeps winning, he could wind up with the most consecutive wins of National Championships in the history of the World's Fastest Motorsport, something currently held by Greenamyer if my poor memory serves me right.

Some interesting trivia no doubt. But each of the greats currently holds a record or records that are all their own.

The view of the racecourse from Ray Banducci's "Ciuchtton," flown by John Putman during the Mojave Air Races of 1979, and on this day, with a UPI photographer (yours truly...) in the backseat with a camera. Air Racing has the opportunity to improve Press coverage of events two ways: one, by in plane robotic or fixed cameras, and two, by having a photographer in the backseat of an available racer who can twist and turn to photograph the action, even under G forces, which can go as high as 9 G's, but apparently never exceeded 4 G's during our "Ride."

This ability to give the Air Race fanatic a view of the race from inside the aircraft is critical to the future, successful promotion of Air Racing events.

And, if they include live camera feeds from the racers and display them from a Sony Event Screen Trinitron, or its equivalent, at different locations in front of the grandstands, the vendor areas and the pits, everyone gets to see the action as it occurs ~ from inside and out ~ and from a safe distance. Move the grandstands to the infields where a racer's momentum is directed away from the crowds, allowing the grandstands to be closer to the pylons, and Air Racing will rocket forward with successful events that will rival, if not exceed, those of Grand Prix, Indy Car and Drag Racing.