Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum

Late last year, a reunion was held at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Auto Club of Southern California that recalled special moments from iconic Orange County International Raceway. Operating between Aug. 5,1967 and Oct. 30, 1983 when “The Last Race” was held, The County (as the track was known) raised the bar for all racing facilities. Located near where the Golden State and the 405 freeways intersect, it’s generally under what is now The Spectrum in North Orange County.

The event consisted of ace moderator Bob Beck and two panels of 10 notable people, including Bill Doner (race track owner and promoter), Carl Olson (SEMA and NHRA staff), Tom “The Mongoo$e” McEwen, “TV Tommy” Ivo, Roland Leong, Mike Jones (OCIR owner/builder), Ed Pink, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, Steve Gibbs (former NHRA competition director) and John Force. Beck started by asking each of the panelist how they got involved with OCIR. Doner’s memories involved the unique promotions at the facility and he had some very funny stories to tell about the “Super Track.” Ivo shared a story about Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, and we got to hear about the parties in the OCIR tower. Force told stories about Snake and Mongoo$e, and we learned that Snake never lived in Covina? Doner even exposed Linda Lovelace as being the one responsible for Team Gulp!

If you weren’t there, you missed a great event. Even the very lively audience was packed with icons of the sport: Harry Hibler, Cory Lee Jr., Tommy Thompson, Gas Ronda, Del and Chuck Worsham, Bob Muravez, Art Carr, Randy Walls, Bill Shrewsberry, Larry Bowers, Glen Menard and many other racers. It was truly a memorable event.

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