Tim Newey, Author at NorCal Car Culture

The 61st Sacramento Autorama

The Sacramento Autorama will be here in just 3 weeks, beginning on Friday, February 11th through Sunday February 13th at the Cal Expo fairgrounds in Sacramento. According to their website http://www.rodshows.com “the Sacramento Autorama is now in its 61st year and is home to one of longest running indoor car shows in the world.” It was started in 1950 by Harold Bagdasarian who was president of the Capitol City Auto Club “Thunderbolts“. The first Sacramento Autorama was held at the old Capitol Chevrolet dealership on 13th and K Streets in downtown Sacramento. It has grown to become “The Kustom Capital of the World” and is recognized as the premiere custom car show on the West Coast. “The Show will feature over 450 of the finest custom cars, hot rods, classics, motorcycles, and specialty vehicles from around the country.”

The hours will be:
Friday February 11, 2011 12:00 pm until 9:00 pm
Saturday February 12, 2011 10:00 am until 9:00 pm
Sunday February 13, 2011 10:00 am until 7:00 pm

The ticket prices at the gate:
* $18.00 General Admission (13 years and up)
* $10.00 Kids (6 – 12 years)
* 5 & under Free
Parking at Cal Expo is $10.00.

Michelle Bohannan at Rod Shows announced today that discounted tickets are available at all O’Reilly Auto Parts stores for only $15.00.

The Autorama Awards ceremony starts at 4:00pm on Sunday. The 2011 Custom d’Elegance will be crowned along with the newest King of Kustoms and many others. This is a car show that will be featured in several magazines and television shows. Last year’s winners can be viewed here.

We hope to take lots of pictures and see you there!

The late Gary Ormsby from Auburn, California – 1989 NHRA Top Fuel Champion

I wanted to include Gary Ormsby in our Northern California Race Car Driver directory, so I looked him up on Google. To my surprise, there was no website about him, no fan page, not even a wikipedia page. So I decided to write what I could find and then ask for help from you. If anyone can help me with more details of his amazing life I would appreciate it. I am even trying to write a wikipedia article on him too. Please email me here: tnewey@norcalcarculture.com.
Gary Ormsby was the 1989 NHRA Top Fuel Champion. He owned Auburn Toyota and Auburn Subaru Hyundai in Auburn, California. His crew chief was Lee Beard. Together they were within one round victory of winning the championship in 1990 as well. He died the following year of intestinal cancer in Roseville, California on August 28, 1991.

One of Gary’s first cars, Vagabond, a 1962 AA/Fuel Dragster.

It was during 1990 that he set the (at the time) World Record of 4.881 seconds at 296.05 mph in Heartland Park, Topeka Kansas. He helped put that track on the map in the drag racing world. Since then, they have named one of the roads around the raceway, Gary Ormsby Drive.

In 1989, Gary destroyed 2 cars in terrifying accidents on the way to winning the championship. He had to drive an old retired car that he had on display in the showroom of his car dealership in Auburn to finish the season. This video shows the 2 accidents.

Gary Ormsby was one of the best drag racers to come out of northern California. I am anxious to learn more about him and his racing career. There is a great article on Lee Beard and Gary Ormsby and their championship season together here.

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Jimmy Boyd to be inducted into The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame

On Wednesday, The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa announced its 13 inductees for 2011. Named in that group was Jimmy Boyd of Woodland, CA. who will be in Knoxville on June 4th to receive his award. You can read the entire press release here: http://www.sprintcarhof.com/Article/295. Jimmy won the Northern Auto Racing Club championship in 1979. He won 3 feature events, 7 heat races, 4 trophy dashes, and 2 fast times. On March 18, 1978 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite Texas he won his only World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race. What made it more special is that it was the inaugural A-Feature event for the newly formed series and he raced an all-star field to win the $2,000 prize.
Boyd’s first race in a sprint car was in 1967 at Calistoga Speedway and his last race in 1984 at Baylands Raceway Park. Two sites with lots more information are West Capital Raceway Alumni and SCRAFAN.COM.

Congratulations Jimmy Boyd!