Terrific story Paul, made me wonder whether I'd ever had such a passion in my own life... couldn't think of anything! Good photo too.
John Coyle Brisbane, Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Stenquist" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 1:17 PM Subject: PESO: Sort of. My first love. > Thirty-two years ago I packed a negative away in a big cardboard box > and tried to forget it. It was a picture of my first love: a 235 mph > monster of a Corvette funny car that was in real danger of ruining my > marriage and maybe my life. > > In those carefree years between college and responsibility I worked > as a crew chief for a professional drag racing team. I had grown up > with a wrench in my hand. My grandfather was a mechanic, and I built > my first race car, a Pontiac-powered '34 Ford when I was fifteen, > followed by a little digger at eighteen. During college I worked > building racing engines at Simonsen's in Chicago. By the time I > graduated, I could build motors in my sleep, and a local racing team > recruited me to wrench their car. I loved being alone in the shop > with a fresh engine, turning it and listening to the new piston rings > scrape the freshly honed cylinder walls. Feeling the drag on the > wrench that was locked onto the front pulley. Checking cylinder > leakdown and working hour after hour to get it to three percent. I > fell in love with the smell of nitro and tire smoke, and the thrill > of watching something I put together streak to over 200 mph in around > six seconds. Burning that motor down, only to build another one for > the next race. It was an incredible rush. In the interim I discovered > women, fell in love all over again and got married, but the race car > remained my focus. Seventy hours a week. From Miami to Maine, Texas > to Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. > We toured the continent, made some money and had the time of our > lives. We were on the radio: Sunday, Sunday, Screaming Yellow Fever, > the world's fastest Corvette. And at 6.35, 237 mph, we were just > that. And my wife was at home. She wanted no part of it, so it just > didn't work. And I gave it up, and put the negative in a box along > with the memories and the addiction. > > Over the years I forgot where that negative was, but today, while > looking for something else, I rdiscovered it. The track photographer > at US 30 dragstrip in Gary, Indiana shot the pic at a Wednesday night > event thirty-two and a half years ago. I think he used a C2 Mamiya > TLR. His name was Sundberg. I know because his name is written on the > envelope that holds the negative. I just now scanned it and made > myself a 13 x 19 print for the wall. I can look at it now without > wishing I was back there. > > It's here: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6849463&size=lg > > Paul > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
