Oct—2018 Road Kings of Burbank From the Desk of the President…………………………… I think all of us should be proud of our new members E—Board Meeting and their enthusiasm they show towards the club and Nov 6, 2018 attendance at car shows. At the South Pasadena Show our own Eddie Salvatore won an award along with Karen Burbank History Museum-5:30 PM Arellano and Frankie Johnson. Congratulations to all of them. We had a very good representation at the show with around 25 cars. Membership Meeting All I can say is WOW on the turnout for the picnic. Thanks to Larry Tadlock for getting our spot at the car Nov 13, 2018 collection in Newhall. He also told me his last count was 106 attending and 42 Burbank Elks Lodge—7:00 PM cars. That is pretty amazing. The food was good, and we took nothing home. We now know what we need to order more of for the next picnic. Anyone with ideas are welcome to contribute. Officers of the We should all be proud of our car show at Santa Anita. The car count was low, but, the people that came were big spenders. The raffle, 50/50, and silent Road Kings 2018 auction all set records of profit to the club. An official count will be given at Elected Officers our next meeting. A big round of applause must go out two of our new Ray Astamendi, President prospective members Karen Arellano and Marie Songstad for the ability to go out to all the participants and sell $500.00 of 50/50 tickets in an hour. Now Dave Maher, Vice President that is the kind of enthusiasm we need to make money at our shows. Nick & Rochelle Sfetku, Secretary Rochelle did a fantastic job on the raffle prizes, Dave Maher and his staff on the sale of the tickets, and our leader Chuck Hanson on the silent auction. I Bruce Borst, Treasurer personally want to thank Chuck for taking over the job as Show Chairman Nick Sfetku, Sgt. At Arms and doing such a great job. Last but not least, Noel Salvatore and Don Baldaseroni for the trophy presentation and the quality of the cars that Chuck Hanson, received the awards. I also want to thank Dave Parker for photographing all Car Show Chairman the cars and trophy winners. Mike Fea, As club at the Pomona Show & Shine, I think we made a good impression Car Show Co-Chairman with the number of cars and people. Thanks to all the members that Jim Miles, Parliamentarian participated and brought their cars. I was also very happy to see a total of 24-26 members at The Police Executive Board Foundation Car Show at Carson Park. That was great support for Tony Wade Mike Brewster and his Kiwanis Club Function to support the Police. The club presented the Police with a check for One Thousand Dollars at the show and it was greatly Steve Rieger appreciated. This kind of support really does help our image in the Karl Grossman community. I really want to thank our two female members (Karen Arellano and Marie Songstad) for going out in the crowd and the Police Department Don Hoffman with photos and comments supporting the Road Kings. These two ladies Larry Tadlock have presented to the public the kind of image we need to expand our club Bob Trainor and grow. Thank you very much for your efforts. Don Siglar Please remember everyone should be wearing the proper Road King attire. Bob Money Prospective members should be wearing a Shirt from one of the car shows at least. They can be obtained from Fuzzy at our general meeting. Jim Gascoigne Keep those members that cannot join us in your hearts and prayers. Chuck Null Eddie Salvatore Get those cars out of the garage and on the streets. Ray HISTORY Page 2 October 2018 RK News Meeting Schedule 2018 Page 3 October 2018 RK News Pictures from all shows All classifieds can be viewed on our website Www.roadkings.net Under gallery Page 4 October 2018 RK News South Pasadena show More pictures on our website Page 5 October 2018 RK News Road kings picnic 2018 More pictures on our website Page 6 October 2018 RK News Santa Anita show 2018 More pictures on our website Page 7 October 2018 RK News Pomona show & shine 2018 More pictures on our website Page 8 October 2018 RK News Pomona show & shine article Racing and rodder royalty is coming to Pomona! That’s right… we’re happy to announce that the Road Kings of Burbank will be featured on the Main Aisle of the Pomona Swap Meet on Sunday, October 14th! Founded by Ralph Marshall in 1952, the Road Kings was originally a racing club, with a few hot rods thrown in. In the first couple of years, about half of the members raced at drag strips around California, including Pomona, Saugus, Fontana, Santa Ana, Bakersfield, and Inyokern. Their cars were a mix of stock and modified Fords and Chevys, and all of the cars were daily drivers! From 1952 to 1965, club members raced in just about every class that drag racing had to offer, and a few members made quite the name for themselves… Don “The Snake” Prudhomme became a champion Top Fuel and Funny Car driver, and eventually became a Top Fuel team owner. Prudhomme’s fierce racing rivalry with Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen is legendary, and was the subject of the 2013 film, Snake and Mongoose. The pair are often credited with helping to bring drag racing into pop culture through their sponsorship by Mattel’s Hot Wheels in the 1970s. The detailed re-creations of Prudhomme and McEwen’s drag- sters encouraged children across America to act out their own racing battles. Thomas “TV Tommy” Ivo made his reputation as an actor, hot rodder, and drag racer. Ivo ap- peared in numerous films and television shows, including episodes of The Lone Ranger, The Don- na Reed Show, and Leave It to Beaver. But, in between acting jobs, Ivo raced… and in the racing community, Ivo is even more famous for his side-by-side Buick engined dragsters, one of which became the first gasser to enter the 8 second class. Ivo was known for his low elapsed times, and at one point was even called the “King of the Dragsters”. Bob Muravez (a.k.a. Floyd Lippencott Jr.) drove the infamous Freight Train, a twin blown Chevy that became the number one Top Gas dragster in the nation. But, Muravez’s story is more inter- esting, and sad, because he hid his identity for years! Muravez’s father was against him racing and had promised to disown him if he ever did. Muravez couldn’t stay away from the track, though, so San Gabriel Drag Strip announcer Mel Reck and manager Steve Gibbs came up with the alias “Floyd Lippencott Jr.”, and Muravez made sure that he had his mask and helmet on for any trackside photos. His identity remained a secret for over four years, until one of his father’s friends saw him on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Page 9 October 2018 RK News Pomona show & shine article cont……….. Muravez’s father, unfortunately, was true to his word. He disowned Muravez and never spoke to him again. Kenny Safford, who sadly passed away in 2014 at the age of 72, was part of a famed Top Fuel race team with Don Gaide (a fellow Road King) and Don Ratican in the 1960s. The trio won big on a small budget… taking wins in 17 of the first 22 Top Fuel races they attended, and with an Oldsmo- bile powered dragster! Safford once said, “We were winning enough races for the car to support itself, but we were constantly breaking engines because the Olds block wasn’t strong enough. We went through 22 blocks in one year.” Safford would eventually switch over to Funny Car racing, and drove the Mr. Norm’s Dodge Funny Car through most of the ’70s. Nowadays, the club is more hot rod than race oriented, but they still have a few members who race in the NHRA and in Nostalgia Drags. The Road Kings always welcome new members, but membership is limited to 1978 and older American classics, muscle cars, trucks, and special in- terest vehicles. Vehicles, and their owners, that are being considered for membership are judged by a panel of three judges at an Executive Board Meeting. Vehicles are judged on their engine, suspension, wheels, exhaust, paint, and interior. This club has a storied history, and they are seri- ous about their cars! If you would like to meet some truly amazing (and old school!) rodders and racers, make sure you come out to the Pomona Swap Meet on Sunday, October 14th. We can’t wait to see the Road Kings of Burbank! Page 10 October 2018 RK News Burbank police foundation show 2018 More pictures on our website Page 11 October 2018 RK News Gene winfield The Road Kings donated $ 200.00 Page 12 October 2018 RK News Worth mentioning Congratulations chuck null on your new ride Thank you to fuzzy for taking such good care of our club items Page 13 October 2018 RK News Up coming events MARK YOUR CALENDARS…………….. Page 14 October 2018 RK News Page 15 October 2018 RK News Page 16 October 2018 RK News Page 17 October 2018 RK News Page 18 October 2018 RK News Page 19 October 2018 RK News Page 20 October 2018 RK News It’s that time again, holiday season, wrapping up of the year, and the slow-down of car shows.