My Grandpa Was a Badass Dude!!
Many of you have probably seen the picture of my grandfather and his “girlfriend” Linda Vaughn, but my Mom just came across a pic we’ve been looking for for a long time now. First a little history...
My Grandpa was a solid dude, a gentle giant. He was from Pennsylvania, where he got his first job in the Kendall Oil refinery. He ended up as a regional manager and was sent to Michigan to head up the tri-state area. When we were young, we went to all manner of racing events, round track racing, drag racing, tractor pulls...anything Kendall sponsored. Back in those times, he would set up a Kendall booth and field questions and supply racers with oil. He drove an old GMC camper with a 350 V6 engine and granny gear 4 speed trans. Why this information? Check out the included pic and text!...
Somewhere, someone at the races got the crazy idea that they should stage a match race between the Accel van and my grandpa in his motor home. They called it the Big Bus Eliminator. Now, I don’t know how this could happen, but my grandpa broke out and lost the match. How they dialed in that camper is beyond me, probably with a calendar. Somewhere we still have the plaque to commentate the occasion, complete with his own $1 in prize money.
Those days at the drag strip will always bring back fond memories, always doing stuff to entertain the crowd!
Many of you have probably seen the picture of my grandfather and his “girlfriend” Linda Vaughn, but my Mom just came across a pic we’ve been looking for for a long time now. First a little history...
My Grandpa was a solid dude, a gentle giant. He was from Pennsylvania, where he got his first job in the Kendall Oil refinery. He ended up as a regional manager and was sent to Michigan to head up the tri-state area. When we were young, we went to all manner of racing events, round track racing, drag racing, tractor pulls...anything Kendall sponsored. Back in those times, he would set up a Kendall booth and field questions and supply racers with oil. He drove an old GMC camper with a 350 V6 engine and granny gear 4 speed trans. Why this information? Check out the included pic and text!...
Somewhere, someone at the races got the crazy idea that they should stage a match race between the Accel van and my grandpa in his motor home. They called it the Big Bus Eliminator. Now, I don’t know how this could happen, but my grandpa broke out and lost the match. How they dialed in that camper is beyond me, probably with a calendar. Somewhere we still have the plaque to commentate the occasion, complete with his own $1 in prize money.
Those days at the drag strip will always bring back fond memories, always doing stuff to entertain the crowd!
