Wally Parks Dies
Wally Parks, an automobile enthusiast who founded the National Hot Rod Association and helped turn drag racing into a legitimate sport, has died. He was 94.
Parks died Friday at Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center of complications from pneumonia, said Michael Hollander, a spokesman with the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona.
As a test driver for General Motors, Parks started organizing car races in Southern California’s dry lake beds in the 1940s.
“He effectively created drag racing,” Hollander said. “These kids were racing jalopies and he wanted to get them off the streets and start them racing in an organized manner. He set up a system of timing and scoring and turned it into a legitimate sport.”
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His wife Barbara died in 2005, Hollander said. He is survived by two sons, Richard and David.
Wally Parks is a legend in the sport, and this is a huge loss for everyone. Having created the NHRA back in the 1950’s, Mr. Parks changed the landscape of racing forever. If you’ve never been to an NHRA event, you are truly missing out.
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