August 29, 2009 7:55 AM
The 5th annual "Wheels N' Windmills" classic and custom car show will be held today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Copenhagen Drive and other downtown streets in Solvang.
A new attraction -- five original and restored vintage quarter-mile racing drag boats -- will be added to this year's show. Accompanying their boats will be the original drivers from the 1960s and 70s, including Don Edwards from Solvang, Bob Garner from Chino Hills, Spike Morelli from West Hills, John Miller from Santa Maria and Fred Laia from Paso Robles.
Mr. Edwards, in addition to showing off his restored drag boat which holds a super-charged Chrysler Hemi engine at the show, will also be hosting an all-day book signing of his recent best-selling specialty book, "Drag Boats of the 1960s."
Barry McCown and racers Barry Berkus and Larry Schwabenland will also be present at the book signing.
Mr. Edwards has been living in the Santa Barbara area his whole life. He was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and attended Santa Barbara High School. After graduating Mr. Edwards worked in the wholesale sundries business during the 1960s before moving to Solvang with his wife, where he got into the ranching business. However, Mr. Edwards was not all work and no play. He became a part of the drag boat racing club in Santa Barbara. During this time, Mr. Edwards became one of a select few -- a drag boat driver who successfully topped 100 mph at a sanctioned National Drag Boat Association meet.
This was a time when hot-rods were highly celebrated, but some adventurous young men, including Larry Schwabenland and the late Ray Caselli, turned to their need for speed on a different track, water.
The mid-1950s marked the beginning of drag boat racing.
Mr. Edwards, now 70, and fellow racer and friend, Mr. McCown, who co-wrote "Drag Boats of the 1960s," got together and decided to co-author a book.
"We wanted to document the history of drag boat racing, a sport that we put so much into, before we got too old," Mr. Edwards told the News-Press.
With over 40 local and state sponsors participating, all proceeds from the show will go toward the "Happy Endings Animal Rescue Sanctuary" and to the "Progeria Research Foundation."
No comments:
Post a Comment