Hot Rod June 1974

Did you ever see the classic WW II movie where they take the squadron commander out of the pilot's seat of the lead B-29 and give him a “desk job"? Well, something of that nature is going down here as, effective with this issue, Jim McCraw is the new editor of Hot Rod Magazine. I will relocate on the East Coast and function as the eastern editorial representative for Hot Rod and will continue to contribute material for publication, as well as perform a number of other related duties. The first thing that comes to mind is “what kind of a deal it that? Is that a promotion, a demotion, a lateral slide or what?” The real reason I'm vacating this position is that I want to move back to…

It was worth the wait, but for Cale Yarborough the month of March, 1974, was a long time coming. The stocky ex-football fullback chopped away at Richard Petty's Winston Cup point lead with one second-place finish and added a pair of impressive victories. As car builder Junior Johnson put it: “Cale's finally in the groove. He's gonna have a helluva year if we can keep a car under him.” Yarborough's performance through the first six races of the '74 season was phenomenal. The blond Timmonsville, South Carolina, athlete opened the year with a win in the Winston Western 500 at Riverside, California, finished second behind Petty in the Daytona 500 and followed with a third-place finish behind winner Bobby Allison and Petty over Richmond's half-mile oval in Virginia. He trailed…

New Jersey's tough motor vehicle code has been made more stringent. As of January 1, the state inaugurated its controversial and mandatory exhaust emission testing program. If a car fails to meet minimum federal clean air standards, the owner is allowed 60 days to make it righteous again. In a random sample of 682 cars, 122 bit the emissions tester and of course failed. The interesting part is that most of the vehicles were in need of a simple tune-up—which would get 'em through and save a scoche on the gas pump register. Even the greatest race horses must someday be retired. Bill Jenkins is not one of those, but his day for being done is rapidly approaching. With Ken Dondero on his side now, he will probably sell the…

It oughta be just one heck of a street race! First the city put up the prize money. Then the province picked up the TV rights. And finally, the federal government agreed to let them use the parks as part of their race track. Officials of the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) got together in March with the three tiers of government and the folks at Imperial Tobacco to bring the island province of Newfoundland its first major auto race. To be held July 28. the event will be a road race for open-wheeled Formula Atlantic racers over 1.1 miles of St. John's city streets. Even though the series sponsor is not putting any cash into the race, it will be counted as part of the Players Challenge Series. If…

WOOSHA-WHAT? Everybody is making so much noise about the Energy Crisis that I can't get anybody's attention about our problem here in Provo. The fact is that more than two dozen UFOs, flying in formation (the shape of a giant watermelon viewed from the front three-quarter) have repeatedly buzzed my neighbor's henhouse, while emitting a strange “woo-sha-woo-sha” noise. We can't get any of the local news media to come out here and take pictures of the chickens, which are still understandably flustered. We have proof that this is the vanguard of a Venusian invasion force, as I sent my dog Fred on board to bring back evidence. What Fred brought back not only conclusively proves that the saucers are real, but also, when attached to my Studebaker pickup, produces 45…

POSITIVE PROGRESS ANNOUNCED ON ILLINOIS NOISE PROBLEM The Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association continues to be involved successfully in combating potentially restrictive legislation throughout the country. This success is based upon the expertise they have gained through testing and research and, of course, the willingness to work with legislative groups at all levels—Federal, state and city governments. We would like to cite several recent examples where these efforts have paid off, not only for the association's members, but for automotive enthusiasts as well. As reported in this column, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency had proposed decibel limits on automotive racing facilities. If passed, there was a real possibility that racing could not have survived in Illinois. To make matters worse, there was the possibility that such restrictions would be adopted by…