Some Parker Photos

[Sam Baker]

Having spent all of my childhood at Lake Havasu over Thanksgiving Weekend and at Parker in the spring, I came across a couple of Parker photos. One is of my Dad when he teamed up with Paul Bender in an Evinrude 235 powered Allison GT-20. The other is in one of the first HydroStream Valeros that was ever made. The entire deck on that boat weighed 65 pounds. One guy could stand in the middle of it and pick it up and carry it around. That was when Coremat first came out and My Dad and Howard Pipkorn did a lot of experimenting with it. Boat held up pretty well actually.

Sam
http://www.scaryfast.com/Dad_Allison_Parker.JPG
http://www.scaryfast.com/Valero_at_Parker.JPG

[Joe J.]

OK Sam, now you are really digging up some names from the past. Bender was one of the nicest guys I have ever known, and your dad is in the same league.

Joe Johnson

[helmetguru]

jimbo after the race that ken stevenson won...

[helmetguru]

art kennedy getting ready to take over for duane lyons in my dad's old Go Navy Cougar boat...I remember vividly taking this picture of Art, I made him stand there and pose while I did it...

[helmetguru]

this is one of the three Team Mercury boats, i know Billy was in this one but am not sure who his co driver was, maybe Erwin Zimmerman...there were a black, blue and lime green Team Merc boats that year with a bunch of drivers...it was the last full Factory race so they had everybody, Percival, Spalding, Zimmerman, Bentz, Seebold, Fountain was the most noticeable absentee...

[helmetguru]

here's a shot of Ken Stevenson, the late great driver from Ohio, he was one of my boyhood heroes and it was a real HUGE loss for boat racing when Ken died in the Bahamas in 83, he was a great driver..I remember after winning the race Ken running around the pits with some cowboy hat on, really excited...think he might have had a cigar as well...

[Backfire]

I got to know Ken when he started driving for Bob Thompson's
Just Add Water Boats in Indianapolis, In. I signed Bob as a Johnson Dealer in 1971 and he drove his own boat for a year or two then Alan Stinson took over in his designed and built Stinson Eagle with a Stinger. ( Alan used to drive for Paul Allison as the factory driver and was the first man to drive a v-bottom over 100mph). Jim Booe was the engine and prop man, before he started Turbo Props. Kenny took over driving for JAW when Alan went to work for Arrow Glass Boats, then Skeeter-redesigned all their boats, then started Nitro-sold to Bass Tracker,
now head designer at Stratos/Javalin last 12-15 years. Jim Booe bult the finest running turbo Johnson V-4 ever seen. Jack Leek, Jimbo, and Charlie Strang came to Indy to run it on JAW's own lake next to the dealership. Jimbo hot lapped to try it out. I don't think Booe let them look under the shroud to see the secret device that made it work where the OMC factory couldn't get theirs to perform. A few months later the V-6 came to market and the 240hp (dyno) V-4 was put on the shelf. Jim started to turbo the V-6 but Bob didn't want to put any money into r&d and Jim wasn't going to fund it and give to Bob. Jim started Turbo
which took all his time, so it never finished. Sure was fun in the
early days of big engines, but sad too, Ken was a nice guy.
Backfire ;)