Although not a racer in the traditional sense, it's sad to hear about Boyd Coddington's passing. Known today as the star of TV's "American Hot Rod," Coddington remains much more than that to hot rod enthusiasts and automobile innovators.
His vision and work changed the world for many people by creating an industry that thrives today. He will be missed.
The following is a release I receieved minutes ago:
Boyd Coddington, the creative visionary who took hot rodding to an art form and custom wheels to a new level has died. He was 63.
Coddington, who was a longtime diabetic, died from complications that were brought on from a recent surgery. It was Coddington's ever forward-looking view at the design and art of the hot rod and his unconditional desire to create the finest quality cars that became the "Boyd Look."
"It is a major loss for the automotive enthusiasts and hot rod aficionados around the world. Boyd Coddington did so much more than create automotive trends, he also built the finest hot rods. He was entertaining on his TV Show (TLC's- American Hot Rod) and an ambassador who educated," said Harry Hibler, former publisher of Hot Rod Magazine.
Coddington who grew up in Idaho was a car enthusiast from a young age. At age 12, young Boyd traded his prized shotgun for a Model A Ford, this began the legacy of the "Boyd Look." Moving to Southern California to chase his dreams of chrome and customizing, he first worked as a shop machinist at Western Gear. Then in the 1970s, Coddington found work as a maintenance repairman and machinist at Disneyland. Coddington would recount fondly his experience at Disneyland and the companys desire for perfection, a trait that he instilled in everyone who worked at his hot rod shops.
Coddington's first major opportunity at developing the "Boyd Look" was when Vern Luce bankrolled a dream.
The "Vern Luce Coupe" was Boyd's vision of what could be done to create the ultimate 1933 Ford hot rod. Boyd would refer to his look as getting rid of the bumps and allowing the lines of the car to show. Coddington removed door handles, hinges and massaged the body dynamics in a way that no one had ever realized. To make the Vern Luce coupe even more dynamic, he developed what would become trademark, the use of billet aluminum to create parts that were unique to every hot rod he built. The result of his first creation was the prestigious "Sloanaker Award," the first of many.
Over his 30 reign as the "King of Hot Rods," Coddington and his teams created dozens of hand-built hot rods and custom cars. Coddington has amassed numerous awards and was the first builder to win the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award six times. Collectively, Boyd created more respect for hot rods than ever thought possible, his hot rods have been in Museum exhibits and even the cover of Smithsonian Magazine.
Coddington's innovations have become not just hot rodding touchstones, but influences that have helped the entire aftermarket industry flourish. Building cars that stand the test of time and have creative names such as CadZZilla, CheZoom, Aluma-Coupe, Smoothster, Boydster I and Boydster II set him apart from others.
His client list also included the legendary rock band ZZ Top, for whom he built CadZZilla, the car the band featured in its music videos like "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs."
Other prominent clients included The Beach Boys, Van Halen's- Michael Anthony, Brad Penny of the L.A. Dodgers, Budweiser, White Cap, Sobe, Old Milwaukee Beer, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Hershey.
Boyd Coddington was also an entrepreneur with a driven desire to build his company and see his goal become reality. In the 1980s, Boyd literally reinvented the wheel by creating the billet wheel for hot rods. Coddington and longtime friend Lil' John Buttera found they could machine practically anything they needed from solid aluminum. It was Coddington who took the idea and made it commercially viable. In the 1990s, his hot rod shop and wheel company had grown and was so successful that he took the company public.
Boyd Coddington was less known as a father of five boys and a man who had an infectious laugh. To many he was the under-the-gun, deadline-stomping star of "American Hot Rod" a persona that led some to believe he was cantankerous. Actually, Coddington was a humble and somewhat shy individual who loved children and was a true philanthropist. Coddington has continually employed those were mentally challenged and gave them a welcome environment to learn and work.
Through his "Coddington Foundation," Boyd and his wife, Jo, gave to the community and an array of charities.
Boyd Coddington was honored during his life as Hot Rod Magazine's "Man of the Year," and inducted into numerous halls of fame. His hit TV show, "American Hot Rod," brought worldwide notoriety and corporations sought his talents. The "Boyd Look" will live on and his spirit will forever remain the hot rodders inspiration.
Survived by his wife, Jo, and his five sons, Boyd Jr., Christopher Coddington, Thomas McGee, Gregory Coddington and Robert McGee. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Coddington Foundation to benefit a variety of Boyd's favorite charities. Please address your donations to: Coddington Foundation, 811 E. Lambert Rd., La Habra, California, 90631
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team released its normal pre-race quotes this week. Two things trike me about the quotes. First, I really believe he's sincere in being emotionally torn. Second, I don't think there's a molecule in his body that will miss making more money for Teresa Earnhardt.
"There will be so many mixed feelings for me this week. It's hard to
imagine it was 1999 when we made our first Cup start (at Charlotte,
May) with this team and with Budweiser. I'm excited about the
off-season and jumping right into my new deal, but it's very, very
important for me to end my time with Dale Earnhardt Inc. with integrity
and with my head held high. When your career is over and you look back,
I think that's critical: a measure of your character is more important
than the number of wins you have. That kind of thing will last longer
than any driving career.
"It's been relatively easy to concentrate and focus
so far this season when it was time to pull on the helmet, but it may
be much tougher to do that at Homestead. I have so many close friends
and people I've gone into battle with for nearly a decade, and that
type of bond will stay with me forever. The same goes for Budweiser.
The people at Anheuser-Busch took a big chance on me when I'd never
turned a lap in a Cup race. I'll never forget that, and we've had an
amazing run since then. I never thought we'd be here in 2007 with
things like four consecutive "Most Popular Driver" awards and having a
Daytona 500 trophy with my name on it. Man, those are things I only
dreamed about when I was living in a trailer and changing oil at my
dad's dealership. It's been a helluva great time.
"It's been a rough year for the team and I'm sure
it's been tough on my fans with everything that has happened. We've had
such a great team that's run so strong but has little or nothing to
show for it. Whether we go out with a whimper or a bang, we're going to
do it together as a team, running as hard as we can every lap. That's
how we've always been, and that feeling of a collective effort is the
most important thing. I want to thank everyone who has worked with me
at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and sponsors like Budweiser that have supported
me for so long. And the fans too - they've been great and have helped
make me feel like they will be with me through thick or thin."
Do you want to see David Pearson, Jack Ingram, Harry Gant and Geoff Bodine race again?
A group has alerted the world to the formation of something they call the Old School Racing Champion's Tour which puts those legends and more on short tracks in 2008 and into 2009. They have a point system in place and will crown a champion in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in February 2009 during DIRECTV Speedweeks.
The series will open next May at Concord, North Carolina, and hit Eldora Speedway, the Music City Motorplex, Southside Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway, South Boston Speedway, Flat Rock Speedway and Springport Speedway before a return vist to Florida to crown a champion in the shadow of the 51st running of the Daytona 500.
In addition to Pearson, Gant, Bodine and Ingram, the list of drivers so far includes Johnny Rumley, Bobby Dotter, Andy Hillenberg, Ronnie Silver, Larry Moore, Bill Venturini, Tim Fedewa, James Hylton, Andy Santerre, Carl Long. Robert Pressley, Chuck Bown, Dave Marcis, Randy Lajoie, Bob Schacht, Larry Pearson, Larry Pollard, Derrike Cope, Phil Parsons, Tracie Leslie and Joe Ruttman.
Check it out at www.osrct.com AND, since RacingOne is in contact with the founders of the series, who would you like to see added to the list of drivers?
David Pearson's involvment clinches my interest in the races, but the first one I'd like to see added is Cale Yarborough. The second is Darrell Waltrip and the third is Brett Bodine. I think it's too much to ask A.J. Foyt, isn't it?
The series of blunders that may ultimately doom Dale Earnhardt Inc. is now complete.
With Wednesday afternoon's confirmation that Hendrick Motorsports couldn't come to an agreement with DEI to allow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to keep his No. 8, the company is stuck with a worthless number once the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season reaches a close.
Readers can check out the quotes from Dale's bobble-headed PR manager over at the Worldwided Leader in Sports, but, in the end, it means one thing: Teresa Earnhardt wanted one last jab at her stepson.
In a nutshell, Hendrick made an offer she couldn't accept, no matter how much money came with it because it meant giving Dale Jr. what he wanted. That's more than a little sad.
Let's examine quickly DEI's accomplishments since January:
1. Making room for a new driver by failing to agree to a contract with NASCAR's "Elvis," who also happens to be the founder's namesake and the most popular name in racing.
2. The purchase of a completely mediocre team, Ginn Racing, because of it had a bigger building, a jazzy piece of chassis-tuning equipment and three cars in the top 35 in points -- an intended bonus here was the acquisition of Mark Martin.
3. The failure to structure the Ginn purchase in a way that retained the "points" value in one of the three teams it bought. It simply went away.
4. Not being able to close the deal with Kyle Busch. Sure, he's temperamental, but not any more than the current DEI owner -- and he WAS the best talent available to replace "Elvis."
5. Keeping the No. 8. This serves no purpose. With Dale Jr. and Budweiser surely gone to other teams, does anyone forsee plenty of red No. 8 flags waving in infields in 2008?
The simple fact is this: The No. 8 IS an Earnhardt number -- but it is a RACING Earnhardt number dating back to Dale Jr.'s grandfather, Ralph. Teresa's claim to the No. 8 is legitimate only because, as they say, possession is nine-tenths of the law. Will souvenir sales surge and marketing executives drool over the possibilities when someone not named Earnhardt accepts the challenge of wearing that shoe?
I doubt it.
Shane Huffman has been discharged from his duties as the driver of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 NAVY Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series.
In military terms, discharges rate as Honorable, General, Other Than Honorable, Bad Conduct and Dishonorable. I'm not sure where this one rates, but I bet I know what it means for Huffman — the same thing it meant for Mark McFarland: a trip to the Land of Obscurity.
Earnhardt Jr. made it sound very official and military-like.
"Upon a midseason evaluation of the performance of this race team, we decided we needed to make a change," he said. "I’m doing this to give us time to evaluate our options and see who we want to put in the car for the rest of the season."
Huffman raced his way to 13th place in the Busch Series standings before being made to walk the plank, but the numbers really are a bit deceiving. He finished 42nd at Phoenix after a first-lap crash in which he had no fault. His place in the standings was 102 points behind eighth-place Marcos Ambrose — a decent finish at Phoenix may have put him there.
The Legion of Dale Jr. fans is sure to disagree with me, but I would caution any prospective young driver to consider the JR Motorsports job very carefully before enlisting.
Huffman's qualifying record in the car is dismal, at best. He averaged a 24th-place starting spot and a 23rd-place finish, so he finished where he started. Does that mean Huffman couldn't get the job done? Possibly.
Did the team make adjustments to the car to make it better as races and the season progressed? Obviously not, but crew chief Wes Ward remains at the helm despite less-than-stellar results in 2006 and 2007.
Ultimately, it is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team, and he has the option of doing anything he wants with it. However, does anyone out there actually believe the team has gotten the owner's full attention this year? If you do, I've got about 10,000 words of press conference transcripts that can shed some light on other matters he's discussed this spring.
The arrival of Tony "Pops" Eury at JR Motorsports will make things better — no doubt about it — and Junior driving the car at Daytona definitely changes the Las Vegas betting line.
One thing is certain: Huffman has been set adrift, but I'm not so sure the reason behind the discharge is Honorable.
Some people are prone to making a right turn in life where they should have made a left.<br><br>
While watching the beginning of the next five years of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s life unfold, that old cliché starting clanging in my head like the bells of an old English church after a royal wedding.<br><br>
Let’s make one thing clear very quickly: It’s not my place (or yours) to judge whether Dale has “sold out” the Earnhardt legacy to drive for a rival team. Contemplating that is an idiotic exercise and a waste of time.<br><br>
As for the wisdom of choosing Hendrick Motorsports as his next employer, there is no doubt Dale made the correct turn (which, in NASCAR, is a left). Dale wants to win races and championships — Hendrick Motorsports wins races and championships. It’s truly that simple.<br><br>
Dale also finds himself in comfortable waters as far as guidance goes, which some can argue he hasn’t had since he lost his father in February 2001. Rick Hendrick is a man to be respected, and Dale admitted he’ll be on a much shorter leash than the one that held him at Dale Earnhardt Inc.<br><br>
If the legendary Dale Jr. lifestyle gets in the way of business, Hendrick will guide Dale back to the winning path. Some might say his stepmother, Teresa, should have done that at DEI long ago, but that would assume Dale Jr. respects her. She tried to challenge him through an interview with the Wall Street Journal in December — it didn’t work because it exposed the very core of what’s wrong between Dale Jr. and Teresa. Neither one respects the other, not really.<br><br>
The more interesting side to the story surrounding Dale’s pending arrival at Hendrick Motorsports is the one swirling around Kyle Busch. Can it be as simple as what amounts to a swap between Hendrick and DEI? I doubt it, especially with Toyota surely drooling over the possibilities of signing a signature driver. If you believe Michael Waltrip, Brian Vickers, AJ Allmendinger, Dave Blaney or Dale Jarrett are the true objects of Toyota’s affections, think again.<br><br>
It’s interesting to note that most of the drivers at the Prelude to the Dream charity race last week had cars painted in similar tones to their NEXTEL Cup Series cars — not Kyle Busch.<br><br>
Busch drove a black No. 51 in that race. Could he have been that clever as to send a signal to the racing world? Will he admit to doing it if that is what happened? If so, how hard did he giggle when none of us caught on to the message?<br><br>
The final, and most intriguing, question is how did Busch allow himself to stray from Hendrick’s horsepower? Surely Hendrick Motorsports paid him enough not to have to worry about a few bucks either way. If money wasn’t the issue (I know, it usually is), why would he leave the best team in NASCAR? Has he made a right in life where he should have continued making a left?<br><br>
The questions for Busch and Earnhardt Jr. are sure to number in the thousands in the coming weeks and months, and I can’t say that I’m liking the thought of the Media Day frenzy at Daytona International Speedway next February.<br><br>
Undoubtedly, I’ll be there, as I will for July’s Pepsi 400. I do have one question for readers, though: If you could ask either of them a question, what would it be?
Motorsports writers sometimes wonder why drivers, series officials and readers ridicule them.
After reading, hearing and watching a post-Daytona 500 week of blowhards passing more gas than an anesthesiologist after lunch at the local burrito hangout, I’m starting to understand.
In classic Mark Martin fashion, NASCAR’s most respected driver ended any chance of a controversy during the post-race interview in the Media Center at Daytona International Speedway. For those who missed it, he said waving the yellow flag is NASCAR’s decision. He never lifted his foot from the throttle and didn’t expect Kevin Harvick to do it, either (even though he initially thought it was Kyle Busch).
The stories and speculation should have ended right then.
Instead, we’ve watched the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” entertain the debate with what seems to be a never-ending stream of walking, talking, breathing bobble-head dolls. If you need to giggle some time, mute the sound some time when ol’ Marty Smith takes to the screen — his head wobbles more than Stuart Scott says “Boo-Yah.” For those of you without cable TV or a satellite dish, is enough to want to send your children to chiropractic college.
Not to be outdone, the writers are chiming in with what seems to be everything from sawing the Harley J. Earl trophy in half to allowing voters on the Internet decide who won.
After nearly a week of thinking about it and hours of research (not really), I’ve come to this conclusion: NASCAR had as much to do with Kevin Harvick winning the Daytona 500 as Kevin Federline did in making Britney Spears look bad. Be honest and think back to a week ago, did you think that couple’s children were better off with him? Unless you’re Grandma Federline, I doubt it.
It’s a little sad that after watching what was probably NASCAR’s second-best finish of all time, pundits are focusing on a controversy that doesn’t exist and dwelling on the most mysterious foreign substance since Bill Clinton ran the White House.
My advice after 16 years in the media business? Watch for yourself — or better yet, buy a ticket and head to the track — then decide for yourself what you saw, because I’m starting to wonder if there’s any other way to know what happened.
For the record: Kevin Harvick won the Daytona 500 with a last-lap charge that any of the all-time greats would have been proud to call their own — including the one who drove the car before Harvick did.
Thousands of words litter the Internet with media members’ impressions after watching DALE, the new documentary about Dale Earnhardt.
The first time I heard about the project was about a year ago at our Motorsports Images and Archives vault area. One of the producers spent time there scouring hours of videotape, many pieces of which became what I saw last night. He told me about the concept, and I told him that if they released it during Speedweeks at Daytona in 2007, he better hire extra security to handle overflow crowds. If the eight packed theaters for Chevrolet’s “Sneak Peek” is any indication, theaters better be ordering more concession supplies right now. It’s entertaining and (thankfully) never reached my expectation of being a smarmy sales piece for General Motors.
When the lights went down, conversations continued throughout the theater (a pet peeve of mine that puts me closer to Florida’s Death Row every time I endure it), however, when Dale Earnhardt appeared and began to speak, that stopped — immediately.
Anyone with a yearning for drama and great theatrical performances will be disappointed, although Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives us an amusing look why he chose driving race cars rather than being a TV reporter covering it.
My most striking memories of the film swirl around Dale Jr. The images of him as a child almost reach the level of being sad. You can see that he’s tentative and a little withdrawn around his father. For anyone who has talked to Dale Jr. about his father, it explains a lot. The portion of the documentary in which Dale Jr. and his sister Kelley appear made me feel almost uncomfortable. Dale looked like he’d rather be undergoing a root canal.
The part of the film that really makes me appreciate the relationship with my father, who I lost in 1998, is an interview from Victory Lane. Dale Jr. was 12 or 13 (I’m guessing), and he’s sitting on the edge of his father’s car during the post-race photo shoot. He talks about hoping to spend enough time around the team that it will translate into time with his father.
The astonishing part about it? Dale Jr. sat less than five feet from his dad, but he might as well have been on another continent. Junior later talks about a letter he wrote his to dad and the feelings that poured from both afterward. It is my sincere hope that Junior’s sense of comfort about that is genuine.
I left the theater thinking about another person, though. I can’t help thinking that Richard Childress lost the most on February 18, 2001. It’s clear to me that he relishes a bond with Dale Earnhardt that remains unmatched. Dale actually talks about his bond with his wife, Teresa, and I don’t doubt for a second that he still cherishes her and the four children.
However, anyone who has talked to Dale Earnhardt knows one thing: Some of the strongest words he ever communicated never left his lips.
That’s what defined him later in life as a father, as a friend, and as the best race car driver the world may ever know.