As told by Jim Rockstad

I had followed drag racing since I was in the eighth grade and by the time I was 22 in 1965, I found myself heavily involved. Most of my learning experiences were crafted through trips to places like Aurora and Scappoose, Oregon, as well as Shelton in Washington state. Back then, I had hitch-hiked or bummed rides in order to get to the races. I wanted to learn more.

Most of my time was spent photographing every car that traveled down the drag strip with my Brownie camera. I spent many an hour standing in the grass alongside the track. My insatiable desire for cars, and especially drag racing, grew until I was able to get in close contact with the sport through a neighbor of mine in North Portland.

Jim Albrich lived at the end of the block. He had a store in the front of his house which was ideal for his specialty of machine work. In these early years I spent many days just hanging around to see the latest engine part produced at Jim’s place or the chance to see his latest dragster that was garaged at his house.

My involvement in the sport grew and 1965 was a huge year for me. Jim, along with Earl Floyd and Wayne Harry, had established the new Columbia Racing Engines in a large store front building in Northeast Portland and I was hired as the counterman at this new location. Additionally, Ed McCulloch, a farmer from Forest Grove, Oregon, had arrived on the scene.

Ed had been racing Chevy dragsters throughout the Northwest and had put together a partnership with Jim for the Northwind Top Fuel dragster. Ed and one of his cousins were going to purchase a brand-new dragster and Jim was to supply the Chrysler powerplants. I'll have to say when I saw Ed wearing cowboy boots I kind of wondered how this farmer and these city slicker folks were all going to fit together. Little did I know at the time that this whole race team would rise to incredible heights in just a few months.

I pursued my dreams a bit further and ended up on the crew of the Northwind. This was the life. I was the counterman for Columbia Racing Engines during the week and then on the weekends I was the push-car driver and general donkey for the team. All I could do was learn more about the sport by traveling with the team and living the sport 24 hours a day. What a huge, big-time opportunity for a 22 year-old, bleached blonde kid with zero responsibilities in life. I was ready to go for the big-time and 24 hours a day of racing was just what I wanted.

Ed purchased a Kent Fuller full-bodied fuel dragster late in 1964 to activate the partnership for the 1965 racing season. The car was revolutionary for the time, and it earned the nickname "Magicar".

The rear-end was not solid mounted like the standard fuelers but had small coil springs. The motor had an internal frame of its own similar to the ladder bars used under “door” cars which was mounted to the rear axle housing. Its front axle didn't have a standard torsion bar set-up, it was mounted on a small rubber biscuit in the center with zero spring or torsion action at all. You could pick up one of the front wheels 3 or 4 feet in the air without lifting the opposite wheel. The rubber biscuit in the center of the front axle just allowed a pivot to take place.

 

"Magic" front end.

 

Kent Fuller was certainly a genius. This design allowed the torque of the motor to drive the rear wheels into the ground, giving better traction. At least that was what I understood about the way the chassis worked. Of course, I was only 22, and although I had been around lots of dragsters I had never seen anything like this car. Was it a huge risk or would the car work beyond all expectations?

This new partnership was labeled the Albrich-McCulloch-Krieger Northwind. Albrich was Mr. Horsepower and loved to run the big numbers in Top Fuel. (Ironically, the motto for Columbia Racing Engines was “Horsepower - Our Specialty”). Earlier in his career he had cars which had run big speeds, and this became his trademark in the sport. As the car was being assembled in the spring of 1965 there were many questions to be answered. Would this revolutionary car work well or would there be a time to work through this new “sprung rear end” system? Another question was - who was going to drive the car? Ed had been driving Chevy-powered cars and had crashed in the previous year and didn’t want to drive this new car. Bob Haines, the previous driver for Albrich, had moved on to another team. Floyd drove many of Albrich’s previous cars, but this time he was driving for Whipple and Goodell, another local Top Fuel team.

 

The Albrich-McCulloch-Krieger "Northwind" - the other Kent Fuller "magicar" in the pits at Bakersfield prior to the 1965 Fuel & Gas Championships. It was a twin to the Winkle & Trapp "MagiCar" car that Bill Pitts restored and has today.

Several discussions among the team members resulted in Dave Jeffers, a respected driver of the era, being named to shoe the radical new car. The new Albrich-McCulloch-Krieger team had limited dollars and Dave Jeffers lived in California at the time. Although Dave drove the car at Bakersfield (above) and some early races in the Northwest, the expense of someone from outside of the core local team driving was overwhelming. It just made more sense for a team member to take the wheel, and after Ed made some successful shake-down runs at Woodburn Drag Strip he accepted the job and became the team's driver from that point on.

With Top Fuel dragsters racing nearly every weekend, the Northwind went from Lions to Bakersfield, Riverside, and Carlsbad in southern California. In the Northwest, it was Woodburn and Balboa in Eugene, Oregon to Puyallup, Arlington, and Pacific Raceways in Washington state.

At the time the Northwind was the baddest of the bad. The car was awarded the Drag News No. 6 spot after running 204 miles per hour and gaining the national attention that it needed and deserved.

In those early years, Drag News, a drag racing publication, had a top ten list for the fuel dragsters around the country. Match races were commonplace and to move up on the list you could set up a match race at an agreed-upon drag strip with someone higher on the list and then race for the spot. The requirement was the best two out of three runs; beat your opponent and take away his spot on the list and he gets yours.

 

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With Ed driving, the gold metalflaked Northwind beat Sid Waterman in May of 1965 at Woodburn Drag Strip while running a new Northwest record of 206.88 miles per hour. According to Al Beachell, strip manager at Woodburn in 1965, "That performance clinched the challenge for the number 1 spot in the nation." The holder of the number one spot up until then was "Sneaky" Pete Robinson, of Atlanta, Georgia. His "Tinker Toy Too" fuel dragster had held off five previous challengers since he was awarded the coveted top spot in September of 1964.

After several phone calls to Pete Robinson by Al Beachell a deal was set for a match race on Sunday, June 13th, 1965. The best of three match race would be a huge step for Northwest race fans as this national caliber event would take place on Oregon soil. Team Northwind called Pete and offered him use of the Columbia Racing Engines shop so he could come early and work on his car. You see…Pete, “Sneaky” as he was, did use two different engine combinations in his car. A Chevy small block and a Ford "cammer" motor were used at different times and Team Northwind would have liked to have gained that knowledge prior to the big showdown.

Not only didn’t Pete Robinson show up at the shop, but he didn't call and no one had seen or heard from him at all. When the Northwind left for Woodburn Dragstrip the morning of June 13th the big question was, “Where is Pete Robinson?” Upon arrival at Woodburn, just 30 miles south of Portland, a trailer and tow rig were sitting at the front gate of the track. Sound asleep inside was Robinson, waiting for the event to start. He had driven from Bristol, Tennessee, after participating in the NHRA Springnationals the weekend before. The Northwest rain was coming down but only in shower form, stopping from time to time. The crowd numbers for the day are a little sketchy but one local newspaper listed the attendance at 10,000. To say the least, Northwest race fans were ready for the Northwind and this showdown for the number one spot in the nation.

As the intermittent showers came and went that day, the track was dried, thanks to a few slower cars. About 1:30 in the afternoon, the main feature was ready for round one. They both pushed down the track in preparation for fire-up. Making the turn around at the top end, it set the stage for an epic battle. When both cars fired, the huge crowd pushed forward, some near the edge of the track, in anticipation and showing support for the Northwestern car. McCulloch drove right on by Robinson's Chevy car at a 7.62 at 199.54 miles per hour in true 60s style, smoking the tires all the way through the lights. The Chevy car was well behind at 7.95.

Round one was in the books and the Northwind had outrun the number one car in the nation. One round later, the Chevy car of Pete Robinson red-lighted away the number one spot.

Ed ran 7.50 and 206.42 mph to take the coveted spot in just two rounds of the match race. There it was. The Northwestern region had finally broken through to the big-time in the sport of drag racing as the huge crowd gathered around the two cars with excitement in the air. The car that was a huge question mark to its performance potential had just knocked off the top spot in the country in a few short months. It was an incredible achievement, to say the least.

 

"Northwind" - AA/FD - Riverside, 1965
A young Ed McCulloch second from left.
Photo by Russ Griffith

 

As the summer progressed for the Northwind team, the wins kept coming, including two unsuccessful challenges for the number one spot from TV Tommy Ivo. As the car ran quicker throughout the summer months, the handling became a question mark. Could it be that the car couldn't handle the faster and quicker runs? Some felt that the steering link was too long and would bounce at big speeds, causing the car to handle poorly. Whatever the case, the fabulous gold car was sold to Terry Major of Longview, Washington, later that summer. All in those few short months, the car that performed at a huge level, winning almost every run, was sold. It was a remarkable time for Northwest drag racing and for a 22 year-old kid who was sleeping, eating and living the sport.

 

Arlington, WA in 1965.

 

"The Great Fuller Match-up" - Puyallup, WA - 1965 -- Chris Karamesines vs. Ed McCulloch in "Northwind".

Photo by Russ Griffith

 

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Pacific Raceway in 1965.

 

 

 

 

The news of Ed McCulloch’s struggle with colon cancer shook us all here in the Northwest. One of our life-long friends was struggling with his health and was going through chemotherapy for this terrible disease. Our prayers were that everything would go well for him in his battle against his cancer, as well as the battle for the points chase in the Brut funny car. At the time we felt there had to be something we could do to encourage him in his struggle.

When the photos of the Northwind came out in a magazine last winter, it lit a fire in Jack Coonrod. His bond with Ed McCulloch was very tight and Jack felt that he could give Ed “one day in the sun” and divert his thoughts away from that terrible disease. The plan was to find the gold Northwind that launched Ed’s career by rebuilding it, take it to Pomona in November of 2006 and have Ed start it up.

 

Ed "The Ace" McCulloch and Jack Coonrod at the NHRA Museum.

 

Jack then brought in his friend Earl Floyd and the two of them burned up the phone lines in search of the famous gold car. For almost 3 months the leads came in hot and heavy as Earl “the bloodhound” Floyd was relentless in the search. He tracked each lead until it was found to be fruitless. There was a car in Idaho and several in Oregon and lots of them that seemed to be the original, but one after another they were found to be the wrong car. At one point Jack considered fabricating a copy of the original car, but it just wouldn't be right. It had to be the 1965 Drag News No.1 car in the nation - the famous gold Northwind - no copies for this deal!

When the search hit a dead end, a $250 finder’s fee was offered to Lon Russell, a local drag-racing enthusiast and computer-savvy guy. Soon racing web sites were all posting the story about the search for the original Northwind. All of a sudden all of the work paid off. The actual car was found in an old barn in British Columbia, Canada. Talk about long shots.

The car had been in Canada for over 30 years. The last time it had made any runs down a drag strip was as a gas dragster in the early 70s. It had been lengthened twice and was 13” longer than when it ran in Top Fuel. The car had been a parts-car for other dragsters for a number of years, having been purchased from Swindahl Race Cars of Tacoma at one time. The late Bill “Madman” Phillips, who ran alcohol dragsters for many years, had the car and wanted it displayed in a museum. After his death, several of Bill’s friends were planning to display the car once a museum was built. The museum never came about, and Bill Bennett willingly sold the car to Jack Coonrod, knowing that it would be used to honor Ed McCulloch as well as honor the memory of Bill Phillips. This car now had two important reasons for getting rebuilt.

 

The car in 2000 when in Bill “Madman” Phillips possession.

 

 

 

On January 20, 2006, the car headed back to the U.S. Now the hard part begins. There were many parts missing; the original front axle, the steering and spindles were all gone. But the most important part of all - the over-the-roll-cage tail section - was nowhere to be found. On the positive side, the cowl and side panels were in excellent shape because the earlier lengthening of the frame was in the motor area. As Jack headed for his shop in Vancouver, Washington, he had a smile on his face despite the fact that he knew that he had a huge project ahead of him. Finding the original replacement parts wasn’t going to be easy, but his strong determination kept him driving forward.

To keep the car original was paramount. This would require using old pictures of the car and starting from scratch on building new parts. Jack knew it would be time to reach out to many drag racing friends to find the old pieces and to get some support as he started putting the car together.

Step one was to strip the car, sandblast the frame and get it over to Bruce Cassidy. Bruce, a semi-retired machinist, had owned Cassidy Manufacturing in Vancouver, Washington, a company that installed basketball backboards throughout the country. Bruce is one of those people who are passionate about drag racing and has done a lot of chassis work for the sport. For years he was involved with several Northwest dragsters, including as the M and M Special, driven by Gordon Fabeck, which was originally an Ed McCulloch car.

 

Before the Northwind chassis arrived at his shop considerable time was spent establishing the car’s original wheelbase, as it had been stretched out when a gas Chevy motor was installed in the early 70s. After a lot of research, including several long discussions with Kent Fuller (original builder of the Northwind chassis), it was determined that 140-inches was the original length. Fortunately, the 13-inches that was added to the existing frame was forward of the motor plate, requiring fewer major changes. The frame section above contained the incorrect chassis area and was removed and replaced with new tubing."

 

The missing pieces would be nearly impossible to find. In any case, the plan was to recreate the car with all the original parts. Valve covers, blower drive, injector, front spindles, and front wheels were just a few of the parts that were either unusable or missing altogether. The biggest hurdle to overcome, however, would be to find the hand-made aluminum tail section that had been missing since the 70s. Was it possible to find, fix or repair all the needed items and make it to Pomona in November for the big fire-up with Ed McCulloch in the cockpit? Sure sounded like a tall order!

 

 

Bruce is a perfectionist, and that’s just what the project needs. As mentioned, the plan was to make the car all original, and Bruce understood what was needed to make everything perfect. He talked to Fuller several more times to make sure the motor location and other important specifications were exact. Bruce has a chassis jig at his home shop and has worked on many Kent Fuller creations over the years. This certainly qualified him as an expert on this type of car.

 

 

 

 

 

It took about three weeks of long days for him to make the old Northwind chassis look like a brand-new piece. It was craftsmanship at its best. All new welds and rebuilt brackets enabled him to recreate the original wheelbase, and soon the famous Northwind was on its way back to life.

Many times during the recreation work came to a halt. Finding forty-year-old original parts seemed impossible at times but to the old drag racer it was just another obstacle to overcome. For years many racers bought up these parts and stored them. Jack knew this, and by making phone calls and sending e-mails to friends and acquaintances throughout the racer network many of these stored parts were uncovered. The people who had them seemed to instinctively know that someday someone would want and need these parts.

For example, Jack made a call to Bucky Austin, a successful Alcohol Funny Car racer and owner of several radiator and muffler shops in the Puget Sound area. For years Bucky has been collecting old parts from early hot rods. He remembered the Northwind fuel dragster, even though he was a young boy back in 1965 when the car was touring around on the West Coast. Three of the hardest pieces to find would be the Mickey Thompson intake manifold, a Delta blower drive and an early Enderle injector hat, with holes in the side. These parts hadn’t been used on racecars for a long, long time, but were must-have items if the reconstructed Northwind were to remain original.

 

 

When contacted, Austin stunned all involved when he said “not only do I have all three items but I won’t accept any money for them. I want to donate these items to the Northwind project. ” In one fell swoop a huge obstacle to the project had was removed.

Finding all of the parts was proving to be harder and more costly than anyone could ever have imagined; so Austin’s generosity and dedication to the project made this project fun to be a part of. Things that seemed impossible to do or find in the beginning were all falling into place as the Northwind project kept moving forward.

Another obstacle to overcome was the need for a new front axle. The specially built axle was a radical design by Fuller for the “Magicar.” It has a mount in the middle, which uses a rubber biscuit for suspension as part of the unique design. Jack thought he might get a piece of tubing bent up, and with a few welds here and there, could replace the old beat-up one on the car. No such luck.

Once again, however, good luck befell the reconstruction project. Once again contacting 73-year-old Kent Fuller, Jack asked if there were any hope of finding a replacement for this one-of-a-kind part. “No,” Fuller said, “but I’ll build you one for nothing and send it up to you right away.” Fuller additionally volunteered to build an original butterfly steering wheel, using stainless steel with mahogany grips, just like the original Northwind of 1965. Kent was the “main man” in building dragsters back in those early days - it’s been reported that he built around 250 cars during that time. To have the guy that built and designed the car build a new front axle and steering wheel and donate them to this project was another huge step as the project continued to move forward.

When the axle arrived at Jack’s shop, the next step was to have it heat-treated. Jack dove into the yellow pages, hoping to uncover a local company that would take on the job. Jack’s hope was that a local company might give him a break on the costs of heat-treating the new axle.

With a few pictures of the Northwind, and the axle, Jack headed for Swan Island in North Portland and Stack Metallurgical, Inc. Ray Berry, the Production Manager at Stack, estimated a price of $250.00 for the job. But once he saw the pictures of the car and heard the story about the reconstruction, (and the sell job by Jack) Ray felt he could put the axle in with other parts and do the whole job for nothing. For the wonderful donation, Stack receives a car display of the Northwind. No doubt that will turn some heads on Swan Island!

Before the reborn car could head to the paint shop, all the parts and pieces had to be assembled. The huge Chrysler motor had to be installed in the rolling chassis to be sure everything would fit back in once the paint had been applied.

 

 

 

All the wiring, plumbing and other odds and ends, including the updating of the upholstery, also had to be finalized at this stage. That’s right, the original upholstery was found, but it needed some adjustment as it was changed around during one of the two chassis lengthening for the Chevy motor. A few stitches here and there, along with a change or two and the upholstery will be ready to go. The upholstery even has the original tag on it from way back when!

 

Original upholstery and the original classic Kent Fuller steering wheel.

 

No doubt the biggest headache in this whole rebuild job is to replace the over-the-roll-bar tail section. As near as anyone can tell that part of the body never made it past the early 1970s. Full-bodied dragsters weren’t the rage when the ‘70s rolled around, so a lot of those beautiful tail sections were hauled off to the dump. But the plan has always been to return the Northwind to its original condition. The handmade piece was one of a kind and there was a completely different roll cage on the car when it was found in early 2006. How in the world do you begin this project, and who has the skills to make it all look like it did way back then?

There are several fabricators around the Northwest, but finding the right person with the experience and time to do the job right was a challenge. Then of course this person also had to take it easy where the budget was concerned, too. Jack interviewed a group of them before finding Dale Withers of Estacada, Oregon. Withers has been working on hot rods and race cars for over 42 years. He has won many awards for his fabricating and expert painting, and all he works on are special interest cars. He said that he would do the tail section and other tin work as a side job so that he could charge a lesser amount.

 

After months of hard work, Withers completed the beautiful tail section. It’s a labor of love for Dale. He jumped at the chance to take on the challenge of building the tail section for the Northwind. He only had a few photographs to go by, but his work is proof that there are still craftsmen around who are willing to put in the hours necessary to keep old memories alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every time I look at this new tail section I remember the night at Puyallup Raceway Park when I crunched the original Northwind’s tail section. It was in 1965, and I was a 22-year-old member of the crew. I drove the push car, a mid-60s Ford station wagon. I pushed the car down the return road at PRP and at 50 mph the car’s engine would fire. Fuel from the “zoomie” headers would cover the front of the station wagon with nitro. I’d have to have the windshield wipers going full bore just to keep Ed in my vision as he lit the engine and then drove away. On this terrible occasion the wagon slipped off the push bar and I stuffed the heavy Ford into that beautiful tail section, right behind the left slick. I was devastated. Here was this beautiful race car with a huge dent, about the size of my head, (only softer) in the tail section where everyone could see it. It was not the best day I have ever had. Jack Coonrod was going to have Dale Withers put the big dent back in the new tail section so everything would be exactly like it was back then. I put a halt to that idea in a hurry!

With all the engine parts rounded up, original builder/tuner Jim Albrich started the assembly. The steel cylinder heads were provided by Mondello, with Earl Floyd doing the valve and porting work. Two-inch Donovan stainless valves and exhaust rockers completed the heads. Always concerned about doing precise work, Jim built his own fixture to correct the intake and exhaust rocker arm pad center points so that all valves would open the same amount. The shorter rods chosen by Jim caused additional loads on the pistons, so Jim used 70w racing oil to assist with the extreme piston skirt load. Milodon had a main cap support that Jim used for keeping the bottom end together, but over the years he changed to the aluminum splayed bolt main caps.

Back in those days, it took a smart motor man to run big numbers. It was trial and error and build your own parts as the engine builders fought to find more horsepower. With each advancement came more stress and strain on the parts, and failures were common. The sport required continual advancement, stretching all the parts to the limit. If you wanted to run with the best, you had to continue experimenting with new items that you produced yourself. And of course, you would do it secretly. After all, it was all about beating the guy in the other lane at his own game, and then continuing to do it over the years.

Albrich, Floyd, and Coonrod spent many afternoons at the shop putting the Northwind motor together. It was a time of bonding with old pals and not exactly a ninety-minute motor fix as you see on television with modern era drag racing. A couple of these guys have reached the 70 mark, so things move at a little slower pace than in years previous. Nonetheless, the motor is complete and ready to slip between the frame rails as the project moves forward. The powerful Chrysler motor built and tuned by Albrich in the 1960s will once again be cackling soon. We can all hardly wait!

Dave Jacobus and the CarStar crew from Vancouver, Washington, have stepped forward to sponsor the paint on the Northwind. Countless hours have been put in to insure that the car looks exactly like it did back in the ‘60s. The House of Kolor supplied the gold metal-flake paint, sorting through many paint products to get the right flake texture necessary to reproduce the 40-year-old paint job. Dave and his group have put in many hours detailing the bodywork and spraying the gold flake paint. Many pieces on the body needed lots of tender loving care after all the years in a shop in Canada. Applying the gold flake paint is a special skill. It has to be done so that the sun will reflect off the paint, allowing the special sparkle the car once had to show through again.

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Sicilia, owner of Northwest Plating in Vancouver, has donated the chrome work. From the rear end housing, front axle, steering parts, brackets and lots of little pieces, the Northwind will shine like it did back in the old days.

 

Now that the paint and final assembly are complete, a long lost friend, Don Pennington, will apply the lettering to the car. A friend we haven’t seen in 30 or more years will lay on the identical color and style seen on the car in the old days. Don has had a successful career as an artist, and he wanted to be involved in the project as he remembers the whole story from those early years. Back when, Don spent lots of time and money racing in the Northwest, and he was a customer of Columbia Racing Engines, the same shop the Northwind ran out of.

 

With support from Bucky Austin for parts; Bruce Cassidy for the chassis; Kent Fuller for the front axle and steering wheel; Dale Withers for the aluminum work; lettering by Don Pennington; paint by Dave Jacobus of CarStar Auto Body; Northwest Plating; Stack Metallurgial and a long list of others, the rebuilt Northwind will become a reality in the summer of 2007. The Albrich- McCulloch-Floyd Northwind will be displayed and a special fire up during the NHRA Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways (SIR) near Kent, Washington on July 22 will take place.

In the fall of 2007, the Northwind will be on display during the 16th annual NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion at Auto Club Famosa Raceway, Bakersfield, California. Ed McCulloch has been selected as the Grand Marshall during the weekend activities of October 12-14th as a special tribute has been planned celebrating his long and storied career in the sport of drag racing.

This project brought back many old memories for so many people. The exchanging of old stories has rekindled a new enthusiasm in a bunch of old timers who were pioneers to the sport of drag racing. There was never much credit given or taken for the struggles that took place back then.

The financial struggles were obvious to me as I wrote these ongoing episodes. They were more than a 22-year-old kid could see or even understand back then. But those struggles forged relationships with a large group of people that are going strong over 50 years later.

What I have learned from this project is that things that seem impossible just take longer. It was pure determination that led to the discovery of the car, hidden away in an old garage for 30 years. The project was pushed forward thanks to the willingness of a group of people to help a friend in need. I have explained this whole project to many friends outside of our sport and they cannot understand how this car was found and that there is such a “ground swelling” of people interested in the completion. The best way I can explain it is that it is a project from the heart - a project with a purpose. The same determination that pioneered drag racing throughout the Northwest has resurfaced again in this time of need.

 

 

06-16-07: Six shots from the Northwind BBQ which marked the cars unofficial debut (the official being the CHRR in October). All the players in the restoration were there, fired it up....in the neighborhood. Car looks great, sounds pretty good too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the barn waiting for its next outing.

 

After 40 years Ed "The Ace" McCulloch was still able to climb in the small Northwind cockpit.

 

Jim Rockstad (crew member, left) and Dave Jeffers (former driver right) along with Ed McCulloch sitting in the car that started his career in 1965.

 

October 12-14, 2007 - Bakersfield, CA and the California Hot Rod Reunion when the Northwind made its official Cacklefest debut at the granddaddy of them all. It's first call to duty was a fire-up following the Honorees Ceremony at the Double Tree Hotel on Friday night.

 

 

 

With the engine fired McCulloch acknowledges the fans.

 

 

 

Back at the track, it is a Cacklefest requirement that new participants do a test push start prior to the Saturday night show - even Ed McCulloch.

Cacklefest proper kicked off Saturday evening before a full house with a parade and introduction of the 64 participants including "The Ace" in the Northwind.

 

After all the cars were taken to the top end of the track, the push starts began and never seemed to end. Being a featured car, McCulloch was one of the last to come down the fire-up road and make his turn onto the track.