Fortunately, Editorial Director Wally Parks, whose initial exposure to competition came on dry lakebeds, continued authorizing what must've been unprecedented travel expenses for Petersen photographers following Challenger I all year long, from initial construction to its Mojave shakedown run and on to Bonneville, twice.

Nearly six decades later, that successful campaign is no less impressive to us. As the fulltime Los Angeles Times pressman and weekend Lions Drag Strip operator closed in on wealthy Englishman John Cobb's 12-year-old land-speed record (394.19 mph), even Americans with zero automotive enthusiasm closely followed and cheered a low-buck hot rodder's unlikely attempt to become their first countryman to go 400 mph and the world's fastest man. His outrageous, four-motored monster sprung from a backyard garage into national headlines and newsreels. Probably nobody since Wally Parks did more to legitimize hot rodding and hot rodders than Mickey Thompson in 19. Of course, Hemi blocks in junkyards were 50 bucks, and Isky had given us all the blower stuff.' We also had a fresh, supercharged engine, my first blown deal. If you paid $10 for a room, hell, you were in a luxury motel! Gasoline cost about 18 cents a gallon. Yeah, the trip was over, my wife and my brother and I had stayed out there for three weeks, bought the gas and paid the hotels, all for $500! Isky fed us, and we stayed at people's houses most nights. I got home with $4,500, and what was left of the $1,500 loan was a thousand bucks. This is so funny: I borrowed $1,500 from my dad to make the trip, because we didn't get the money 'til we got out there and ran the three races. They said that Isky would give me the money as I did each event, so I agreed to go. We were at a stalemate until the Bakersfield Smokers took $4,500 or $5,000 in cash to Iskenderian. Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.6 Download Now Released: Size: 5.Don Garlits: 'I guess they were upset about the money it was so much money then! Bernie Mather just rattled constantly on the P.A.: 'How'd you like that 180 run, Dan Garbage?' 'Bring that piece of crap out here and see what it'll do, Tampa Dan!' Nobody had ever called me 'Dan' before, let alone 'Garbage'! They wouldn't agree to send the money in advance, though, and I didn't trust them.

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