Bill thomas race car driver

Did you race for any other teams other than shelby american. This is a tribute page to honor the racecar drivers that risked their lives and the racecars that paved the way in. Bill thomas built cheetahs to gobble up cobras, briefly. Jarretts race car was demolished in a violent storm on the way to nashville, and he borrowed the no. A tribute to the great bill thomas bill thomas cheetah. Sam i hope you find a new owner that will be as good as you were in caring for this very rare cheetah. Thomas gordon ron goss jack goujon bruce gould bobby graves bill green gary green troy green. Friends, family remember former nascar driver jabe thomas. If you enjoy the videos and would like to sponsor me on patreon, my creator link is on my car. By the time tires caught up to speed, the cheetah was an out dated old race car. Get breaking news on cheetah happenings and the status of the continued production of bill thomas cheetah race. Cheetah again joins ranks of the deceased hemmings daily. After successfully prepping gm products for road circuits, drag racing, and even nascar, thomas in 1962 went about the business of preparing.

Nascar, in full national association for stock car auto racing, sanctioning body for stockcar racing in north america, founded in 1948 in daytona beach, fla. While bill thomas race cars worked with racers to sort out the cars teething issues, homologation requirements went from 100 cars to 1,000. So it happened that a small racing team became both a car constructor and an engine builder of note on the strength of one successful race. Driving a bill thomas cheetah will make your palms sweat hagerty. Sam has been such a good care taker and must be a very good driver to preserve this cheetah in such amazing condition. Allen remembers how he started with an ac bristol and later became a factory driver for carroll shelbys. Sam has been such a good care taker and must be a very good driver to preserve this cheetah.

Only 10 or 11 of the beastly race cars were completed. Racing aces like michael schumacher, lewis hamilton and dale earnhardt jr. However, macdonald died on may 30, 1964 driving at indianapolis. As a side note, the aluminumbodied car sentor sold. All the bill thomas cheetahs were delivered with drum brakes and fuel injection. Up to the 2017 season, ken squier would address the crowd at thunder road at the first race and inform them of any racing figures we had lost since the preceding season. Racing people we have lost since the end of the 2016 season nothing fancy here. Classifieds historic racing cars for sale sell your car. Seattle, phoenix, and santa barbara through out the remainder of 1964 with jerry titus as the driver. Thomas wanted to build 100 to homologate the cars for production racing, where it could take on carroll shelbys fordpowered cobras. The only other driver close to his ability was, tim richmond. The iconic bill thomas race cars are vintage examples of racing at its best. The cheetah, created by corvette racer bill thomas, is an outrageous car.

Its been an honor to have been friends with the great bill thomas. Ckc racing chevy ii fastback funny car super chevy magazine. Nationals champion hayden proffitt and other wellknown drag racers. The nascar cup series was formerly known as strictly stock 1949, grand national 19501970, winston cup grand national 19711985, winston cup 19862003, nextel cup 20042007, sprint cup 20082016 and the monster energy nascar cup series 20172019 click on the year to see detailed race results and standings for that year. He began his career preparing corvettes for racing in the mid1950s, eventually opening bill thomas race cars in 1960. Bills son ricky dennis is the founder of arena racing usa and also a former stock car driver. Friends, family remember former nascar driver jabe thomas, 85 the christiansburg resident, known as a prankster on the premier stock car series from 196578, died at age 85. Pete lenhoff, bill flurer and driver ted thomas were the moving forces behind this beautiful car and they proved that you can combine a machinist, a plumber and an architect and have the right ingredients for a top notch drag racing team. Don edmunds designed the cheetah while working at bill thomas motors in anaheim, california.

Bill thomas cheetah was one of the few cars that could give carroll shelbys. Bill thomas cheetah cheetah continuation collectible. My folks had a 63 corvair when i was a kid, but unfortunately bill thomas had not worked his magic on it. He is famous for holding the longest streak of races without a dnf, with 84, from 1961 until 1963. Truly eyecatching pieces of machinery, they still capture the imagination of drivers, mechanics, and. While they showed incredible potential in the beginning, they, unfortunately, didnt get the initial praise and fame they should have. The bill thomas cheetah has become an unlikely success story, the car was first designed as a concept car of sorts for chevrolet who were seeking something a little more hardedged than the corvette to take on and beat the new shelby cobras. Originally, the car was designed with dave macdonald in mind as the driver. Jessi combs, race car driver and fastest woman on four. After more than 50 years, 215mph cheetahs owner ready to sell. Its still a nice car to start with to restore to museum quality.

Thoughts on the bill thomas cheetah raced by alan green. Jerry titus october 24, 1928 august 5, 1970 was an american race car driver, mechanic, and journalist. Driver profiles of the old bastards racing league members of the 4 premier iracing leagues,enascar monster cup, xfinity, gander outdoor trucks and arca. Stock car racers charged in drug smuggling ring upi archives. This list is the most simple, yet eloquent example of why i felt a drag racing archive was so necessary.

By the time 1970 came along, bill thomas let his bill thomas race cars facility close down. The bill thomas cheetah was designed as a corvettepowered cobra killer, and the cleanest example extant is going to auction. See all 27 photos the cheetah was conceived by race driver and corvette specialist bill thomas as a corvettepowered rival to carroll shelbys cobra. Top 50 race car drivers celebrity net worth richest. Set in the golden era of grand prix racing 1 tells the story of a generation of charismatic drivers who raced on the edge, risking their lives during formula 1s deadliest period, and the men who stood up and changed the sport forever. But when a french formula one driver, makes his way up the ladder, ricky bobbys talent and devotion are put to the test. Billy arnold was born in chicago, illinois december 16, 1905. With master fabricator don edmunds, thomas set up bill thomas race cars, which created the chevypowered cheetah to go up against the.

Allen grant remembers his time racing the bill thomas cheetah for alan green chevrolet. The bill thomas cheetah was designed as a corvettepowered. Bill went on and built special chevy iis for dick harrell that were storming the drag strips. Car builder and owner of sprintcars, he kept links with the sport. He had a close relationship with the engineers at gms performance division and found particular success with chevrolet. Period race seats in yellow vinyl are unlikely to offer much in the way of comfort but look cool, as does the diamondpleat shifter bootother photos of the car show a rollbar mounted headrest for the driver in the same. Chevrolet terminated the cheetah project may, xx, of 1964. Bill corum jim cosman sonny costa frankie cox rick cox paul coyan j. Although bill thomas race cars had undertaken various skunkworks projects for chevrolet since the automobile manufacturers association racing ban took effect in 1957, hed never built a. The loan exception was the alan green chevrolet race car. The story of the cheetah race car barnebys magazine. Back in the 1960s, bill thomas race cars was a highperformance chevrolet race shop located in anaheim, california.

He was born in las vegas, nevada but was raised and lived in tappahannock, virginia. Race car driver jessi combs, who earned the title of fastest woman on four wheels after she set a record with a jetpowered car, died tuesday while trying to beat a land speed record, officials. Each of those and the many others weve lost made a unique and worthy contribution to all that is drag racing today. Titan mk3 number 68306 was originally raced in england by charles sawyerhoare as a oneliter formula three car. Ronnie thomas is a former nascar driver who drove in the cup series from 1977 to 1989 and the busch series in 1982 and 1985. Ckc racing chevy ii fastback funny car bill thomas race cars built it. Kyle buschs victory at texas motor speedway was the 44th of his career in the monster energy nascar cup series, tying him with nascar hall of famer bill elliott for 16th place all time. Thomas and macdonald had established a longstanding racing relationship in corvettes. Our family also has the rights of publicity for all of dads automotive and racing history. The last documented bill thomas produced cheetah was ordered in the fall of 1965 and delivered in april 1966 we can document that 11 cars were completed. Herman beam was a nascar grand national driver and team owner from who was active as a driver from 1957 until 1963. Number one nascar driver ricky bobby stays atop the heap thanks to a pact with his best friend and teammate, cal naughton, jr.

Why the cheetah is more badass than the shelby cobra. In 1964, i raced the factory cheetah built by bill thomas in several local races in california, oregon, and washington with mixed results. Carroll shelby offered macdonald the opportunity to drive the cobra, which macdonald accepted. There is more work to be done finishing with the uspto and proceeding to registered trademarks for bill thomas race cars and btm shield. In 1962, with close to 100 victories as a corvette race car driver, bill. Click on the year to see the standings for that year. But i still hold the track record at the old laguna seca layout for a frontengined car. Truly eyecatching pieces of machinery, they still capture the imagination of drivers, mechanics, and fans alike. Bill thomass cheetah and super cheetah shelby cobra. Hit the track with these 9 great race cars up for grabs in.

Read the story and see the photos at car and driver. Thomas jaeger, were part of the team that gave support to 41yearold race car driver lee saunders. It was an illhandling beast as it was new and undeveloped. One such car builder was bill thomas of southern california. After more than 50 years, 215mph cheetahs owner re. Real 1964 cheetah bill thomas race car in green paint on my. Bill was all along testing new high performance parts for chevrolet. Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year. Shock your cobradriving buddies with a bill thomas cheetah. While many sources cite ralph salyer as the driver responsible for the. Get breaking news on cheetah happenings and the status of the continued production of bill thomas cheetah race cars. Car owners pappy and bob allen jim anderson sonny aurther smiley burnett.

Rarely seen vintage photos of southern california road. Get the best deals on nascar bobbleheads when you shop the largest online selection at. The drivers were jack goodman, mike jones, ralf piccard, jim phillips and. Edmunds also pushed the fuelinjected v8and the driveras far. Bill thomas race cars was a prime source of chevy factory heavyduty and racing parts through 1971, when bill closed the shop and turned to nonautomotive pursuits.