When The Legends Of Drag Racing Do Lunch, The Stories Become The Main Course

Legendary drag racers from the ‘glory days’ of NHRA and IHRA Pro Stock door slammer racing gathered at the McCandless Collection last weekend to swap stories and tall tales. With rare and vintage Super Stockers and Pro Stockers on display, the McCandless Collection served as the perfect backdrop for this unique gathering. Simply called the ‘Legends Lunch,’ it was the brainchild of Herb McCandless Jr., former IHRA Super Stock champ and oldest son of celebrated Mopar Super Stock/Pro Stock racer Herb McCandless. 

“The inspiration of the “Legends Lunch” was actually the passing of Larry Wilson, AKA Good Ole Mr Wilson. He was a Burlington, North Carolina native who raced 409 Chevys and even Z11 427 back in 1962 and 1963. The morning I got the text he passed, I decided it was time to get these racers together for lunch,” said Herb McCandless Jr. “The first Phone call I made was Buddy Martin to get his thoughts and he was all in. I needed something to keep me accountable, so I called Roy Hill, and he was very excited. Now, I couldn’t cancel because I can only imagine what would happen if I lied to Uncle Roy,” laughed Herb McCandless Jr. 

“What Herb Jr. did in putting this lunch was amazing; I hadn’t seen some of these folks in years! To gather us old timers together to swap stories, some true, some lies, was great,” Roy Hill said with a laugh.

Buddy Martin felt the same sentiment as he reconnected with some of the familiar faces he’d see at drag strips back in the day. “The Legends Lunch was a huge success, and everyone had a nice time. The food was great, and so was the company. I told both Mike (McCandless) and Herb Jr. what a wonderful job they did,” said Buddy Martin. 

Along with Buddy Martin, Herb McCandless, Roy Hill, and Jack Roush, other attendees included Allen Coard, Bobby Warren, the Smallwood Brothers, Steve Earwood (Former President of Rockingham Dragway, Larry Matthews (Curator of the Hendrick Museum), and many former employees of Sox & Martin. “The response was great. We would’ve had more attendees, but some had canceled at the last minute due to sickness because of this flu bug is going around,” noted Herb McCandless Jr. “Regardless, I was very pleased with the number of racers and their families that showed up for our Legends Lunch. We had about 12 who committed then at the last minute contacted me and couldn’t come due to sickness.” “Both my sons, Herb Jr. and Mike, along with Roy Hill, did a great job in getting us all together in making this Legends Lunch happen. We all lived a crazy life back then, and now many of us are in our mid-to-late 80s. The fact we’re still alive to tell our stories and see one another is fantastic,” said Herb McCandless Sr., with a grin.

Because of the success of the event, Herb McCandless Jr. is already making plans for the 2nd annual Legends Lunch. It will be bigger and better, and he’s looking to have a new date in January so as not to conflict with the start of the racing season. We can hardly wait to hear more stories from the unruly and raucous era of drag racing told by the racers who lived it.

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