Mayor Takes Spin to Honor NHRA’s 50th Anniversary
Was that Mayor Richard Riordan speeding at least 50 mph up Los Angeles Street in a 25-mph zone in front of Parker Center Monday, with Police Chief Bernard Parks and other officers looking on?
Yes, it was.
The mayor, clad in driving suit, gloves and helmet, was riding in a two-seater dragster with former world funny-car champion Frank Hawley.
The city staged the event to honor the National Hot Rod Assn. and Wally Parks, its founder, on the organization’s 50th anniversary. The NHRA was created with the cooperation of the Los Angeles Police Department to stop illegal street racing.
“That was really exciting, maybe I should say scary,” Riordan said after taking three quick-acceleration burnouts and one run. “It felt like my stomach and my insides were coming up out of my mouth.”
Would he do it again?
“No,” he said emphatically. “If you could have seen my face at the end of that run, you’d know why. Another 100 feet and I couldn’t have taken it.”
Said Hawley, who did the driving: “All my life, I’ve wanted to do a burnout in front of a police station.”
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