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Last night my son and I spent a few hours in the presence of racing greatness. We attended a barbecue and small gathering at the home of Ted Surber in Calistoga. Bob Zagar had invited his old pal Johnny Rutherford along with his wife and a few friends that were in the area for the Indy races at Infineon Raceway. The food was wonderful and the Rutherford's were a real down to earth, nice couple of folks. Past Calistoga driver, Don Meyer was in attendance and it was very interesting how many racers from midgets, sprints and even motorcycles that Don and Johnny both competed against and remembered. It was also interesting to hear Johnny and his wife recall racing with Hank Butcher in Australia. It sounds like they were very fond of Hank. Johnny also spoke kindly about Jimmy Oskie and Hank Hanestad. He said that Hank's race cars were always fast even though they weren't very pretty. It was a real treat to sit and listen to Johnny talk about his racing memories.
Johnny signed a die cast car and a few other items that we will be auctioning off at this years Louie Vermeil Classic.
We'd like to Thank Ted, Bob, and Johnny, along with his wife and friends for sharing the time with us.
Chad & Marty Hawkins
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