Thu, 8 Apr 2010, 09:52 PM It's Always Been One Of My Favorites

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Paul Adams

I've mentioned many times before that my first trip to a drag strip was back in 1964. I went along with some of my friends to Atco Dragway in New Jersey, a track that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. As I walked toward the track I could hear the sounds of the race cars, but it wasn't until I saw my first car go down that track that I was hooked. I can't actually recall what the first car was, although I seem to think it was a 1962 Plymouth sponsored by a local dealership. It wasn't long after that that I saw a car that I thought was simply awesome, and while I don't remember whose car it was, I do remember that it was a 1964 Ford Thunderbolt. You know the kind, with the big 427 SOHC engine and that really cool reverse hood scoop. And I wasn't the only one who was amazed by these latest creations from Ford. Drag race fans all over the country got a look at them and immediately feel in love with these big hi-rise Fairlanes. It didn't matter if it was the Tasca Ford folks from Rhode Island, Butch Leal or Gas Ronda from California, Tom McGroan from Garland, Texas, or even the "Flying' Flivver" of Alan Abramson and Don Martin from Archway Ford, these cars were awesome. And from the first time I saw one until today, the Ford Thunderbolt has remained one of my favorite cars of all time.

Adams and Bob Frey

At the recent 4-Wide Nationals in North Carolina I met my latest hero, the driver of the SS/B national record holding Thunderbolt, Paul Adams. Now even though Paul has been racing for a while, a long while, this was the first time that I had the opportunity to talk with him. Of course the fact that he started racing back in the 1950's and then sat out for over thirty years, might have something to do with that. "I raced at a quarter-mile track in Portsmouth, Ohio and at an eighth-mile track in Winfield, West Virginia," Paul said. "Of course back then things were really different. I mean, nobody had a trailer and we all dragged what we drove. I had a '40 Ford that I bought for about one hundred dollars and I fixed it up and raced it. It wasn't real fast but it was a lot of fun." Even if his initial ride wasn't real fast, his current ride sure is. In fact, in addition to holding the SS/B record Paul also has the SS/A mark. "I set the SS/A record at the point's race in Indy last year and the "B" record in Richmond." He set them both with the classic, 427-powered, 1964 Ford Thunderbolt. "I found this car in a junk yard and it was completely rust free. It was in remarkable shape." A few years later, and a lot of time and investment later, Paul had himself a very good race car.

Between the end of his first drag racing career in the late 1950's and his new venture, a lot of things transpired in Paul's life, and some of it even included racing. "I got married in 1957 and began a family after that," he said. And like so many other racers that meant that his drag racing career had to be put on hold. "The family, making a living and paying the bills all came before racing. As much as I enjoyed it and as much as my wife liked it, too, we just couldn't afford to go racing." Well, after starting a very successful trucking business, one that his daughter still operates today, Paul found the time and the resources to get back on the track. Initially he purchased a 1966 Ford Fairlane Super Stocker with a 427engine to run at the nostalgia races. "I always liked heads-up racing and was never a big fan of handicap starts or bracket racing," he said. "When I heard there was a group that was racing Stock and Super Stock cars in a heads-up format I knew that's where I wanted to be." So he built that Ford and he headed back to the track. "I'll never forget my first race with that car. There were seventeen cars in the nostalgia class and I qualified seventeenth, and then in the first round my reaction time was one second. But none of that discouraged me and I was hooked, again, on drag racing." Encouraged by the racing organization that veteran racer, and the founder of Racing Head Service, Ivars Smiltnieks, began, Paul was back doing what he loved best, racing in a heads-up format and doing it with a Ford.

The number of people who race in the top classes in Super Stock is very small, compared to the overall universe of drag racing, and that, according to Paul, makes it a very nice, close knit fraternity. "I like to talk to the other guys who race in the SS/B class." Hemi" Adkins with his AMX is a West Virginia native with a great car and he's a great driver. Tony DePillo has a '64 Plymouth and it's a real good car and Ralph Porpora is a great guy and he has a fast car, too. I love racing against my old friend, Jimmy Bridges. I've only raced him twice with this car and he beat me both times, but I tell him to keep bringing it around and I'll get him sooner or later. Plus, we'll probably be the oldest two guys still racing in Super Stock." Paul also has great admiration for one of the longtime Ford Thunderbolt racers, Ray Paquet. "We talk a lot and I admire what he has done. That's a nice car that he has." If all goes according to plan those two could meet in a few weeks at the Lucas Oil Division race in Indianapolis, although Paul says he may be at a little disadvantage. "We broke our good motor in North Carolina, so I don't know how much engine we'll have at Indy, but we plan to show up. I still have an unfinished goal, though, I would love to win my class at the U.S. Nationals in Indy and I haven't done that." The way his car is running now he may reach that goal in September.

When Paul says "we" he usually means himself and his wife, Sandee. "She loves coming to the races, and since we bought our motor coach it makes things a lot easier. It used to be you'd be at the races and if it rained you just waited it out in the truck, usually with no food. Now we can stay at the track and enjoy ourselves when we're not on the track." Another person who comes with him is Kenny "Smokey" Adkins. "I couldn't do this without him, he's really quite an asset to my racing operation." Along with Tony Bischoff and the folks at BES Racing Engines in Indiana, and Tim Davis of Davis Racing Engines in Indy, who built the 427 engine in the T'bolt, Paul and "Smokey" do all the maintenance and keep the car running at the track. They ran well in Concord last week but the race didn't have a happy ending for the team. "We ran 8.907 in qualifying which is better than our record, but we broke a motor in the process." That accounts for the fact that Paul was a "no-show" for the first round of the eliminations. Even with that setback, he did say it was a fun weekend in North Carolina. "I was sitting around in my pit area when this guy came up and said that he loved my car. 'I'll trade you rides,' he said. I didn't recognize him so I asked what kind of car he had and the guy who was with him said he has a fuel Funny Car." Turns out that guy was Tim Wilkerson, who admitted to being a real Ford guy. "I told him I'd drive his car for sixty feet and no more," Paul said. "And then I told him he could take my car down the track anytime he wanted." We all know that Tim's a Ford guy, but he likes other cars, too, and Paul should have told Tim about some of the other cars he owns, like a 1953 Ford convertible with a '96 Cobra engine and drive train or maybe even the classic 1948 Buick convertible that he has.

"I've been very blessed in my life. I have found there are many things more important than a race car going down the track, setting records, and winning races. One's relationship with God, health, family, and friends. My business card has a picture of my '64 Fairlane on the front, but on the back it quotes how I truly feel about life. "God's gift to me is life. What I do with my life is my gift to God."

On May 4th of this year Paul Adams will be seventy-two years old and he says that he still enjoys racing as much as ever. "I know a lot of people say this but I don't know anyone who is having as much fun or who loves doing this as much as I do." With an attitude like that and with one of the classic cars of all time it's easy to see why Paul is always smiling. Hey, if I had a Thunderbolt Ford I'd be smiling, too.