Tue, 5 Dec 2000, 08:46 AM Auto Club's Float to Feature NHRA Funny Car

Courtesy of Densham Motorsports Inc.

The Automobile Club of Southern California's float in the annual new Year's Day Tournament of Roses parade, titled "A Century of Setting the Pace," will feature a 55-foot-long Funny Car whose body will periodically lift 30 feet into the air as the massive vehicle literally rumbles down Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard. Smoke machines will billow smoke from the spinning rear tires and NHRA has provided an actual recording of a Funny Car to use for the sound system.

The float design is based upon the NHRA Funny Car driven by Gary Densham, who is sponsored by the Auto Club, and who also travels to local high schools with his Funny Car as part of the Auto Club's "Road to the Future" program and speaks to students about setting and achieving career goals. The Auto Club also is the title-rights sponsor of the NHRA season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona.

The float is being created by award-winning float builders Phoenix Decorating to match this year's Tournament of Roses theme, "Fabric of America." Last year's Auto Club float in the Tournament of Roses parade was awarded the Grand Marshal's Trophy for most creative design.

The Automobile Club's float will celebrate a century of service to the community and also will help bring smiles and medical care to local children.

The float's appearance Jan. 1 will come two weeks after the Auto Club turns 100 years old Dec. 13. For its 100th birthday celebration, the Auto Club is asking Southern California residents to give presents to children treated at Orthopedic Hospital in Los Angeles and its affiliated clinics throughout Southern California.

Donations of new, unwrapped toys -- as well as cash donations to support the medical treatment provided by Orthopedic Hospital and its Southern California clinics -- will be accepted at all of the Auto Club's 68 district offices.