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Lewis Bridges

Author, Gearhead, Redneck

Memoirs of a Redneck Gearhead, Photo Gallery

I am a story teller. I tell my stories to my friends and family. I tell them so often that I repeat myself. It got to the place that when I started to tell my stories, my friends and family held up their hands with one, two or three fingers held erect. The number of fingers indicated how many times they had heard that story. Since my stories have a basis in fact, although sometimes embellished, I have a finite number of stories to tell. My wife, who has heard all my stories more times than she has fingers and toes, told me I needed a wider audience. I needed to write a book. "MEMOIRS OF A RED NECK GEARHEAD" is that book.

 

Photos here

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This is our original race car at the starting line at the drag strip in the summer of 1955. Notice that there are 5 cars abreast at the starting line. Obviously this was before any sanctioning body (NHRA) was in efect. Our home made racer was second from the left. The two Fords and Oldsmobile were new 1955 models. It was hectic and chaotic at the outlaw strip, but no one to my knowledge was hurt . As you can see there were no timing lights. The start was controlled by a flagman. It lasted only one year, the authorities closed it down the next year. Too many people were having too much fun. Want to know the full story? Buy the book.

Over the next 50 years, there were long periods when we had no contact. The contact that we had was minimal, just a few minutes each time. 50 years later we reconnected and decided to recreate that race car. In the book, you can see how both projects unfolded. First as it occured in 1955, and later how it unfolded as senior citizens.  

 

The Neki Hokey

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In 2006, we recreated the drag racer and took it racing. We made a few concessions to safety and durability, but it is as close to the original as we could get.This is the Neki Hokey 11 in the staging lanes of the drag strip at Va. Motor Sports Park. Want to hear the story of two 70 year old senior citizens building a dragster and racing?
Buy the book.

 

2007 Neki Hokey