Among their group was a young unemployed studio lot messenger named Robert Petersen. According to Parks, as recounted in his son Richard’s fascinating and encyclopedic history of Wally’s life, Ryan was the senior member of a small group of laid-off film studio workers in 1947 who formed Hollywood Publicity Associates (HPA) and began seeking clients for their services. Ryan, one of Parks' steadfast editorial allies in the early 1950s, was credited with writing the article, but I’ve read enough of Wally’s distinctive prose and am familiar enough with him not wanting his name on certain works (including the planted letter to the editor) to question who actually authored what reads almost like the Gettysburg Address of NHRA and begins thusly: “In villages, towns and great cities throughout the United States, wherever American youth manifests an inordinate interest in automobiles …:”īy way of introduction and back story, Ryan first came into Parks’ world in the late 1940s before there even was a Hot Rod magazine. The 2021 NHRA season was a yearlong celebration of NHRA’s 70th anniversary, an opportunity for us to reflect on its humble beginnings and stand in awe of how big NHRA has grown from the seeds planted by a letter to Hot Rod magazine editor Wally Parks in early 1951.Īs the year rolls towards its conclusion, I chanced upon a somewhat weathered and worn promotional pamphlet produced by the NHRA called The Hot Rod Story, the text of which came from a Hot Rod magazine story of the same name that appeared in the March 1952 issue.
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