Salute To Wally Parks: ‘Physical Unfitness’
12th in a series, as told by Richard Parks
By Susan Wade
Richard Parks, the elder of National Hot Rod Association founder Wally Parks’ two sons, has given permission to Thoughts Racing share excerpts from his voluminous compilation of his family’s and father’s history. This is the 12th installment in a tribute to the remarkable man who passed away 15 years ago this September.
Here Richard Parks remembers a fun little 1968 exercise involving the NHRA and Valvoline. . . .
18 MARCH 1968 NHRA Physical Unfitness & Sports Classic, by Richard Parks
Wally and Barbara Parks created friends as well as business associates. They truly loved the people in the car culture. At some time or another, everyone in the racing business was a competitor or an ally, but that did not last forever. My father and stepmother enjoyed the culture and the camaraderie, and the money was secondary to them.
Frank McGonagle was the Advertising Manager at Fram Corporation, and he had a special relationship with the Parkses, as so many others did, as well. On March 18th [1968] he wrote to my parents, and his letter was both private and business-related. His wife Suzanne had broken her ankle ice skating, “… and it has taken her two months now to get over it. She still walks with a limp, but it helps with the tin cup and pencil bit.” For the X Generation, that was a reference to the Great Depression, when out-of-work laborers sold pencils on the sidewalk. You can sense McGonagle’s humor in his letter, and it was much like my father’s.
Frank hoped to see the Parkses at the International Automobile Show in New York City, a place that Barbara truly loved most of all. He explained that he was still working on plans to have Parks interviewed on the Mike Douglas Show, which was filmed in Cleveland or Philadelphia and rivaled the Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin shows. McGonagle stated an interest in being one of the sponsors for the NHRA Car Club Program. In this letter he did not mention the NHRA Sports Classic.
Parks wrote to McGonagle on the same day, March 18th, and so their letters crossed in the mail. Frank had accepted the role of “umpire” in the heated games between the NHRA and Valvoline teams. My father called it the Sports Classic or NHRA Physical Fitness Program, but in reality, it was all fun and games. It was a way to develop friendships. Parks did not adhere to the stodgy corporate structure of business first and last.
His letter reeks of wit, “I am sure the Valvoline people will be as relieved as we are, knowing everyone’s welfare and integrity will be in such good hands.”
At a later date, the drag racers would take on the NASCAR or oval track racers in various sports and had a great deal of success beating them.
Parks was not done: “I have asked Glynanna Ham to outline playing rules, including such specifics as ‘no cleats’ and am sure Morrissey can double between cheerleading and serving as p.a. system.” Morrissey was very vocal and Glynanna was the Texas beauty queen everyone admired. Parks made it very easy to enjoy working with and profiting from contact with the NHRA.
Doug Bonnington, the Valvoline Sales and Promotion Manager, was the leader for Team Valvoline, which the NHRA Team loved to beat. One photograph shows the leader of the Valvoline Team being drenched with beer after a contes. The shirt he was wearing said “NHRA Physical Unfitness Team (with a Valvoline logo).” Was he the winning or losing captain? Bonnington wrote to Parks on March 29th and it’s worth repeating: “It is with great anticipation that I accept on the behalf of the ‘younger’ members of Valvoline, the renewal of the ‘second annual’ … as you so aptly put it, ‘Sports Classic and Physical Unfitness Program’ at Indianapolis. We will start a recruiting program immediately. By copy of this letter to some of the principal ‘star’ players of our last year’s team, I will request them to do whatever possible to help us shape the team up, as befitting such a worthy opponent as NHRA, through a decisive and determined fitness training program.” This implied that they are out of shape.
Bonnington continued, “I understand from our star fullback of last year, Mr. Jack Boehm, that he may be unable to provide Valvoline with the accurate passing this year that he evidenced in 1967, but that we might have some new ‘salesmen’ available such as Sam Huff, Jim Brown, Lou Groza, and Y. A. Tittle.” These potential “salesmen” were All-Stars in the NFL. Bonnington would be ready for the NHRA team and would, “… look forward to renewal of our ‘gentle’ battle at Indianapolis …” The contest was on.
Doug Bonnington wrote to Morrissey on May 14th after finding out the NHRA had gobbled up almost all the rooms at Holiday Inn Northwest for the U.S. Nats and asked if she could spare two rooms for Valvoline staff. Peggy asked Parks how she could manage the loss of those rooms and if the single rooms could be doubled up, “Who sleeps with whom?” Parks answered, “I bring my own (meaning his wife Barbara)!” It wasn’t funny to Peg, who had an impossible job getting beds for all the staff and workers. Evidently Bonnington’s plea worked for Morrissey found him the rooms he asked for.
Frank McGonagle wrote to Barbara Parks on June 26th and enclosed photographs showing a family enjoying a Sunday outing at the drag strip. McGonagle added, “… I think these pictures do portray one side of the drag racing sport that seems to be overlooked and that is that it’s definitely a family sport along with all the other unusual aspects of it.” Perhaps racers, sponsors and officials made a living by drag racing but it could also be fun.
Doug Bonnington wrote to Peggy Morrissey on July 25th, “… I received the rules covering the NHRA versus Valvoline ‘physical unfitness program.’ The latter part of this title is one in which I must certainly concur … this will be a classic, of what, I have no idea. From all the Valvoline players (alias Y. A. Tittle, et c.) are eager to get into the fray and ask that I determine as soon as possible what time Tuesday they will get to demonstrate the results of their extensive training (in football!).”
Bonnington asked Morrissey to be their cheerleader. This was another example of using a fun and silly event to lessen the tension of the staff just prior to the U.S. Nats at Indianapolis.
It was all in fun, but once the whistle blew, the men forgot their age and played with all the spirit and ability they had. They would feel the aches and pains later. Bonnington wrote to Morrissey on August 16thand it shows the depth of the relationship that had been created between the NHRA and Valvoline. Bonnington asked for two rooms that Morrissey had gotten for him at Indianapolis to be ready by August 26th and the other six rooms after that date. My calculations indicated that the NHRA had somewhere around 100 rooms on hold with various motels and after staff and VIP allotments there were few left. Morrissey did not reserve rooms for every sponsor; otherwise, the NHRA would have had to go into the travel business. I estimate somewhere around 500 to 1,000 rooms during the U.S. Nats. Yet Morrissey was willing to do this for Valvoline and part of that had to do with Bonnington’s willingness to extend business dealings into the personal domain of friendship. Bonnington was also providing the NHRA with 30 empty oil drums at the race for waste oil receptacles. Favors went in both directions.
The August issue of the NHRA Media and News Bureau reported the following, “NHRA officials have again been challenged to a touch football game against the Valvoline Orangutans. Glynanna Ham and Albert Einstein, or somebody, worked out the rules which will be enforced by such unimpeachable ‘officials’ as referee Frank McGonagle and his gang from Fram Filters. A handsome …. well, an unusual trophy is awaiting the winners.”
McGonagle and Fram were also given a special vote of thanks for producing a film of the 1967 World Finals. The movie was played on nationwide television. Fram had come to the aid of the NHRA when a company failed to follow through on plans to film the race. Morrissey and Parks liked to pester each other with memos. In August she encouraged Parks and the staff to get motivated for their Sports Classic with Valvoline. Morrissey promised to renew her “football fiasco” training program for Valvoline … “namely getting them drunk …”
After the U.S. Nats, Doug Bonnington called Morrissey and asked if he could order a trophy from Abe, as Valvoline won the Unfitness Award at the Sports Classic on Tuesday before the Thursday race at IRP. Ol’ Motormouth (Morrissey) notified all the DDs and office staff that Valvoline had invited the NHRA personnel to the Valvoline pre-World Finals Party on October 17th. She added, “Whether Valvoline is making this gesture because they beat us out of the football trophy (by staying sober) or just because they’re all-round nice guys (drunk or sober), I don’t know…”