A thunderous tribute to Dick Smith

FFROGs nationwide join in the Moment of Thunder

 

Dick Smith was our hero long before we ever had the chance to meet him.  His 198 mph recorded in CSX 3035 at Daytona International Speedway stands as a hallmark that we can only dream of achieving.  Beyond being a legendary driver, Dick was a mentor, a customer and most importantly a friend.
 

 

When Dick passed away in a plane crash in mid-April, we were stunned.  Some of us had spoken to him merely hours earlier, had made plans to see him in California, and to race with him this summer.

 

There will never be another one like Dick, and we still cannot imagine this world without him.
 

When we decided to pay tribute to Dick at our April 28th Huntington Beach Cruise-In (an event that he planned to attend with us), we quickly decided that the only way to do so was a Moment of Thunder - a simultaneous, full-on, engine firing of every car in the event!

 

We weren’t surprised when the idea spread like a Fresno-tornado, inspiring impromptu FFROG meetings in the far corners of the nation.

 

We have been collecting video footage from customers and plan to put together a video montage of all of these tributes, and offer them at our cost ($2-$4, + shipping) to anyone interested.

 

Steve Moriarty, a close, personal friend of Dick’s, and owner of Kermit (FFR 2367), is graciously doing the legwork to compile the videos, so anything that you have should be sent to him directly. Please send hardcopy footage to Steve in Tape/DVD format. (Unfortunately, web quality video does not transfer well to DVD format.)

 

Please address all footage to:

Moment of Thunder

c/o Steve Moriarty

1315 Joshua Lane

Pomona   CA   91767
 

Randy Jones (FFR 1004114 RD) coordinated a local Moment of Thunder in Rochester, NY, and along with some video footage and photos, he sent a summary of their experience.

 

“With us being all the way out here near the right coast, we wanted to make sure we added to the roar that you guys were creating out there at HB.  I also figured it was a good idea to have the local Cobra(R) guys over for food and friendship in Dick’s honor.  The FFR brotherhood is VERY strong here!

 

Everyone arrived about 5:00 and even with the weather that day either threatening rain or actually raining, we had three Roadsters.  One was mine (the Chevycobra Red with silver stripes, 500hp 383 Chevy Mark III), we also had Mark Stackler (Blue with white carb’d 302 Mark I), and Shawn Carter (Green with white stripes and a 427 Sideoiler).  All told, we probably had about 1300 crank hp!”