Tag Archives: NHRA

Snake and Mongoo$e with screenwriter Alan Paradise

If you are an avid drag race fan or into the historical vintage racing stuff, you’ll enjoy watching the upcoming movie, Snake and Mongoo$e.  It will be coming to theaters in limited release after the NHRA’s US Nationals being held this Labor Day Weekend.  In a clever marketing ploy, it is first being released in markets where the NHRA hosts drag racing.  It even had some special preview showings during Hot August Nights and the Woodward Cruise, according to screenwriter and co-producer Alan Paradise.  We had first covered this movie this month.

Snake and Mongoo$e Movie Poster
Snake and Mongoo$e Movie Poster

Drag Racing with Mattel’s Hot Wheel Sponsorship

Some of you may recall when Don “the Snake” Prudhome and Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen barnstormed the country with their drag racing grudge matches.  Their profiles blossomed when Mattel’s Hot Wheels sponsored the racers, crafting a set of drag racing themed models.  This is generally regarded as the first non-automotive related sponsorship of an automobile racing event.  Guess you can trace the naming of stadiums, sponsorship of pro team press conferences and ads at courtside of basketball games, all to Mattel and this duo.

The movie offers a trip back to 1970 when these two raced their cars; Prudhome drove a yellow Plymouth ‘Cuda  while McEwen piloted the red Dodge Duster.  They used color matching car haulers that kept the cars exposed and visible as they crisscrossed the highways.  Now these restored race cars are again barnstorming the country to promote the movie before they are scheduled to be sold in January, 2014 at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Alan Paradise – Screen writer of Snake and Mongoo$e

We had the chance for an interview with the screenwriter Alan Paradise recently, who offered some behind the scenes insights to this movie.  Turns out that Paradise is a prolific writer and has authored a variety of car themed books and worked on numerous car magazines over the years.  You’ve probably read his words while working for Buckaroo Publications, Truckin’ and Sport Compact Car. As a filmmaker, he developed over 100 video profiles of NASCAR racers and tracks.

The inspiration for the movie

Paradise was first approached by Mattel in 2005 seeking his help in producing a documentary on the then 35th anniversary of the drag racing partnership.  The documentary “Once Upon A Wheel” was the result and was used initially for Mattel functions and eventually Tom McEwen acquired the rights to the film and even still sells it today.

While collaborating on the documentary, McEwen suggested that Paradise could make the story of Snake and Mongoose into a book.  That started Paradise off on a trek involving hundreds of hours of research and interviews with some of drag racing’s legends including John Force, Tommy Ivo and Roland DeLong.

The more Paradise worked on the project, the more he was convinced that the story needed to be told on the big screen as a movie; and encouraged by his wife, that was the route he pursued.  He linked up with Stephen Nemeth of Rhino Films and he started working on a script.  It took Paradise seven months to write his first draft and then another 3 months for a re-write, plus another 2 months on final tweaks and changes.

Paradise submitted his script to the Hollywood powers late on a Friday, thinking that he could relax over the weekend before hearing back from the producers at the earliest on Monday.  Instead on Sunday, he was in deep discussions with the movie folks who had loved the script and read it right away.

As they sought out financial backing for the film, some distributors were concerned that the story would not have much attraction in the foreign markets.  This seems ironic since drag racing is truly an international sport with strong interest across the globe.  So the movie folks opted to go the independent route.

Archival Footage

During the movie making process, the producers had access to some archival footage from NHRA and were even offered scenes from private collectors.  Several vintage racers can also be seen in the movie including the Greer Black Prudhome dragster.  The movie was able to use numerous scenes after colorizing and cleaning up these films.  So when you see races, you know they are the real deal.

Drag racing scenes

And for the real deal during the race scenes, obviously the movie actors couldn’t be behind the wheel.  Taking the place of Richard Blake who portrayed Tom McEwen was Trevor Larkin, the son of famed drag racer Tommy Larkin.  And guess who drove for Don Prudhome’s character?  Yep, Don Prudhome piloted the drag car himself instead of actor Jesse Williams.

The actual filming of this epic took seven weeks and then came months of post-production work.  A short snippet was shown at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas and it looked terrific.  Can’t wait to finally see the full length feature.  Once you see it, leave us a note.

 

 

 

 

 

Barrett-Jackson’s Hot August Nights $14.2 M Sales

Barrett-Jackson had total sales of over $14 million during their first event at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center from August 8-10, 2013.  This, combined with 40,000 attendees, proves that Craig Jackson made a great choice being at Reno during Hot August Nights.

Gas Monkey Garage’s custom 2013 Chevrolet Camaro COPO 2 Door Coupe sold for $137,500 and probably will show up on a future episode of their show on the Discovery Channel.  You may recall one of their builds was sold at Barrett-Jackson in January, 2013 at Scottsdale, Arizona.

The top 5 sales at the auction were the scheduled last manufactured 2014 Shelby GT500 Convertible for $500,000.  This was a charity sale where Barrett-Jackson waives their fees and the charity, Brain Injury Association of America took in the proceeds.  Continuing the top five sales were a sweet 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible selling for $192,000, a 1950 Jaguar XK 120 2 Door Roadster went for $178,200, another Shelby, this one a 1968 Shelby GT500 E Continuation Fastback, hammered sold for  $165,000 and a classic 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible came in at $148,500.  Remember, all prices listed here include buyer’s commissions.

The winner of the Barrett-Jackson Cup award went to a 1969 Ford Torino owned by famed collector George Poteet and built by the talented Illinois wrench Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy.  I’ve been a huge fan of Troy’s builds ever since I saw his Sick Fish at SEMA in 2005.  Last year at SEMA there was a Bonneville Salt Flat 34 roadster on display at a vendor booth that was drop dead picture perfect.  Here is Hemming’s take on the winner.

This auction also marked the last coverage from SPEED as the Fox Network transitions to Fox Sports 1.  But Canadian viewers will still have the SPEED channel available under that name.

Barrett-Jackson also partnered with the upcoming movie, Snake & Mongoo$e (that we previously spotlighted) to showcase the legendary Cuda and Duster 1970 Funny Cars raced by famed NHRA racers Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen along with their color matching car carriers. The cars are now slated to journey to the Woodward cruise in Michigan and eventually will be sold at the January 2014 Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Next up will be Barrett-Jackson’s 6th Annual Las Vegas auction on September 26-28,2013.  It will be covered on three networks that weekend including Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and the National Geographic channels.

Some photos courtesy and copyrighted by Barrett-Jackson and Rad Rides by Troy ©

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Snake and Mongoo$e coming to theaters limited release

“Snake and Mongoo$e” a nostalgic drag racing film will open Friday, September 6th in just 25 cities, just after the close of the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

The limited 25-city release coincides with where NHRA races yearly.  before that date you might find the movie at special preview night in conjunction with some local charities.

“Snake & Mongoo$e” tells the story of the groundbreaking accomplishments of drivers Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen in the world of drag racing as well as how the two different figures revolutionized entertainment sports marketing when they attracted Mattel’s Hot Wheels Division to sponsor them.

The film stars Jesse Williams, from Grey’s Anatomy, as “the Snake” and Richard Blake as “the Mongoose.”

At last year’s SEMA show, NHRA spotlighted this movie and had Prudhomme and McEwen spin a few tales and show off their restored cars, a 1970 ‘Hemi and a Duster.

Tri-five Chevy parts dealer, Dunchuk, got in the act by having Tom McEwen’s 57 Chevy at their booth as well.

Prudhomme and McEwen raced each other for over 30 years.  So they had plenty of stories to share with the audience.

The film also has some historic, archival footage included to give it a period vibe.  Don Prudhomme continued as a car owner for many years after he stopped racing, and has been able to keep and restore many of his classic rods.  many of these cars were used as background for the movie to help add a touch of authenticity.

 

NHRA at Phoenix, AZ – End of an era or a new begining?

Drag racing
Erica Enders-Stevens NHRA Pro Stock driver

This weekend marked the 29th annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) meet at Phoenix’s Firebird Raceway.  But is it the end?  The dragstrip is on leased land owned by the Gila River Indian Community and was once out in the middle of nowhere on the southeast edge of the Phoenix area.  The 30 year lease expires at the end of March, 2013 and while the president of NHRA is optimistic, one can only hope that a new management team can keep NHRA coming back in 2014.

Phoenix is blessed with not only being the site of all four major sports – baseball, football, basketball and hockey – but also hosts two NASACR races and the Arizona Nationals for the NHRA.

Hopefully we’ll see NHRA back for more action like Erica Enders-Stevens’ win this past week.  What do you think?