As someone born in '63 and raised in So Cal I can attest to the smog being that bad. I lived 3 miles from San Bernadino Mtns and couldnt see them from 10 am till dusk. Playing at recess and lungs would hurt. Until they took lead out if the gas So Cal air was the worst in the world!

Quite a story, Brian. Thank you for all the research that brought this together. 👍

I love that he disproved the concept of a 200mph run by quoting the math behind 1g of acceleration my dude....

I knew some of the story but this is a great piece of research. Thanks again Brian really enjoyed it.

Thanks for exploring a topic I had always wondered about. Excellent jib, as usual! Of course, I'm now wondering about what the kids are up to and what their thoughts/stories about their Dad are. We'll probably never know. I do recall reading that some of the dragster builders in the mid-60s would refer to Chassis Research as " Chassis Guesswork" as a dig. My guess is it was a response to Scotty's opinions and personality, rather than the actual dragsters.

Great story!!!!

Hello man, I discovered your channel a few months ago, and I really love it. Considering you made an amazing video on the Moto Guzzi 500cc V8, I really recommend you check out Alfa Romeo's 158/159 Alfetta, which had a straight-8 1500 cc compound supercharged engine with 2 roots blowers, or BRM's P15 V-16 , which also has 1500cc displacement but double the cylinders

Thanks for an another year of great stories. It’s fascinating to hear about all the crazy pioneers of the sports. Looking forward to your next ones. Merry Christmas and have a Happy new year. Hope to see you at some point e drag and drive events over the summer.

Once again a wonderful article. Keep up the great work and Merry Christmas.

I had one of those v6 turbo Buicks as my road car. Loved it.

That was a fantastic story! Great research!

Merry Christmas Brian! Many thanx 👍👍 🎄

Fantastic video!! You're the best!!'

Great documentary about a fascinating man. And so refreshing to hear a real human voice. Excellent research. Love your style and presentation. 🇺🇸

That is a wild story, thanks for doing these.

The best racing/hot rod channel ANYWHERE!!!

I actually agree with Scotty about NHRA. And so do a lot of my friends.

I want to tell you I listen/watch to a lot of youtube and you are the only one alexa trys to talk to she thinks your real or something

When Scotty did his cross country trip he had his son with him - To toughen the kid up, Scotty would dump him off at the city limits of the town he was visiting and give him the address of the shop in question to find - as told by Speedy Bill Smith

More great content. Merry Christmas Brian.

Door-gu-hu-hu-nner on the Space Shu-hu-hu-huttle! Aha-ha-ha-he-he-he-you’re kil-hil-hil-hillin’ me!-he-he-ha-ha-ha! Aha-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-Ho-Ho-Ho-Oh- sh___!

Well, he didn't have a boring life!

Always enjoy your well scripted and informative videos.

YIKES!!! What a Freakin" Character! Merry Christmas Brian!

Very interesting story. The guy was part genius especially on the marketing side for himself. Too bad there aren't more kids today trying to reinvent the wheel so to speak. The new "widget" in drag racing hasn't been built yet. Cool story. I'm looking forward for the next one. Merry Christmas.

All fun and games until a Rat crawled out of a Florida swamp and said something to the effect of "the longer you make them, the faster they go!" And went to Kalifornia to prove it.

Merry Christmas, Brian! You bring great happiness to an old racer dreaming of the old days which you bring so ably alive!

Brian! I sit in awe of your dedication and the tenacity involved in researching and producing the content of this channel. Only a person so passionately interested could produce the content quality and quantity represented herein. I get that you love the work! Thank you for all of this, and as I've said a number of times in my comments to your posts...Please DON''T STOP!!

Awesome research and writing. You da man....again

Well done, thanks

So, Fenn was the Hap Shaughnessy of drag racing is what you’re saying. I love this kind of stuff, but can only imagine how frustrating researching this episode must have been!

he was a genius... great inspiring story...

Today his mouth and the internet would make him president.

He sounds like a delusional local dictator. His behavior fits one of the town drunk bragging at the bar All his claims make no sense.

Im originally from Dayton Ohio and born in the late 70s. Bill "the kid" Stepp was a local drag racer and "mob" figure that had ties to Sox & Martin and was pretty successful racing Mopars. I would love if you did a video on Bill Stepp, his life, and shenanigans. They tried relentlessly to convict him for many things and they failed every time. Another Dayton interesting personality to look into is Salt Walther. Thank you.

I was racing from the 60’s forward IN THE NEW YORK AREA. I NEVER HERD OF HIM!

At 5:10, there is his ad for Experimental Automotive, can someone tell me what 1/8 x 1/8 means in the small print...?? Thanks

Merry Christmas to you & yours, Brian! I think it's safe to say that Mr Fenn had... Issues. Not sure what exactly those issues were, but there was something a bit "wrongheaded" about him. Which makes his apparent obsession with safety a bit strange. Usually, that type of personality isn't concerned with safety, just with being right. An interesting conundrum...

Your research is spectacular! Which city in Wisconsin was he from?

Thank you Brian, for yet another well researched automotive / engineering story, as always told with the enthusiasm and passion we all keep coming back for.

"During a drop in the Philippines a miscalculation sent him behind the Japanese lines." The whole point of having paratroopers is to put them down behind enemy lines. Yes, yes, I get it that they were saying "not the spot behind the Japanese lines that they were intended for" and my point is somewhat pedantic (particularly when attached to Mr. Fenn's hogwash story) but Scotty's fantasy does a double disservice to those soldiers in WWII who volunteered for the mission of (deliberately) dropping behind established lines. Great research, Brian. Your dedication to the story is amazing.

Scotty story sounds a lot like Bob stroud (stroud safety )story or bob’s story sounds like Scotty story?

As always a very interesting and fun clip, this guy was something else, drag racing is full of characters. Always look forward to see what's coming next, thanks Brian.

A fascinating character and a story exceptionally well told. Thank you.

Thank you for this Brian! I didn't think we were ever going to get the REAL story behind Turbonique, figured it was lost to time by this point with just vague claims left, but this is the story that so many of us have been waiting to hear! And it absolutely delivers too, what a trip Gene Middlebrooks' life was. It seems like Middlebrooks was your classic hustler - I don't know if "good" and "bad" really existed in much of his decision making, I think he was just driven to succeed, somehow, some way. Did some of his decisions make him a "bad guy"? I suspect he just didn't much care about the answer to that question. I bet that man was a trip to be around; and I also bet that I may not have trusted him even a little bit😂 re: Hydro-Ski International. I tried looking up the name, and, based on a quick search, I don't know if there's much info on the web about them at all. It did bring up a Capt Robert Eby though, and I suggest everyone go check out his LinkedIn because, based on what he lists, THAT dude has done some stuff in his life(navy war pilot, started an airline, consulted on the design & planning of the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, designed boats, engineering consultant for Ford's marine gas turbine division, etc.)! But he came up in the search because he has Hydro-Ski listed in his experience... "Consulting Engineer to FORD MOTOR COMPANY for the Marine Gas Turbine Division that led him to work with CHRIS CRAFT, HALTER MARINE - CREW BOAT DIVISION, BERTRAM YACHTS and HYDRO-SKI INTERNATIONAL. Chief Engineer at HYDRO-SKI INTERNATIONAL, I was responsible for the design of a 70' Aluminum Catamaran that was turbine powered and obtained speeds of 55 knots. Upon completion and successful sea trials and operation of that vessel, In Scandinavia the Project Manager for the design of 36 meter Steel Catamarans propelled with water-jet propulsion systems that are still in service today, both as passenger ferries and patrol boats. Additionally, I designed automated production tooling for building 15,000 ton tankers." ...wish I knew what that 70' turbine cat looked like now; the gearheard history rabbit hole never ends lol

Max Balchowski, you gotta do an episode on him, his wife Ina and their incredible race car Old Yeller II.

Another wonderfully researched video. Love the old magazine and newspaper clippings, excellent job documenting the early history of the sport. Thanks Brian for all you do!

Magnificent documentary, Brian! Now do Gene Snow. Orrr... not. 😉

very good story he sounded a character indeed

Fascinating story! I was a drag racing fan during the 70s and 80's, wasn't aware of Scotty during that time. But what a character, pity he passed away so young.