We lost Ernie Hashim last night,Monday, Hut,
Ernie was the M & H tire dealer going back into the 50s, ran Hashim's
Automotive in Bakersfield and was a Drag & Lakes & Bonneville Racer
Glen.
Ernie Hashim was a giant among pioneers in the 1950's early days of drag
racing. The Hashim/Hylton(sp) blown fuel Chrysler powered rail was one of the
first to go 150 MPH in the 1/4 mile.
At that time there were few if any blower setups available for anything,
so Ernie fabbed his own front-drive setup.
I was a teenage spectator and wannabe at Kingdon (Lodi,CA) Drag Strip
when Ernie showed up one Sunday and proceeded to turn 150+ for the first time
at
that strip. The car had a frame made of Ford Model T rails that flexed so much
you could hear the pulsating sound as the car used a great deal of the
strip's width during its pass.
Tony Waters and his awesome blown DeSoto powered 23 T Fuel Altered
Roadster also came from the same Bakersfield stable, using another homemade
front
drive GMC huffer.
In the mid to late 1950's I was racing my Flatty powered FED at the San
Luis Obispo CA and Santa Maria CA drag strips, even winning an occasional TT
and/or TE trophy. Ernie never came over to the coast (much to my relief) when I
was running but Hut Watkins and his Nailhead Buick powered Fuel Roadster as
well as Milt Alley and Herb DeWitt with their NA DeSoto Modified Roadster (with
the shark-nose made from a 30's Willys hood) did and cleaned up every time.
Luckily I never had to race them.
What a pleasure it was to meet Ernie, Tony, Joaquin Arnett, and Hut at
the salt a few years back. Ernie was a true gentleman in every sense of the
word, always willing to take the time to talk about the "old-days" with one of
his
fans from 50 years ago. When I saw him at El Mirage running his little pickup
it was great.
I only wish I'd had the opportunity to meet Jazzy Nelson again before he
passed away a few years ago. His little Flatty powered Fiat Fuel Competition
coupe was awesome, winning many TE's against OHV V-8 powered rails in the days
when the Hemi could make the power but couldn't get it to the ground for most
of the 1/4 mile.
These gentlemen were true pioneers in the sport of drag
racing.........................Ardun Doug King
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