| NORWALK OHIO |
|
| Dick Brannan & Phil Bonner will personally be at the show |
o
The Glory Days
1962 - 1972
Dick
Brannan’s racing career has to be one of the most interesting in Ford history. From his early years in the 1950s as
a teenager in South Bend, Indiana where he started with a 1932 Ford Street Rod he built while in High School, to the third
floor of the Ford Division Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, his competitive spirit was there from the start. A gifted student
with an engineering mind, at 15 years old he landed a part time job after school parking and retrieving customer cars from
the service parking lot at Romy Hammes Ford Sales only two blocks away from the school. At 16 and after getting his drivers
license he began to drive his 1932 Street Rod to school and to work where it caught lots of attention and positive comments
from fellow students and employees at the dealership. This included the dealership owner Mr. Romy Hammes himself. That recognition
and the curiosity expressed by Mr. Hammes would lead to the long and treasured relationship that Dick has had with the Romy
Hammes family for more than 50 years.
Continuing his education
at Valparaiso Tech and on to the U.S. Navy for four years, (eight counting reserve time) Dick returned to the dealership where
he worked occasionally as a co-pilot on the company plane and also as a new car salesman. By late 1961he had developed an
interest in drag racing and started to compete a few times per month at the local drag strip in Oceola, Indiana with his 401
horsepower 390 CID Ford Starliner. It was then he found that the Fords were outclassed and winning was near impossible. For
the 1962 year model, the Ford Motor Company started to get much more serious about performance and Mr. Hammes allowed Dick
to order as his company demonstrator a new 405 horsepower 406 cubic inch Galaxie. At first Dick made no mention of any intention
to race the car but with performance talk dominating the youth market just about everywhere, Mr. Hammes gave an unofficial
nod of approval even though not fully understanding how competitive drag racing could actually help sales. After arrival and
with GM and Chrysler cars dominating the local drag strip, Dick decided to start frame up and the new Galaxie was stripped
of all un-necessary weight. Traction bars were installed, the engine, transmission, clutch and rear axle reworked all within
the NHRA rule book guidelines. By early spring 1962 the car was finished and entered in the Super Stock class at the Oceola
Dragway on opening day. Although the car performed extremely well by winning several rounds, he lost on this first outing
and returned to the dealership to rethink the event and how to improve the car’s performance. (At first the car
was driven back and forth to the track and some on the street. It had no lettering painted on the sides) Determined to
fix or change what he believed caused the loss, he modified the rear axle ratio, retarded the camshaft six degrees and changed
valve lash settings and reworked the clutch. After the changes the car came to life winning locally on a regular basis including
other tracks as far away as Gary, Indiana near Chicago. Aware of the wins and starting to better understand, Mr Hammes approved
adding: Romy Hammes Ford Sales and the little bear Dick found in an early Ford ad to each rear quarter of the car. Jerry Hammes,
Romy’s son, also began to show interest and ultimately became Dick Brannan’s prime supporter as he noticed curiosity
seekers and Ford fans pouring into the dealership almost daily with hundreds of questions and to look at the midnight blue
406 beauty. Winning with a locally owned Ford changed everything around South Bend for Dick, Jerry and the dealership.
Then one Friday in late April, Dick and his crew of volunteer friends decided to visit the large Detroit Dragway 200 miles
away in Detroit, Michigan just to watch some of the big names run and check out the elapsed times and speeds they would turn.
Since the planned visit would be just for observation, at first the decision was made not to take the Galaxie. Like in all
racing, this decision was viewed as sort of a copout by several around town and in some ways it was true. But since Dick was
king around northern Indiana, getting cut to pieces in a large city full of automotive engineers and by a bunch of unknowns
just didn’t seem smart. By the time Jerry Hammes heard about Dick’s plan to go all the way to Detroit he just
assumed that the car was also going and he said if possible he would maybe come along. To save face, a tow car and tow bar
was readied, the car prepared, and away they went. On race day arrival, they found that 62 cars had been entered into Super
Stock class and they could hardly believe it since the South Bend track rarely had more than 10 to 12 Super Stock cars competing
each Sunday. With pressure all the way in the red, Dick continued to win round after round taking out one big name after another
including two cars owned by the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn. The last round was the quintessential match that no one could
have imagined when Dave Strickler from York, Pennsylvania driving his famous 409 Chevrolet Bel Air pulled to the starting
line to race against the Romy Hammes Ford. Though no one thought it possible, Dick Brannan pulled out ahead by about a front
fender and won by just inches at the end. The crowd went crazy as Ford fans were jumping over fences, waving, congratulating
and thanking him as he made his way down the return road. Once back near the pits a track official stepped out and directed
him to take the car over to the inspection area. Track owner Gil Cohen was there waiting and simply said: "We have
never had a Ford win around here and so your car is under protest which means that for you to be awarded the win, a full inspection
is required by the tech crew starting with the car being weighed, fuel checked, bore and stroke checked, camshaft checked,
cylinder heads, valve size and carburetors checked and rear tire width no more than seven inches. If you are not willing to
accept and go though the inspection or if the car is found to be illegal after being inspected, you and your car will be banned
from this track and probably a few others. I have decided that if you agree to go through the inspection and found to be NHRA
legal, I will double your prize money. What would you like to do?" Dick said he would stay and be inspected. At
1:40 AM on Sunday morning with most of the fans still present, the Galaxie was declared 100% NHRA legal and the very race
that he almost did not enter was the career beginning for one of the most famous of all Ford drivers during the 20th
century. The period also launched one of the longest lasting and most recognized Ford Dealer name ever painted on the side
of a race car. "Romy Hammes, the home of the World's Fastest Fords."
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER IN JULY
