Downey, California Jan 13, 2020 (Issuewire.com) - “Drag Racing was a very special time for me” stated Don Hampton, who’s the proud owner and operator of his supercharger business, Hampton Blowers, and a two-time NHRA Drag Racing National Champion, honored in both the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Hall of Fame and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Even though Hampton possesses trophies, pictures, and videos that display his past accomplishments, Hampton said that he yearns for the time when you modified your own car (yourself) and met your opponents on the Drag Strip to compete for the prized trophy.
When people visited Hampton Blowers, they would see a huge picture of Don in his Top Fuel Gas Dragster, hanging above his workbench. Rick Lorenzen, the owner of the Lion’s Drag Strip Museum in Long Beach, CA., became aware of Don’s picture and Drag Racing legacy. After inviting Don to the museum, Don’s Top Fuel Dragster Picture found a new home along with a showcase of additional Hampton’s memorabilia, in the Lion’s Drag Strip Museum. During the Grand Opening of the museum, which took place in June of 2019, a friend of Don’s, Art Kam, drove from Las Vegas to Long Beach to attend the event. So impressed he became by the ceremony (with over 500 people in attendance), all the nostalgia cars and especially Hampton’s Top Fuel Gas Dragster picture, immediately Art began to urge Hampton to replicate his Top Fuel Dragster.
After explaining to Art the downside to building a dragster from scratch, with obstacles that included: finding a chassis, building a new motor (block, crank, pistons, rods, heads, fuel injector), needing a remote starter, wheels, tires, body panels, paint and a Hampton Blower Supercharger, Don adamantly insisted that he did not have the time or the money.
However, Art did not take no for an answer…two months later, Hampton received a check in the mail along with a note that said, “Let me know if you need more money. I have a car show happening in Las Vegas on the weekend of Jan. 18th and 19th and it would be great to showcase your newly replicated Top Fuel Dragster.”
It was like a switch turned on in Hampton’s soul. This became his new race…a race against time. Immediately Hampton began the process of assembling all the parts, as well as informing his drag racing circle of friends about what he needed…And like magic, all obstacles (like a cracked block, outdated parts, missing parts, truck to hall a trailer) disappeared. Additional pressures that usually come along with meeting deadlines did not faze Hampton, who worked day and night treating his blower shop like it was the Pits at the Drag Races.
On January 13, 2020, on Don Hampton’s 85th birthday…Hampton completed his dream car, just in time for the car show in Las Vegas. When asked how he felt…Hampton proudly exclaimed, “I feel sixty years younger and grateful to have had the best birthday of my life! Don’t ever let age come in between you and your dream…because your dream could become your legacy.”
For more information go to www.hamptonblowers.com
Media Contact
Hampton Blowers hamptonblowers@yahoo.com 5628039484 11255 Woodruff Ave. Ste. C http://www.hamptonblowers.com
