- "Start Your Engines: American Race Cars" at the Reagan Library is a new exhibit that celebrates President Reagan's love of all things automotive.
- The exhibit includes Richard Petty's Firecracker 400 Pontiac from the race Reagan officially started in 1984 and Dale Earnhardt's #2 Chevy in which he won the 1980 Winston Cup Championship.
- The unusual exhibit is part of the centennial celebration of President Reagan's birth.
SIMI VALLEY, California — Ronald Reagan, the president who famously pardoned NASCAR great Junior Johnson in 1986 for his moonshining conviction, was perhaps the biggest gearhead to ever occupy the Oval Office. His love of cars is on display in "Start Your Engines: American Race Cars" at the Reagan Library, a new exhibit at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library here.
The exhibit runs through October 23.
The exhibition includes a Firecracker 400 Pontiac from the paddock of Richard Petty for a NASCAR race started by Reagan in 1984. Show organizers said in a statement that Reagan was the first sitting U.S. president to attend a NASCAR race. Reagan gave the command for drivers to start the race from Air Force One.
Other highlights include Dale Earnhardt's #2 Chevy in which he won the 1980 Winston Cup Championship and Lyn St. James' 1989 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe, which broke a record for the fastest lap ever driven by a woman on an oval track. A 1984 Cadillac presidential limousine is also on display.
In addition to the cars, the exhibit will feature personal items from drivers, including trophies, fire suits and helmets, all honoring Reagan's contributions to motorsports, said organizers in a statement.
Reagan became a hero to racing enthusiasts when he pardoned NASCAR's Johnson in 1986 on a moonshining conviction.
Johnson, a NASCAR legend who won 50 races, developed his skills delivering moonshine as a young man, according to the University of North Carolina at Asheville's Oral History Register. In 1955, he decided to stop delivering moonshine, but was arrested in 1956 while working at his father's still. He served 11 months of a two-year sentence and was pardoned by Reagan 30 years later on December 26, 1986.
Johnson's life was made into a 1973 movie, The Last American Hero, starring Jeff Bridges.
In An American Life, Reagan's autobiography, the president recalled that he attended "an endless number" of auto races as a young man.
Inside Line says: A fitting exhibit for a president who was a true auto enthusiast.
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rryckoff says:
10:50 PM, 07/16/2011
Pardoning Junior Johnson was a good thing, but Ronald Reagan "gearhead" and "true auto enthusiast??"
Please, Inside Line, let's be serious.
And does anybody think that Reagan would have any personal affinity for most of the NASCAR crowd or culture??
Maybe he drove the Subaru and a tractor on his ranch -- but I'm willing to bet he spent a lot more time on his horse.
As for cars, WHERE IN THIS EXHIBIT IS THERE ANY MENTION OF HIS OWN CARS??
I was a teenager/car nut in the 60's in California and politically aware. Neither as Governor nor as President, did I ever read one word about Reagan liking cars. Nor have I ever read anything about him having any interesting cars prior to becoming governor.
In fact, I am fairly confident that as governor he rarely if ever drove himself. And that that is even more the case as president and after.
This entire exhibit is shameless hype by the Reagan Library. And Insideline has either swallowed it whole or (apparently) has a pretty serious case of pro-Reagan political bias.
It appears pretty laughable.
P.S.: I'm no fan of Bill Clinton (or any politician), but at least he owned a '65 or '66 Mustang.
guy1974 says:
01:25 PM, 07/15/2011
kitaikki - plenty of "malaise" cars were built and designed in the 1980's so I don`t think Reagan had much to do with it. He isn`t a god.
kitaikki says:
09:46 AM, 07/15/2011
Reagan ended the automotive "malaise era." His administration eliminated Jimmy Carter's 85mph speedometer regulation, and lifted the ban on aerodynamic headlights. The 157hp 1982 Mustang GT 5.0 was the first Mustang since 1970 to be more powerful than the previous model.
atlgaxt says:
07:42 AM, 07/15/2011
I wonder if they included his Subaru Brat that he used to get around on his ranch?