Drag Racing Pioneer

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Long before million-dollar sponsorships dominated the motorsports world, drag racing was a dangerous, underground hobby. Hot rodders in the late 1940s ruled the streets, constantly playing a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse with local police. But one visionary from Santa Barbara changed all that, transforming a dangerous hobby into a legitimate, organized American sport. His name was Bob Joenhnck, but to me he was just Grandps.

My grandfather enlisted in the Army out of high school. He served in England as an aircraft mechanic , a role perfectly aligned with his mechanical talents and passions. When the war was over, he returned home to Santa Barbara and turned his interest to cars. In the late 1940s, he operated a two-pump Texaco station at the corner of Mission and De Lavina. From what he told me, that single-stall garage was the ultimate hangout spot for gearheads. He used to tell me about his drives down to Los Angeles to pick up parts from his friend Vic Edelbrock Sr. (founder of Edelbrock, a specialty automotive aftermarket manufacturer). They would trade mechanical tips, and Grandps would go on to design Edelbrock's original intake manifold. 



What truly cemented Bob Joehnck's legacy was his role in creating the first officially sanctioned drag race. In 1949, tired of seeing young driver risking their lives in illegal street races, he set his sights on the former WWII Marine Corps base in Goleta, which is now the Santa Barbara airport. He pitched his idea to the airport manager, and the Santa Barbara Acceleration Association was born. With the blessing of the CA Highway Patrol, they organized races on an old runway and set the blueprint for the NHRA.  According to TorqTalk, they raced there every other Sunday night throughout late 1948-49. The event was such a hit that the guys who started the Santa Ana drag races a couple of years later used the same course length, and it became the drag-racing standard going forward. 


Over the years, Bob Joehnck Automotive became a hub for building high-performance engines for sprint cars, road racing, and racing boats. As a young girl, I spent many days at the shop, watching him work on cars, particularly his Bonneville roadster. 

Some of my favorite memories involved the summer I spent with him at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Grandps attended the Speed Week for over fifty years. He built land-speed cars that shattered records, including a D-class gas roadster that, according to Motortopia, rocketed across the salt at 227.336 mph. That summer I was given small jobs to prep the roadster to run, and, underage, I got to drive the big Suburban hauling the roadster across the salt. 

I always wanted to race the roadster on the salt flats, but the protective grandfather that he was felt it was not safe enough for me, as the cars pushed the envelope of speed. However, after graduating from high school, he surprised me by offering me the opportunity to race a stock car at the Santa Maria Speedway dirt track. The speedway was a familiar place as it was where I spent most Saturday nights when I was visiting my grandparents growing up. The memory of working with my pit crew, banking on the turns of the fast clay track, pops up for me whenever you are asked for a fun fact about yourself.

When Bob Joehnck passed away in 2022, it was a tremendous loss for our family and racing, but every time I hear the roar of a high-performance engine or flip past a car race on television, I know his spirit is right here. He took racing off the streets, gave it a home, and showed all of us what it meant to live life in the fast lane. 



Bob Joehnck - The Santa Barbara Independent. Accessed June 29, 2026. https://www.independent.com/obits/2022/03/17/bob-joehnck/. 

Lee Hammock: May 2022 Member of the Month - American Hot Rod Foundation. Accessed June 27, 2026. https://ahrf.com/lee-hammock-may-2022-member-of-the-month/. 

Santa Ana Drags & Beyond — torqtalk. Accessed June 25, 2026. https://www.torqtalk.com/events/santa-ana-drags-beyond. 

The First Quarter Mile - Motortopia - Everything automotive! Accessed June 24, 2026. https://www.motortopia.com/the-first-quarter-mile/. 

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