Herb McCandless at Indy!

[The Counterfeiter]

He sounded great helping out with commentary on the Hemi Challenge. Some great stories! Mentioned his son was there . . . was that you David?

Herb was a neighbor when I was in high school and I got to hang out with him when he was running at Indy - a long time ago -

 

[Super Mod]

He is "Mr. 4-speed" right?

 

[The Counterfeiter]

He is "Mr. 4-speed" right?

You bet your A$$ he is! -

 

[Johnny Mopar]

He sounded great helping out with commentary on the Hemi Challenge. Some great stories!

Herb is the greatest color commentator in drag racing...really, there's none better. I'm honored to have earned his friendship and always seek out his help at the races I work. A few years ago at 'Mopars At The Strip' we had some track cleanup going on which meant we had some time to kill. We went from the early days of the first factory race cars (B bodies) through his Pro Stock years, the HEMI challenge class we were calling and then to today's Pro Stock class. The man is a wealth of knowledge and a genuine, first class guy. He's a living legend, and calls me by my first name. I can't believe one of my all time idols is on a first name basis with me. Every time he calls me 'Johnny' I pinch myself just to make sure it's not a dream....

What an honor...

 

[Tim5636sc]

Got to meet Mr. McCandless a few years ago. What a cool guy, and yes he is "MR. 4 Speed!", and Mr. Mopar! I would love to have been at Indy for many reasons, but the Hemi-Shootout has got to be freakin awesome to see in person! Me and my dad's favorite class in Sportsman...SS/AA or SS/AH!!!!

 

[bukweet]

There is a pic of the old "Mr. 4 Speed" Dart over on Classracer.com

Someone has restored it and it's at Indy!

Check under the Indy stocker pics in the forum(I think)

More LIVE from Indy - pictures..... - Page 5 - CLASS RACER FORUM

Used to see that car at Memphis(Lakeland) and Stuttgart and Carlise Drag strips(Arkansas) back in the day.

Nice to see a great memory!

 

[Demon]

Randy Hopkins owns Herb's '68 Dart. He was racing it until about 2 years ago and obviously,it's a original factory/Hurst car and to improve it's performance,Randy would have had to cut on the car.I think it got painted in it's original paint about a year ago,and I've heard the original painter did the new paint too.

Herb is hoot to listen to.He's sharp as a tack and forgets nothing,and knows his stuff.The whole McCandless family are just good people.

You can hear Herb's commentary along with Bob Frey on YouTube,look for Hemi Challenge

 

[DCM]

He sounded great helping out with commentary on the Hemi Challenge. Some great stories! Mentioned his son was there . . . was that you David?

Unfortunately, it wasn't me, it was my younger brother Mike. I would have loved to have been there.

It is great, and somewhat humbling, to read how much respect people have for Herb. To me, he was always just my Dad. Growing up, I was not really aware of 'who' he was.

He really enjoys going to shows and just talking with people that enjoy their cars. He feels like he was in the racing industry at a special time, and had access to alot of knowledge and information, and he is always willing to share and help people whenever possible.

Just last weekend at the Hemi Reunion in Ohio, the current owner of his 72 Pro Stock Demon [the car we've all seen planted on the rear bumper at Englishtown], had completed the restoration and 'presented' the car with Herb in attendance. It is probably the only time he was overcome with emotion and at a loss for words. It was like he was re-united with a long lost friend.

Thanks for the kind words, and I'll be sure to pass them along to "Mr 4 Speed"




David McCandless