R. I. P. John mitchell (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ANDY
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DragFan2
Nitro Member
Yes, John did bring several drivers along, including Dave Grubnic. I finally realize why Dave keeps a residence in Montana. Probably fell in love with it while driving for John Mitchell. RIP and thanks for all you did for the sport.
The Little Lizard
Nitro Member
Thoughts and prayers to the mitchell family, former team members and friends of john mitchell on the hearing of his passing.
BurkartFan
Nitro Member
Rest in Peace, John. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and all those whose lives were touched by him.
John Capps Sr.
Nitro Member
John was a TRUE RACER...!!! His son Tim once told me something like "if dad only had a hundred bucks, that's what he would try to race with..."
He helped a lot of people get thier careers started, and helped a LOT of people keep thier race cars going.
He will be missed.
John Capps Sr.
He helped a lot of people get thier careers started, and helped a LOT of people keep thier race cars going.
He will be missed.
John Capps Sr.
I knew a couple of JM's Crew members over the years, and if you have been to Ennis, MT. It is surrounded by Mountains! Not sure how many times he did it, but I heard there was more than one occasion where they would pull the Montana Express out of the shop and light it off! And the sound would echo around town like nobodys business! They would shut off and get calls from people 5-6 miles away saying they heard it!
mike
Nitro Member
Joe, that was a cool story.
I use to think the Montana Express dragsters looked pretty cool, and on their day John Mitchell had a pretty bad ass race car that ran some stout ET's, and went rounds.
RIP John.
Steve Torrence will be running a special paint scheme this weekend, and it sure looks sweet!! Reminds me of the Montana Express car that Andy Woods drove.
NHRA Story » Torrence to honor memory of Mitchell in Bristol
I use to think the Montana Express dragsters looked pretty cool, and on their day John Mitchell had a pretty bad ass race car that ran some stout ET's, and went rounds.
RIP John.
Steve Torrence will be running a special paint scheme this weekend, and it sure looks sweet!! Reminds me of the Montana Express car that Andy Woods drove.
NHRA Story » Torrence to honor memory of Mitchell in Bristol
DrRocket
Nitro Member
John was a very unique guy, he loved drag racing in many ways, way back he and Don Madden made some inovations that are standard today. John was a successful business owner. He had a large precision sheet metal company that made the enclosures for most of the CNC machines that are made in the USA.
He made the original copper head gaskets in the industry, which later was marketed by Milodon.
He made his own clutches , which led the industry, he never sold them to others, he gave a lot of them to struggling teams like the Pedregons, and let the name clutch guys copy his ideas.
He was also the 2nd largest land owner and leaseholder in Montana, the only person with more property is Ted Turner. He will be missed, but almost like a father, his legacy continues with Larry Dixon, all of the Petregons, Ron Capps, David Grubnic and many others.
As seen in one of the photos in this blog, John had no interest in running with the pack. He often overpowered the track, with interesting results. He and Connie Kallita were good friends and tuned the same way. As Kallita John was in the sport for the fun of it. He somewhat lost interest when the cars became cookie cutters. He told me a couple of years ago he recommended to NHRA that the created an unlimited Top Fuel class to run without a purse, just for the fun. You can imagine what thier response was.
John will find a way to get traction on the gold streets of heaven
He made the original copper head gaskets in the industry, which later was marketed by Milodon.
He made his own clutches , which led the industry, he never sold them to others, he gave a lot of them to struggling teams like the Pedregons, and let the name clutch guys copy his ideas.
He was also the 2nd largest land owner and leaseholder in Montana, the only person with more property is Ted Turner. He will be missed, but almost like a father, his legacy continues with Larry Dixon, all of the Petregons, Ron Capps, David Grubnic and many others.
As seen in one of the photos in this blog, John had no interest in running with the pack. He often overpowered the track, with interesting results. He and Connie Kallita were good friends and tuned the same way. As Kallita John was in the sport for the fun of it. He somewhat lost interest when the cars became cookie cutters. He told me a couple of years ago he recommended to NHRA that the created an unlimited Top Fuel class to run without a purse, just for the fun. You can imagine what thier response was.
John will find a way to get traction on the gold streets of heaven
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