Last year, the land speed race community sadly lost two illustrious racers, Jack Costella (1935-2020) and Ralph Hudson (1952-2020) of Ironwood Racing. Mojave Project featured both of these men in an October 2014 dispatch titled “Land Speed Racing at El Mirage.”
I was fortunate to meet and interview the incomparable Jack Costella, who over the last years of his life, partnered with motorcycle racer Jim Hoogerhyde. Jim commandeered Costella’s most recent incarnation of his infamous Nebulous Theorem at both El Mirage, Bonneville Salt Flats and abroad. Four years ago, on Jack’s 80th birthday, I was one of the lucky few that attended his unforgettable celebratory dinner party at Adelanto’s Thai-Siam Restaurant, a favorite among the El Mirage racing community. I became acquainted with Ralph loosely through social media and also because his Glendale fabrication shop Ironwood designed and built custom installations for many regional art museums and other businesses.
Kim Stringfellow and Mojave Project send condolences to family and friends of these two giants of the SCTA racing community.
Read Ralph Hudson’s obit at People.com https://people.com/sports/ralph-hudson-motorcycle-racer-dies-in-242-mph-crash-at-69/
Read Jack Costella’s obit at Hemmings.com https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/01/06/bonneville-300-mph-club-member-jack-costella-dies-at-84
