I recently received an
email from Bill Culkin, Peter's son, who shared some of his memories of
his father and the great car. (Photo
by Ortega Gomez)
From Bill Culkin:
"Your site and the list
of drivers brings back endless childhood memories. I spent most of
my childhood on the road around those fellas. I even spotted two
of my father's (Peter Culkin) cars in your pics. Here's a little
trivia for you :
The Mercedes-Corvette
was a monster! Scared everybody ! My father painted it silver (the
same color as his MB 300SL) and terrorized the racing circuit. Overpowered
everyone. Now, something you didn't see. Both cars were stored
at our home in Clover- dale under a covered carport. Cloverdale,
CA, was a small town, ~ 2500 population, one of those towns where
everybody knows everybody.
When my father used to
fire up the Mercedes-Corvette people from all over town could hear it roar
and came running up to our house to watch the show. People on Cloverdale
Blvd. (Highway 101 thru town) lined the streets knowing what was
coming next.
For you see, Cloverdale
Blvd. / HWY 101 was my father's test track. Burn rubber down Haehl
Street onto Cloverdale Bl. / Highway 101 thru town and head north. Miles
of straight stretch to blow the carbon out! He road tested both cars
this way but at least the MB 300SL was street legal.
However, as you know,
the Mercedes-Corvette was about as street ILLEGAL as you could get!
Anyway, the local police knew the routine and would head north and escort
him back into town and back home. The cops loved it !
In the mid-60s the Mercedes-Corvette
was retired. The car minus the engine was sold and the engine lived
on to win championships in a super modified and a sprint car. The
engine's last run was in a sprint car at Calistoga the night that Dave
Ridenour was killed (driving a Cobra sprint). We were with the Ridenour
family that night and our sprint car was retired the same night.
My father's true love
was the MB 300SL. It, along with hundreds of trophies and awards,
was sold to a pharmacist in the Sacramento area by the name of Jerry Jensen.
Jerry was a long-time admirer of the car and had a standing offer for years
to buy it if my father ever wanted to sell. It is my understanding
that Jerry built a special display room in his home for the car.
Thanks again for sharing
your Old Racecar site and memories. Good luck."
William ( Bill ) Culkin |
