Dr. Robert Post
Bob Post grew up in Pasadena along with a lot of youngsters later famous in the annals of drag racing such as Kent Enderle, Don Nicholson, and Chuck Grieth. His first competitive outing was at Santa Ana in 1952 in a 1932 coupe, his last at San Fernando Raceway five years later in a 1934 coupe which was flathead powered. He never went very fast, but he became a permanent fan, and he saw a lot of history made at places like The Pond, Pomona, Formosa, and The Beach.
After finishing his doctorate degree at UCLA, he moved “back” with his wife Dian. In 1973 he went to work as a curator for the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1986 he began planning and exhibition sponsored by DuPont called “A Material World”. Here was his chance to fulfill a lifetime ambition to spotlight a top fueler at The National Museum of American History, and Don Garlits agreed to donate his World Champion Swamp Rat XXX as the feature display. Before he came through the doors, Don lit Swamp Rat XXX one last time on the steps of the museum, and Jeff Tinsley took a photo that was turned into one of this Smithsonian’s best posters ever. In 1989, Bob arranged for the induction of Bruce Larson’s World Champion funny car. He had followed the drags all his life, he was a professional historian, and he had written several books about the history of technology. All this got him thinking, was it time for a book about drag racing? “Hi Performance”, which Garlits called “the bible of drag racing”, was published in 1993 and has gone through many reprintings along with a revised edition in 2001. It’s a book that has sold well, but numbers pale in comparison to the number of people who first had a chance to get closer at a top fuel or a fuel funny car at the Smithsonian. Swamp Rat XXX was featured for 18 years and the museum is visited by 6 million people annually.
Bob’s honors include prizes for his books and articles, awards for exceptional services from the Smithsonian (nine times), appointments at the MIT Think Tank, and the Leonardo Da Vinci Metal from the Society of the History of Technology. But, looking back to Santa Ana more than 60 years ago, he says receiving the Founders Award in the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame is the finest honor of all.