Fred Stone, Tim Woods and Doug Cook
In the early 1960s, the supercharged gas coupes were a drag racing attraction as popular as funny cars are today. Anyone who ever saw and heard one of the little prewar coupes with the blower scoop sticking through the hood will never forget them. Arguably, the most famous of them all was the ’41 Willys coupe campaign by the team of Fred Stone, Tim Woods, and Doug “Cookie” Cook. Tim Woods, a successful Los Angeles building contractor, raced a series of Oldsmobiles from the infancy of organized drag racing at Santa Ana. In 1960, when the trend to smaller and lighter cars began, Tim built his coupe in partnership with Fred Stone, another LA businessman with whom he often worked. When their driver, KS Pittman, chose to develop his time to his own Willys, Woods recruited Jesse Duglas Cook who had been driving his own gasser’s. One of the most famous teams in drag racing history was formed in time for the 1961 US Nationals. Tim was the principal owner and acted as manager (although his son Leonard’s name appeared on the car), and his Willys was the first to break into the ten and nine second brackets, and the first over 150 mph. The tough competition in the class led to a series of (sometimes) humorous ads in the trade papers which became known as the “Gasser Wars”. Stone placed the ads and acted as publicity agent for the team. The ads were great promotional tools and led to the match races from coast-to-coast until funny cars began to steal the limelight. The car was so well promoted that most people were surprised to find that Stone and Woods were one of the few black teens in drag racing. To them it wasn’t an issue; they were more interested in racing and winning. In 1967 the team built a Mustang funny car which Doug crashed at Alton, Illinois in September, ending his driving career. Funny cars continued to be raced under the Stone, Woods and Cook name until 1972. Fred Stone was in the import export business when he died in England in 1982. Tim Woods was retired when he died in October 1995. Doug Cook Would go on to build engines and wrench on son Mike’s near 300 MPH Bonneville Thunderbird.