Harry Hibler
While he was interested in cars and all types of machinery at a very early age. Harry’s involvement in cars and racing began shortly after his 16th birthday when he caught a bus to Los Angeles. Street racing was very popular; Harry soon became a participant after purchasing a 1941 Ford coupe. Shortly after that, he started adding speed parts as quickly as his budget would allow and at the same time one of his good friends talked him into going to the old Santa Ana Dragstrip and he was hooked. After 1941 he stepped up to an old’s gas coupe/sedan followed by a gas-powered AA/Coupe powered by a very large V-8 Merc flathead. At that time there were 12 to 14 drag strips within driving distance so he was able to find plenty of organized racing to keep him off the streets and learn more about building the cars and engines.
In 1955 he made his first trip to San Fernando Raceway, The Pond, and very shortly after that he signed on as the tracks tech official and became very involved in learning as much as he could about the rules and safety of the sport. After year so as the head tech person at the track he moved into the track manager slot where he stayed until the track closed its doors in 1969.
It was during his tenure as the track manager that Harry took his first ride in an A/Fuel dragster, an injected Dodge Wedge engine powered RSC dragster which he quickly became the proud owner of. Shortly after that he had the opportunity to drive John Smyser’s blown Hemi AA/F dragster and the hook was set even deeper. It wasn’t common for him to slide in someone else’s car at The Pond either because the driver was late, the owner wanted a second opinion, or simply because several of the participants wanted to give him a shot at driving. After driving regularly for Smyser for several years but not wanting to give up his track managers position for a full-time driving job. Harry drove for various other owners including Marc Danakus, Cliff Roa, and Mike Butler. He also managed to shoe Don Greens original “Rat Trap” AA/Fuel altered roadster for several races. He then took a turn at driving the “US-1” turbine powered dragster and later Jim Deist’s jet dragster.
In early 1969 he closed the doors on his construction business and went to work at Petersen Publishing Company as an advertising salesman for Car Craft Magazine Hot Rod Industry News. In 1977 he was promoted to Publisher of Car Craft Magazine where he was especially diligent and building a greater awareness and importance of the Car Craft Magazine All-Star program. He was also one of the founders of the Car Craft Magazine Street Machine Nationals which became one of the largest and most prestigious street car shows in the country. Harry was the first person to highlight a pro drag race vehicle at the street event when he had Raymond Beadle cackle his Blue Max funny car during the show. In 1982 he moved up the corporate ladder again, this time assuming the publisher’s position at Hot Rod Magazine. Harry held the publisher’s slot for several years, then moved into a corporate development position but after a year there he took over the reins of Hot Rod Magazine again to increased its circulation and advertising revenue. While the publisher of Hot Rod he worked at ways to include racing into the editorial mix of the magazine at the time when the reader’s interest was aimed more at street machines and street rods. One of the ways Harry was able to do this was when he arranged with the Navy for an article featuring Kenny Bernstein’s Budweiser King AA/Fuel dragster on an aircraft carrier with both the car and and F-18 fighter jet lighting up the sky. Another similar article he implemented was a comparison of Don Garlits Swamp Rat AA/Fuel dragster against a F-18 being catapulted off an aircraft carrier showing the similarity in safety equipment, acceleration, etc. One of the editorial pieces he is most proud of was the development and building of the famous streetcar, CadZZilla, a 1949 Cadillac sedan designed by Larry Erickson, built by Boyd Coddington, and owned by the ZZ Top bandleader Billy Gibbons. This is still one of the most widely recognized cars ever built.
In 1996 Harry resigned from Petersen Publishing to become one of the founders of a couple of companies that were involved in the nonperformance automotive world. His involvement in this arena led to his being named 2003 Small Businessmen of the Year in California. He has enjoyed the sport as a driver, track manager, media person, and member of SEMA working to advance it every way possible. In 1994 he was inducted into the Northwestern College, Lima Ohio, Hall of Fame for his efforts to help expand the school’s automotive education program. In 2002 he was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame, and in 2011 received NHRA’s Lifetime Achievement Wward at the California Hot Rod Reunion.