Pat Baltes
They continued to follow drag racing and attend as many events as they could. They were at the Gator Nationals in 1991 when Don Garlits gave them two tickets to the Inaugural International Drag Racing Hall of Fame banquet. They have attended every one of these events since then and in 1992 became a table sponsor and in 2004 additionally became the trophy sponsor. This allowed them to give something back to the sport they both love.
After attending the first CHRR in Bakersfield they realized what a great event it was to catch up with old friends. They started a search for the original car and after a few years finally gave up. Then in 2003 the first NHRR in Bowling Green, Ky. took place. They ran into Rod Peppmuller at that event and since he had built the original asked if he would be interested in building a replica of the car. Theyfinally convinced him and debuted the car at the 2005 NHRR. It was at this event They caught up with Eileen Daniels and spent a lot of time talking with her. At the end of the event she asked if Pat would be interested in helping he·r at the ·next event.
Pat worked with Eileen at the reunions and the nostalgia displays at national events through 2018. Pat helped with the autograph sessions, and made sure all the “Old Guys” had whatever they needed to make sure they enjoyed the event. Pat said the best part of working at the reunions was getting to meet and get to know a lot of the racers she had only seen go down the track.