[Banning]

Last one for Charley, for now.



A writer for Hot Rod magazine in early 1974, Cory Farley, got the
rare chance to ride along and actually raced with the “King of the Hill,”
Charley Woit. This is the only account we could find when somebody
actually rode with Charley. He was never seen with any passengers by
anyone we interviewed that actually witnessed Charley drive. In his
own words, here are Cory Farley’s experiences. “The ‘G’ forces in the
turn threw me against the door and the howl of the engine was so loud
I didn’t even hear the sound of my head hitting the window. The car
slid sideways and the driver made a series of corrections as the stiffly
sprung Corvette skittered from high spot to high spot on the bumpy
surface. The outside wheel dropped onto the shoulder and the tach
shot to over 7000 RPM as the tire spun in the gravel. For an instant we
hung on the edge, mere feet from a sharp drop of 75 feet. Then the
differential locked up and we fired down the short straight. My headsnapped back and thudded painfully against the rollbar as I reacted too
slowly, then hit the bar again on the shift to third. A mailbox whipped
by within arm’s reach and the driver lifted his foot and coasted to a
stop. The Mazda behind us whined an octave higher then shut off, as it
too, passed the mailbox. The driver of the Mazda rolled down his window
with a grin. ‘Almost, wait ‘til I get my new tires.’”