HOOKER HOOD

Hooker Hood during practice at Mobile in 1967

   Hooker Hood of Memphis, Tenn, who would go on to become a famed Super-Modified & Sprint Car driver, earning him a spot in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa. 

   Hood, whose real name is Clarence, is still around. His best years were in the period 1965-68. In 1966 he won 20 out of 22 starts, mostly on dirt. In 1967 he won 57 of 63 races, about 1/3 of which were at West Memphis, Ark. Then in 1968 he won 48 times.  Pretty heavy stats for short period. 

   He ran a handful of NASCAR Grand National races in 1954-55, most at the old Memphis-Arkansas Speedway across the river, but he did have one Daytona start on the beach and one at North Wilkesboro. I am not sure which year he ran Daytona but it was with an Olds 88 and I think the car was purple with a yellow roof and numbers...looked like an Easter Egg!!

   The only other time I saw Hood race was at the Lakeland Speedway in Memphis in 1962 when he was running a NASCAR Modified Special car. It was a blue coach, I think #99 and he finished 8th in track points that year. (Also running that night in a #191 white coach was Sam Swindell, Sammy's father) Hood ran his first races in 1948-49, racing both motorcycles and midgets in the Memphis area. Son Ricky Hood also was no slouch behind the wheel winning quite a few USAC races and is still racing today in the southwest driving for Johnny Herrera's parents Joe & Martha Herrera. (Special thanx here to long time friend Tom Schmeh of the National Sprint Car Museum for most of the stats used)

   Let me tell you a good Hooker Hood story.  Saw this myself at the old Lakeland Speedbowl track north of Memphis.  Hooker was on the pole of the heat race.  He was bringing the field around slowly, apparently wanting one more lap to warm up.  The flagman dropped the green.  Hooker kept his slow pace as the field roared by him.  He ran this way for the whole ten laps and went straight to the pits.  As they were lining up for the next heat, here comes Hooker walking from the pits down the front stretch toward the flag stand.  The crowd began to hoot.  He smiled and acknowledge them with waves as he walked along the track.  He came to the flag stand and climbed the ladder.  The conversation got animated as Hooker "explained" to the flagman that, he, as pole sitter, should have determined when the race should start.  Keep in mind that Hooker was on the ladder with both feet, holding on the the rail with his hands.  The argument got intense and suddenly the flagman swung at him with the flag stick hitting him up side the head.  Hooker came up that ladder by grabbing the flagman's feet and jerking them out from under him, then piled on top and began to beat the crap out of him right there on the flag stand.  The grandstands went wild!!!  There  was some other poor soul on the flag stand, a photographer I think, who was trying to stay out of the way of the flying fists.  It was hilarious.   The beat up flagman gave up , Hooker climbed down and walked back down the track toward the pits at the same leisurely pace as when he came up there, smiling and waving to the fans all the way.    What a guy.  I'll never forget that.
I was in Memphis a couple of years back.  While sitting in the hotel room waiting for my wife to get back from a meeting, I just picked up the local phone book and found his name listed.  Just out of curiosity I dialed the number and Hooker himslef answered.  i told him I was a fan and just wanted to chat with him.   Bless his heart we talked for nearly an HOUR.  I told him that story and he remembered it.  He called me "Cat" constantly during the conversation and invited me over to his house next time I was up there.  He didn't know me form Adam but we got along like old friends.  He has two teenage daughters by his second wife who was in her 30's and he's over 70, but still going strong.   He's DA MAN.       Jack