1954 DE SOTO CUSTOM DRAG RACE CAR

The early days of Hot Rodding had no rules, and no one knew what would work best. The results were spectacular and interesting, but there are few authentic survivors. Of those, only one can claim to be the very first car to participate in the first national NHRA drag race, Carl Grimes' Wild Wagon. Grimes' garage on 7th Street in Phoenix was known for building the best Hot Rods in Arizona, when Motor Trend wanted to drop a Buick Century engine into a 1954 Corvette, editor Walt Woron turned to Carl Grimes. The Wild Wagon, with trademark Dodge G.I. grille, used a narrowed 1941 DeSoto chassis, partial 1948 Crosley body, 1950 Olds rear axle and reversed Model A front fenders. He first ran a Cadillac V8, then Buick, then by 1955 a 394cid 1954 Olds Rocket V8, currently with triple Stromberg 97 carburetors and a Weiand intake. Like everyone else at the time, Grimes, his driver and future son-in-law Lewis Rogers drove the De Oldsley to events and that included the long hike to Kansas in 1955 for the first NHRA National, in Great Bend, KS. According to a plaque NHRA's National Motorsports Museum, the car's best time was 11.15 at 128.93mph. In April 1955 the Wild Wagon, with Grimes and his daughter Sally, was featured in Hot Rod magazine, photographed at the Bonneville Speed Week. Later in life, Grimes was honored several times by Wally Parks, the NHRA, inducted into the NHRA Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Award, 'The Wally' in 1991. The subjects of many articles are included. It's the sole known survivor of motorsports pioneer Carl Grimes' work. In 1991 NHRA also brought Carl and his wife Sara to the Nationals in Indianapolis to recognize him as the first entrant in the very first NHRA Nationals.

1955 was the first National Hot Rod Association national drag race. This was the first car entered and qualified at the first NHRA Nationals in 1955 and is the only surviving car built by NHRA Hall of Famer Carl Grimes.