DICK MCCLUNG PASSES
Wed, 2008-01-02 09:03
Dick McClung, 79, a former dirt track racer and a member of the board
of directors of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by
the Automobile Club of Southern California, passed away on Wed., Dec.
19, after suffering a massive heart attack.
“We were blessed to have Dick McClung on our Board,” said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum. “In addition to his enthusiastic work for the Museum, Dick donated race helmets, Indy 500 badges and other artifacts, along with sizeable cash contributions. He was a true inspiration and loved the Museum. He’ll be greatly missed.”
The Dick McClung Helmet Collection is widely regarded as the finest of its kind. Each helmet is accompanied by a photo of a top racing driver wearing the actual helmet and a brief story about the driver. Dick McClung, 79, a former dirt track racer and a member of the board of directors of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, passed away on Wed., Dec. 19, after suffering a massive heart attack.
“We were blessed to have Dick McClung on our Board,” said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum. “In addition to his enthusiastic work for the Museum, Dick donated race helmets, Indy 500 badges and other artifacts, along with sizeable cash contributions. He was a true inspiration and loved the Museum. He’ll be greatly missed.”
The Dick McClung Helmet Collection is widely regarded as the finest of its kind. Each helmet is accompanied by a photo of a top racing driver wearing the actual helmet and a brief story about the driver.
McClung, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., had a passion for racing and its history. He competed on dirt tracks in the late 1940s after serving in WWII with the Merchant Marine. He was severely injured in a racing accident after his roadster flipped a reported 17 times in 1948, but came back and had prosperous careers in the California Roadster Association and California Hot Rods.
In business, McClung was a winner, too, selling Yellow Pages ads and then opening his own ad agency, McClung Advertising. It became the top Yellow Pages seller in the country. That enabled him to sponsor several race cars and keep his racing passion alive.
McClung, who was named “Rancho Mirage 2006 Distinguished Citizen,” is survived by his widow, Fay, two children from a previous marriage and five grandchildren.
Services for McClung will be held on Thur., Jan. 10 at 11 a.m. in the Forest Lawn Mortuary (Ramon & Duval streets), Cathedral City, Calif. Internment to follow.
A reception will be held at Desert Island CC, Club House in Rancho Mirage (Corner of Bob Hope & Frank Sinatra) in Rancho Mirage.
“We were blessed to have Dick McClung on our Board,” said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum. “In addition to his enthusiastic work for the Museum, Dick donated race helmets, Indy 500 badges and other artifacts, along with sizeable cash contributions. He was a true inspiration and loved the Museum. He’ll be greatly missed.”
The Dick McClung Helmet Collection is widely regarded as the finest of its kind. Each helmet is accompanied by a photo of a top racing driver wearing the actual helmet and a brief story about the driver. Dick McClung, 79, a former dirt track racer and a member of the board of directors of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, passed away on Wed., Dec. 19, after suffering a massive heart attack.
“We were blessed to have Dick McClung on our Board,” said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum. “In addition to his enthusiastic work for the Museum, Dick donated race helmets, Indy 500 badges and other artifacts, along with sizeable cash contributions. He was a true inspiration and loved the Museum. He’ll be greatly missed.”
The Dick McClung Helmet Collection is widely regarded as the finest of its kind. Each helmet is accompanied by a photo of a top racing driver wearing the actual helmet and a brief story about the driver.
McClung, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., had a passion for racing and its history. He competed on dirt tracks in the late 1940s after serving in WWII with the Merchant Marine. He was severely injured in a racing accident after his roadster flipped a reported 17 times in 1948, but came back and had prosperous careers in the California Roadster Association and California Hot Rods.
In business, McClung was a winner, too, selling Yellow Pages ads and then opening his own ad agency, McClung Advertising. It became the top Yellow Pages seller in the country. That enabled him to sponsor several race cars and keep his racing passion alive.
McClung, who was named “Rancho Mirage 2006 Distinguished Citizen,” is survived by his widow, Fay, two children from a previous marriage and five grandchildren.
Services for McClung will be held on Thur., Jan. 10 at 11 a.m. in the Forest Lawn Mortuary (Ramon & Duval streets), Cathedral City, Calif. Internment to follow.
A reception will be held at Desert Island CC, Club House in Rancho Mirage (Corner of Bob Hope & Frank Sinatra) in Rancho Mirage.
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