News and Information for Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick

"The Grove's" BOP and Cordova's Nostalgiafest events are now behind us and John Holmes has made at least four passes in the '66 "Star of the Circuit" GTO. He's still working minor bugs out but it's great to see the car back on the track after 40+ years.

It was a good show at Cordova as the Bax's came up from Missouri. They brought the 1964 "Mystery Tornado" GTO clone with them and the two cars got put side by side on the strip. B.J. Bax drove the '64, and John naturally did the driving in the '66. Both ran almost dead even ET's with BIG smoky burnouts to boot.

The GTOAA and POCI conventions went well and it was great to see a lot of old and new friends. Larry Bailey and the "Almost Heaven" chapter did a first class job. They went above and beyond. While both events got their drag race portions rained out. I felt, as did others, that POCI cancelled their drags way too early. It was great to see NASCAR legend, Marvin Panch in Charleston and see the recreation of my old "Boss Bird" funny car. The work that Eric and Mike have done on this car is astounding. Check it out at grocerygetterwagon.com

For more info, pictures, etc. Check out my facebook page.

First let me apologize on behalf of Arnie and those of us that help keep his site going. Three years between updates is way too extreme and we’ll try never to let that happen again! One time in the woodshed is enough for us to learn our lesson!

Arnie did in fact return to racing in August of 2007 at the World Series of Drag Racing, held in Cordova Dragway Park, Cordova, Illinois. He made 3 runs against “Animal Jim” Feuer and his Mercury Zephyr. While not entirely thrilled with the performance of the Tiger Machine that weekend, the following weekend of the Time Machine Nationals in Union Grove, Wisconsin made up for it. If you’d like a more in-depth look at what’s been happening with the Farmer’s Race team, check out the merchandise page. Item #M24 shows everything that was noteworthy through 2009.

2008 was a very good and busy year for the Farmer. It was at Nostalgiafest at Cordova in June, that the Tiger- striped monster was unleashed like never before. Arnie broke the 200m.p.h. barrier at that event.

There were many appearances and runs in the car including a return to the York US30 event in York, Pennsylvania and the GTOAA Nationals held in Saratoga, New York.

He received the “lifetime achievement award at the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky that year and ended the year in November with a trip down south to be inducted into the East Coast Drag Times Hall of Fame.

Again 2009 brought his normal busy schedule that included appearances and runs at Cordova, Union Grove and Dayton, Ohio for the POCI/GTOAA “co-vention”.