Reno Gold: The First Half Century by John Shaw

For the last 50 years, Reno race fans have been thrilled to the sounds and sights of highly tuned engines thundering overhead.

There is perhaps nothing that stirs the emotions more than seeing a pack of Unlimiteds heading for the home pylon. It is the fastest sport in the world and if speed is what you need, here it is at 50ft altitude with speeds clocking in excess of 500 m.p.h.

John Shaw's magnificent masterpiece traces the great Unlimited racers of the past half century. From Pond Racer, Conquest 1, and Smirnoff, to the modern duels between Strega, Rare Bear, and Voodoo. These great war birds festooned in colorful paint jobs, were flown by equally colorful pilots that bought man and machine together in perfect harmony. It takes great courage and skills of precision to fly at such speeds in close proximity.

The Signatures:
Each edition above bears a combination of the following signatures. In this list, the names appear in approximate chronological order according to the first Reno racing victories, where applicable, followed by the names of the most well-known aircraft with which each individual is associated.

Clay Lacy
7 First Place, 1 Second place wins from 1965 - 1976 • Conquest I, Red Baron

Darryl Greenamyer
1965 Second place Winner • Bardahl Special

Chuck Lyford
First Place, 5 Third place wins from 1964 - 1970 • Miss Van Nuys

Denny Sherman
Winner 1964 Midget Class, • Stiletto (in ‘80s)

Jack Shaver
1965 Reno Air Races, P-51 • Miss Kat Brat

Gunther Balz*
1972 1st Place Winner • Roto Finish Special

Steve Hinton
2 First Places, 1 Second place, 2 Third place wins, 1978-1988 • Red Baron, Super Corsair, Tsunami

Skip Holm
5 First Places, 2 Second place, 1 Third place wins, 1981-2004 • Healer, Stiletto, Dago Red, Mr. Awesome, Critical Mass

Ron Hevle
1 First Place, 1 Second place, 1981 - 1982 • Mangia Pane, Dago Red, Strega

Tiger DeStefani
7 First Places, 1 Second place, 1 Third, • Mangia Pane, Strega

Peggy Dwelle
One of only 24 female pilots to race at Reno, 1978 biplane class, part owner Stiletto

John Maloney
1 Third place, 1989 • Spam Can, Super Corsair

Scott Sherman
Pilot P-51, 1988 • Stiletto

Glenn Webb
Crew Chief, P-51 Stiletto 1988, plus other Merlin racers in ’80s

Brian Hoffner
Asst. Crew Chief, P-51 Stiletto, 1988

Dick Rutan*
Legendary aviator, best known for Voyager nonstop flight • Rutan Co. Scaled Composites’ Pond Racer, 1991-1993

Brian Sanders
4 Second Place wins, 1992 - 2005 • Dreadnought, Argonaut

Dennis Sanders
3 Second Place, 2 Third place wins, 1993 -2014 • Race 924, Dreadnought, Argonaut

Kevin Eldredge
Multiple races, 1990s, • Platinum Plus, Super Corsair

John Penney
4 First Places, 3 Second place wins, 1994 -2010 • Rare Bear

Peter Belan
Rare Bear crew, 2003 - 2006

Bruce Lockwood
2 First Place wins, 1998 - 1999 • Dago Red

Tom Dwelle
1 Second Place, 1 Third place, 2000 - 2003 • Critical Mass

Matt Jackson
2 Second Place, 1 Third place, 2002-2013 • Dreadnought, Furias, Strega

Sherman Smoot
2 Second Place, 3 Third place, 2006 - 2014 • Czech Mate

Thom Richard
Unlimited, Formula 1 & Jet class pilot, 2000‘s • Precious Metal

Rob Gordon
Multiple races, 2007 P-51 • Lady Jo

Rob Patterson
Multiple races, 2008 P-51 • Lady Jo

Steve Hinton Jr.
5 First place wins, 2009 - 2014 • Strega, Voodoo

Korey Wells
Multiple races, 2011 - present •Argonaut, Air Biscuit

Joel Swager
Pilot, Sea Fury Dreadnought, P-51 Wee Willie

*These names appear on Gold Edition Series A only