We don’t often do this, but when a legitimately historic vehicle goes missing, we often try and find it. Here’s an example. When I was writing “Miller’s Time,” the book that tells the life story of longtime Roger Penske confidant Don Miller, he mentioned that he’d like to find the race car depicted in this photo, Big Noise II, which he drove with great results before his work with The Captain got him involved in auto racing on a much larger scale.
Big Noise II was a 1962 Chevy II Gasser owned by the team of Warren & Miller and raced through about 1972 out of Chicago, most notably on the UDRA circuit, which Don also served as an official, another reason he got out of driving. It was a killer Gasser in the upper Midwest, with scores of event wins, last powered by a 509-cu.in. big-block Chevy. The car disappeared around 1980, perhaps to Minnesota. Don would like to get it back. If you know its whereabouts and can positively verify its identify, e-mail me at jdonnelly@hemmings.com. FYI, I’ll be autographing “Miller’s Time” at this weekend’s Hemmings New England Concours d’Elegance and the accompanying Saturday car show.