(Photo credit – WeDidItForLove.com) – The common conception among people when thinking about 1960s drag racing is that it was a sport filled with young guys that were greasy handed thrill seekers that were in it for the kicks. The reality is that the sport was populated by some of the most brilliant young minds in the country and George Bolthoff was one of them. Sadly George has left this mortal coil for the big strip in the sky at age 83. Let’s take a couple of minutes and remember one of the smartest and most talented guys in the history of the sport. One of the best to ever grab a steering wheel or swing a wrench, his skills carried him to places and professional heights that few in any motorsport have ever achieved.
His drag racing career began in the early 1950s and by 1960 he was wining his class at the NHRA Nationals with a 1957 Chevy fuelie engine that he plugged into a chassis that saw him in the B/Altered category. That engine would next be installed into a dragster and George Bolthoff would embark on a run in the Top Gas dragster category that was nearly unparalleled. While he did not win Wallys at the few NHRA national events available during the prime of his career in the mid to late 1960s, he racked up more than 160 wins at other events. Bolthoff stuck with that little small block Chevy engine for longer than most and at the end of his time with the Chevy engine he was running 8.40s at over 180mph. In 1964 he switched to a 392ci Chrysler hemi and he really started to lace up the competition. Running in AA/GD with the hemi, he was frequently setting national speed records and held track records at (get this!) Indy, Milan, Lions, Fontana, and Riverside, among others. In 1965 he won the World Series of Drag Racing at Cordova, Illinois in convincing fashion and cemented himself as a true giant in the top gas category. With the reintroduction of fuel into the NHRA fold, top gas was no longer top billing and while he was successful on the track, financially drag racing was not going to pay the bills. He ended his drag racing career in 1966 and that’s really where the George Bolthoff story starts. Heck, we’ve actually jumped ahead.
After serving in the United States Army, the brilliant Bolthoff worked for North American Rockwell developing rocket engine technology from 1956-1959. He worked on rocket engines during the week and then hit the strip during the weekend. Incredibly in 1963 Bolthoff worked for Lockheed on what would be the beginning of the Apollo space program, also concentrating on the rocket development front until he did the math and noticed he was earning more on the drag strips of the country than with his slide rule. Bolthoff left to become a professional drag racer which he was until 1966.
After hanging up his fire suit, Bolthoff joined legendary TRACO Engineering as an engine builder. TRACO was the preferred supplier to people like Penske and Donohue, multiple Trans-Am teams, Indy 500 teams, Can-Am teams, Pikes Peak racers, and the name still looms very large in the spectrum of American racing history. Never one to miss out on an opportunity, Bolthoff discovered that there would be an opening running the engine operation at McLaren and lickety-split he and his family were living in England and George was building the horsepower for Bruce McLaren and all of the “works” McLaren cars. He was also in charge of engine development. During his tenure at McLaren the team absolutely dominated the Can-Am series. Not just by a little either. One year, McLaren cars won every single race. His weapon of choice? Chevy 427 ZL-1 engines that came to them fully assembled before they were totally blown apart and setup to his specs. During these years Bolthoff could often be found on the dyno at the Cosworth shop. Yes, THAT Cosworth shop as McLaren did not have their own.
Starting in 1970, Bolthoff went into business for himself, operating an engine building business for 10 years until he became a computer programmer and stayed with that career until his retirement. He was a truly brilliant man who left his mark wherever he went and as luck would have it for the rest of us, he was not done yet. Bolthoff recreated (from scratch) his 1962 chassis Top Gas car in its 1964 (and up) 392ci hemi configuration. He did all the work except building the body which was done by the original body builder Doug Kruse. The car was cackled for years with George behind the wheel and the hemi making the signature lope that all of Bolthoff’s cars were known for having at idle. A beautiful representation of the category, Bolthoff’s car was (and may still be) enshrined in the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in California.
You may not have known George Bolthoff and that’s OK, but if you’ve come this far you know him a little better than you did before. Drag racing’s annals are filled with men like George Bolthoff. Some stayed with the sport for their entire lives and others made their impact in it and elsewhere, even around the globe.
Click here for a great story about George’s career in drag racing
