April 27, 1963 - August 09, 2009
2 Kings 2:11-12
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a
chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and
Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out,
"My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And
Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them
apart.
NIV
I
keep replaying the crash scene over and over in my mind trying to make sense of
this, but it doesn’t work. The car had made more than 200 passes down the salt
with eight different drivers, seven of them posted speeds over 240 MPH.
Except for 1997 when Jeff crashed, (just a slightly bruised elbow),
primarily
This
passion was our family thing. You can check out the updates at
www.bryantauto.com then to Bryant Racing.
Tom
Photo by Thomas “Pork Pie”
Graf – October 2008
Tom Dunlap: Barry Bryant loved racing and history
Barry Bryant was always in motion, revved up about something.
I've hiked with him on walking tours promoted by the Shasta Historical Society and had trouble keeping up. He walked with a sure-footed gait in the woods, at ease with Mother Nature.
He knew the names of tiny flowers growing in secluded niches, and he could relate tales and events that happened in that neck of the woods 100 years ago.
So when confronted with the news of Barry's death on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, I was overcome with a feeling of great loss. At the same time, I was overcome with a feeling of great comfort for him, knowing that he was doing what he truly loved to do. Given the choice, there's little doubt Barry would have wanted to leave us in any other way.
Perhaps you've driven by Bryant's Automotive on Churn Creek Road, just north of Cypress Avenue, and seen the Tom Thumb Special parked on the premises. Sleek and slender, it was a beauty built for speed. All the Bryant drivers had pushed it beyond 200 mph.
So on that fateful day, with Barry at the wheel, it was just another run until something went terribly wrong.
Barry's dad, Tom Bryant, has a knack for motors. He can fix the sick ones and make the strong ones even stronger. He and his wife, Margaret, were blessed with a daughter, Sandy, and three sons: Jeff, Dan and the youngest, Barry.
As for that Tom Thumb Special, it was just the latest addition to a long list of fast cars the family has owned, built or driven.
Like all racing cars, it evolved year-by-year, trophy-by-trophy. That's what racing is all about. As time went by, Barry grew into all of this, adding his skills and ideas to the mix. And from it, like the rest of the family, he took his joy.
Racing was more his passion than his pastime. As a member of this racing family, the Tom Thumb Special was more than just a car. To see the family tree of racing achievements, go to www.bryantauto.com.
Last May, I took a picture of Barry with an old military metal
canteen punctured by bear teeth. He was holding an engine valve assembly from a
WWII Navy bomber that had crashed in the Sacramento River Canyon in 1943.
Barry
wandered rugged terrain until he found the remains. He tracked down information
on the ill-fated plane and its occupants, after which he spelled it out in
detail for the upcoming 2010 edition of "The Covered Wagon," the
annual publication of the Shasta Historical Society. He brought the incident
back to life and clarified the facts. Barry liked to do that sort of thing. He
was a teacher, philosopher, photographer, fisherman, mentor, miner, mechanic,
geologist and a joker. And for those lucky enough to know him, he was a friend.
Barry had a mind for the future, yet he was an expert on the past. I think he had visited every mineshaft for miles around. He could tell you when it was dug and what it was worth. And he probably had a picture of it. He loved to seek out gold rush-era water ditches. And if you wondered where the Ruggles Brothers did their robbery, he could take you there.
Rest assured Barry is still revved up and among us. His
story will be told at campfires and car races for countless years to come. And
you know he's sped through life as if it were a race. Listen now and you can
hear him cheering! After all, he beat us to the finish line.
Tom Dunlap grew up in Shasta County, attended Redding schools and Chico State University. A former R-S photographer, he lives in Redding with his wife, Fran, and two pesky cats. You can contact him at 245-9055 or tomscolumn@sbcglobal.net
Barry receives his “Red Cap” August 2002 –
Record D/Gas Competition Coupe 228.843 MPH