I first met Amos at the Bixby Knolls CACKLEFEST in 2010 or 2011
From a 2004 write up on NHRA.com:
Amos Satterlee: “Famous Amos” Satterlee has been setting records for a long time. He’s just not in the car – or boat – when the records are set. Like many, he started as a driver, but soon found out that his talents were in engine building and tuning. The La Habra, Calif.-based Satterlee’s engines are world famous. “My engines and tuning have 16 world championships ,” Satterlee said.
With Art Chrisman and Frank Cannon, he built Hustler 5 – which, according to Satterlee, ran the unofficial first 200 mph Top Fuel dragster on Chrondek clocks in July, 1964, a feat generally attributed to Don Garlits. “ We did it before he did. Garlits’ claims it. I hate to embarrass the old man, but facts are facts. Frank Cannon deserves the recognition. Art Chrisman knows about it. He was part of the deal then,” he said. “ I run a Top Fuel sand dragster now. We hold all the records in sand drags.”
Satterlee is proud of his accomplishments in NHRA Funny Car competition as well. “We won a whole bunch of races with Craig Epperly in a Funny Car. We worked with Mickey Thompson and Danny Ongais and won almost everything. We won Indy that year. It is a very big race. Back in those days, it was a very big race.”
He was known as the “guru” of Ford fuel altereds as far back as 1976, when he tuned John Aleman’s SOHC 23T. He’s been married to Armida, who most of the old-timers call “Billy,” for 55 years. “She’s a good woman, put up with me and racing all these years.” He has two sons, three daughters, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He’s still an engine tuner, both in cars and drag boats and currently wrenches on a 1995 Oldsmobile Funny Car and on a Top Fuel Hydro boat for Speed Sports
w/ yours truly
w/our own WAGS the dragboat GURU
w/Lou O. owner of SpeedSport TFH
The home town crew
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