Spotted this a few weeks ago when trolling
thru my myriad 'O News sources via my NFB Newsline for The Blind telephone
service...
As I'd hazard a guess most of Y'all have NO
idea who Delford Smith was, right? Nor did I actually know his name either, instead just simply knew about
the aviation company he'd founded, once
again, thanxs to the world of motor
racing.
And whilst I'm tripping down memory lane,
i.e.; reminiscing 'bout Greg Moore,
this seems somewhat Karmic, as the
company in question is Evergreen Aviation, which made my memory banks recall
the driver named Mark Smith, who I first spotted running in Indy Lights
'Wayback in the early 1990's at Portland International Raceway, and somehow
learning that his Evergreen Aviation sponsorship came from his
"Pops," the late Delford Smith.
From what little I can remember, seems that
Mark was a frontrunner in Indy Lights,
(1990-92) at least near the sharp end of the grid at PIR; as he competed
against Moore's predecessor 'PT, aka "The Thrill from the West Hill,"
nee "Mr. Chrome Horn" or simply Paul Tracy.
Mark finished third overall in his
rookie campaign behind 1990 ARS champion
Paul Tracy, then runner-up in his sophomore season and lastly finished a disappointing seventh in his final Lights
campaign before graduating to the B-I-G CARZ, nee CARTin '93 before retiring
from racing in 1994.
And although his father built the company
into an international powerhouse, before Evergreen Aviation apparently
floundered, having filed for Bankruptcy in late 2013, Delford, along with son
Michael, will most notably be remembered as the men who brokered the deal to
move the legendous' Howard Hughes Spruce Goose, the world's largest Flying boat
from California to McMinnville, Oregon, where it currently resides in the Evergreen
Aviation and Space Museum...
