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Posted by Michele & Robbie on December 6, 2008, 6:46 pm
I was wondering if anyone would like to share there most memorable Stories and FUNNY Stories of Richard Hooper. To honor him and all the Fun times we have had with him. Maybe to help us all get through this tough time. I know that we are really taking it hard and im sure there are more of us out there. So share your Stories and maybe give everyone a little smile and maybe some Laughter!!! *********************************************************** Posted by Erik the electrician on December 6, 2008, 7:11 pm, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" I brought my lil brother with me to help at the race. Hooper loved practical jokes and said to lil bro, "Hey Alex...see that team over there? Go over and ask them if we can borrow a Lug Nut Extension Kit. So my little brother eagerly runs over to the other team to get Hooper his Extension Kit. The crew member honestly thought Hooper needed this piece of equipment which he had never heard of. He must've thought Hooper had some edge over their team. That poor crew member comes over asking Hooper what that Lug Nut Extension Kit was like it was something he needed to get for himself...Hoop and I just couldn't stop rolling. *********************************************************** Posted by Thanks Erik on December 6, 2008, 7:59 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" LOL.. Thanks Erik for helping.. That was trully Richard always playing jokes... *********************************************************** Posted by Craftnangel on December 6, 2008, 7:57 pm, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Well here is my First Experience at Hoopers Shop.. Now I havnt known him that long prior to this. But for anyone who has ever been to Hoopers Rear End knows that Richard loves to play jokes on people.. now Im sure there are alot of people that he has played this joke on them. I walked into the shop Im not there more than three minutes and hooper is behind the wall (I didnt know that at the time) where the soda Machine used to be. Im standing there and someone Farts.. Now everyone including the workers behind the counter turn and look at me. Im standing there with this horrified look on my face like it wasnt me. Then everyone starts laughing.. Does anyone want to say now weather that was him that always did that (I cant imagine someone having that much Gas) or did he have some machine that did it???? Well it took me a while to figure out Richard, but the one thing you knew is if he ever played a joke on you then you knew you were someone he liked!! I can totally laugh about it now!!! and thank you Richard or all my Fondest fun memories.. As more people get on and tell there stories then I will post more.. Thanks for Reading and I look forward to reading everyone else's!! Michele aka Craftnangel *********************************************************** Posted by billy knapp on December 7, 2008, 12:07 am, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" i remember 1 morning when me richard amd ray cran were on our way to work we stopped at the tommy's in santa clarita and i was checkin out the waitress and hooper noticed it i finally worked up the nerve to ask her for her phone number and as i stood up hooper made his infamous fart noise and i froze dead in my tracks and the first thing that came to my mind was where is the restroom and asked her where it was. *********************************************************** Posted by Bobby Dezarov on December 7, 2008, 9:41 am, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Richard at his finest! NOW THATS HILARIOUS!!! *********************************************************** Posted by billy knapp on December 8, 2008, 8:21 am, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" yes richard at his finest *********************************************************** Posted by Sherm on December 6, 2008, 8:08 pm, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" It was the first race in 2005, and I hadn't raced in awhile. Anthony was going to be running for rookie of the year and we had just gone out for our first practice session. I had taken only a few laps and decided to pull my car in for an adjustment. Only moments later after getting out of my car, Richard comes off of the track with his front end all caved in and his radiator steaming. I asked him as he got out of his car "What the heck happened?", he said he hit Anthony. I then asked "Why", his answer.... Because I could. *********************************************************** Posted by Sherm on December 6, 2008, 8:39 pm, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Another quick story just for Robbie since he started this thread. I think it was last year or so that Richard bought the Ford from Tony Barnes and let you drive it. I was sitting with Richard during the race, and by the end of the race, through smart driving I believe you finished either 2nd or 3rd. Richard on the way down to the pits commented to me what a good job you had done driving that old no horsepowered Ford. I asked if he was actually going to tell you that, he said "Hell no" I'm going to tell him he should have won. *********************************************************** Posted by Robbie Hewitt on December 7, 2008, 10:07 am, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Thanks sherm i needed that! *********************************************************** Posted by AMEN on December 6, 2008, 10:01 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" anyone that was at the banquet when he won the championsip...I was not there but have heard the stories. that was his stand up comedy routine *********************************************************** Posted by Dave Arce on December 6, 2008, 11:00 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" I have a short story about Richard. I once lost a championship at OSS by 2 points. Thank God it was to Richard Hooper. Rest in Peace HOOP! Dave Arce *********************************************************** Posted by Robbie Hewitt on December 7, 2008, 10:30 am, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" in the 90's i used to be at Hoopers shop everyday and i was wearing sweat pants and that was just wrong around richard, so he decided to pull my sweats sown to my ankles , and laugh like hell. so in 1999 at Irwindale richard was the point leader and I was sixth, dont remember where we finished but richard was sighning autograghs on the decklid of his car after the race, and shawn garrett pointed to me and we both ran over behind richard and both grabbed a leg of his fire suit and pulled them to the ground. /Expecting him to turn around we backed up , YOU KNOW HE DIDN'T EVEN FLINCH JUST KEPT SIGNING THOSE AUTOGRAPHS, REST IN PEACE BUDDY REST IN PEACE. *********************************************************** Posted by Werner family on December 7, 2008, 1:12 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Well here goes... Hooper came over to the house one evening being driven by, forgive me i dont remember his name, the Indian guy he had working for him. The indian had apaprantly wandered into the shop, homeless, and Richard gave him work, room and board! How many of us would have been so kind hearted? During this particular evening, he proceeded to get fully shnockered. he admitted to having had secret sexual relations with Ron Hornaday. We laughed so hard our sides hurt. Steven,my son, never let him live that down. I made sure the Indian drove him home! Gosh he could tell a story. I cant say enough good things about this guy,he made racing a reality during a time when it would not have been possible. Rest in Peace, from the Werner family Its a great thing to not only be loved during your mortal life, but that one is so lovingly thought of after! *********************************************************** Posted by Teamgould on December 7, 2008, 4:04 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" In 2003 is the first time I really met Richard we were running for the championship and in practice blew the motor. We asked every slm driver that wasn't running for points and they said hell no.. I walked up to Richard introduced myself as Frankies crew chief he said " I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU WHY DON'T YOU COME JOIN A REAL DRIVER LIKE ME. He shook his head and asked what I needed I asked him if we could use his car because ours broke without taking a breathe he said here you go now go kick some ass and beat Robbie Hewitt. We won the championship that year and as I sit and look at that trophy I realize that the 2003 championship was really won by the King Richard Hooper. *********************************************************** Posted by Gina Hooper on December 7, 2008, 3:25 pm, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Hi Everyone, I've never posted on here before. I just wanted to let everyone know how much it means to me to see the outpouring of love for my father. It has helped me today, reading these posts. It is also comforting to know that my dad shared his sense of humor with so many people. My fondest memories are of him embarrassing me to no end. For example, I fell for this one every time. On a Saturday or Sunday morning, every weekend from age 10 to 13, my dad would ask me to go outside in the morning and get the newspaper. As soon as I stepped foot outside, in my pajamas or robe, my dad would shut the door, lock it, open the front window, and yell, "HEY NEIGHBORS! HEY THERE! LOOK AT ME! HI!" I was mortified. Now I can't wait until my son is old enough to go outside and get me the paper. Thank you for loving my father. -Gina Gingery *********************************************************** Posted by craftnangel on December 9, 2008, 7:22 am, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Gina.. We are so Sorry for your Loss.. Our Prayers & Thoughts our with you and your Family.. Your Dad was a Very Thoughtful, Caring & Funny man and we will all cherish all are memories of such a wonderful man. Thanks for sharing your own story about your Dad. I think it has helped us all in reading all the Thoughtful comments and the Stories through everyone's eyes. I wish more people would share their stories of him. I think it will help us all to heel. Take care, Michele & Robbie *********************************************************** Posted by billy knapp on December 8, 2008, 8:29 am, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" this is a great story of me and richard. richard me and the rest of hoopers herd were at i-10 speedway richard was playing jokes on me all day so i thought its my time to get him back so i waited and waited and finally richard had to go pee but the restroom was too far for richard so he went to the front of the sean monroe van little did richard know i was sitting in the driver seat so as he procedded to do his busisness when i turned on the headlights of the van and as the lights came on he turned around to see the whole pit stands in 1 and 2 could see him he turned bright red and said ok you got me good one kid *********************************************************** Posted by Terry on December 8, 2008, 8:48 am, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Heres a Richard Hooper moment of mine . Had to be back in 96 or 97 me being 12 or 13 at the time ended up in his pits after the races listening to his old racing stories of how he raced against the likes of Earnhardt at Ascot and he also bragged about his cousin driving the dr. pepper car in the busch series at that time . Who would have thought years later I would have ever gotten the chance to race against hooper and I will never forget how nervous I was that he was starting behind me in my first ever heat race in a late model . Lets just say I let him go and jumped in behind him to learn a thing or 2 . I finished 3rd in that heat behind Hooper and another of his cars but I'll never forget how much fun it was to run behind him and start reeling him in . *********************************************************** Posted by B. Hooper on December 8, 2008, 12:55 pm, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" People knew that my dad raced at OSS for years. 60% of them thought my dad was Richard. For the longest time I would hear from people, "I saw your dad win last Saturday night." And I'm thinking " My Dad (G. Scheidecker) crashed up at Mesa on Saturday night? It wasn't until I read the paper and put 2 and 2 together. Richard would always remind me that we could be related. He was from Illinois, as are my parents. I remember one time in Blythe, we were having some beers. He looked at my kids and said "You know we could be related". The look on my sons face was priceless. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to know Richard and to have been his friend. He made my job hard when he was in a race car. But I would not give that experience up for the world. We lost a competitor, a soldier, and most importantly a friend. King Richard you will be missed! Brian and Tracey Hooper *********************************************************** Posted by Briann Kelley on December 9, 2008, 10:57 am, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" It is hard to think of one good/funny story about Richard at this moment,so I will tell you the story of the first time I met Richard. I worked at a gas station when I was 15 years old in Sun Valley, right down the street from Hooper's shop.Between the gas station and Hooper's shop was a small group of shops including Stick Only that used to build racing transmissions and sponsor a lot of the local racers at that time.In that small complex of shops was an old fashioned dairy drive-thru.While picking up some parts I here the sound of an open exhaust race car pulling in.As I walked over to see what the noise was, I see this bearded guy climbing out of the window opening of a Grand National stock car to buy some Beer and Ice Cream....I thought to my self this guy is crazy. Driving a stock car on the street in the middle of the day to buy Beer.Little did I know I would end up driving one of his cars and working for him some day. I'm going to miss that bearded crazy guy....... *********************************************************** Posted by CSpies on December 9, 2008, 1:41 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" I always smile when I think about the time we were having problems with our racecar and I went over to Hooper's pit to get his opinion. All I had to say was that we were having issues with the rear-end and I'm telling you...the bologna sandwich he was munching on was slammed down onto the back of his pick-up truck boom! he was instantly under our car checking things out! My husband and I still giggle about that bologna sandwich being slammed down with the bread going two different dirrections. But what was even more impressive was the importance he put on friendship and helping a co-competitor. We'll miss you King Richard. You were really one in a million. *********************************************************** Posted by Sherm on December 9, 2008, 11:49 pm, in reply to "Re: To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" Okay a couple of little stupid Richard stories. Debbie told these the best but I will give it a try for Richard. In 2005 when Richard and I were racing together, we also pitted together. I would bring a crock pot to the track full of hot dogs for us to munch on during the day. Instead of actually making myself a hot dog I would normally just reach into the hot crock pot and pull one out and eat it by itself. After doing this Debbie came out to me laughing her a## off telling me that Richard had tried to do the same thing. I was too hot for Richard and he had to drop it back. He looked at Debbie and said "how the hell doe's he do that?". The rest of the season every time I knew he was watching I pulled out another hot dog just to tease him. By the end of the season he was finally able to pull one out and eat it without burning himself. He walked out of that trailer, holding his hot dog, struting like he just set a new track record, eating his hot dog. Dang good memory. The second is when Debbie came up to me.... Again laughing her A## off because of Richard. While standing in line to purchase their pit passes, Richard grabbed the A## of the guy in front of Debbie who happened to be one of his pit crew. I guess he turned and just saw Debbie standing there smiling, he never knew it was Richard that had grabbed his A##. The rest of the night he could hardly even look at Debbie in the eyes. It may sound silly or stupid, but if I had a chance to just BS with any "CUP" driver for an evening, I always thought it would be someone like Ken Shrader. The stories he could tell would be unreal. If I had to pick any short track driver to just BS with for the evening, well it would be most likely King Richard Hooper and I very glad I had that opportunity. Sherm *********************************************************** Posted by Anthony61 on December 10, 2008, 1:40 am, in reply to "To help us get through this Tough Time loosing such a Great Person" I sat here all of Sat night and just stared at the screen. Sunday I stayed busy with the kids and refused to turn the computer on. I talked to/at Rich Sun night and I guess that helped cuz now I'm good. In the spirit of this thread Rich liked to #### with me every chance he got. The madder I got the more he liked it. If I was smart and didn't let him get to me he would stop and include me on ####ing with someone else. Whenever we got into a fight we would make up by pulling a prank on someone else together (not always but alot of the time). Man have I got some Hooper stories. One of the earliest I remember is when I was 15 and he was racing Saugus. He offered to take me in the pits but you had to be 18. No problem he says, "get into the trunk of his car and he'll sign in and drive into the pits. When the coast is clear I get out , put on his pitpass ... no problem. I got into the trunk at Bouquet Cyn and Soledad Cyn (about half a mile from the track). He drove for about half an hour going off curbs doing donuts and bounced me hard. He yells at me to stop screaming we're at the pit gate. Instead of signing in he bullshits with everyone walking by and doesn't drive in for another half hour. Dirty and dripping sweat, now its a good memory. *********************************************************** |