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Elaine were treated like celebrities,
and no wonder: he has been racing the
car for 34 straight years. Along the
way Nagamatsu also purchased Bal-
chowsky’s original 1959 “Old Yeller II”
racer, powered by a Buick nailhead V8.
He added it to his racing team and
brought both cars with him on his
travels. Since it raced in a separate
class, Nagamatsu was able to get a
two-fer at the races he drove in.
The latest race was an invitation-
only event at the prestigious Chateau
Impney Hill Climb. Nagamatsu also
ran Old Yeller at the event. The car
had previously been driven by Carroll
Shelby, Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant,
Billy Krause and, of course, Max Bal-
chowsky.
A British television media com-
pany was interested in getting live, in-
car race footage, shown in real-time on
a giant screen. Nagamatsu and his
cars were very popular and he was
asked to do nine separate interviews,
including three live “on the air” spots
with BBC stations
The Cobra was promoted by the
Chateau Impney Media Company on
radio and TV spots as “Hollywood
Stars Coming to Chateau Impney.”
The film company pros installed the
necessary hardware in the car and it
was remotely activated. Footage was
subsequently aired on a BBC program
called, “Hollywood Stars.” When word
got out that the Cobra had appeared
in the Elvis Presley movie, “Spin Out”
and Disney’s “The Love Bug” and Old
Yeller was featured in “Viva Las
Vegas” the cars were treated like the
Hollywood stars that they were.
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Fall 2016 63