Bio – Ray Motes         

        Ray Motes is another of the sports multi-faceted participants who became interested in the sport at a very early age. At the ripe old age of eleven, his dad took him to a jalopy race and he was instantly bitten by the race bug. Later he saw a movie that had a couple of shots of drag racing and decided that was where he wanted to begin. While still in junior high, Ray became the proud owner of a 1949 Ford that qualified for F/Stock in AHRA competition. Because there wasn’t an N1961HRA track in Kansas City where he lived, he had to sneak out of town to other surrounding locations to be able to race. In 1961 Ray moved up a few classes to compete in F/Gas with a 1940 Ford powered by a modified flathead but he wanted to go even faster so he built a metal T bucket roadster still using a modified flathead for its power. This car set the AHRA speed and ET records and provided Ray with enough winnings to build his next and more serious car. This one was a glass ‘T’ bucket on a tube chassis with a 301 CI Chevrolet for power in BB/Roadster class and with which he promptly set another pair of AHRA records. Still seeking to go faster, he bored and stroked the Chevy to 377 CI and switched to nitro for fuel. This latest addition for power resulted in an extremely ill handling machine so his answer to the problem was to install a blown Chrysler Hemi which very quickly proved to be the wrong answer. Since he still had the engine but realized the roadster was not the answer, in 1967 Ray acquired a dragster chassis, installed the blown Hemi in it and switched back to gas. This combination proved to be more successful and he started winning at the local tracks. At this time there wasn’t an NHRA track in Ray’s area so he made another engine change, installing a blown late model Chrysler “Elephant” Hemi in the dragster and ran well enough to encourage him to travel the distance necessary to compete within the NHRA Division V circuit.

In 1968 Ray met Dwane Smith while competing at his local Kansas City track and was promptly offered a job in Dwane’s automotive speed equipment business which he took without hesitation. Working together as a team, the pair established a chain of speed shops across Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma under the name Grand Prix Speed Shops. They also organized and sponsored a Top Gas circuit called the Mid West All Stars. While putting together the chain of stores and the circuit, Ray teamed up with R.C. Williams to continue with his driving efforts still with a Hemi powered gas dragster. When the single engine proved to be unable to compete with the twin engine gas dragsters the pair made the switch and built their own twin 454 CI Hemi powered dragster which proved to be more successful and more fun to drive.

Like most racers, Ray wanted to go faster and experience a greater variety of cars so when NHRA eliminated Top Gas in 1972 he took over the controls of the “Hot Sauce” AA/Fuel Funny car with some moderate success. In 1975 Ray moved into the driver’s seat of John Pusch’s AA/Fuel Funny car competing mainly in division races and match races and in 1985 he teamed up with R.C. Williams again, this time campaigning the Cherokee Warrior AA/Alcohol Funny car. This car provided the team with the 1985 AHRA World Championship, the 1988 ADRA World Championship and the 1993 NHRA Shoot Out event. In 1994 Ray retired from driving to devote full time to attend to his business endeavors.

After leaving the Performance retail and wholesale business in 1985, Ray spent the next 23 years as Vice President and General Manager of Taylor Cable Products. In 1994 Taylor Cable Products purchased Vertex Magnetos which Ray promptly returned to its prime standing within the industry. Ray retired from Taylor Cable in 2008 but still keeps active within the industry partnering with his son in a Goodyear Automotive Care Center. Also while at Taylor Cable, Ray established a very racer friendly sponsor and contingency awards program that has benefited a number of competitors in various racing arenas.

During his driving career Ray won four National events including the NHRA World Finals and the last Top Gas Dragster win ever at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana, a NHRA World Championship, an AHRA World Championship and an ADRA World Championship to become the only person to win World Championships in all three sanctioning bodies. He was also named NHRA Division V Man of the Year in 1971, received its 1970   Performance of the Year award, its Driver of the Year in 1970 its 1993 Shootout Winner and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004 at the Heartland Hot Rod Reunion he was awarded the “Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Drag Racing” award.