Hubert Platt-2005 Honoree-NHRA National Hot Rod Renunion
by Ed Miles
From the early days as a struggling drag racer, through the factory years and into the present days, one thing is constant about Hubert Platt---his magnetic and genuinely engaging personality. He is a person who makes everyone he meets feel very important, and always has time to help others. He has always been an upfront kind of guy. If he liked you you knew it because he would do anything for you. If he didn't like something about you----you also knew that because he would tell you, not behind your back, but face to face, and even in those rare moments, those people also admired him for being so upfront and honest with them.
Another consistent trait Hubert has always displayed is the appearance , both of himself and his cars. We all know the sterotypical image of the drag racer with grease under his fingernails, dirty jeans and tee shirt and unkept hair. Contrast that with Hubert's appearance; clean and well groomed with starched shirts, shiney boots and pressed jeans, even with a "crease".
I think these traits along with Huberts "gift of gab" were the very elements that attracted Ford Motor Company to choose him to be their spokesman to tour the country talking with the public and showcasing their products.
Hubert made the trip from the early days of curving, winding roads of the carolinas and Georgia, to the straight line of the drag strips, and straight into the boardrooms in the heart of the automotive industry in Detroit and Dearborn, and was a perfect fit at every stop along the way.
But far from being "all show and no go", Hubert's on track preformances were ledgendary as all his career shows. This is best illustrated by the following story.
Around 1960, a young kid around twelve years of age was fascinated by Hubert and his racing at a rural drap strip in the deep south one hot Saturday night. His attention was drawn to Hubert not only by his on track preformance but by Hubert's massive gold ring cast in the initials......HP------so he looked up at Hubert and asked, " Does the HP mean horse power or Hubert Platt ? Hubert looked down and placed his hand on the kid's shoulder and replied, "Well son, .....I think it means both !
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From the early days as a struggling drag racer, through the factory years and into the present days, one thing is constant about Hubert Platt---his magnetic and genuinely engaging personality. He is a person who makes everyone he meets feel very important, and always has time to help others. He has always been an upfront kind of guy. If he liked you you knew it because he would do anything for you. If he didn't like something about you----you also knew that because he would tell you, not behind your back, but face to face, and even in those rare moments, those people also admired him for being so upfront and honest with them.
Another consistent trait Hubert has always displayed is the appearance , both of himself and his cars. We all know the sterotypical image of the drag racer with grease under his fingernails, dirty jeans and tee shirt and unkept hair. Contrast that with Hubert's appearance; clean and well groomed with starched shirts, shiney boots and pressed jeans, even with a "crease".
I think these traits along with Huberts "gift of gab" were the very elements that attracted Ford Motor Company to choose him to be their spokesman to tour the country talking with the public and showcasing their products.
Hubert made the trip from the early days of curving, winding roads of the carolinas and Georgia, to the straight line of the drag strips, and straight into the boardrooms in the heart of the automotive industry in Detroit and Dearborn, and was a perfect fit at every stop along the way.
But far from being "all show and no go", Hubert's on track preformances were ledgendary as all his career shows. This is best illustrated by the following story.
Around 1960, a young kid around twelve years of age was fascinated by Hubert and his racing at a rural drap strip in the deep south one hot Saturday night. His attention was drawn to Hubert not only by his on track preformance but by Hubert's massive gold ring cast in the initials......HP------so he looked up at Hubert and asked, " Does the HP mean horse power or Hubert Platt ? Hubert looked down and placed his hand on the kid's shoulder and replied, "Well son, .....I think it means both !
NHRR Photos
More NHRR Photos
Even More NHRR Photos
posted by David @ 1:22 AM
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