Mason Dixon Dragway, Rocking Chair Nationals – A lot of us remember growing up and idolizing the drivers we’d see in the car magazines, always with great cars and pushing the envelope. Gene Schwartz is a true legend from that era of drag racing, a time when racing at Indy was the biggest prize imaginable. Gene actually started out like a lot of us by drawing pictures of cars when he was in grade school. It became serious business for him not too much further down the road.

The ’52 Chevy Deluxe coupe that he is known for took a path to the track that few cars ever have. Gene explained, “My dad bought the car brand new and gave it to me when I was 15.” Instead of trashing that first car like so many new drivers do, the car not only survived, it grew from a street car into a legend all its’ own. According to Schwartz, “I turned it into an NHRA work. That’s how the car looked back in ’62 (pointing to the car). Actually, the way it’s lettered now, that was 1965, that’s what that car looked like exactly.”

I asked Gene was his favorite memories were from his racing days, and he didn’t hesitate for a second with his answer, “Winning Indy. That was my goal ever since I was a little kid. I wanted to win it. Winning Indy back in the 60s, your class and to win the Nationals and to hold the national record was the goal everybody was shooting for. ’64  through ‘67 I held the national record and it was ‘66 I won Indy. I could have won every year. I went to trophy run every year. One year the fuel pump went bad, the Hilborn pump one year. I broke the rear end right on the line. These are all trophy runs. 1963 my brother [Glenn] missed second gear, trophy run, we were on Wide World of Sports, national television, and in ‘67 I red lighted. Trophy runner again. Almost won Street Eliminator in ’66, me in a G stock.”

With all those accomplishments, you’d wonder whatever happened that prevented Schwartz from becoming a household, drag racing name, like John Force. As it turns out, the answer to that was pretty simple. According to Gene, “With drag racing, when they got rid of the gassers, they were going Factory Experimental, and they eliminated all the fun gas classes, A-B-C-D-F-G-H. [I said] No more. That’s when I quit and started playing the bass.” For those who aren’t familiar with Gene Schwartz, this is the first clue that he may be the only person in the world to go from racing legend to music legend. When I mentioned him being an expert guitarist, he was quick to point out, “Bass, I never played 6-string guitar. I’m always just the bass player.” Just the bass player. He and his brother, Glenn, an expert on the 6-string, together influenced and mentored a lot of now-famous musicians, probably even having an effect on music as we know it today. Yeah. Just the bass player. Of his transition from racing to music, he would go on to say, “I met Robert [Lockwood, Jr.] three years later and lasted 37 years with him touring the world.”

It looked like Gene was having a lot of fun at the track today and he confirmed that, “Yeah, me and Rick [Osburn] are having fun. He got me invited here.” There was some extra energy in his voice as he showed me pictures of his current band, Gene Schwartz and G-Force, and the old band with Robert Lockwood, Jr. While Schwartz is an unassuming, easy to get along with, laid-back guy, there’s a confidence to him that lets you know he’s more than just an average person. He would close by saying, “I want people to know what I do. I want people to know … I did accomplish a lot of different s—. I work for it. I work hard to get where I’m at, you know. I sacrificed a lot, got divorced, everything, to do this.” Schwartz did, indeed, accomplish a lot becoming a legend in drag racing and music both. Keep that in mind if you get to hear him play bass with his band or see the front wheels of his race car leave the earth. All that fun came from a life of hard work and dedication.

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