What is car culture? Well, that depends on who you ask. Some would say it’s a way of
expressing individuality while others may describe it as a network of people who share a love of
cars. At the end of the day, all will say car culture is a community. Burbank’s notable car culture
began in the 1950s when a group of about 10 teenagers from John Burroughs and Burbank high
school got together to “soup up” their cars for drag racing. This was during an era of carhops,
Bob’s Big Boy, poodle skirts and cruising Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards. Fifty years later
and the club has grown to 100 members that hold events every month to showcase cars while
raising money for the community.
What started out as something so small ended up producing professional drag racers like
Tommy Ivo, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, Kenny Stafford, Tom Jandt, Tony Nancy, and Bob
Muravez. These men went from settling things with a race on the “the River Road”, a little-used
highway, and having to scoot back across the river to Burbank if the L.A. cops were called on
them to making an earning from professional drag races that would help them buy homes and
begin car collections that would later be placed in museums for everyone to see. Nowadays,
members of the Road Kings drive out their cars to Burbank’s Bob’s Big Boy every Friday night
for informal gatherings as well as organized car shows in or around the area. Burbank’s car
culture continues to grow as new youth join the club and learn from the older generations.
The AR Experience focuses on three areas that heavily influenced Burbank’s Car
Culture: San Fernando, Riverside Drive, and LA River. The three specific areas showcase site specific images during the tour. In addition to the images, users will hear stories from Tommy
Ivo, Road King Club member and famous drag racer, about his time spent in each place.
