ALEX XYDIAS R.I.P

Another icon of the Bonneville Salt Flats has passed away. He was 102 years old. Alex Xydias was best known for driving the famous So-Cal streamliner in the early days of auto racing. In the late ’40s, he created the first version, made from a drop tank powered by a Flathead Ford V-8 60, built with the help of Dean Batchelor.

With assistance from Neil Emory, Rod’s grandfather, the car morphed into a version that won the Salt Flat Racing Association’s first Hot Rod Trophy at the 1949 Bonneville Nationals, with a speed of 193.54 mph. It would become the first to exceed 200 mph. Alex also opened the So-Cal Speed Shop in Burbank, one of the first of its kind in Southern California. I had the good fortune to meet him once at the Dean Batchelor MPG awards.