We are saddened to learn that fellow local racer, Gary Putman, has passed away. Here’s Gary’s obituary from the Seattle Times:
Gary Robert PUTMAN April 21, 1954 ~ May 3, 2012 Gary was born and grew up in Van Wert, Ohio. After graduating from high school, he spent several years touring the US and Canada, camping, hiking, fishing, paying his way with short term work and freelance auto repair. He settled in Seattle in 1978. Gary continued to be an active outdoorsman, adding boating, motorcycle riding, and drag racing to the activities he enjoyed over the years. He worked 33 years at West Side Import Repair in West Seattle, first as a mechanic and then as owner-operator, until illness forced him to close the business in May 2011. Gary was always willing to lend a hand and share knowledge; he is the last of his family, but will be mightily missed by his many friends. A gift to your favorite charity or to cancer research would be an appropriate memorial. – Published in The Seattle Times on May 7, 2012
This from our August 2004 archives, and how I wish to remember Gary, when he was racing and having a great time. R.I.P. Gary, you will never be forgotten and thanks for the memories… Roger
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We also offer our congratulations to Gary Putman with his Chevy-powered Pontiac, making it to the final round this evening and narrowly missing the win! With this outing, Gary is basically assured a spot on Pacific Raceway’s Pro-bracket team to represent PR at Mission this season! That’s two years in a row that Gary has made the team with the 400 small-block designed by us.
Update: As of August 15th, Gary was #5 in the PR points standings this season!
Gary Putman runs first 10!
Finishes #5 in the PR points race
Rich Carlson photo - Bremerton Raceway 2003
Gary of Westside Imports recorded his first 10-second pass in his Pontiac at Bremerton Raceway on April 11, 2004. Gary runs a 400 Chev low compression, small-block designed by Young Racing Engines.
Gary recorded a 10.977 @ 122.46 mph with a 1.515 sixty-foot time after freshening the engine over the winter after 200 trouble-free passes and installing lower rear gears. The following weekend Gary recorded a even quicker 10.94 pass at Pacific Raceways after averaging 11.20’s @ 118 mph last season.
After a slight jetting change, On the morning of April 25th at PR, Gary ran a 10.83 @ 123+ mph in good air!
Update: Gary finished #5 in the Pro-bracket points at Pacific Raceways this season.
Congratulations to Gary!
My thanks to Bob Warnke for letting me know of the passing of Gary. Sad news…
Sad to here he died after a long battle with cancer. May you rest in peace and hope all your pain is gone.
Pam and I spoke with Barbara last evening. She’s doing pretty well all things considered as it was a long battle for both of them.
She has some things of Gary’s she wants to sell like a compressor and battery charger. If you are in the Seattle area and are interested, contact me at bear317@aol.com with a phone number and I’ll pass it along to Barbara for you.
It was very nice of Dad & Chris to kind of coerce Gary into racing as he had a lot of fun and did really well also. We will miss you Gary but you will not be forgotten.