Southern California drag racing pioneer Joaqin Arnett, a key member of the famed Bean Bandits team, died Sept. 24. He was 83.

The San Diego-based Bean Bandits machines, driven by Arnett, Carlos Ramirez, Andrew Ortega, and others, terrorized Southern California in the early 1950s, winning races and setting track records in abundance. Perhaps one of their most famous wins was at the Southern California Championships in Pomona in April 1953 at NHRA's first official event.

Arnett bought his first car at age 13, using money earned from a newspaper route. He learned to weld at a neighborhood shop in San Diego, where he also learned how to repair cars as well as modify them. Arnett originally raced with the Road Runners and the Southern California Roadster Club at Muroc and El Mirage in the late 1940s before helping found the Bean Bandits in 1951. While the club had also had African-American, Caucasian, and Japanese members, it was mostly made up of Mexican-Americans. Its home base was the track at Paradise Mesa Airfield, outside of San Diego.

Arnett was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1992.

{source}
<div style="float:left; padding:5px;">
<script type="text/javascript">
sr_adspace_id = 2000000613807;
sr_adspace_width = 300;
sr_adspace_height = 250;
sr_ad_new_window = true;
sr_adspace_type = "graphic";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ad.afy11.net/srad.js?azId=2000000613807">
</script></div>

<div style="padding:5px;"><script type="text/javascript">
google_ad_client = "pub-8044869477733334";
/* 300x250, created 4/3/09 */
google_ad_slot = "2028912167";
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 250;
</script>
<script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</div>{/source}