Comments on: E.J. Potter – The Michigan Madman

By: Bob Gill

Bob Gill — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:40:45 +0000

EJ,
Its Bob Gill. I haven’t seen you in over 35 years or so..How can I talk to you. We had some fun times together. Remember Boston dragway when you raced TV Tommy Ivo? What a blast that was…

Bob Gill
http://www.bobgilldaredevillegend.com

By: kneeslider

kneeslider — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:21:33 +0000

See my answer here.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:15:05 +0000

What about the electric bike? The one that had pickups for the two wires that extended all the way down the track? Anybody know anything about it?

By: John Abney

John Abney — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:08:43 +0000

I was a witness to the spectacle that was EJ Potter in about 1965. It was raining at Biloxi Dragway, and it was pretty apparent, even from a distance, that the promoter did not intend to pay EJ unless he ran the Widowmaker at least once. After some spirited armwaving, EJ hooked up the Widomaker and towed it down the strip to bump-start. Returning to the line, he calmly set the centerstand, grabbed a handful of throttle and let her go.

EJ was immediately surrounded by a cloud of steam and tire smoke. Things kind of happened in slow motion and the bike, barely moving, was completely obscured. Suddenly EJ appeared from the cloud, completely sideways and still wide open. He never straightened up and never let off the throttle. Amazing!

I just realized that was over 40 years ago and is still a vivid memory. I’m betting everybody who saw him perform has a similar story.

By: Jim Burnett

Jim Burnett — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 22:12:08 +0000

I saw E. J. run the Widowmaker at Martin, Michigan in the mid 60′s. Awsome.
I also saw an article in a mag about the ’59 Plymouth 4 door that he put an Allison engine in. He sat in the back seat to drive it!