Tom Baum Passes

Hey guys, I figured I'd post this on here. I think there is a few of us that knew "The Bomber".


From Bill Baum:

Just wanted to pass on some sad news - Tom Baum died today, Oct 27, from congestive heart failure. He ran the Xicutioner blown alcohol dragster out of Des Plaines, IL for many years. Not much success, but known far and wide.

Thanks, Bill Baum

 

R.I.P. Tom

 

RIP Bomb

OH, I will never forget Tom the Bomb. We had alot of great times along with the Zizzo's up at Union Grove. Tom never had alot of money, but he had lots of desire, and would put together what ever he had to make the race car go down the track.
In recent years he would come by at Joliet and Indy and tell me some jokes and talk about the old days.

Tony, Tom told me once that he taught Zizzo (Sr.) everything he knew. LOL

Tom, you will be missed. You were truley one of the drag racing personalities that will forever be in my memory.

Godspeed, old friend.

Marty Thacker & crew

 

Tom certainly fit the definition of Underdog. But by pure grit and determination he kept his dream alive the best he could.

I was proud to help him out as a product sponsor and he always appreciated everything we sent him. He never used me up, so to speak. That's not something I can say about alot of the higher funded racers out there.

Tom was a true character in the best sense of the word. His spirit will be missed. R.I.P. Bomber.

 

RIP Tom.....Remember him from the UDRA days back when Dan Nimmo drove for us those to would tell jokes all day and night where you would belly laugh


Chad Pilkington

 

Tom had a sincere love for the sport, and would always leave you with a smile on your face. RIP Chase

 

I thought the name sounded familiar

Rip Bomber. Never met him but while racing at bowling green way back in 87 (or 88?) the division three TAD guys were sharing story's about him with us. from what we gathered He truly loved the sport.

 

R.I.P. "Bomber" . Tony, If we started a tell a Bomber story section it would be a million pages long and everyone would be smiling. He had more fun racing than anyone i ever knew.

 

R.I.P. Bomber. Another great character gone.

 

My favorite story is from the PRI show in Nashville the year we loaded his dragster into the freight elevator. Under his never say die direction we lifted the nose up through the ceiling and shoved the tail end in just far enough to close the doors.

What started as a product sponsor relationship in 85 blossomed into a true friendship. He never used us up, either and returned the favor 20 fold each and every time. I always thought of him as the type that even though he had little, he would give it all to you if he thought you needed it worse. He will be missed.

While its sad for us left here, I know The Bomber is racing with his pal Al Dapozzo on God's Team, winning every round and setting records on every pass. Rest in peace in the great winners circle my friend.

 

Absolutely Marc....RIP Tom.

 

RIP old friend gonna miss ya

URL=http://img203.imageshack.us/i/tombaum.jpg/][/URL]

 

CORRECTED ADDRESS!

I have the info on arrangements for The Bommer.

Oehler Funeral Home
2099 Miner St. Where Rt. 14 (Northwest Hwy) meets Rand Rd
DesPlaines, IL
(847) 824-5155

Wake is from 3-9 PM Friday 10/30
Funeral @ 9:30 AM Saturday 10/31

Thanks to Jody Schmeisser of Pit Pals for passing the info to me.

 

Can't resist telling one story...We're at Union Grove with our fuel car gotta be around 1980 or so, for the "olympics" Bomber makes a lap and it kicks two rods out...windows what i think was a steel '92...no problem at all...saws off the rods just above the big end bolts them back to the crank..jb welds the piece back in the block and back to the lanes he goes...Dont remember how far he made it on the run but i guarantee you he got a bigger ovation than the star of the show...some guy named Garlits. Gonna miss that guy.
Marc

 

RIP my freind

I met Tom at Indy in 1975, he was running his FED with a straight six, we drove back to Canada to get my motor for the car!! He sure was a character!! I helped him on his trips to Montreal for the Grandnationals when he ran his TA/D. Always had fun! We stayed in touch for years after. He is probably why I run a superchargered motor and am still racing. Rest in Peace, my friend. You will be missed.

Brian

 

Found this in my computer this afternoon.

 

My favorite Tom Baum story.

Anouncer: "The bad news is that Tom Baum has lost another engine....The good news is that he forgot the oil and we will only require a short clean-up....

"Toot-0-Loo"

I was always amazed by his determination and his stories.

It was always the anticipation of his arrival to the track... How many tires would be missing off the trailer. I remember his crew guys trying to find the last couple of teeth on the truck flywheel to get the truck started to pull the car up for the first round.

If you were behind Tom going through the border into Canada, you would always find Tom Baum handouts laying around on the border guards desks.

There should be a DVD of racers telling this stories. I would be a top seller.

What a memorable person. He will be missed.

 

Bring on the "Bomber" stories...

 

Nice write up here on Tom...

http://www.nhra.com/blog/dragster-insider/