As remembered by Nan Robison
My first recollection of Cokey Williams was in 1972. My brother Rick had decided to try his luck in the Montana 500 endurance run. My Mom and I had been enlisted as pit crew. When we arrived on check in day, the multitude and variety of T's amazed me. There were T's of every color and condition, but one really stood out. That was Cokey's. Cokey hailed from Hayward, CA. This was his second race, having entered in 1971. That year he placed 9th, and swore he would come back and win the 1972 race. He drove a 1924 and, he said that he was going to chrome everything if his car didn't win in "71". It didn't, and he did. Cokey stood out in a crowd. He was a very confident man, and while racing, always wore stylish coveralls, and a very natty chapeau. I constantly marveled at how his coveralls were always immaculate. I saw him in and under his car's engine as often as any other driver. How he kept them so spotless is still a mystery to me. His car in 1972 was a beaut! It was a sleek silver-gray and black 26-7 roadster, with Model A wheels, and lots of chrome. He had purchased the car at the Reno swap meet about 2 years before the race. It was a mass of rust and the turtle deck was riddled with bullet holes when he bought it. Cokey stated that "It looked like Bonnie and Clyde's car". You could see the filled bullet holes if you looked in the turtle deck. He estimated that he had spent about $1400.00 and 3000 hours restoring it to virtually mint condition. Rumor had it that he said it had somewhere between 21-47 coats of hand rubbed lacquer.
