I've been posting various shots of 1955 event since page 92 of this thread. There are some additional photos the 2-engine bike and crew on pages 92 and 94.
Bud is not my dad, but you're close. I've known Bud my entire life, as my dad, Rex Wright, began working at with Bud in the mid-50s. I still see Bud every Saturday, as he stops by my shop for a little bench racing. Bud starts Saturday mornings with free coffee and donuts at Eagle Harley (down the street), then makes it to our place before lunchtime!
Bud, and his brother John (in the black leathers shown above), started Schmitt Speed Shop in Chalmers, Indiana in the early '50s. My dad worked for Bud in the '50s building engines and doing dozens of engine swaps after the overhead valve introduction. Schmitt Speed Shop was well known in the Midwest for building Merc-illacs and Ford-illacs, and lots of Olds swaps, too. My dad was the engine swap artist at the shop.....I think they did more than 75 swaps before he left to start his own business a couple of towns away in Wolcott.
Everyone in the shop was drag racing on weekends, mostly at Andy Granatelli's Half Day Speedway near Chicago. The two engine bike was a dominant force at the track, along with George Smith's (founder of S&S) bike. Today, a large 72"x60" photo of the bike hangs in the AMA Motorcycle Museum, as part of their motorcycle drag racing history display.
To fast forward, I grew up listening to my dad (and Bud) talk about their 1955 trip to Bonneville....repeatedly! The same group of guys that went out in 1955 continued to be friends, and would often meet up at my dad's shop, or at Bud's shop and laugh about old times. Every weekend, Bonneville was a topic.
In 2004, I purchased a car and decided to take a run at Bonneville. My dad and I both ran, I went 226+ average in my first "full out" atempt. Not bad on a 233 record. You'll see the same group of guys in my pit that accompanied Bud in 1955. From From Left to Right, Jake Hall, Steve Ashby, Bud Schmitt and Rex Wright. In 2005, I wokrked with the folks at Eagle Harley and we took a modified Vrod out for Bud to race, 50 years afer his initial run. We've all been back to the salt every year since.