‘Nascar Tom’ has a PhD in Earnhardt: Torrance resident’s Nascar collection of 30 years has it all
Nascar Tom Henson next to his hero, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
By Ed Solt
From outside, Tom’s Henson residence is just another Torrance suburban tract home built sometime in the mid-50s. Once his garage is open, the bright vibrant yellows and blues, reds and whites, and the iconic blacks and reds glow from the walls and walls of memorabilia marked with fifteens, threes, and eights.
This is just part one, or as “Nascar Tom” Henson, age 66, says, is the “appetizer”of his collection.
“I don’t mind giving tours of my collection,” he said. “I’ve had long time fellow collectors come visit and are humbled when they leave. I love giving the neighborhood kids a tour. It makes me happy to share my collection.”
Henson’s bedroom is home to his collection of matchbox and replica Nascars. Photo
He shares his love of Nascar with the kids because he has fond memories of growing up and listening to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio in the family home he still cares and lives in.
“Legendary indy car racer Parnelli Jones was from our backyard which made the races really exciting,” he said.
A close up of Henson’s cherished, almost completed matchbox collection. Photo
The Torrance native and West High graduate grew up during a time period, the 60s, when the local racing scene was blossoming. While the surf culture and the aerospace industry get credit as the South Bay’s midcentury contribution to Southern California culture, the race culture often gets overlooked. Ascot Speedway was in Gardena. On race night, the roar of sprint cars on the dirt track could be heard all the South Bay. The legendary Lion’s Drag Strip was just a city away, in Wilmington.
“There was always something to do on Friday and Saturday night,” he said. “We built our lives around racing.”
Henson started his collection when he moved back home thirty years ago to take care of his sick father, and then later his mother.
“I started collecting posters and the old trading cards,” he said. “That’s where it all began.”
When he first started following Nascar, a young Dale Earnhardt was quickly his favorite.
“When Dale was alive, I admired how he handled all situations with a smile. He never got even, mad, or had a vendetta,” Henson said. “Dale Jr. is the same way. I collect all Earnhardt family memorable, Kerry, Kelly, and his grandson Jeffrey. I love Nascar people.”
Anything the Earnhardts’ endorsed, Henson has it. photo
Nascar Tom once made a personal pilgrimage to North Carolina to visit the Dale Earnhardt family dealership.
“This is where I met a 14-year-old Dale Earnhardt Jr,” he said. “He was real nice and even then you knew he was going to be great.”
Every inch of wall space in each room is dedicated to his collection. But it’s not cluttered. It’s highly organized into distinguishable sections. For example, one area has only the bobbleheads, while across the room has only cereal boxes. In his bedroom, a large case full of matchbox cars covers an entire wall. Organization is dictated by the year raced so that he recognizes the cars he is missing by the empty slot.
“Some of my favorites are my rare pin collection,” he said. “I feel accomplished from this collection that started in a small case. It outgrew the small case and took over shelves in a bookcase, then an entire bookcase, and now it’s displayed on an entire wall. Many of the things in my collection started this way.”
Henson has been sought out in the past by collector magazines for price consulting. Ebay is his playground as he actively on eBay, buying, trading, and selling.
“As a super collector, I have the broadest and well-rounded collection out there,” he said. “From A to Z, I’ve got it.”
He considered his Earnhardt BBQs “the coolest thing he’s got,” but then again, you can’t forget the replica push cars. You may think his Dale Earnhardt Winston brand cigarettes from 1988 are his most unique item, but he’s got a few unlicensed things.
Nascar collector Tom Henson. During a tour of Henson’s collection, fittingly, a ZZ Top tune played during the break of the Nascar program on his television. Photos
“I have a good gag item, Dale Earnhardt toilet paper,” Henson said. “It says, ‘Rough and tough and won’t take shit from nobody.’”
He joked that his obsession is something “he would not wish on anybody.” To a certain degree, he may be perceived as a ZZ Top bearded eccentric decked in an Earnhardt hoodie, but there’s more to it.
“A lot of things would be impossible to find without help from friends,” Henson said. “These are the items I cherish most. It’s the friendship behind them that mean the most to me.” ER
“Nascar Tom” Henson is still actively seeking and selling memorabilia. Contact him at Tomsnascar@verizon.net. ER