BRAINERD – Jim Knebel broke his right arm as an 8-year-old living on a Minnesota farm near Paynesville. He wound up in the hospital, developed gangrene and the lower part of his arm was removed.
"It's gone just below the elbow," said Knebel, looking at a well-used prosthetic device with a hook at the end.
That is why all acquaintances in Minnesota's drag racing circles — and elsewhere in the region — refer to him as "Hook" in conversation.
"That could be considered offensive in these times in which we live, Mr. Knebel," I said.
He smiled, said "Give me a second," then entered the recreation vehicle that he had parked in a choice spot on the massive grounds of Brainerd International Raceway.
Knebel came back a few seconds later with an old photo of his racing car — a 1970 Cutlass — with "HOOK" written on the driver's door. He raced that Cutlass with different engines for different classes from 1986 through 2012.
"It was known to everyone as the Hook Car," he said.
Like many competitors in "bracket racing" (meaning, not the majors), Knebel did almost all the work on his car for those 27 years. And then there was the assistance in the drag racing efforts of his sons John and Andy.
