Petaluman has a need for speed

It’s often said that if you want to be happy in life, it’s best to do something you really enjoy. It’s a goal many of us have strived for but few have ever taken to heart as seriously as former automotive mechanic and certified gear head Ed Lopus, who’s never wavered on his guilty pleasure of cranking up the adrenaline and living in the fast lane.

Driving fast cars was what impressed Lopus the most and his early role models were the men in Petaluma who shared his desire for speed and racing – those who wanted their fast cars to go faster. Among those he admired for their automotive expertise and racing panache were Lloyd Silacci, Ed Normi and Rick Henderson.

Ed Lopus was born in 1933, and his father, George Lopus, operated a gas station where South City Market now sits while his mother, Claire Lopus, worked as an egg candler at Poultry Producers.

Ed left school in 1950 to join the Navy, where he became an aviation mechanic during the Korean War. Discharged from the service at age 21, he soon realized that skilled auto mechanics were in demand and were paid more than aviation mechanics.

Fresh out of the service and wanting to be race car driver, Lopus raced hardtops at Petaluma Speedway on Thursday and Friday nights in his first race car, a 1939 Chevy. Many people don’t realize that racing has always been a popular sport in Petaluma and regular weekly racing has been a mainstay at Petaluma Speedway for more than 65 years. His first victory on the speedway’s old quarter-mile flat track came as he slid sideways across the finish line, which was a vast improvement from his initial two races that ended with rollovers.

After a short stint at Silacci’s Speed Shop, Lopus landed a job working for Lee Ruegge and Ed Normi at their Mobil Service at East Washington and Vallejo streets. While there, he built a “claimer” race car that was required to be sold to anyone who paid the $99 claimer fee. At one time, Lopus owned what was regarded as the fastest car in town, a high-performance 1949 Mercury with four two-barrel carburetors that was not a true race car, but a street racer. The downside to owning such a fast car, according to Lopus, was that you were likely to acquire a stack of speeding tickets.

“I collected so many tickets that I had a charge account with Judge Webb,” Lopus quipped.

Lopus was also drawn to fast boats - the faster the better - and owned a variety of high powered watercraft ski boats. He gave up the boats for motorcycles in 1971 when he helped establish the now defunct Sonoma County Sports Cycle Association for dirt bike riders.

“Everything we did outdoors was connected to speed or racing,” said Lopus, explaining the passion he shared with his wife, Marie, and children Eddie, Coleen, Toni and Tina.

He and the former Marie Mazzucchi were married at St. Vincent’s church in 1957 and will soon celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary. Twins seem to run in the family gene pool: Marie is a twin, her brother fathered twins, her kids Toni and Tina are twins and her son Eddie is the father of twin girls.

After about 10 years of riding on hills and trails, Lopus sold the motorcycles and he and Marie took up black powder shooting, a sport that recreates the spirit of the old west using muzzle loading guns and long rifles, the type made famous by Daniel Boone and popular with mountain men and fur traders since the early 1700s. Black powder enthusiasts get together for black powder rendezvous where the participants dress in buckskin clothing and period dress.

Ed Lopus retired after 36 years of combined service with Normi’s Auto Repair, which became a Ford tractor dealer before it was sold to Wilcox Tractor and eventually became Freeman Toyota, and with Mountain Roads van conversions and Marie Lopus retired after 33 years with Waste Management. They swim together every afternoon and regularly attend Petaluma Speedway during racing season.

(Harlan Osborne’s column Toolin’ Around Town appears every two weeks. Contact him at harlan@sonic.net.)