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Photograph and Marketing Archive of White\'s Pit Stop,
a Custom Drag Racing & Motorcycle Shop
[Chicago]: [ca. 1970s]. A large archive documenting motorcycle and custom car culture, centering around White\'s Pit Stop, a Chicago-area auto retailer, and its sister store Chopper Corner. Containing roughly 175 loose original photographs, varying in size, including roughly 75 8\" x 10\" prints and 100 snapshots, one illustrated company catalog, a catalog of motorcycle-themed clip-art designs, and various articles of ephemera. An archive of product, marketing, and race photos compiled and utilized by White’s Pit Stop, a retailer and distributor of auto parts for hot-rodders and drag racers. White’s first opened its doors in 1967 amid a nationwide boom in drag racing. Its proximity to the storied U.S. 30 Raceway in nearby Hobart, Indiana (a frequent location for the included images of its sponsored drag cars in action) likely supplied it with a steady stream of customers. The post-Easy Rider popularity and commercialization of outlaw biker culture spurred White’s to open Chopper Corner immediately next door to its original location in Bolton, Illinois. That business sported plenty of chrome, fork extensions, custom leather, and accoutrements that catered to the growing “chopper” enthusiasts including the Chicago branch of The Outlaws, the notorious 1% biker club profiled in Danny Lyon’s 1968 photobook The Bikeriders as well as for its longstanding feud with the Hells Angels. The photos include images of the shops interiors, special promotional events, various shop sponsored drag race cars, as well as product photography and layout materials likely used in the company’s counter and mail order catalogs. A rich visual record of the post-WWII rise of custom motorcycle and automotive cultures.
