On Nov. 17, 1952, Jim Miles and 16 others decided to create a group to share their love for drag racing and cars in a way that gave back to their community. They named it the Burbank Road Kings.
“We decided to give back to the city what the city has done for us,” said Jim Miles.

Burbank Road Kings hosted their 70th anniversary car picnic for their 80-plus members last weekend. The event featured more than 30 of the members’ cars, including a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda, 1965 Ford Mustang and 1963 Plymouth Fury Super.


All cars stayed true to Burbank Road Kings’ members’ policy of having to own an American-made vehicle dating prior to 1979 with modifications. Miles attributes this to wanting to be reminded of the cars they had in high school. There were refreshments and food for all, cooked by their fellow members.


The event took a month to plan by special event coordinator Gary Arellano and his wife Karen Arellano. It was hosted at Don Redding’s Old Car House on The Old Road near Towsley Canyon.
“They kind of adopted me,” said Don Redding, a three-year honorary member of the Burbank Road Kings. Redding felt honored to host the event at his property.


For the past 70 years, Burbank Road Kings has been giving back to the Burbank community. As President Bruce Borst said, they have given back to the homeless through working with the Burbank Temporary Aid Center, raised money for a Kevlar bulletproof vest for a police dog, participated in YMCA’s trunk and treat and more.
Burbank Road Kings doesn’t want to be solely recognized as a car club.
“They should think of us a charitable organization,” said Miles.