A day or two before any modern motorsports racing event, lumbering mega-trucks pull in and unfold into human-assisted race support giant robots. Empty parking lots are transformed in mere hours into a sea of trailers with satellite uplinks, spare parts, and very deep pockets to keep it all humming. This was not always the case. Phil Burgess over at NHRA Insider has assembled an … [Read more...]
Hot Rodding Electric Cars
It was just a few years into living that we gained knowledge of modifying electric cars for more power and increased velocity. Digging through the Clunkbucket Collection, we found an original Aurora Thunderjet car that was hopped up as a father-son project to beat the guy in the other lane. From what little we can remember, this procedure involved hand wrapping more copper … [Read more...]
Bug-In is Volkswagen History in Motion
The question when talking about the Bug-In is an easy one. Who doesn't like wheelstanding turbocharged Volkswagen Beetles that run 11-second quarter miles at over 100 miles per hour? Anyone? While there is obviously a large amount of Volkswagen and America that that became synonymous with an unfortunate granola munching Hippie shtick in the '60s, an intrepid few eschewed the … [Read more...]
El Mirage is No Illusion
While far saltier dry lake cousin Bonneville gets most of the glory, it was in the dusty Southern California desert where drag and dry lake racing got going on a grass roots level. Miscreants, racers, nerds, and tough guys alike motored out from Los Angeles and Orange County to the high desert in hopped-up gow jobs and jalopies. The goal was to run flat out in an unlimited … [Read more...]
Bakersfield As Barometer
The motor homes across from the pits stretched out side-by-side a quarter-mile long and four rows deep, all the way back to the fence. On the deeper, wider pit side, there were hundreds of megabuck transporters and motor homes and trailers and a quadrillion dollars’ worth of vintage race cars, hot rods and customs. Orange groves, grape arbors and oil wells surround this … [Read more...]