<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Nitromethane]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Nitromethane]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/nitromethane http://jalopnik.com/tag/nitromethane <![CDATA[200 MPH Nitro Powered Radio Controlled Car]]> We really studied this video with a close eye, because it does not make any sense in a space v. time kind of way. Here's the set up, a sleek, long bullet of a radio controlled car powered by nitromethane, attached at the hip by a cable to a central spike and running around a circular track. Odd certainly, but you can't argue with the results. You can watch the effect of centripetal force elongate the wire as the speed increases. We're totally on board till about till about the 55 second mark — that's when things just get ridiculous. And yet the flag waves normally, the bugs fly around at the same speed and there is no evidence of accelerated video shenanigans. Wow, that's fast. [Youtube] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=379826&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[SEMA 2007: Ford Boss 500 to Burn Nitro]]> Ford and Force Racing unveiled the first new entry into the nitro burning hemi engine field in modern times. The crew developed the engine using space age analytical tools, beefing up the main bearing journals and surrounding webbing to help keep the crank and pistons from windowing the blue anodized block. Force Mustang Funny Car driver Mike Neff will be the first to huff the good stuff through the blower, with Robert Hight and Ashley Force phasing in the mill in their own Mustangs after nitro scientists John Medlin and Austin Coil fine tune the 8000 horsepower nitro burner. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=316917&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[SEMA 2007: Big Daddy and Mopar to Burn Nitro Again]]> Big Daddy Don Garlits has always liked his Chryslers. He stuck with the hemispherical variety of engine even when the dark forces of moneyed sponsorship tried to convince him otherwise. Back in May we found out that he continues to enjoy stuffing hemis down into the framerails. The Swamp Rat XII is now finished and rolling out to SEMA from Florida. The vintage 6:71 blower looks better than bitchen raking down on top of the modern 392 mill. Release and specifications after the jump. [Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=315553&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Down in the Grove at Bakersfield]]> A week has past since we drove into the drizzle with a 207 thousand plus miles econobox to get to Bakerfield for a drag race that also happened to be a swap meet and car show. The roots of the California Hot Rod Reunion run deeper into history than a modern drag racing event. Behind the bleachers at Famoso Raceway is the Grove, in the ground of which trees are planted in honor of those drag racing heavyweights that have passed on. The Grove at the CHRR is packed with those who feel a strong enough connection to the action on the track to fork over a few extra sawbucks to show off their rides - with some spots conspicuously vacant after the call to the staging lanes crackled over the loudspeakers. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=312499&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Super Nova Melt Down at CHRR]]> The bad news is the Randy Walls Super Nova exploded in a horrific fireball at half track during Chicago style first round action at the California Hot Rod Reunion. The good news is Randy walked away with only minor burns and smoke inhalation. The MaxChevy crew were down at the top end and captured the full destructive power of nitro in photo sequence. [Walls Goes 'Super Nova' at CHRR via MaxChevy.com] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=311179&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Monday! Monday! Monday! CHRR Funny Cars!]]> The mayhem that was the Chicago-style Nostalgia Funny Car battle at the California Hot Rod Reunion wrapped yesterday with Bucky Austin driving his 1977 Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste Plymouth Arrow-bodied Funny Car to the king of the hill spot. The struggle to the finish was as heavy in the pits as it was on the track, as crews blew apart what was left of engines to repair damage from the horrors of nitro in time for the next round. Out of nineteen cars entered only one could trip the win light in the end. Vegas, Mustangs, and Firebirds all eventually fell victim to the power of Plymouth. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=311056&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Nitromethane Illuminates a Cacklefest Dusk]]> The good stuff kept burning long after the last pair of race cars lit up the clocks at the California Hot Rod Reunion. With dusk came the return of Cacklefest to the hallowed track surface of Famoso Raceway. Over 50 restored fuel machines of the slingshot and funny car variety first ran parade in front of the capacity crowd, then put fire into the holes until thousands of eyeballs either watered up the acrid power of nitro, emotion, or a mix of both. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310662&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Round one of CHRR Chicago Style Funny Car...]]> Round one of CHRR Chicago Style Funny Car action is a wrap. Randy Walls is OK after his Super Nova went fireball at half track. Terry Capp holds the number one spot with a 6.031 ET at 239.93 mile per hour assault. Full rundown of all the flopper action at Drag Race Central. [CHRR FC Action] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310659&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Fire and Rain and The Ridge Route Blues]]> In a vain attempt to join Jalopnik stringer Bumbeck at Famoso Raceway yesterday morning for Day 2 of the California Hot Rod Reunion, yours truly loaded up the Chrysler with camera gear, sundry recording devices, the Fall box set, and a hot thermos of 80 weight Cafe Bustello. Ahhh.... the Cali Hot Rod Reunion, where period-perfect dragsters of antediluvian design and origins get up on the tire and blister the hides down the length of the quarter-mile. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310642&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Smirnoff Vodka and the Spirit(s) of the Sixties]]> I barely remember the days when Smirnoff vodka sponsored a AA/Fuel Dragster, and how gorgeous the car was in its original incarnation. But I do recall the car and that it was at one time shoed by the legendary dragster driver, Larry Dixon. What I really remember most is the stuff of family legend. Back in the day, my Uncle Phil drove a small-block Chevy Junior gas dragster ("Connelly & Coonce") at various strips in Southern California. In 1967 or '68, at one of Lions Drag Strip's "Professional Dragster Association" meets, my Uncle was suited up and strapped in the car in the staging lanes, waiting his turn to make a qualifying pass. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310639&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Saturday Racing Action from Bakersfield]]> Skies are clear here at Famoso Raceway and the staging lanes are packed. Yesterday brought qualifying along with voluminous amounts of nitromethane, alcohol, and even a bit of race gas burned up for what was the largest single day crowd the CHRR has seen to date. Sunday will bring elimination rounds and the Funny Cars to the tarmac. The first pair of nitro cars are set to light off as the last note of the National Anthem crackles through the PA. Brad Thompson holds the number one Top Fuel qualifying spot with a 5.74 second at 255.89 mile per hour blast. Check the gallery for some of yesterday's racing action today. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310634&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Mopowered Shopping Cart]]> Taking the big box philosophy one step too far are these drag race fans. It's always a good idea to bring a shopping cart to the California Hot Rod Reunion. Just make sure the cart is large enough to seat many, and make absolutely sure to stuff a Mopar V8 and TorqueFlite into it. Wing optional. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310632&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Swap Meet Stroll: We'll Give You Eight Bucks]]> Half the fun in referencing the past is collecting the bits and pieces of an era that still survive. We would like to spend our vast earnings on a corroded set of Mickey Thompson wheels, a Hilborn injector stack, or even a set of Cragar five-spokes with Wide Oval bias ply tires cracked into patina with age. What we could afford was this 1958 copy of Motorspeed magazine with a very jet-age looking turbine-powered Firebird of the future gracing the cover. We paid five bucks, not even eight. Maybe we'll luck out and stuff a Honda 550 Super Sport in orange metalflake into the Starlet for the trip back home. The squirrel is another story entirely. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310527&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Famoso Raceway remains socked in with drizzle....]]> Famoso Raceway remains socked in with drizzle. Top Fuel qualifying is set to begin again at high noon, weather permitting. The swap meet and car show on the grove is in full effect. Race fans seem oblivious to the few raindrops, and celery stalks have been seen in the cups of many. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310552&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Live From the Tower at Famoso Raceway]]> The bad news is we won't have time to shoot photos, go to the swap meet to read a March 1967 issue of Car Craft, eat hot dogs, and post round-by-round racing results all at the same time. The good news is Daryl Jackman will be running the action as he sees it from the Famoso Raceway tower through his keyboard, and onto the wires at Drag Race Central. Those wanting to see elapsed times and trap speeds as they happen are advised to check it out. Look for CHRR. [Dragracecentral.com] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310526&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Bakersfield Smell]]> The Bakersfield Sound is well heard. Anyone who has motored through the Bakersfield also knows of the Bakersfield smell. While we don't hold a job at the company that makes mirror hanging stinky pines, we do have a theory. The first component is the fumes of agribusiness. The next odd brew of scent arises from oil refinery by-products. These two combined with trucking and the greasy spoons that line 99 may in fact be responsible for the unique olfactory memory and orangy evening skies. Then again, it could all be coming from the Clamato factory near Fresno. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310528&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Friday Night Car Show Bakersfield Style]]> Qualifying action may have been rained out on Friday afternoon, but the Reunion went ahead at full gas-powered margarita mixer speed down where Buck Owens Boulevard State 99, and 58 east converge. Also on deck was a preview of tonight's on track Cacklefest. Famoso will host restored versions of the very cars that etched drag racing into history push started into fire-breathing duty for a few moments more. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310524&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ It may never rain in Southern California,...]]> It may never rain in Southern California, but it is certainly raining in Bakersfield at this moment. After some bitchin Top Fuel qualifying, the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion is on hold for the time being. The only thing on the track are the sweepers and dryers. Forecast calls for a clearing tomorrow and Top Fuel qualifying will resume at 10AM tomorrow. The Reunion is currently moving from Famoso to Bakersfield for the post race party. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310484&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Nitro Floppers to Hit Famoso]]> As some of our earliest memories are of fiery roots superchargers tumbling free of their engines down the grassy median between the grandstands and the race track at the New England Dragway, '60s and '70s era Funny Cars still occupy a hallowed portion of the old grey matter. The California Hot Rod Reunion has a 22 car Nostalgia Funny Car field set to run more or less Chicago style on Sunday. No qualifying round. 1st round everyone runs. Quickest eight of those cars run 2nd round. The pair with the lowest semi-final ET will do battle for the final. Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Be there! [Nostalgiafunnycarnews.com] [California Hot Rod Reunion Event Schedule] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=309925&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Horrors of Nitro: Winged Express]]> Proving that use of alternative fuels is nothing new is the reborn Marcellus-Borsch Winged Express fuel altered. The original Winged Express was made famous by one Wild Willie Borsch, who often drove this beast with one hand on the wheel and other either hanging onto or off the side of the bucket. Mounting a hemi on fuel high in the chassis made for some interesting handling, and to Bob McClurg capturing possibly the most famous photo in drag racing history. Mike Boyd will be driving the Winged Express at the California Hot Rod Reunion along with the late Wild Willie himself - who still travels with the crew in an urn cleverly disguised as a trophy. [Wingedexpress.com] [Mysterion.net] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=309890&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ed "The Ace" McCulloch Grand Marshall of California Hot Rod Reunion]]> The Crew Chief of the Brut Racing but no longer by Faberge Funny Car driven by Ron Capps is coming back to Bakersfield this weekend as Grand Marshall of the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion. The Ace's qualifications for the job include hammering the Northwind Top Fuel dragster to the number one spot on the Drag News Mr. Eliminator list in the late '60s, and running the Revellution Plymouth Duster Funny Car to five out of seven finals victories in the '70s. The Ace hopes to have some good times in Bakersfield like they did on the road back in the day.
Today's drivers have a different role than in the old days. They have sponsor commitments and race press all week, and then drive on the weekend. Not many of them work on the car. Not only did we drive the race car, we worked on them, and drove the tow vehicles down the highways. Today we race 23 three-day events. Back then we could race 100 one-night stands!
McCulloch's old pal Jack Coonrod has rebuilt the Northwind and is his on the way to Bakersfield with the dragster. So are we. Stay tuned as the week unfolds and we head up to Famoso Raceway to catch all this weekend's action. Full press release and event information after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=308985&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Nostalgia Nitro Shootout Listens to Governor]]> Even with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring that environmentalism in California is officially and henceforth to become hip and sexy, it's easy to forget that the very coolest motor going Californians have been messing around with alternative fuels with great success since the '50s. At the apex of California drag racing, hundreds of professional and homebuilt racecars descended onto quarter mile dragstrips every weekend and burned up some of the most exotic alternative fuels ever run through an internal combustion engine. Nitromethane was the featured alternative fuel of choice this last weekend at the California Speedway in Fontana. While the legendary SoCal drag strips have sadly moved into history, vintage drag racing soldiers on thanks to retroactive adherents to the Governor's new policy. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=254546&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Horrors of Nitro: Bakersfield March Meet]]> Every year since 1958 the March Meet has been the big deal in drag racing at Famoso raceway in Bakersfield. After having been to the event over the last ten years under fuel cars with a wrench and out on the starting line with a camera, we went this year to hang out on the grandstand side and take in the show. With driver Tim Gibson at the wheel of his BMW M-wagon and Cole Coonce throwing commentary post-punk Chris Economaki style, we motored up from Los Angeles to the former auxiliary airfield in record time. We were not the only ones. Perfect weather brought a packed crowd to the event, which serves up a unique combination of vintage drag racing, swap meet, car show, and wide-open pits for your greenbacks at the gate. Mark Ribilas captured this shot of Bill Dunlap showing what it takes to keep a front engine dragster on nitromethane together at 240 or so MPH after the Donovan Hemi kicks it and spews oil. For scads of trackside action shots head over to Drag Racing Online. For a few random spectator and swap meet snaps check the gallery. – Mike Bumbeck More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244202&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Bakersfield Nitromethane Sound]]> What was quite possibly the last Goodguys drag race went off in grand style last weekend at Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield. Top Fuel dragsters and nitro-huffing Funny Cars tossed it up out in the lanes. Along with being famous for Buck Owens and the birthplace of the California Sound, Bakersfield was where Perry Mason always and inexplicably sent a reluctant Paul to do something. We were never sure what. In California, the California Sound is known as the Bakersfield Sound. Nitro is always known as nitromethane, and these guys tip in the whole can to the tune of near 100%. Perhaps a splash of alcohol for good luck. – Mike Bumbeck [Gallery] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=213115&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Hasbro to Expose Teens to Nitro Fumes]]> A week ago, we were hanging out with ex-pro-BMX racer and current nostalgia Fuel Funny Car driver Jeff Utterback and the Notorious S.P.E.N.C.E. at the tail end of a party. Utterback mentioned that he gets a lot of flak on message boards because he drives a Prius, with old-timers calling him a "leftist" and whatnot. He said, "I just say, 'Hey, I drive a Prius so I can afford more nitro,'" a fuel that retails for around 700 bucks a drum. Spence chimed in, "Why don't we just invade the world's largest nitromethane-producing country?" More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=186961&view=rss&microfeed=true