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…
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…
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…
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…
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]
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
