Jalopnik
sema
Posts Tagged “
retro:racing
”
sema
chrr
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.
chrr
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.
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.
pebble beach concours
The 1966-1974 salad days of Can-Am racing were a result of the Sports Car Club of America and the Canadian Automobile Sports Club joining forces. The adoption of Group 7 FIA rules spawned a North American racing class with no restrictions on engine size or boost pressure. Tire size was wide open. Weight was optional. While there were no rules on construction materials, Can-Am cars had to have an open cockpit, two seats, and two doors. Unlimited rules encouraged innovative thinking. The Jim Hall Chaparral 2J featured not one but two engines. A snowmobile mill spun a set of rear-mounted fans that generated over 1000 pounds of downforce without need for drag-inducing wings. We didn't see the 2J or driver Jackie Stewart at the Monterey Historics, but we did catch Chris MacAllister of Indianapolis, Indiana drive his number 5 1971 McLaren M8F to the checkered flag.[Can-Am History via Vintage RPM]
Monterey Historics Can-Am Action Gallery
The 1966-1974 salad days of Can-Am racing were a result of the Sports Car Club of America and the Canadian Automobile Sports Club joining forces. The adoption of Group 7 FIA rules spawned a North American racing class with no restrictions on engine size or boost pressure. Tire size was wide open. Weight was optional. While there were no rules on construction materials, Can-Am cars had to have an open cockpit, two seats, and two doors. Unlimited rules encouraged innovative thinking. The Jim Hall Chaparral 2J featured not one but two engines. A snowmobile mill spun a set of rear-mounted fans that generated over 1000 pounds of downforce without need for drag-inducing wings. We didn't see the 2J or driver Jackie Stewart at the Monterey Historics, but we did catch Chris MacAllister of Indianapolis, Indiana drive his number 5 1971 McLaren M8F to the checkered flag.[Can-Am History via Vintage RPM]
the constant variety of sport
It Was All Part of the Fun
Chris Economaki slugged it out as an announcer for racetracks across the country before he took the helm of Speed Sport News, or wore the yellow jacket for Wide World of Sports. In the '50s Economaki had followed the promotional efforts of Sam Nunis to Sioux Falls, where he saw a bunch of guys unloading a sophisticated timing device from a truck parked on the infield before the race."They struggle to get it up the stairs of the judges stand, and they place it in clear sight of the grandstand. The device has a dial that's about 18 inches in diameter.More »
too late, you let the sun go down
bombast music and STP helps the Starion slay an onslaught of Ford Sierras, BMW's, and even a Volvo in the second video segment of the contest. We're not sure if Andy Granatelli had anything to do with this STP race car, or what makes this second and near 20 minute video the Hot Version. Wait for it...
More »
Starion Racing Video Music Contest, Part 2
More eighties
don't stop believing
Starion Racing Video Music Contest, Part 1
Long before editing software made it easy for even Chim-Chim to put together a video of his dancing cousins, it seems Mitsubishi assembled their own quality versions of racing videos. As far as we can determine from the eighties soundtrack, these two rolls were produced during the actual run of the Starion itself. The first person to correctly identify all songs featured in both videos will win a genuine used OEM hydraulic lifter from a 1987 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R. This is video number one - We Are Fast. More »
check out all its majesty
The Majesty of the Safari Rally
When we were at the Detroit Auto Show last January, we marveled at the Lancer GSR that'd carried Jogander "The Flying Sikh" Singh to victory on the '74 Safari Rally, wondering how on earth somebody would bomb across Kenya in such a machine. But bomb to victory he did, as have many others since 1953. Sit back, relax, gape in awe and play spot-the-Stratos. More »
gentleman's pursuit
Jalopnik Flickr Finds: Motor Racing in Angola, Africa
Building a race track in Angola seemed like a smashing good idea back when dashing playboys and ne'er do wells cashed in on the benefits of colonialism by way of fancy motor cars. Racing around public Angola roads and the purpose built street circuit was a welcome sunny holiday from the usual drab weather euro-fare. Engine overheating was a minor annoyance compared to eventual decolonization. Ensuing civil war has prevented the return of motor racing to the sandy dunes, but the imagery from the past lives on thanks to a photoset from Nite Owl. More »
bumper to steel
Open House of Velocity and Tradition
The worst of Los Angeles must often be endured to find the best of what makes Southern California great. The reward for fighting a brutal snarl of typical eastbound Friday afternoon Los Angeles traffic was the So-Cal Speed Shop Open House. The history that began with Alex Xydias after World War Two is still being made. The SoCal 800 horsepower turbocharged and intercooled Ecotec-powered 34 roadster carries tradition down the long black line of land speed racing, and Jimmy Shine creations help keep tradition rolling down the boulevards of the basin. As shown by the sheer number of machines and folks that rolled in from as far away as Vermont, the So-Cal Speed Shop continues at the nexus of California hot rodding. While the LA Roadster Show may catch more notoriety, they weren't giving away In-N-Out Burgers. More »
what can you do?
Beat on the Berlina 2000
While looking for a parking space in order that we could make a stop at
danger stranger
While there may or may not have been any more Elvis, Beatles, or the Rolling Stones in 1977, it was certainly the year that AJ Foyt won his fourth Indy 500. Tune in as Jim McKay, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Economaki don the mustard yellow sports jackets to bring you the constant variety of sport, then say so long from Indianapolis.
Great Achievements in Motorsport: AJ Foyt Interview
While there may or may not have been any more Elvis, Beatles, or the Rolling Stones in 1977, it was certainly the year that AJ Foyt won his fourth Indy 500. Tune in as Jim McKay, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Economaki don the mustard yellow sports jackets to bring you the constant variety of sport, then say so long from Indianapolis.
the constant variety of sport
Just when we thought the origins of Supermoto had something to do with the rolling urban terrain of a euro-centric San Francisco Bay Area, history tells us otherwise. Supermoto, or Supermotard if you happen to be in France, started right here in Carlsbad, California as part of Wide World of Sports on ABC. The guys in the mustard yellow sports jackets incorporated this two-wheeled challenge of off and on road motorcycle skill into the regularly scheduled programming of Canadian Rules Ice Curling and Demolition Derbies, until the wheels fell off the show in the eighties. The Europeans kept the Superbikers flame alive lest it suffer the agony of defeat. Supermoto is now back, with Americans once again able to experience the thrill of victory. More »
Superbikers: Father of Supermoto
Just when we thought the origins of Supermoto had something to do with the rolling urban terrain of a euro-centric San Francisco Bay Area, history tells us otherwise. Supermoto, or Supermotard if you happen to be in France, started right here in Carlsbad, California as part of Wide World of Sports on ABC. The guys in the mustard yellow sports jackets incorporated this two-wheeled challenge of off and on road motorcycle skill into the regularly scheduled programming of Canadian Rules Ice Curling and Demolition Derbies, until the wheels fell off the show in the eighties. The Europeans kept the Superbikers flame alive lest it suffer the agony of defeat. Supermoto is now back, with Americans once again able to experience the thrill of victory. More »
pyle of new mown hay
Say it Isn't So! Jim Nabors Unable to Attend Indy 500
In a move shocking to Indiana residents and racing fans alike, Jim Nabors announced that he will be unable to attend the Indy 500 and sing Back Home in Indiana due to illness. Race fans in attendance and from around the world will be encouraged to sing in place of the heartland crooner via a live video satellite feed from his home in Hawaii. Brush up on the lyrics now for race day. More »
indy 500
Parnelli Jones Back at Brickyard
Looks as if Parnelli Jones himself is back in the number 40 at the Brickyard. Trackforum.com has a shot of Jones sporting an open face helmet behind the wheel of his son PJ's Honda-powered tribute to the legendary turbine-powered Silent Sam. More »
jonesing for turbine cars
Silent Sam Turbine Livery Returns to Indy 500
In 1967 Parnelli Jones lead the Indianapolis 500 in an all-wheel drive entry built by Andy Granatelli - and powered by a jet turbine. With Jones at the wheel the turbine car almost won, but was felled by a spent bearing with but a few laps left in the race. "Silent Sam" was nonetheless a crowd favorite. Parnelli's son PJ Jones and crew plan to honor the 40th Anniversary of this tremendous feat of motorsports achievement and engineering innovation with a florescent orange livery and number 40 in-a-meatball on their entry at this, the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500. Team owner Kent Baker said that "We hope to recapture some of that excitement and recognition without the STP pajamas." We're hoping for more turbine cars and STP Pajamas. More »
big daddy don garlits
Modern Muscle into Vintage Digger
Something good is bound to happen when Big Daddy Don Garlits gets his hands on a modern Mopar 392 Hemi. Seems Big Daddy bolted up a blower to the top of the mill and dropped it in the framerails of a front engine chassis. Boy howdy! We have what looks to be Swamp Rat Number 35. Swamp Rat Number 1 sits in the Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in honor of huffing nitro through eight modified Stromberg carburetors and taking the World's Fastest Dragster title in 1957 and 1958. Swamp Rats 1-B through 34 are also duly enshrined. And yes, they all had Hemis. More »
race on a track
Team Starfish Barracuda
From the Plymouth compact performance department comes this Barracuda - shown here putting the twist to the front torsion bars and rear leaf springs through the corkscrew at Laguna Seca Raceway. Mike Ritz and Team Starfish have logged over 5000 miles of race track since building the vintage race prepared 1966 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S in 1994. The little fish tosses up door handles with Camaros, Mustangs, and AMC Javelins on the weekends it tears up the track. On those weekends the team burns through around 1200 clams of gas, tires, and entry fee, but manages to keep racing by doing all the mechanical work themselves. Budget performance - from your Plymouth dealer. More »
