2012 Speed Week Warm-up – Old Friends and New Friends on the Salt

Posted by pikesan on Jul 29, 2012 in Featured, Racing | 2 comments

Bonneville Race Cars of Friends

Oh, I might have mentioned it before… maybe every time I write about the Bonneville Salt Flats… the people are great. Hot rodders and racers in general are an easy-to-get-along-with group, but something about the salt turns competitors into co-conspirators to see who can go faster. On some levels, it doesn’t make sense. These racers are after the same record, both are dying to wear the coveted red hat of the “2-club” or 200 mph club, and they both have been trying for years, but still they’ll share everything from cold sodas to spare parts to advice to help a fellow racer. It’s special.

Speaking of special… each year I make my 15 hour trip from Phoenix, AZ to Bonneville, I meet and become friends with more racers. You almost can’t help it! I want to kick off 2012 Bonneville Speed Week with pictures and updates of a few friends I’m looking forward to seeing.

400 mph Streamliner owned by Bobby and Peggy

First up is this beautiful machine called the, “Maro Special”. Bobby, Peggy and their entire crew treat me like family when I stumble into their pits – again-  for more pictures and the inside track as to when they get to run all-out. This is the year.

I asked Bobby for a little insight into this year’s plans:

“Our plan for Speed Week is to run around 375mph on the first lap, then check out the new ratios in the air shifted tranny.  After that, I will try to burn all that wonderful new paint clear off the car with a banzi run!  Having said that, I must confess that the 340’s we ran last year sure were exciting and I hope that I am good enough to head north of that mark. I guess that the time slips will answer those questions…  The other racers tell me that every 30-40 mph of increased speed exhibit a new set of parameters for a novice like me.  Those other racers do convey more confidence in the car and me to reach our goals this or next year… ask me in September.

One final question Bobby, Am I still in line to be the lieutenant chief parachute packer? “Yes, you have been awarded the title of high exalted Parachute Packer 1st class with a cluster of ‘Crossed Ink Pens’.  See you soon, Bobby & Peggy

Sweet. Here’s another shot of Bobby’s ride sporting new paint. I love it! But, I liked it in it’s flat mustard paint too. Learn about Bobby’s quest for 400 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats here.

Next up… the Y-block Ford Pickup driven by Tim McMaster

A 1962 Ford unibody pickup is probably the last thing you’d think of when constructing a race car for Bonneville. It’s not so unusual to land speed racers though… when there’s a class for it and a record to be broken, you’ll always find some takers. Tim runs this car in the D/PP class. D’s the engine displacement (261-305 cu. in.) and the PP’s for production pickup. Tim’s running on a 164.230 mph record held by, “Chock Full O’Nuts” a late model Chevy truck that holds all the records D and larger displacement.

Tim runs a 301 cu. in. “Y-block” engine in the his old Ford. Y is that? Well Tim’s a little Y-block crazy. He runs a website called Y block guy and knows a thing or two about building Ford’s second V8 and first over head valve (OHV) V8. To learn more about this truck and Y-blocks, visit Tim’s page. Ford Y-Block’s – Or, to learn more about Tim’s racing past, check out the article we did on his “Fridge Cab” F100 here.

The “2-club” family Volk Bros Racing Roadster

I owe my salt fever to Chris Hecht, aka Hechtspeed here at MyRideisMe.com. Chris helped me make my first trip up to Bonneville and introduced me to the Volk family. There’s too much to say about the Volks and their long history on the salt. Suffice it to say that they’re a staple off Bonneville Salt Flat racing and are always easy to find… look for the 200 mph club booth and you’ll find several red hat wearing Volk family members. To learn more about their record setting roadster click here.

Bonneville Bob and Rocky’s Roadster

I can’t mention Bonneville and my start making it up there without mentioning Bonneville Bob and Rocky. We drove up together my first time and since they’ve always welcomed me into their pit. This is an older picture… now they run in a Modified Roadster class. They were still working out the bugs last year, so hopefully this year’s a breakthrough for them.

As I write, I keep thinking of more friends I want to mention. Guess I’ll have to start another post later. Can’t wait to see you guys!

Just one more I hope to see. These guys set a record at 300mph on fire last year on their first two runs! Here’s the World’s Fastest Sports Car!