[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ebbzZUa40[/youtube] Here's another video of this car - It's not very good, but at least you can hear it run. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HwrJ23ZK-A[/youtube] Also known as the "Tobacco King Rocket Car" this thing is pure indulgence. The rest of the story is found at Hoopty Rides. He wrote about this car almost 1 year ago to the day. I'm right on top of things! 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Rocket Car Anyone ever heard of the "Black Widow" Volkswagen Beetle? The Mecum auctions story says that this rocket powered bug beat TV Tommy Ivo's four engine dragster called "Showboat". WOW! Photos courtesy of Mecum...

Congratulations Bob! -pikesan BOB TASCA III AND MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE FORD SHELBY MUSTANG WIN AT GAINESVILLE FIRST CAREER NHRA FUNNY CAR WIN FOR TASCA · Tasca won Sunday’s 40th Annual NHRA Gatornationals, Funny Car class. · Tasca made it to the finals in his 27th NHRA Funny Car race. · Best previous finish for Tasca was a loss in the semi-finals to John Force at the 2008 Summit Southern Nationals in Atlanta. · Tasca moves to second in series points, 38 points behind Ron Capps. Gainesville, FL., March 15, 2009 – The fastest driver on Friday morning was the last driver standing on Sunday in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Series Funny Car class. In his first Funny Car finals, Bob Tasca III in the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang won Sunday’s 40th Annual Gatornationals. “I’m speechless,” said Tasca. “We qualified our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang No. 1, and we beat Tim Wilkerson, John Force and Tony Pedregon to get the first win. This is just a real tribute to the whole Motorcraft/Quick Lane program. To bring the first win home for Ford this year in the NHRA Funny Car...

How rare is your chance to lay hands on a car a rare and historic as the CSX2601 Shelby Daytona Coupe? I had a chance thanks to the folks at Mecum Auctions, but the great people of Maricopa county thought it better for me to be in jury duty. Here's Mecum's press release and info about the car. They also provided a fantastic gallery of pictures. I'll be watching to see how high into the "8 Figures" this car rises. 1 of 6, fully restored, arguably the most famous/historic of the six, this American Legend has it all! Phoenix kicked of the national tour in style over at Bob Bondurant's Racing school of High Performance Driving. After carefully pulling the car out of the shipping truck, Bondurant relived the 1965 FIA clinching victory in Reims, France by taking a hot lap with the near priceless car. Special thanks to David NewhardtPhotography and Mecum Auction for these pictures. [gallery =20] MECUM AUCTION PROUDLY PRESENTS AMERICAN RACING'S CROWN JEWEL 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe Beat Ferrari to Capture First U.S. Victory in World Manufacturer's Championship MARENGO, Ill. - High performance collector...

Now this is what NASCAR should be! Imagine going 179 mph in these cars! (that's what the movie "track announcer" said) Those brakes and all that weight running that fast! This clip is from the 1965 film called "Redline 7000" There's a pretty well done crash stunt for the time. FIRE FIRE!! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR1SmKihPtQ[/youtube] Yes, that is Mr. Sulu! Here's part #2 (not sure how related it is to the first part...) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsbJ2-PdCk4[/youtube] Then for something totally unusual, but still somehow related to this post... I give you, "Speed Lovers"...

Couresty of Ford Media and PCGCambell Two years ago this month, the drag racing community lost John Force Racing Mustang driver Eric Medlen in a tragic Funny Car testing accident. In the aftermath of that accident, John Force Racing and Ford Racing banded together to form The Eric Medlen Project, with an eye on finding and improving safety innovations for the sport. Along with the NHRA, John Force Racing and Ford Racing have instituted a series of safety measures ranging from significant Funny Car chassis modifications to the instillation of the Ford Blue Box (crash data recorder) on all nitro cars. This important work continues and This Week In Ford Racing recently caught up with 14 time Funny Car World Champion John Force and with Pat DiMarco, Ford Racing Vehicle Dynamics and Electronics Supervisor, for an update on The Eric Medlen Project and ongoing safety developments. JOHN FORCE – GTX Castrol Mustang-- CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE ERIC MEDLEN PROJECT? “Our shop is out here in California, 50,000 square foot, but most of the race teams are out in Indy, the Ford Motor program is in...

Thanks to many friends of mine and the support of generous parents, it was the kids that won at the "Home Runs, Hot Dogs and Hot Rods" show in downtown Mesa, Arizona on 2/28/09. One set of winning, smiling kids were the ones that enjoyed 4 hours of non-stop action running down the 50 foot track during practice among the car show hot rods. By the time racing action started, they had nailed the timing of the Christmas tree's amber-amber green start. My boys know the drill, so more than once you heard, "You got smoked!" Next time, bring your kids to the show! Now you've got something to enjoy with them that'll get you out of your lawn chairs! The second set of kids that won we'll probably never meet. A rare few will ever know the courage needed to be so different on the outside but remain a smiling, energetic kid inside. I hope other folks were inspired to give to the Progeria Research Foundation like I was when I read Amy Foose's story. As the younger sister of famed designer and builder Chip Foose, her life...

If you're a fan of NHRA drag racing, then there's a great chance you're a fan of John Force Racing and his team. As a Ford fan, (don't forget, Pop's was a Ford Mechanic for 25 years) I've been following Force for as long as I can remember so when I got the chance to interview co-crew chief Austin Coil, I jumped at it. Meeting with Austin Coil in the small town the John Force Racing trucks make was awesome. Cruising past the beast Force pilots down the strip as his crew finished prepping for Saturday at the Firebird Race, then stepping into the trailer you often see on TV was unreal. I carefully tried to keep my grin from extending past my ears as I sat down with Coil. Without his trademark toothpick, Coil smiled alot and seemed to be winding down from Friday's session that saw all of John Force Racing cars in the top half of the field. Coil's easy going manner and obvious passion for racing and technology made this interview a breeze. I just had to keep up... WHAT’S CHANGED THE MOST ABOUT FUNNY...

Found a really entertaining website called Fail Blog: failblog.org. I grabbed this video from their youtube gallery and I doubt it'll be the last. Just kick back and enjoy! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6BidDtffG8&eurl=http://failblog.org/page/18/&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]  ...

Courtesy of Ford Media and PCGCambell John Force, driver of the Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Funny Car, heads into this weekend’s 2009 Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., with four career victories in the season-opening event. Force, who has a record 126 career victories and 14 championships, reflects on his team’s 2008 accomplishments and looks ahead to this year. JOHN FORCE – GTX Castrol Mustang – CAN YOU CONTRAST WHERE THE TEAM IS RIGHT NOW TO WHERE IT WAS A YEAR AGO THIS TIME? “Well, we’re in the middle of change right now. That’s what our new president Obama has been coming in and screaming and that’s what I have been hearing, you know, from all of the automakers, but Ford started change, we went back years ago. You know we knew this was coming; we are trying to get right and what I’m taking to my race team is I’m not going to wait for the opening race to figure out how to run on a budget – we saw this six months ago coming. We have got to cut back everywhere to make this thing in...

Couresty of Ford Media and PCGCambell Bob Tasca III, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Funny Car, enters his second season at the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals this weekend in Pomona. Tasca talks about the importance of off-season testing, racing in Pomona with sophomore eyes and the return of the Mustang Cobra Jet to competition. Bob Tasca III – MOTORCRAFT/QUICK LANE SHELBY MUSTANG FUNNY CAR – HOW WAS THE PHOENIX TEST SESSION? “Phoenix is traditionally a difficult race track to go down this time of year. For whatever reason, it lends itself to cause tire shake. In our sport, tire shake is a huge challenge for crew chiefs with certain track conditions. It prevents you from going A-to-B and it will cause tire smoke. The car will shake and will end up smoking the tires. Going into Phoenix this year, I have a lot more confidence than I did going into it last year and our results proved pretty strong. When you look at the teams that were there, John Force Racing, the Schumacher camp, Del Worsham and other seasoned teams with a lot of data didn’t go...

Summary of Contents: Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang Funny Car, finished fourth in the NHRA Funny Car standings in 2008 after posting back-to-back runner up results in 2006 and 2007. Hight will once again team with 14-time champion John Force, 2007 Rookie of the Year Ashley Force and 2008 Rookie of the Year Mike Neff to comprise the lineup for John Force Racing. Hight took a few minutes to chat with TWIFR about the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car Series. Bob Tasca III, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang Funny Car, reflects on his rookie year as he prepares for the 2009 Full Throttle NHRA season. Tasca talks about his goals for 2009, the alliance with ’08 Funny Car championship contender Tim Wilkerson and other changes at Tasca Racing. ROBERT HIGHT – Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang – COMPARE WHERE YOU AND THE TEAM ARE AT THIS POINT IN 2009 TO WHERE YOU WERE IN PREPARATION FOR THE 2008 SEASON. “I think we are in better shape as far as going out and contending for a championship and...

This is too cool! Fuel injectors of Renault's F1 engine is spraying fuel in at an INSANE rate.  Even on the dyno, they're banging through the gears.  Must watch!...