Beautiful, Historic and Fast Flathead Streamliner     All I did was capture the return to Bonneville. Dave Thomas, owner of this beautiful recreation of a circa 1952 land speed record holding streamliner. The sleek fiberglass beauty has been known by a few names, but finished here, it's the "City of Burbank" #61 XF/GS streamliner.   Dave summed up Bonneville here...   "August 18, 2013..... The dust er salt has settled. We made it to Bonneville. We got thru tech inspection and had a chance to make a run down the course. It was the most exciting thing I have done in long time. Our driver pulled away from the push truck and motored off into the distance. We chased him for 5 miles before we saw the tiny speck up ahead parked in the turn off area. We didn't go all that fast but the car ran the whole 5 miles without incident, right out of the box. It had never turned a wheel under power before that. The little 276 inch flathead did all it could considering the density altitude was 6700 feet. No excuses, we were...

How about a 120 mph Custom RV? You won't be complaining about being caught behind this rig! Words and Pictures by Jim Vogarino Sitting on the huge expanse of pure white salt, the evil looking all black motorhome looks even bigger than it is. Everything is black…windows, trim, head and tail light covers. It couldn't be more sinister.   Britt Palmer pulls himself out of the custom racing cockpit, ducking under a complex structure of roll cage. He’s a good sized guy, 6-2, maybe 6-3 and he gives a solid hand shake. You’d never know he is suffering from a debilitating disease that eventually will rob him of all movement. Right now he’s too excited.   "We’re headed home,” he says, slipping off his race togs and giving high fives to people who have gathered around the vehicle in his pit area during Speed Week 2013. “We came to just run for speed and I think we did pretty well." Bonneville Speed Week is pretty well known for odd vehicles and the 1977 GMC Kingsley motorhome easily fits that category if only because of its size. Sitting at the...

World's Saltiest 1966 Barracuda!   Normally when you see a car in impound, the crew attends the race car's mechanical needs, if any, then starts cleaning and removing the salt from the last run. Don'tcha wanna look your best? (going to impound's a good thing! Look here for Setting a Record at Bonneville)   These are a couple cool-lighted morning shots of Robert (Bob) Dally's 1966 Barracuda on the way back to the starting line to backup their record run on Sunday morning. Bob landed in impound since they went 113 mph on a soft 100 mph F/CPRO record. On Monday, the record was set at 115 mph, then again on Tuesday at their top speed of Speed Week 2013: 132.85 mph.  F-size engines are only up to 183 cu. in, so Bob's Barracuda wasn't running a Hemi, it was a little old slant 6. Salty Grille! Bob and his crew didn't spend much time cleaning, so it was an opportune time for me to grab some shots! As you could have guessed, some people complained about wet conditions out on the track and the 'Cuda certainly shows that.   ...

Somebody get me a longer camera lens! I'm not a professional photographer.... I don't have a super long lens... like this guy:   I could sit around and whine about what's fair, but instead, I decided to experiment!! I've been going to Bonneville since 2009, so I've seen alot of the great white expanse. I haven't, however, spent too much time near the end of the track. The Bonneville race cars speed by at 200 to sometimes 400 mph, so you don't have much chance for photos! I tried my Nikon 18-200 anyway and here's what happened... Chute pops!   This #507 owned by Dan Aleshire running in the  B/GR  (roadster) class.   We were standing near the 5 mile marker (as you can see in the photo below). The "long course" at Bonneville was 5 full miles of race track. You can set a record in any mile, or you can slow down and exit the track anywhere as well. Only cars running 175 mph or higher are allowed on the long course and the faster cars will use every bit of the 9 mile run-off to slow down....

Brock's Buick Upgraded & Faster at Bonneville Kicking off Bonneville 2013 Coverage, here's a quick look at the upgrades on Jeff Brock's too-cool 1952 Buick Super Riviera. We profiled the birth of "Bombshell Betty" in another story about this Bonneville Record Setting Race car here.   In the the picture above, you can see the windows added to the side of the car. Also, you get a first look at the custom made intake scoop! Jeff's an artist and no slouch when it comes to metal work!     If anyone wants the above picture for a screen saver, shoot me an email, I'll be happy to send it over!   Success! Jeff broke his own record. Rocket Heads Studio running in the XO/GCC class ran 165.735 on a 165.380 mph record. Yes, by 0.355 mph!   Make sure to check out more pictures of "Bombshell Betty" with the rest of the build history here:  Birth of Bombshell Betty for Bonneville   Click here for all of MyRideisMe.com's Bonneville Salt Flat...

OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America Awards - A Hot Rod Wins! Optima Faceoff at Road America Awards Four OPTIMA Invitational Entries Among Largest Group of Participants in Faceoff History, 1964 Chevy Corvette, 2013 Nissan GTR, 1963 Pontiac Tempest and 1981 Pontiac Trans Am earned entries to the 2013 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational   June 25, 2013 (MILWAUKEE) – The OPTIMA® Faceoff at Road America, presented by Royal Purple and K&N Filters, returned to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, this past weekend with more than 70 participants. The event, which will be showcased on television later this fall, kicked-off on Friday, June 21 at Johnson Controls Headquarters with a car show and charitable OPTIMA Build-A-Bike event benefiting Milwaukee area Boys & Girls Clubs and Neighborhood House of Milwaukee. The Faceoff at Road America is a Regional Qualifier event leading up to OPTIMA’s Ultimate Street Car Invitational, to be held in Pahrump, NV, after the SEMA show in early November.   The driving and fun began Saturday as all of the Faceoff participants drove more than 60 miles through Wisconsin’s scenic Kettle Moraine State Park to the Road America facility in the Detroit...

Gasser Rambler - Four Door Baddess! Feast your eyes on this beauty spotted at the LA Roadster Show.   Yea, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to dream about a 4-door wagon built as a gasser. While I dreamed about it, this person (be happy to publish your name if I knew it) actually built it, then had it for sale in the swap area. Pure madness! I love it!! (Dig the super long ladder bars showing here!)     From the other side. You see the only (small) flaw in the as-found patina of this Rambler Ambassador "Super". I'll say! (Can someone verify the year for me?) I dig the way the flaked helmet is reflecting on the front wheel. Dream yourself behind the wheel... on the track or rolling through your neighborhood with neighbors shaking their heads and kids running for cover!   So I said I dreamed it and my buddy Joel drew it for me! This bad boy's still sitting on the side of my house waiting for it's turn. My friends will tell you, don't hold your breath! One day, some incarnation...

Spectator Tickets Available for: 2013 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational Sixth Annual OPTIMA® Invitational Promises to be Another Thrilling Automotive Event   More info about the rides racing at the OUSCI   Today OPTIMA® Batteries released a limited number of spectator tickets for its sixth annual OPTIMA® Ultimate Street Car Invitational presented by K&N Filters and Royal Purple. Spectator tickets to the Pahrump, Nevada event, which sold out in 2012, are available for purchase online. Spectators are invited to watch the action-packed event where participants – both up-and-comers and industry favorites – from around the world compete for the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car title. Fans are advised to act quickly because the 2012 event sold out of spectator tickets.   Last year, the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational brought in massive crowds with a sold out event, more thrilling moments and record times, ultimately crowning Mark Stielow and his custom 1967 Chevrolet Camaro as the 2012 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car.   "We’re looking forward to another exciting year of this growing event as we continue to layer on different challenges and elements for a new experience for fans and...

Courtney Force beats John Force in New England   There's nothing better than doing what you love - drag racing - and getting to do it with your family. Courtney Force and her dad John Force have it made! On Courtney's birthday weekend, she got the win, but it was revenge for their last final round win when John took the win on Father's Day. That's fair I guess! John Force Racing press release follows...   Photos courtesy of Gary Nastase Photography COURTNEY FORCE WINS INAUGURAL NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS   EPPING, NH ---- In a rematch of their Father’s Day first round battle in Bristol last weekend Courtney Force came out on the winning side today taking out father and 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force in the final round of the Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals. The second year driver won for the second time this season and third time in her career outpacing her teammate 4.301 seconds to 4.361 seconds in front of a capacity crowd at New England Dragway.   “I told him I was definitely going to try to get revenge, but last time...

Looking Back on Hemi Cuda Funny Car Development   By Moore Good Ink Photos courtesy of Jim White Forty-eight years ago, toward the end of the 1965 drag racing season, Chrysler and their Southern Californian Plymouth Dealers Association underwrote the costs of constructing and operating a blown nitro 426cu in rear-engine Plymouth Hemi Barracuda Funny Car. The proposition that brought together the Chrysler Corporation and the Southern Californian Plymouth Dealers Association was conceived by the late Lou Baney. Lou, who was already running the Mongoose in the Yeakel Plymouth Center’s Fuel dragster, could see the potential for exploiting a new Hemi Barracuda Funny Car in exhibitions and match races. The moment was right and the deal was struck and B&M Automotive were contracted to construct the car, Dave Zeuschel to prepare the engine and Tom “Mongoose” McEwen to drive it.   The origins of the Funny Car The term Funny Car had derived from the appearance of Chrysler’s Ram Chargers a year earlier. The corporation’s competition department had moved the rear axle assembly forward on the chassis in an attempt to improve weight transfer under acceleration, thus increasing the...

My First Land Speed Racing Friends Get Their Record If you've never heard about the kindness of folks involved in land speed racing, at Bonneville Salt Flats or at El Mirage, let me reiterate. You're bound to meet some of the greatest people on the planet. I met "Bonnieville Bob" and his son Rocky on my first trip to Bonneville in 2009.   Bob's been racing long enough to, literally, know everyone out on the salt. Like you'd expect, Bob and Rocky introduced me to everyone and now, years later, I owe most of my friendships on the salt to these guys.   Well, after years of trying, Bob and Rocky have their 200 mph hats from El Mirage with sites locked on Bonneville in August for Speed Week.   Rocky text me the good news and sent these pictures:     Then, in Rocky's words.... We got there on Friday and went through tech without any problems. Saturday morning, my dad made a run and the car ran 220.576 mph! He didn't even know he ran that fast since he couldn't see the gauges and drove by the...

OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational Qualifier   May 21, 2013, (MILWAUKEE) – Back by popular demand, OPTIMA Batteries will once again host the OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America event in Elkhart Lake, Wis., June 21-23. Presented by Royal Purple and K&N Filters, the OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America will showcase one-of-a-kind performance vehicles during an action-packed weekend of high-powered activity. The OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America brings together a wide range of the best street-legal performance vehicles including vintage, late-model, import and domestic entries of all makes, and is a regional qualifying event for the prestigious OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational occurring later in the year.   The OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America event will be filmed for television as part of the expanding OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car series. Automotive celebrity and former WWE wrestler, Bill Goldberg, will be onsite as returning show host. Participants and spectators will also have the opportunity to interact with select cast members from the “R U Faster Than a Redneck” television show. Several of the “Redneck” drivers, including Brian Finch, and brothers Jason and Lonny Childress will be participating in the...