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...

1934 Ford Hot Rod at El Mirage Author and Photographer: Mike Harrington We first spotted this ’34 ford at the Antique Nationals. There she was sitting in the staging lanes waiting to race with the rest of the antique American iron. A picture was snapped at the Antique Nationals. One thing led to another, and there we were a few weeks later in the blistering heat on a dry lake bed doing a photo shoot. Ron Hammack owner of this ’34 5-window has an interesting story to tell. This machine is a genuine Northern California barn find and had been sitting since the early 1970’s until he recently acquired it. As to the history of the vehicle prior to Ron’s ownership, and where it was raced; it’s still shrouded in mystery. Suffice it to say that when it arrived on the trailer it still had the grill shell, body, hood and frame. Rats had long eaten away sections of the wood floor and left a dung heap the size of Rhode Island inside the cab. Brenda, Ron’s wife, insisted that it be taken to a car wash first and...

We first told you about this Studebaker Avanti and its Land Speed Racing legend status in the Land Speed Racing Avanti intro.  We have a quick update for you.  Dan and crew took the #88 Avanti and its borrowed twin supercharged Studebaker V8 to El Mirage for some runs down the dry lakebed at El Mirage.  It was 191 days in the making and it was well worth it. The Stude looks right at home on the dry, cracked lake bed.  Dan suited up and was able to make 2 runs, well, 1.5 runs.  Before actually getting down the dirt track, it took many hours and helpful hands to get the Avanti to pass tech inspection.  Most of the little things are safety related, like sealing off the interior from fire hazards and the correct protection. Avanti Dan suiting up.  No racing happens without help of family and friends. Two land speed racing Avanti's at the starting line at El Mirage is a beautiful sight to see.  Dan and team were able to figure out a bunch of bugs, get tech inspected, and get another list together to get ready...

  1948 Hot Rod Show display with Jack Andrews, Charlie Nordon and Ed Iskenderian...Pic Courtesy of Ed Iskenderian.  Click to Enlarge. I know hot rods and customs is what brings us car guys and gals together but, its the people that make this hobby what it is.  Everyone has their own story.  My passion for the automobile started with my dad and uncle.  They have hot rodded off and on since they were teenagers.  It was their hobby, their passion.  It's what kept them out of trouble when their dad passed away at the age of 15 and 12.  My dad has tons of stories of his '64 Mercury Comet Cyclone on the streets of Azusa, Calif and the original Irwindale Dragstrip.  My uncle has stories of tearing up GMR (Glendora Mountain Road) in his Nova and Datsun 510.  Most of my close friends are there because of our common interestes in cars.  My brother and I and my cousin have our own stories of cars (and motorcycles) that we have customized that we can share with our kids.  It's the Hecht pasttime.   Gardena Speedway, September 15, 1946 photo...

Before attending Speed Week at Bonneville this past August, I had no idea what El Mirage was. But once the land speed racing bug gets ya, it gets ya bad. So rather then waiting until next year to drive out to Bonneville salt flats again I decided to check out another SCTA event, the 2009 finals at El Mirage dry lake bed. There is one drastic difference between racing at Bonneville and El Mirage; Salt vs. Dirt. From what drivers say, the dirt is more of a challenge to drive on then the salt. From a spectators perspective, the dirt kicks up a trail so you can't see the car as it speeds away. Both venues have their draws though. One big draw to El Mirage (for me) is that it's a mere 2 hours from Los Angeles, just outside of Palmdale, California. You know what that means, my '55 Studebaker got to get her little tires on the dirt! And there was a lot of dirt! I've never experienced anything quite like rolling onto the dry lake and speeding 4 un-marked miles west to the starting line amidst a...

I caught up with Faith Granger the lady behind the Hot Rod movie, "Deuce of Spades". Not long ago, I told you more about her in this Blog, but I left out some critical details to the readers at MyRideisMe.com: She owns a really cool vintage styled 32 hot rod herself and it's the star of Deuce of Spades and more importantly... Damn! She's good-lookin too! Faith wrapped-up the shooting of the painstakingly accurate 40 nostalgia scenes for the movie back in December. Don't forget this is an independent film done almost entirely by Faith. Any major film company who can make period correct 1950 come alive deserves credit and this is practically a one woman show. Now, Faith is shooting the scenes when the movie's back in present time. The first of the 2008 scenes featured hot rod and custom builder Gene Winfield as fictional character "El Mirage George"!! This was filmed live at the last SCTA meet and features quite a few cool race cars. Faith's been whispering so many great things about what's to come including a SoCal drive-in movie premier and hopefully a chance at...