[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...

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...

Most times it seems like nobody'd notice anyway, but I've been slacking on blog writing lately cause I'm working on my Diecast Drags track. I posted about it in the discussion forum. Did you see it? The Diecast Drags, or some might say, "Hot Wheels" track is brought to you MyRideisMe.com and supporting the Progeria Research Foundation (http://www.Progeriaresearch.org) The track is 2 continuous lanes that measure 50 feet! I roll it up when I'm done. The entire track lifted off the ground on a support platform to give a gradual decent and super high speeds! Racing will feature an electronic finish line and a "Christmas tree" start that gives an edge to the better reaction time. This promises to be more fun than Pinewood derby racing because it's easier to get started and the fastest car might not always win! Of course from the trial run 2/21 at the local, "Cruise in" called the "Mesa Pavilions" at Power and Hampton (Kmart parking lot) the kids could care less about the start! They just want to see who won and the small jump we had setup at the finish line!...

When you intend to compete for America's Most Beautiful Roadster (the AMBR) at the Grand National Roadster Show, you're asking for trouble. The time, planning, design and let's face it, high octane dollars required to build an AMBR contender make it a mission for only the top shops in the country. The folks at The Hot Rod Garage asked for "Double Trouble" and that's what they got by ignoring the lessons learned by recent AMBR winners. Past winners were modern-style show cars with custom milled billet goodies, one-off hand made body panels and alligator skinned interiors. Not for the guys at Hot Rod Garage, for them, it wasn't enough to make a show car, it had to have "Show & Go!" The trouble first started when Steve Kormondy had a Brookville roadster body and an all aluminum, brand spanking new Ardun derived flathead sitting, waiting for the right project. Deuce roadster body, Ardun flathed... yea, that's trouble! Not long after, Steve and the rest of the gang at The Hot Rod Garage out of Sand Springs, Oklahoma decided to pull in hot rod designer and illustrator, Jimmy Smith to...

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...

Story Submitted by John C. Hill or MoparMagic Old Fuelers Never Die!! (They just become "killer" bracket cars) Many of you that were spectators at drag races during the late 60's, the 70's and early 80's probably remember a lot of the fantastic Top Fuel and Funny Cars that used to compete. Some of these cars may have been favorites of yours, but have you ever wondered what became of these ultimate drag race machines? It's not like you could take the pink slip and sell it to your neighbor after the racing season was over. These were special built cars with only one purpose in mind: go fast and do it quickly! A lot of these cars ended up out behind the garage as scrap, or perhaps pushed over in the corner of the garage and covered with a tarp, never to be raced again. Some of them ended up in museums such as Don Garlit's Drag Race Museum in Ocala, Florida. If you have ever been to his museum you would be amazed at the number and quality of Top Fuelers and Funny Cars on display there....

Don Garlits' Bad Drag Pack Challenger Story Submitted by John C. Hill or MoparMagic Don Garlits to compete in 2009! Don Garlits has planned a comeback to drag racing for 2009, his 60th anniversary competing on the nation's drag strips. Is he going to run a new Top Fuel car? The answer is no. Neither his doctor nor his wife will ever let him run an NHRA competitive Top Fuel car again. After countless thousands of parachute stops at the end of 300mph runs, the retinas in Don's eyes had become detached. Further racing of this type could have caused permanent blindness. So, what is Don going to run this year? Well, as a long time Mopar representative, Mopar stepped up and has allowed Don to purchase the first Dodge Challenger equipped with the Drag Pak. For those of you thinking a factory backed "Drag Pak" was a dream, it ain't! Based on the 6.1L equipped hot rod SRT8, the drag pak Challenger will be eligible to run in NHRA's Super Stock, Stock, and Comp Eliminator. Garlits will run his Drag Pak Challenger in NHRA Division 2, but right...