Shelby Cobra DragonSnake, CSX2093 All photos used with permission from Mecum Auctions Out of six pictures in this story, it was tough to pick one to lead with. In the end, I chose this one to feature one of the baddest drag race cars ever, the Shelby Cobra DragonSnake. Note the knockoff slicks in the back, the slight nose-in-the-air stance and finally that open header pipe looking right into my soul. I need to hear this serpent run! This photo was a close second! DESCRIPTION provided by Mecum Auctions CSX 2093 was the 93rd Cobra built and is one of only eight cars modified with the Shelby-developed Dragonsnake package designed to maximize drag racing performance. Depending on options, the package could swell the bottom line to a whopping $8,990, a huge sum in 1960s-era dollars. Owned by Jim Costilow and piloted by drag racer Bruce Larson, later of USA-1 Funny Car fame, the Dragonsnake dominated the NHRA’s A/SP, AA/SP, B/SP and C/SP classes in 1964. It set all new records in the 1965 season and won the NHRA Springnationals, Winternationals and U.S. Indy Nationals that year. The Cobra was...

I am on the Utah Cobra Club's email list and got this email this last week.  I thought I'd pass it on to you charitable hot rodders.  I'll find out more about how we can send donations to Kirkham and update this later. Fellow Car Nuts: A few weeks ago a friend of mine came by and was looking at the pictures and magazine articles we have on the walls here at our shop. He noticed the cars we have donated over the years to various charitable organizations. He asked if we had ever thought about donating a car to Primary Children's Hospital. Every year Primary Children's Hospital does a fundraiser with the Festival of the Trees and KSL is a major sponsor of the Festival. He just retired as the general manager of KSL, the main Utah news organization, and so he has been deeply involved for years with the organization for years. www.festivaloftreesutah.org He then described to me the incredible things they do there at the hospital. They do hundreds of thousands of visits and procedures every year--many of them for children from all over who can't...

    The Bountiful, Utah "Coats For Kids" Car Show was just another example of small town USA and the car nuts that make up this great hobby/pastime.  Personally, I think its crucial that towns big and small keep hotrodding alive and passing the automotive genes onto the next generation by supporting and putting on car shows and cruise-ins like this one in downtown Bountiful, Utah.          Looking over these pictures again, I thought about how events like this create a sense of community and make family memories for years to come.  Nothing more american, or human, than a good car show with your friends and family.    Here are some of my favorite pictures I took while hanging with my family.  How else can you teach your kid to hang his arm out the window like a true hotrodder than by owning a '32 roadster?  How else will he know what a 4bbl carbed big block V8 sounds like unless he can stand next to it and feel the ground shake!  Shoot me an email at hechtspeed@myrideisme.com and I'll post up your "small town USA" car show pics and...