#Williams can’t even put together a chassis

[f0point5]

Andretti opening a whole facility without even being in F1 and Williams not even having a spare chassis really just…

Like how they do they…

Mkay

[pucksandpower]

Mad World

Logan Sargeant x Vowles!Reader

Summary: no matter how cruel the rest of the world may seem, Logan will always have a home with you

Logan stares blankly at James Vowles, unable to process the words coming out of his team principal’s mouth.

“I’m … I’m sorry, what?” Logan stammers, his heart pounding. This can’t be happening.

James looks immensely uncomfortable but pushes on. “Alex needs your chassis since his is too damaged and the team does not have a spare. You’ll have to withdraw from the race weekend.”

The room falls into an oppressive silence as the words sink in. Logan can feel his chance at remaining in Formula 1 next year slipping away with each agonizing second. Why is he being punished for a crash that wasn’t his fault? The questions swirl dizzily in his mind.

James regards him with remorseful eyes. “I’m sorry, Logan. There’s no other way ...”

The words hit Logan like a punch to the gut. He stares at James, numb, his mind spinning. After a long silence, he nods mutely and forces out, “I … I need a minute.” His feet move without conscious thought, carrying him blindly down the corridors as burning tears blur his vision.

Logan’s heart pounds in his chest as he rushes through the hallway, tears streaming down his face. He can barely see where he’s going as he barrels toward his driver’s room. His breaths come in ragged gasps, the weight of James’ words crushing him.

How could they do this to him? After everything?

He fumbles with the handle, finally wrenching the door open and slamming it shut behind him. Logan leans back against it, sliding down until he’s sitting on the floor. Sobs wrack his body as the reality sinks in — he’s out for the weekend because of someone else’s mistake.

It’s not fair. None of this is fair.

His career, his dreams, his entire future flashing before his eyes, slipping away because Williams can’t get their act together. Why did they even re-sign him if they have so little faith? The questions swirl in his mind, only compounded by the hurt and anger burning in his chest.

Logan stays like that for who knows how long, gasping for air between cries that feel like they’re literally tearing him apart from the inside.

He’s so consumed by emotion that he doesn’t hear the tentative knock at first. When it comes again, louder this time, he jolts slightly, raising a hand to wipe uselessly at his tear-streaked face.

With trembling fingers, he pulls open the door, and you’re standing there. The mere sight of you breaks through the haze of devastation, if only for a moment.

You step inside without a word, wrapping your arms around him, and the dam breaks again. Fresh sobs spill out as Logan crumples against your chest, clinging to you like a lifeline while you softly hush him, guiding the two of you to the couch.

You maneuver him gently until his head is cradled in your lap, your fingers combing soothingly through his hair. “I came as soon as I heard,” you murmur, voice thick with shared pain. “I can’t believe they would do this to you because of their own mistakes. It’s not right.”

Logan tries to speak, to voice the turmoil inside him, but all that comes out is a strangled, “Why? I don’t … I don’t understand. It’s not my fault, so why am I being punished?” His words dissolve into hiccuping gasps. “They must not have faith in me at all. This … this is it, isn’t it? The end.”

You shush him again, cupping his face to brush the tears away with your thumbs. “Don’t think like that. The team is the one in the wrong here, not you.”

But the storm won’t be quelled so easily. Logan sits up abruptly, putting distance between you despite how his heart aches at the loss of your touch. “But soon I won’t even be a driver anymore,” he chokes out, meeting your eyes with his own reddened, devastated gaze. “You shouldn’t … you deserve so much better than me, Y/N. Better than someone whose career is over before it even started.”

“Logan Sargeant, don’t you dare say that.” You’re on your feet in an instant, hands on your hips in a stance he knows all too well — the fierce protectiveness that still makes his heart flutter, even now. “I am with you because I love you, every amazing, incredible part of you. Not because you’re an F1 driver, but because of the person you are.”

He can only gape at you, stunned into silence by the intensity of your words, the unwavering certainty in your tone. You step closer, cupping his face again, making him meet the blazing love and conviction in your eyes.

“I don’t care if you never race again, though you know I believe in you with everything I have. I’m not going anywhere, do you understand me? We’re in this together, always, no matter what.” You press your lips to his brow, his cheeks, finally claiming his mouth in a searing kiss that leaves him dizzy. “I love you,” you breathe against his lips. “I love you so much, Logan.”

He’s dumbstruck, overwhelmed by the ferocity of your devotion, even in the face of his lowest moment. How did he get so lucky as to have you in his life? In a heartbeat, Logan is kissing you again, tears of a different kind streaking his cheeks as he murmurs the words over and over. “I love you, I love you, I love you ...”

Eventually, you guide him back until he’s lying down on the couch once more, placing a small pillow under his head. “Get some rest, babe. You’ve been through the ringer today.”

He catches your hand before you can move away fully. “Where are you going?”

The fiery look in your eye makes his stomach flip. “I need to go have a … conversation … with my father.”

Logan lets out a teary laugh at your protective fierceness — one of the many things he loves most about you. “Yes ma’am.”

Leaning down, you brush one last lingering kiss to his forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

As you turn and head for the door, Logan feels his heart swell watching your receding form. For all the hurt today has brought, he knows more than ever that he’s the luckiest man in the world to have you by his side.

As Logan drifts into an exhausted doze, his last conscious thoughts are of you — his forever, his everything — and how lucky he is to have such an amazing love in his life.

No matter what happens next.

[lestappenforever]

I know its been a day, but I wasn’t able to watch the race fully yesterday, and this is my take on what I saw

Firstly, VCARB. The cars just wasn’t there this weekend, and we can’t lie, their quali and the fact that they kind of got stuck all throughout the race cost them, and being stuck behind someone in a track like Circuit de Catalunya, which teams go for 2-3 stops in because tyres are dead, and with dirty air. Yeah it just wasn’t it for these guys. But hopefully next seek they are able to be back, because they do have the speed, and they could go far in terms if points this tear.

Williams just aren’t on the right foot all year. And this race was no exception, poor quali, slowest car. You can’t expect your drivers to compete if you don’t give them the tools. 2023 parts in the 2024 car for a driver and the other that had the 2024 parts still is p18. Yeah, they need to get their shit together and stop blaming Logan for not getting points when nit providing him with the Machine and an equal opportunity as his team mate, who isn’t also performing.

Aston Martin was in the wring foot this week. The car isn’t bad, but they still need to wirk hard. A team like them is “supposedly” a top 5 team in the constructors. That’s what they gave us last year. But they need to work on their car because it just is not adding up.

Alpine, double points for the second week running is VERY impressive and important because of their tractor at the beginning of the season. They seemed to have put the work and it’s starting to show. But in order for it to be a fair comparison, give both your drivers the lighter chassis, not just one while leaving the other with the overweight one, and expect hin to perform greatly. It just doesn’t make much sense tbh.

Ferrari are way better than Canada, that’s for sure. Getting back up after a hard blow is not something easy, but they were not too bad all weekend, but they were also not that good. Charles and Carlos having an incident, then Carlos and Lewis. Carlos is getting frustrated for sure, but he needs to get his head in the game, because these silly mistakes could coat him , Charles and Ferrari points, like it did in Canada. But nonetheless, their strategy was not on point , with pitting Charles quite late, almost same time as Lando, it cost him a fight fir forth or even third place.

Second race in a row, second Mercedes podium. Tbh, these upgrades have given both George and Lewis so much confidence in their cars, with the lead that George stole fron Lando, to both being able to keep Lando, in the fastest car of the race behind them a couple of laps, to their calls. They are on the right trajectory and it’s something we don’t hate to see.

McLaren are getting cocky. And don’t get me wring, I’m impressed with their progress in one year, but they’re getting too cocky for their own good. Oscar did a phenomenal race from starting in p9 to ending p7, overtaking and a right strategy, but he’s in the fastest car, and couldn’t get past the Ferraris who were on a considerably “wrong foot” since Canada. Meanwhile Landi started on pole, by the end of lap 1, lost 2 positions, tried to overtake and got stuck in dirty air, and when his engineer asked him , he said fight for the win, which I respect, but fucked his strategy with the time he pitted and then being stuck unable to regain first. Let’s be real. McLaren have no one to blame for this race but themselves, because they were the fastest all weekend and have been for a while, yet they didn’t win. And Zak Brown should definitely eat his words that if you put someone other than Max in the fastest car, they’d win, and no one is faster than Lando, well guess what. Lando had the fastest car, and has had it since Miami, yet won only one race, why is that Zak. Eat. Your. Words.

Lastly Red Bull. Are they making progress, yes for sure and that could be evident on Checo, who is regaining more confidence after 2 horrible races for him in a row. Starting P11, regaining and ending p8 (granted not the best result, but points finish nonetheless) and be wasn’t 100% happy with the car. And saying he’ll continue to fight, I’m sure he will, and Checo will return to the podium very soon, especially because his strategy wasn’t the best and the penalty cost him a bit, but he’s regaining that confidence and that’s what we like. Then we have the one who literally destroyed the dreams of those around him. You can’t tell me that that race wasn’t all Max, because it was. The overtake on George that was as it was written in the book. To being able to communicate effectively with GP. To the strategy that had Max lead into lap 2. To then win the race in the second fastest car, snatching the win from the fastest. Yeah he’s unbelievable, but the team need to wake up, and provide him with upgrades that would enable them both (Max and Checo) to be more confident and less concerned with how their cars will perform (upgrades please red bull thank you)

Well, this is my race analysis for 1/3 of the upcoming triple header. And I want to end it on something I read about Max. Because HE is what makes the difference, not the car

It said something like there are great drivers in fats cars then there is the fastest driver in a great car. And I guess this sums up the Spanish GP top 2 in a nutshell

BRING ON AUSTRIA (May we listen to the Austrian and Dutch anthems tomorrow and enjoy it, and hopefully more on Sunday)

As I didn’t get the chance to watch much of anything this past weekend, this analysis is golden. Thank you so much for sharing once again, I truly enjoy reading your post-race analyses. ❤️

Honestly, people who still believe Max's success is only because of the car and not that man's raw, once-in-a-generation talent, they haven’t been watching the races. Or they have, but they're simply too blinded by jealousy and/or their dislike towards Max to see him for the exceptional driver he is. And those people are simply not worth your time or energy.

Let’s fucking go Lestappen holy temple!

[meaningofmotorsport]

Monaco Grand Prix Preview

It’s funny how much more excited we all are for Monaco, having only missed it for one year. I feel like it shows that the sport cannot be without this track on its calendar, although some changes may need to be made to help the action. Or alternatively, other teams could follow McLaren’s lead to spice up the liveries!

Mercedes come to this iconic circuit, off the back of a start to the season which they didn’t expect, after Max took pole in Bahrain to start the year. They have shown though, that in race trim, with brilliant strategies, they can get the better of Red Bull, even if they aren’t as fast. Having said all that, the season is by no means over, Lewis only has a 14 point lead, which could evaporate with a single mistake! As always, Mercedes have said that they aren’t the favourites here, but past form suggests otherwise. They will be my pick to win, however Red Bull are not the only threats! I love the fact, that there is tension beginning to build between Lewis and Max, we need that if the title fight starts to get serious down the line, as we near Abu Dhabi!

I’m not sure whether to regard these first 4 races as a good start to the year for Red Bull, or not so positive, as whilst it has gone better than previous years, some wins have escaped their grasp, either through team or driver error. At least here there is no track limits to worry about! Today, Max was not happy with the car it seems, he wasn’t far off Mercedes, but felt that when they put a full lap together, Mercedes will be well ahead. This could be him sandbagging, however looking at how good the Mercedes was at Barcelona, it may well be true. Some good news though, is that Perez is fast around these streets, at least in FP1. So, even if they don’t have the out right pace, they could use strategy to mess with those ahead!

I can’t quite believe I am saying this, however, what if neither of the two teams I just mentioned are fastest here? Going off the times today, you would say that Ferrari are favourites here, as they were 4 tenths ahead of the rest, which is a big gap! We know that they have made massive improvements over last year, and considering the engine is still their main weakness, it makes sense for them to be fast here. That gap to the Mercedes, suggests that even if they did run higher engine modes and less fuel, they are still going to be close in qualifying. They are not my pick for the weekend, although if Leclerc can pull out one of his stellar laps again, pole isn’t out of the question! Sainz is doing well too, so I truly have no idea where they will end up, it would just be great to see Ferrari back where they deserve to be!

McLaren never show their hand too much in practice, so don’t read much into them being back in the pack, I would imagine they will be with Alpha Tauri, trying to get near Ferrari. Having started the year so well, being almost dominant in the mid field, they are now having some of their weaknesses exposed, or maybe it is just other teams improving and learning their cars. I do think it will be a year long fight between Ferrari and McLaren for 3rd in the constructors, as on power hungry tracks, the Mercedes engine in the McLaren can trounce the Ferrari. The key will be maximising the bad weekends, such as this one for the Woking team, to keep bringing in points!

Is this the weekend where Gasly finally gets a strong set of points? The car has shown promise, the execution has just been terrible, but once again here, Pierre has been able to hold pace near the front of the times. Much like Leclerc, he is able to pull one lap wonders out of the bag, which is crucial here, so what is possible for him? Tsunoda started with so much promise in his F1 career, it seemed as though he could channel is passion into brilliant pace and race craft, yet we have started to see scrapy drives from him in the past few races. Again, here in Monaco, he lost running in FP2 after he scraped the wall. He has to be careful, as the Red Bull driver programme doesn’t have much patience!

There may be some hope for Aston Martin here, as the low speed circuit, demands less of a high rake set up of the car, with chassis being more important. This has been backed up by some promising times today, especially from Vettel. Points should be on the cards for them here! They look to have swapped places with Alpine, who have admitted, that they lacked pace today, compared to other teams. They can take solace in the fact that this is a one off track, an outlier in the calendar, and the car looks much stronger in ‘normal’ conditions, so they may just have to suffer through this weekend!

I would be amazed if Alfa Romeo are as high up on Saturday, as we saw them today, however, with that Ferrari engine, you would say that this track should help them! I just think that they used more engine modes today, as we have seen before this year, although you never know, if one of the drivers put a lap together, they could be in the mix for points!

Williams, for their 750th race, may not really have as good a race as saw last time out in Spain, with George almost getting points! They are not miles away from the pack, but when we saw them in the mix in previous races, it has been clear to see from the start of the weekend! It is the same story as it has been all year for Haas, just let the drivers learn, build experience, and see what they can do! Unfortunately for Mick, the day didn’t end well, as he lost the rear end, and hit the wall in Massenet, ending his day early, and giving the team some work to do! In fact, with Mazepin beating him in both sessions, it wasn’t a great day for Schumacher, and we should give Nikita some credit for the job he did today.

It would be incredible to see 3 teams in the battle for the pole and win this weekend, but to be honest, I doubt we will get all of them up there, in with a shot in Monaco. The good thing to take from today, is that Ferrari are truly on the path back to the front, and with a regulation change, and them having more wind tunnel time, they could be at the front before we know it!

-M

[crystalracing]

As Formula 1 continues its relentless progress into pioneering technology, it's refreshing when a real throwback enters the fray. The little HRT team that ran aground in 2012 was most definitely one of them; staging a full F1 season on a €46million budget, F1's first Spanish team was a modern homage to the mass of tiny outfits battling for a space on the grid in the late 1980s and early '90s.

After three years of toil with little reward, it met a similar fate to the likes of Simtek, Pacific and Forti when its owner Thesan Capital was unable to sell the team.

Triggered by the collapse of Lola's F1 dream in 1997, the FIA had tightened up the entry requirements to join F1, requiring any entries seeking to join at the turn of the new millennium to pay a bond of $48m, later repaid in instalments, to demonstrate financial security. This virtually priced all except manufacturer teams out of the market and, in the immediate years after, only Toyota emerged from scratch, as the large start-up costs put off even the largest marques from lodging new entries, instead electing to take over existing outfits.

In 2008 and '09, the global financial meltdown and ensuing exodus of manufacturer teams gave F1 and the FIA the job of replenishing its dwindling grid, amid the unfulfilled promise of a cost cap. Of the four teams admitted, Lotus Racing and the Manor-run Virgin Racing squads made it, US F1 was a stillborn project, while Campos Racing's entry went through a difficult birth and ultimately ended up with adoptive parents.

From the very beginning, the team toiled with financial pressures. Having budgeted for the cost cap, owner Adrian Campos's dream looked dead in the water, but a last-minute reprieve by Jose Ramon Carabante's Hispania Group provided the impetus to make the grid for the Bahrain 2010 season-opener - just, in the case of Karun Chandhok's hastily assembled machine - with ex-Midland chief Colin Kolles drafted in to run the day-to-day operations.

Although its Dallara-built chassis were underdeveloped and lacking pace, the team managed to avoid the wooden spoon at the end of its first two seasons, beating the Manor-Virgin outfit to 11th in the constructors' standings in both years.

Midway through 2011, Carabante sold up to Madrid-based investment company Thesan, which came in with the goal to drive HRT up the order while demonstrating a clear Spanish identity. Relying on Kolles's personnel to go racing, Thesan gave the Romanian his marching orders and went on a recruitment drive to bring more elements in-house. Ex-Minardi driver Luis Perez-Sala took up the reins as team principal, while the team moved its headquarters from Murcia to a new facility in Madrid. 

How to build a budget F1 car

On the driving front in 2012, Narain Karthikeyan was re-signed for a second year having been benched mid-season to allow Red Bull to blood Daniel Ricciardo, while the experienced Pedro de la Rosa was signed to lead the team, bringing a wealth of knowledge from testing duties with McLaren and Pirelli to develop the car and boost the team's commercial presence.

"I learned a lot from the management side and how complex an F1 team could be," recalls de la Rosa, who now works as a sporting and technical advisor to DS Techeetah in Formula E. "I was not just focusing on racing, because there were many other things I had to help with; I had to try to look for sponsorship, and there was also the fact that we moved the team to Madrid, which I also had to help with.

"I remember the first time people asked me why I was going to HRT, and there were two reasons. The first was to continue racing, and the second was that it was a Spanish Formula 1 team. That was unique, [and if] I didn't help establish it then it might not happen again. I knew exactly where I was going and the difficulties we would be facing. I knew that it was going to be hell, but it was hell with a group of very committed people."

The F112 was hardly a significant departure from its predecessors, although some time had been spent in the vehicle dynamics lab to understand the F111's chronic lack of grip. Nonetheless, it was late in arriving - HRT attended pre-season testing with the old car, as the new design failed the roll-hoop and lateral nose crash tests needed to run.

It was another difficult birth for the team, and the long-awaited F112 finally made its on-track debut in a Barcelona shakedown. Dressed in a white, burgundy and gold livery, HRT's new chariot was a very conservative, functional design with little in the way of innovation. This was hardly surprising given its diverse roots, having been outsourced across Europe.

The design, development and construction had been produced by Munich-based Holzer, and the chassis was put together by UK-based Formtech Composites. Stress-analysis simulations were carried out in Portugal, leaving HRT's new technical chief Toni Cuquerella to tie everything together from various European industrial parks. It was far from ideal to lift the team off the back of the grid.

Avoiding the aesthetically challenged stepped noses of the time - a result of the FIA's lowering of the front crash structures - the car looked a lot more clean-cut than some of its counterparts, but just overwhelmingly basic in comparison.

In particular, the front wing seemed to have changed very little. In 2012, the complexity of the designs began to increase as aerodynamicists started to explore the realm of element curvature and vortex tunnels. Conversely, HRT's wing featured a trio of slats, still rooted in designs akin to those seen in '09 and looking rather utilitarian against the competition.

There was also performance left on the table through packaging, most noticeably at the rear end. Most teams had emerged from the 2011-12 off-season with a pronounced Coke-bottle effect at the back as the sidepods tapered in around the rear wheels. Even with a Williams-produced gearbox on board, which was kept as small as possible for the FW34's tight rear packaging, HRT's geometry was considerably more chunky.

However, the rear wing was completely overhauled, dispensing with the long-chord top flap for something smaller to boost the airflow attachment across the wing - especially in transient conditions when the DRS was activated.

Having briefly considered a switch to Ferrari power, budget constraints ensured that HRT continued with the cheaper Cosworth engines - derived from the fast-but-fragile units used by Williams in 2006. Like back-of-the-grid rival Manor, now renamed Marussia and also using Cosworth power, HRT chose not to complicate its car with the addition of KERS.

"I was quite surprised by the Cosworth," de la Rosa says. "It was very reliable. I would say the engine was not on our list of issues. OK, it had less power than the Mercedes and probably the others as well, but if you put that engine in a competitive car it would have been a decent package.

"Let's not forget that we didn't have KERS either, and that was at a time when everyone was running KERS. But we thought that the extra few tenths it was giving you was not worth the €1.8m, because we had other time gains to invest our limited budget on."

Those gains appeared in the form of a new aero package at the Spanish Grand Prix, after the team had propped up the field in the opening flyaways - and failed to qualify both cars at the Melbourne season opener for a second successive year.

The front wing featured a larger, more shapely top flap, yielding more contemporary airflow management ahead of the front wheels. Sure, other teams had ventured into three-element wings, but HRT was now consistently closer to the Marussia cars with the upgrade - which also included a new bargeboard package and revised rear-wing endplates to control vortices.

"In terms of set-up," recalls de la Rosa's race engineer Mark Hutcheson, who had joined the HRT rebuilding project from Marussia, "it was OK, a normal car from that point of view. The main limitations in all these teams is that you have ideas, but you can't implement those ideas in the same way as everybody else because you've got a budget limitation.

"HRT was very limited. We maybe only had one floor update through the year and three front-wing updates. If you consider in the same year Red Bull were on front-wing update number 30 or 40, you can see the difference. It's not that the team doesn't know what to do or have any ideas, but there's a limit to what you can do."

"We had a €46m budget and 85 people," adds de la Rosa, "including the marketing department and administration - it was incredible to have a team running with this budget. The group of people I found there... if people ask me, 'What is the difference between HRT and McLaren?' I say the quantity. The quality of people in these teams is outstanding."

Next time out at Monaco, where HRT's shortfall in downforce was at its most pronounced, de la Rosa plonked himself ahead of Marussia's Charles Pic in qualifying and within two tenths of Pic's team-mate Timo Glock, producing "one of the best laps I've done in my F1 career". It counted for nothing though, as his race was over on the first lap after Pastor Maldonado rode over the HRT's rear wing. Karthikeyan, meanwhile, rescued the team's best result in a twice-lapped 15th place.

The team had neither the budget nor the resource to continue its development, having outsourced the entirety of its aerodynamics department, so began to turn its attentions to 2013, with de la Rosa and Hutcheson both set to continue. Development of the F113, intended to be an evolution of the '12 car, began in earnest under the guidance of new chief designer Mark Tatham.

Then reality started to bite. A perfect storm of Spanish financial meltdown, the banking crisis, and a hangover of the global recession continued to unwind into 2012 and quelled HRT's attempts to find solid sponsorship. Looking towards '14 and the introduction of turbo hybrid V6 power units, HRT's financiers were considerably turned off by the massive investment required. With no low-budget option available - Cosworth had decided to pick its ball up and go home rather than try to compete in a high-budget exercise - and no other investors forthcoming, Thesan Capital pulled the plug.

"The biggest regret I have is that the turbo era caught us in the middle of the project, and the big Spanish crisis of 2012 hit us hard," says de la Rosa. "There were many factors, but we were really in serious conversations with [potential Spanish sponsors] and then in '12 we had the banking crisis and it was very difficult to get any sponsors at all. Everything conspired against us.

"I feel very sorry about it, because I knew that if that project died, I would never in my lifetime see another Spanish F1 team. When I told Ron Dennis I was leaving for HRT, he didn't even know what the name of the team was! Then he said to me, 'You must be nuts!' and he left the room. But that's what I wanted to do! [He was] right, but I think there's a time in life when you have to do what you think is right and that's why I don't regret it."

The remainder of 2010's 'new teams' passed in the succeeding years. Caterham (formerly Lotus) bit the dust at the end of '14 despite a concerted crowdfunding effort, while Manor survived falling into administration only to bow out two years later when Sauber snatched 10th in the '16 constructors' championship by one point. With costs of the current powertrains sky-high and the level of engineering needed to be competitive also requiring massive capital, talk of a budget cap persists.

Unless hell freezes over and the championship's grandes fromages agree to cut and limit costs, could the HRT F112 be the last true budget F1 car? As things stand, it certainly looks like it.

This feature first appeared in January's Autosport Engineering supplement, which includes an in-depth profile of Williams Advanced Engineering, an engineer's guide to designing a Formula 1 car on a budget and a look back at the engine wizard behind Audi's LMP1 success. Out every other month, the next issue of Autosport Engineering will appear on March 14.

Click here to see the full list of previously published Engineering articles

[itsworn]

1968 Dodge Dart: First Love

Christopher Thompson bought this 1968 Dodge Dart in 1987 when he was only 14 years old, and 30 years later transformed it into his Pro Street dream car.

Though in 1987 he was still two years away from being old enough to drive, Christopher Thompson managed to cut a deal and buy this 1968 Dart. There was nothing especially exotic about the car, but it was all his, and by the time he was 16 and in possession of his junior license, he had already rebuilt the car’s 273-cid V-8. He also completely rebuilt the front suspension, replaced the stock drum brakes with a disc setup, and installed an 8 ¾-inch rearend with track-friendly 4.56:1 gears.

“After I got my license,” Thompson recalls, “I drove it all the time, and I raced it four or five times a year at Carlsbad Raceway while I was in high school. It ran low 14s in what I call its ‘high school configuration.’”

After graduating from high school, Thompson’s Dart graduated as well, with a moderately built-up 360-cid engine replacing the 273. With more power on tap, it consistently ran 13.80s at around 105 mph. Over the next 10 years, he bracket-raced the car at a wide variety of tracks, including Carlsbad, Brotherhood Raceway Park, Sears Point, Bakersfield, Los Angeles County Raceway, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, and Sacramento. Los Angeles and Carlsbad, which Thompson considered his home track, were particularly kind to the Dart, with numerous bracket wins to show for it and a best e.t. of 12.09 at 109 mph without nitrous. With a 150-shot of nitrous, it tripped the lights at 10.88 at 116 mph.

In 1998, Thompson bought his first house and set up a nice shop in the garage. The Dart had a few electrical issues, so his first project in the new shop was a complete rewire. As is always the case, while working on the wiring the closer he looked the more he saw, and the more he thought about where he’d like to take the car. At the same time, a friend happened to have a turbo setup for sale and that further encouraged Thompson to dream. He bought the turbo system and proceeded to disassemble his Dart for a comprehensive Pro Street build. As often happens however, taking everything apart turned out to be the easy part. With increasing attention and time devoted to developing his career, the new house, and other commitments, getting all of the work done and putting it all back together proved to be considerably more difficult.

“There was no progress until 2005,” Thompson explains, “and then I found some time and motivation to do a little bit of work on it. I cut the back-half out and then made a crucial mistake. In addition to the trunk, floor, trunk hinge supports, rails, and other parts, I also removed the rollcage before sending the body to Painting & Stripping Corporation in Santa Fe Springs for dipping. Without the back-half and rollcage, the car folded like a taco when it came out of the strip tank. I was devastated when I saw what happened, and was just about ready to throw the car away or use what was left of the sheetmetal to build a tube frame car.”

Fortunately, Thompson called Gary Hansen at Hansen Race Cars in Montclair, California, who quickly talked him out of scrapping the Dart. “Gary assured me it was not the end of the world, and they could put it on their jig and get it fixed. He was right, and I can’t thank him enough for all that they did. Hansen was on time, on budget, and the workmanship was fantastic throughout.”

Hansen Race Cars installed a four-link chromoly tube back-half, complete with an SFI 25.5D-spec Funny Car ’cage. Though Thompson had big plans for completing the Dart after it came back from Hansen’s shop, life once again intervened and it sat idle for another dozen years.

“I knew I’d get to it one day,” Thompson recalls, “but once again the years passed by and little was done. That changed in 2017 when I participated in HOT ROD Drag Week with another car that I own, and my friend Gary Goodner planted the seed in my head to finish the Dart in time for Drag Week in 2018.”

Finishing the car to the level Thompson had in mind was a massive endeavor, but with an unbreakable commitment to have it completed in time for Drag Week, he found the motivation to put in all of the many necessary hours. “For 10 straight months I worked on the car almost every day that I had off. In the beginning, Gary would come over one day a week to help, and then his visits increased in the spring and summer, for the final push. In the last month before Drag Week, I was putting in 18 to 20 hours per day almost every day. I also had a lot of invaluable help from friends, especially Stuart, Andrew, Mike, and Brian. They were there for me when it counted.”

Thompson and his friends did the vast majority of the needed work, including installing the QA1 frontend, sheetmetal fabrication, wiring, fuel system, interior, and bodywork. Though the car was blissfully rust-free, a lot of sheetmetal work was required because of the modifications. In addition to all of the custom pieces required for the new back-half, Thompson stretched original quarter-panels 6 inches to accommodate the rear rubber.

The Dart went to Frank’s Custom in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, for final paint. Master painter James Burdette expertly applied 1968 Dodge Dark Red Metallic code RR1 using two-stage PPG acrylic urethane. “In the beginning, I intended to paint it myself,” Thompson tells us, “because I planned to drive and race the heck out of it, so I didn’t put too much emphasis on the paint. Now it’s gorgeous, probably way too nice to drive and race, but I’m thrilled with it!”

When Drag Week arrived, the Dart was close enough to being finished that it could’ve gone, but Thompson was still waiting on a few key parts so decided not to bring it. The little bit of disappointment he felt was far outweighed by the satisfaction of finally getting the car up and running after it sitting idle for most of the previous 20 years.

“This car means a lot to me,” he explains, “and it also means a lot to my wife, Jessica. She put up with it all those years when it was just sitting around, and when I finally decided to complete the build she was 100 percent supportive. She said, ‘I’ve got your back — let’s do this!’ She never complained about all of the time and money it consumed, and she was truly the key player in getting it done.

“Looking back over the 30-plus years I’ve owned the car,” he continues, “I realize now that it has taught me a lot of life’s lessons. It kept me occupied at some very trying times in my life, and it drove me to learn all about the inner workings of cars. The skills I learned rebuilding it in high school led to a career working on cars in my teens and 20s. Even more important, it has also led to unlikely friendships that are still going strong today. Over the years, it has driven many thousands of street miles and made a couple of thousand passes down the track, and it’s been dragged from house to house and shop to shop, but I never gave up on my dream to transform it into a Pro Street car, and I love it every bit as much today as I did back in the beginning, when I was 14 years old and this was my first car.”

Fast Facts 1968 Dodge Dart Christopher Thompson, Cowan Heights, CA

ENGINE Type: 344-cid V-8 Bore x stroke: 4.070 inches (bore) x 3.31 inches (stroke) Block: stock 1970 Mopar 340, cast-iron, decked, line-honed, bored and honed with torque plate, four-bolt splayed main caps Rotating assembly: Eagle 4340 forged crank, GRP aluminum connecting rods, Ross custom turbo aluminum pistons machined for clearance, entire rotating assembly balanced Compression: 9.25:1 Cylinder heads: Mopar Performance W5 aluminum heads, fully ported, combustion chamber relieved, angle milled, oil passages modified Camshaft: Comp Cams solid roller, .685-inch 242/244 degrees duration Valves: Ferrea titanium/Inconel, PAC valvesprings, Jesel 1.8:1 rocker arms, Manton pushrods, PAC tool steel retainers, locks and seals Fasteners: ARP Machine work done by: B&P (Orange, CA) Induction: Mopar Performance M1 intake manifold, Comp Turbo Technology oil-less CT4X 68mm billet turbocharger Oiling system: Milodon oil pan, Melling high-volume pump, Moroso filter Exhaust: custom stainless exhaust, including 1.75-inch header tubes and 4.0-inch pipes Ignition: Holley Distributorless Ignition System Cooling: Champion radiator, Mezerie water pump Fuel: Holley Dominator EFI, divided fuel cell with 7.5 gallons for race fuel and 12.5 gallons for road fuel, Aeromotive 3.5 gpm brushless pump for race fuel, Aeromotive A1000 pump for street fuel Engine built by: B&P (Orange, CA)

DRIVETRAIN Transmission: 727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic Converter: Dice Performance converter 3,500-stall speed 9.5-inch torque converter, 2.45/1.45/1.00 gear ratios, built by Pro Trans (Lancaster, CA) Transmission Cooler: Derale cooler Shifter: Precision Performance Products Driveshaft: 3.5-inch double wall chromoly Rear End: Mark Williams Ford 9-inch narrowed 20 inches, aluminum centersection with lightweight chromoly spool, 3.73:1 ring-and-pinion, Richmond Pro Gear, 40-spline gun-drilled axles

CHASSIS Front suspension: QA1 bolt-in tubular K-frame and arms, QA1 double-adjustable coilover system, Mopar Performance .810 torsion bars Rear suspension: Hansen Race Cars chromoly round tube back-half, four-link suspension with Strange Engineering double-adjustable shocks and Strange Engineering springs, adjustable custom torsion bar Steering: stock 1968 Dodge Front Spindles: stock 1968 Dodge Brakes: Mark Williams four-piston lightweight, 10.5-inch rotors

BODY Modifications: rear quarter-panels stretched 6 inches, custom sheetmetal underhood and surrounding back-half, wheeltubs Paint: PPG two-stage, 1968 Dodge Dark Red Metallic

INTERIOR Seats: JAZ Products aluminum seats, black vinyl upholstery Instruments: Holley digital dash, Motion Raceworks digital dash mount and billet turn signal switch Electronics: Infinity box Steering: custom chromoly column

WHEELS & TIRES Wheels: 15×4 (front) and 15×16 (rear) Weld Racing Front Tires: 26×4.5 Mickey Thompson Sportsman Rear Tires: 33×17 Hoosier D05 slicks

The post 1968 Dodge Dart: First Love appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1968-dodge-dart-first-love/ via IFTTT

[marilynngmesalo]

William Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, puts Hendrick up front again

William Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, puts Hendrick up front again William Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, puts Hendrick up front again https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron put Hendrick Motorsports in a familiar position: on the pole for the Daytona 500. His bigger goal is to make the starting spot pay dividends for the NASCAR powerhouse.

The 21-year-old Byron and 25-year-old teammate Alex Bowman locked in the front row for “The Great American Race” during qualifying laps Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. They comprise the youngest front row in Daytona 500 history.

The coveted starting spot hasn’t meant much for NASCAR’s season opener over the last two decades, though. The last Daytona 500 pole-sitter to win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000.

The last four — Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott (twice) and Bowman — have failed to notch a top-10 finish.

“To have them on top of each other means the organization did a heck of a job,” Hendrick said. “This is the deal to sit on the pole at Daytona.”

Byron and Bowman edged the other two Hendrick drivers: seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and fan favourite Chase Elliott.

“That’s a pretty amazing feat, I feel,” said longtime Hendrick crew chief Chad Knaus, who is entering his first season with Byron after 18 years with Johnson.

Knaus and Johnson landed the Daytona 500 pole in their first race together in 2002. After splitting with Johnson at the end of last season, Knaus essentially repeated the feat with Byron.

“I think it’s huge,” Knaus said. “We’ve had a lot of late nights, a lot of long hours. The last time I came here with a new driver, we sat on the pole. This is really special for me.”

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Byron reached a top speed of 194.304 mph in the final round of qualifying, nearly two-tenths of a second faster than Bowman (194.153).

“I thought we were going to be somewhere in the hunt,” Byron said. “I was excited to get down here and see what we had. It’s really cool.”

The rest of the 40-car lineup will be set by two qualifying races Thursday. Thirty-six of those spots are already filled because of NASCAR’s charter system.

Former Hendrick driver Casey Mears and Tyler Reddick secured two of the remaining spots in the Daytona 500. They posted the top speeds of the six drivers vying for four open spots in NASCAR’s season opener.

“I really feel like we’ll be able to be competitive,” Mears said. “I can tell you this: I’ve been at Daytona with a lot less and ran inside the top five.”

Joey Gase, Ryan Truex, Parker Kligerman and Brandan Gaughan likely will have to race their way into the 500 during the qualifying races. Two of them will make it, and the other two won’t.

Byron and his teammates will spend the week being lauded as the Daytona 500 favourites. They also will try to stay out of trouble in the qualifying races.

“We want to take care of the cars for sure,” Hendrick said. “We don’t want to put the cars in any unnecessary harm’s way. It’s kind of a two-edge sword on the front row. You don’t want to take a chance of tearing up a really good car, but you’ve got to figure out what to race.”

Hendrick has been outspoken about how difficult the 2018 season was on the organization, calling it one of the worst in team history.

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The Hendrick cars were mediocre at best — Johnson failed to win for the first time in his Cup career — and it took 22 races for the organization to get its first victory. The final tally included three victories for Elliott and no drivers in the championship-deciding finale for the second consecutive year.

Hendrick responded by splitting up Johnson and Knaus, tasking Knaus with building another team around Byron. A new racing package in 2019 also should benefit Bowman and Byron because neither had much experience under the old rules.

For at least one day or maybe even a week, the moves are paying off.

“You work all these years coming down here and you want all the cars to run well,” Hendrick said. “And if you have one up front and a couple in the back, in the middle; but this is a tribute to our organization, the engine shop, the chassis, body shop, and the teams to come down here and run with four cars running that good. I can’t believe it.”

  Click for update news Bangla news http://bit.ly/2DtgnPu world news

[kansascityhappenings]

Byron wins Daytona 500 pole, puts Hendrick up front again

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — William Byron put Hendrick Motorsports in a familiar position: on the pole for the Daytona 500. His bigger goal is to make the starting spot pay dividends for the NASCAR powerhouse.

The 21-year-old Byron and 25-year-old teammate Alex Bowman locked in the front row for “The Great American Race” during qualifying laps Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. They comprise the youngest front row in Daytona 500 history.

The coveted starting spot hasn’t meant much for NASCAR’s season opener over the last two decades, though. The last Daytona 500 pole-sitter to win the race was Dale Jarrett in 2000.

The last four — Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott (twice) and Bowman — have failed to notch a top-10 finish.

“To have them on top of each other means the organization did a heck of a job,” Hendrick said. “This is the deal to sit on the pole at Daytona.”

Byron and Bowman edged the other two Hendrick drivers: seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and fan favorite Chase Elliott.

“That’s a pretty amazing feat, I feel,” said longtime Hendrick crew chief Chad Knaus, who is entering his first season with Byron after 18 years with Johnson.

Knaus and Johnson landed the Daytona 500 pole in their first race together in 2002. After splitting with Johnson at the end of last season, Knaus essentially repeated the feat with Byron.

“I think it’s huge,” Knaus said. “We’ve had a lot of late nights, a lot of long hours. The last time I came here with a new driver, we sat on the pole. This is really special for me.”

Byron reached a top speed of 194.304 mph in the final round of qualifying, nearly two-tenths of a second faster than Bowman (194.153).

“I thought we were going to be somewhere in the hunt,” Byron said. “I was excited to get down here and see what we had. It’s really cool.”

The rest of the 40-car lineup will be set by two qualifying races Thursday. Thirty-six of those spots are already filled because of NASCAR’s charter system.

Former Hendrick driver Casey Mears and Tyler Reddick secured two of the remaining spots in the Daytona 500. They posted the top speeds of the six drivers vying for four open spots in NASCAR’s season opener.

“I really feel like we’ll be able to be competitive,” Mears said. “I can tell you this: I’ve been at Daytona with a lot less and ran inside the top five.”

Joey Gase, Ryan Truex, Parker Kligerman and Brandan Gaughan likely will have to race their way into the 500 during the qualifying races. Two of them will make it, and the other two won’t.

Byron and his teammates will spend the week being lauded as the Daytona 500 favorites. They also will try to stay out of trouble in the qualifying races.

“We want to take care of the cars for sure,” Hendrick said. “We don’t want to put the cars in any unnecessary harm’s way. It’s kind of a two-edge sword on the front row. You don’t want to take a chance of tearing up a really good car, but you’ve got to figure out what to race.”

Hendrick has been outspoken about how difficult the 2018 season was on the organization, calling it one of the worst in team history.

The Hendrick cars were mediocre at best — Johnson failed to win for the first time in his Cup career — and it took 22 races for the organization to get its first victory. The final tally included three victories for Elliott and no drivers in the championship-deciding finale for the second consecutive year.

Hendrick responded by splitting up Johnson and Knaus, tasking Knaus with building another team around Byron. A new racing package in 2019 also should benefit Bowman and Byron because neither had much experience under the old rules.

For at least one day or maybe even a week, the moves are paying off.

“You work all these years coming down here and you want all the cars to run well,” Hendrick said. “And if you have one up front and a couple in the back, in the middle; but this is a tribute to our organization, the engine shop, the chassis, body shop, and the teams to come down here and run with four cars running that good. I can’t believe it.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/02/10/byron-wins-daytona-500-pole-puts-hendrick-up-front-again/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/02/10/byron-wins-daytona-500-pole-puts-hendrick-up-front-again/

[itsworn]

Street Outlaws and gas Monkey Garage go head-to-head in Mega Race!

Grudge racing is the easiest way settle rivalries between drag racers. Someone has something to prove, both guys think they are the fastest, and there’s usually an insane amount of money on the line. Welcome to Mega Race. If you watched last year’s Mega Race, you saw Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws, represented by Big Chief Justin Shearer, beat Richard Rawlings’ Gas Monkey Garage team with hired driver, Alex Laughlin behind the wheel. Both camps had to build new cars for the event, and in the end, Street Outlaws took the win beating GMG in two races.

Fast forward one year, and the grudge lives on. In 2018, Gas Monkey Garage has something to prove. Richard Rawlings returns to the track with the same Dodge Demon and Alex Laughlin behind the wheel to avenge last year’s loss to Street Outlaws. But this year, the GMG team is met by a different competitor- Ryan Martin and his Fireball Camaro. Currently, Ryan is sitting at the top of the 405’s Top 10 List, effectively making his Camaro the fastest street-raced car in the country.

Though lining up against anyone with the title “fastest anything” can be extremely intimidating, GMG wanted to redeem themselves, proving they can do more than just build show cars.

Ultimately, the race, which airs March, 5th on Discovery Channel, comes down to two people: the drivers. One misstep, one inaccurate correction, or simply being a split-second late on the tree can be the difference between winning and losing. History has shown how critical these small details can be, and both drivers arrived to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with something to prove to their fans, their teams, and themselves.

Alex Laughlin

Alex is an accomplished NHRA driver in both the Top Alcohol Dragster and Pro Stock ranks. Top Alcohol is the premier Sportsman class, and Pro Stock is arguably the most competitive and difficult class to compete in. His success behind the wheel is undeniable, which makes Richard Rawlings’ decision to bring him onto the GMG team an extremely smart one. The young driver shows poise and experience that rivals many veterans. Combine this with an extremely high level of professionalism, and you have a skillset seldom matched in the racing world.

Alex came into Mega Race with a lot riding on his shoulders. Last year’s Mega Race came down to who left the starting line first, and unfortunately, Alex was on the wrong side of the light. This year, Alex and the GMG team have the chance to redeem themselves, but they would face a new opponent.

“Going into this year’s Mega Race, I know we are in trouble,” explained Alex Laughlin. “Our chassis just isn’t built for the power we are making. We have made some improvements, but I’m not sure if it’s enough. I know the hundreds of hours I personally have in working on the car can’t be wasted, so we have to make the best with what we have.”

Per the rules, Alex and GMG can make improvements to the existing chassis of their Dodge Challenger Demon, but it has to be the same car from the previous year.

“After last year, we made more improvements to the shocks, struts, and chassis,” Laughlin tells us. “We even beefed up the 4-link. My plan is honestly to just be able to classify our car as ‘competitive’ against the Fireball guys.

“I caught a lot of flak, and still do, about getting left on in the first Mega Race,” he explains. “Originally, when we set the car up, we put the transbrake button on the left side of the steering wheel. The button on the right side in my Pro Stock car triggers the parachutes. The thought was, ‘since I didn’t have much time testing in the Mega Race car, we certainly didn’t want me to be confused at the top end and hit the transbrake instead of the chutes.’ Leaving using a button with anything but your dominant hand is a lot harder than you’d think. Try throwing a baseball with your less dominant arm.”

Ryan Martin

Ryan made a name for himself racing in the X275 class, arguably the most competitive class in the radial racing world. After acquiring the Fireball Camaro, he transitioned into the Radial vs the World class, which incorporates extreme amounts of power and the highest levels of technology, while still racing on DOT-legal radial tires. Ryan’s experience on track has successfully transferred to the street, as he has taken control of The List in Oklahoma City. Though his talent is evident on the street, his years of track experience make him and the entire Fireball team lethal on a prepped track.

Ryan knows the stakes are high given the success of the 405 last year. “Going into this race, I know that I need to win,” explained Ryan Martin. “The 405 was represented well in the first Mega Race. I had to overestimate [Gas Monkey Garage’s] capabilities to make sure I bring enough to win. I am confident, but not enough to take them lightly.”

With the 405’s List always evolving and progressively getting faster and faster, Ryan and team Fireball work diligently to stay on top of their game.

“I want to continue to make my program stronger,” Martin added. “We spend a lot of time testing throughout the off-season. Being on top for most of the year, I know that people were going to step up and get even faster.

“Going into Mega Race, we made several changes to the Fireball Camaro,” Martin tells us. “We added larger turbos to make more power. This will allow us to take full advantage of the prepped surface in Phoenix. We changed the torque convertor to a slightly tighter version with a different profile to accept the power. We will also run tires that we know are going to work well on a prepped surface. We also plan on adding a more aggressive boost curve to accelerate the car faster.”

“I really can’t take Gas Monkey lightly, Martin tells us. “I know they will be out for blood and trying to do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t lose again. So our mindset is that they are going to be even faster than before and we have to work even harder in order to win.”

The Cars

Gas Monkey Garage rolled into Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona with the familiar late-model Dodge Challenger Demon we all watched the GMG team build a year ago. The chassis started life as a Top Sportsman car, but was not built to the same level as today’s chassis. Per the rules, the body and chassis remain the same. But GMG was allowed to strengthen the chassis to handle the increased power from this year’s engine. The Challenger is equipped with a screw-blown 500ci billet Hemi that is capable of making nearly 5,000 horsepower. It is backed by Bruno/Lenco transmission. If you are unfamiliar with this, the Lenco is an air-shifted manual transmission commonly used in the Pro Mod and Outlaw 10.5 classes. The Bruno Drive allows you to blend the best parts of a manual transmission with the benefits of an automatic. It uses a torque converter instead of a clutch commonly found in manual transmissions. This is beneficial because it takes much less maintenance between runs, and it eliminates the clutch-tuning factor. The power is then transferred to a stout Mark Williams 9-inch floater rearend housing, which spreads power equally to the massive Hoosier slicks.

The Fireball Camaro started life as a production 2010 Camaro SS. The chassis was built by Bill Gilsbach Racecars for 10.5 Outlaw competition. Under the hood lives a 572ci 481X build by the brain trust at ProLine Racing. The billet powerplant is force-fed air by a pair of 102mm Precision Turbo and Engine turbochargers. Since this event is being held on a prepped track, the cars be pushed harder on the starting line, so team Fireball swapped the 88mm turbos they usually run on the street for larger 102mm units. Power is transferred to the drivetrain via a billet bolt-together torque converter from Pro Torque. The gear changes are handled by a two-speed TH400 from M&M Transmission. A PST carbon fiber driveshaft transfers power to the 9-inch rearend. On a prepped track, the Fireball crew relies on Goodyear slicks to get down the track. These give them the best blend of traction and wheel speed.

The Race

Both drivers have an extreme amount of respect for the other, but each possess the drive and desire to win, taking this from a friendly match race to an all-out grudge race. Alex Laughlin is fueled by the need to avenge last year’s defeat, while Ryan Martin has the reputation of the 405 sitting on his shoulders. Each has something to prove and it goes far beyond pride or ego. Both have the machines to win and the crew to get the job done.

Following the same format as last year, the winner will be decided in a best-of-three race format. Both teams are allowed to test at the track at Wild Horse Pass the day before. As the sun goes down in Arizona, the action will heat up as both drivers look to take home a win. Oh, and there is much more than just bragging rights on the line. The winner will take home a massive cash prize. It’s no secret that Richard Rawlings and the Street Outlaws are not shy about putting big money on the line, but you’ll have to watch the show, which airs March 5th on Discovery Channel, to see exactly how it all goes down.

The post Street Outlaws and gas Monkey Garage go head-to-head in Mega Race! appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network http://www.hotrod.com/articles/street-outlaws-gas-monkey-garage-go-head-head-mega-race/ via IFTTT

[itsworn]

Street Outlaws and gas Monkey Garage go head-to-head in Mega Race!

Grudge racing is the easiest way settle rivalries between drag racers. Someone has something to prove, both guys think they are the fastest, and there’s usually an insane amount of money on the line. Welcome to Mega Race. If you watched last year’s Mega Race, you saw Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws, represented by Big Chief Justin Shearer, beat Richard Rawlings’ Gas Monkey Garage team with hired driver, Alex Laughlin behind the wheel. Both camps had to build new cars for the event, and in the end, Street Outlaws took the win beating GMG in two races.

Fast forward one year, and the grudge lives on. In 2018, Gas Monkey Garage has something to prove. Richard Rawlings returns to the track with the same Dodge Demon and Alex Laughlin behind the wheel to avenge last year’s loss to Street Outlaws. But this year, the GMG team is met by a different competitor- Ryan Martin and his Fireball Camaro. Currently, Ryan is sitting at the top of the 405’s Top 10 List, effectively making his Camaro the fastest street-raced car in the country.

Though lining up against anyone with the title “fastest anything” can be extremely intimidating, GMG wanted to redeem themselves, proving they can do more than just build show cars.

Ultimately, the race, which airs March, 5th on Discovery Channel, comes down to two people: the drivers. One misstep, one inaccurate correction, or simply being a split-second late on the tree can be the difference between winning and losing. History has shown how critical these small details can be, and both drivers arrived to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with something to prove to their fans, their teams, and themselves.

Alex Laughlin

Alex is an accomplished NHRA driver in both the Top Alcohol Dragster and Pro Stock ranks. Top Alcohol is the premier Sportsman class, and Pro Stock is arguably the most competitive and difficult class to compete in. His success behind the wheel is undeniable, which makes Richard Rawlings’ decision to bring him onto the GMG team an extremely smart one. The young driver shows poise and experience that rivals many veterans. Combine this with an extremely high level of professionalism, and you have a skillset seldom matched in the racing world.

Alex came into Mega Race with a lot riding on his shoulders. Last year’s Mega Race came down to who left the starting line first, and unfortunately, Alex was on the wrong side of the light. This year, Alex and the GMG team have the chance to redeem themselves, but they would face a new opponent.

“Going into this year’s Mega Race, I know we are in trouble,” explained Alex Laughlin. “Our chassis just isn’t built for the power we are making. We have made some improvements, but I’m not sure if it’s enough. I know the hundreds of hours I personally have in working on the car can’t be wasted, so we have to make the best with what we have.”

Per the rules, Alex and GMG can make improvements to the existing chassis of their Dodge Challenger Demon, but it has to be the same car from the previous year.

“After last year, we made more improvements to the shocks, struts, and chassis,” Laughlin tells us. “We even beefed up the 4-link. My plan is honestly to just be able to classify our car as ‘competitive’ against the Fireball guys.

“I caught a lot of flak, and still do, about getting left on in the first Mega Race,” he explains. “Originally, when we set the car up, we put the transbrake button on the left side of the steering wheel. The button on the right side in my Pro Stock car triggers the parachutes. The thought was, ‘since I didn’t have much time testing in the Mega Race car, we certainly didn’t want me to be confused at the top end and hit the transbrake instead of the chutes.’ Leaving using a button with anything but your dominant hand is a lot harder than you’d think. Try throwing a baseball with your less dominant arm.”

Ryan Martin

Ryan made a name for himself racing in the X275 class, arguably the most competitive class in the radial racing world. After acquiring the Fireball Camaro, he transitioned into the Radial vs the World class, which incorporates extreme amounts of power and the highest levels of technology, while still racing on DOT-legal radial tires. Ryan’s experience on track has successfully transferred to the street, as he has taken control of The List in Oklahoma City. Though his talent is evident on the street, his years of track experience make him and the entire Fireball team lethal on a prepped track.

Ryan knows the stakes are high given the success of the 405 last year. “Going into this race, I know that I need to win,” explained Ryan Martin. “The 405 was represented well in the first Mega Race. I had to overestimate [Gas Monkey Garage’s] capabilities to make sure I bring enough to win. I am confident, but not enough to take them lightly.”

With the 405’s List always evolving and progressively getting faster and faster, Ryan and team Fireball work diligently to stay on top of their game.

“I want to continue to make my program stronger,” Martin added. “We spend a lot of time testing throughout the off-season. Being on top for most of the year, I know that people were going to step up and get even faster.

“Going into Mega Race, we made several changes to the Fireball Camaro,” Martin tells us. “We added larger turbos to make more power. This will allow us to take full advantage of the prepped surface in Phoenix. We changed the torque convertor to a slightly tighter version with a different profile to accept the power. We will also run tires that we know are going to work well on a prepped surface. We also plan on adding a more aggressive boost curve to accelerate the car faster.”

“I really can’t take Gas Monkey lightly, Martin tells us. “I know they will be out for blood and trying to do whatever it takes to make sure they don’t lose again. So our mindset is that they are going to be even faster than before and we have to work even harder in order to win.”

The Cars

Gas Monkey Garage rolled into Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona with the familiar late-model Dodge Challenger Demon we all watched the GMG team build a year ago. The chassis started life as a Top Sportsman car, but was not built to the same level as today’s chassis. Per the rules, the body and chassis remain the same. But GMG was allowed to strengthen the chassis to handle the increased power from this year’s engine. The Challenger is equipped with a screw-blown 500ci billet Hemi that is capable of making nearly 5,000 horsepower. It is backed by Bruno/Lenco transmission. If you are unfamiliar with this, the Lenco is an air-shifted manual transmission commonly used in the Pro Mod and Outlaw 10.5 classes. The Bruno Drive allows you to blend the best parts of a manual transmission with the benefits of an automatic. It uses a torque converter instead of a clutch commonly found in manual transmissions. This is beneficial because it takes much less maintenance between runs, and it eliminates the clutch-tuning factor. The power is then transferred to a stout Mark Williams 9-inch floater rearend housing, which spreads power equally to the massive Hoosier slicks.

The Fireball Camaro started life as a production 2010 Camaro SS. The chassis was built by Bill Gilsbach Racecars for 10.5 Outlaw competition. Under the hood lives a 572ci 481X build by the brain trust at ProLine Racing. The billet powerplant is force-fed air by a pair of 102mm Precision Turbo and Engine turbochargers. Since this event is being held on a prepped track, the cars be pushed harder on the starting line, so team Fireball swapped the 88mm turbos they usually run on the street for larger 102mm units. Power is transferred to the drivetrain via a billet bolt-together torque converter from Pro Torque. The gear changes are handled by a two-speed TH400 from M&M Transmission. A PST carbon fiber driveshaft transfers power to the 9-inch rearend. On a prepped track, the Fireball crew relies on Goodyear slicks to get down the track. These give them the best blend of traction and wheel speed.

The Race

Both drivers have an extreme amount of respect for the other, but each possess the drive and desire to win, taking this from a friendly match race to an all-out grudge race. Alex Laughlin is fueled by the need to avenge last year’s defeat, while Ryan Martin has the reputation of the 405 sitting on his shoulders. Each has something to prove and it goes far beyond pride or ego. Both have the machines to win and the crew to get the job done.

Following the same format as last year, the winner will be decided in a best-of-three race format. Both teams are allowed to test at the track at Wild Horse Pass the day before. As the sun goes down in Arizona, the action will heat up as both drivers look to take home a win. Oh, and there is much more than just bragging rights on the line. The winner will take home a massive cash prize. It’s no secret that Richard Rawlings and the Street Outlaws are not shy about putting big money on the line, but you’ll have to watch the show, which airs March 5th on Discovery Channel, to see exactly how it all goes down.

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[itsworn]

Cackling Nitro Cars Hit Escondido, Barona, and Bakersfield!

Cackle cars coat the eyes, ears, noses, and throats with liquid horsepower.

Nobody is ambivalent about nitromethane. Upon initial exposure to an idling fuel motor, bystanders either sprint away from the sudden assault on eyes, ears, noses, and throats or rush like moths toward the rumble and smell spewing from flaming weedburners and zoomies. Thanks to a curious, noncompetitive activity called cackling, clouds of the stuff are hanging over more places than at any time since drag racing’s golden age a half-century ago—no dragstrip necessary. While supertracks are pricing too many young, impressionable prospects out of the national events that hooked their fathers and granddads, cackling brings tears of joy to the masses at nostalgia meets, neighborhood car shows, and even the SEMA Show. Admission ranges from cheap to free. Even small people can get right up close. Accessibility and proximity depend on how long one can hold one’s breath. (Gas masks are cheating.)

Nitroholics never get enough of the magic juice, though some addicts were seriously tested three times last fall in California. HOT ROD witnessed fuel cars rolling through downtown Escondido one night, push-started on Barona Drag Strip the next day, then cackling and racing at Famoso Raceway three weeks later. Though only one event involved actual competition, this much pop hadn’t gone up in flames in a single month since three rival organizations staged the United Drag Racers Association “Winner” Nationals, American Hot Rod Association Winter (two words) Nationals, and NHRA Winternationals on successive weekends in the mid-1960s. Many of the same drivers, car owners, engine builders, and a legendary announcer who made those Lions, Bee-Line, and Pomona meets so memorable were back on the scene, acting more like rowdy kids than septuagenarians and octogenarians.

This was especially evident at Barona, whose small crowd was top-heavy with heroes. At times, there were more autograph-signers in tents than fans in the ’stands (e.g., grand marshal Bruce Crower, Gary Beck, Jim Brissette, Gary Densham, Larry Dixon Sr., Mendy Fry, Marvin Graham, Red Greth, Rich Guasco, Tom Jobe, Tommy Ivo, Roland Leong, Don Long, Dode Martin, Ed McCulloch, Tom McEwen, Bob Muravez/Floyd Lippencott Jr., Bill Shrewsberry, Joe Schubeck, and Richard Tharp). Retiring announcer Jon “Thunder Lungs” Lundberg, 80, picked the Escondido-Barona double feature as his swan song and miraculously worked night and day without once losing the “Voice of Drag Racing.”

The oldest and youngest of the events were connected by much more than old heroes, old race cars, and old-fashioned loads of 98-percent pop. The newcomer, Steve Gibbs’ inaugural Nitro Revival, owed its existence to the controversial 25th edition that saw him resign his familiar official’s role as the 2016 event opened rather than be forced to enforce the cackling restrictions suddenly ordered by organization headquarters. Shortly thereafter, NHRA’s longtime competition director ended a 48-year relationship by rejecting a consultation contract that “was almost an agreement to stay out of the way,” Gibbs told HRM. “The reunion had become increasingly under the control and operation of the mothership. That all led to what happened in 2016. People came out of there mad, so Ron Johnson and I decided to do something else. Some guys made the choice to go to one, and not the other. A few did both. I didn’t strong-arm anybody.

“You know, the first Cacklefest was an afterthought,” Gibbs continued. “It wasn’t on the 2000 schedule. Greg and I could come up with different things. Everything didn’t have to have the blessing of the mothership. We told the guys that we’d try it if we had time. We pushed off eight cars that Saturday night. It touched a nerve. People started looking for their old cars or building new ones just to cackle. Since then, almost 250 different cars have push-started at some meet or show. Greg and I created a set of rules for them, requiring protective apparel, keeping things reasonable, and fun. I understand NHRA’s concerns, but I think it got to the point where if something might happen, you can’t do it. There’s always an element of risk, and if you can’t try to manage that, then you’re in the wrong business. You don’t want anything to go wrong, but at the same time, it’s motorsports.”

Again this year, Escondido’s Nitro Night and Barona’s Nitro Revival will run back to back on September 28–29, 2018, followed three weeks later by NHRA’s October 19–21 California Hot Rod Reunion. “The reunion was the center of the universe for this group of people for quite a while,” said the guy largely responsible for it. “Now, I’m not sure where that center is, but there needs to be one.”

One thing is for sure: Nostalgia drag racing and the cackle cars it spawned are giving nitroholics everywhere a second golden age of eye, ear, nose, and throat irritation, with no end in sight through that low-hanging, sweet-smelling cloud.

Unlike Civil War reenactors or Renaissance Fair goers, authentic hardware is operated by many of the very same drivers, tuners, and crewpersons who used it in the 1950s and especially the 1960s. Not many 81-year-olds are fit enough to wiggle into—and out of, with some help—a slingshot’s confines, but “TV” Tommy Ivo leaps at opportunities to whack the throttle of Ron Johnson’s reproduction “Barnstormer.” The long-lost original was among fewer than a dozen slingshots built by Rod Pepmuller at the short-lived Ivo Chassis Company.

All kinds of wheeled contraptions come together on Escondido’s Grand Avenue, in turn attracting kids of all ages to a welcoming downtown.

The quantity, quality, and variety of area cruisers far exceed a first-timer’s expectations. Beyond the split-window and Hertz Shelby is Grand Avenue, along which spectators were setting up chairs before noon.

As the supply of surviving slingshots dried up and prices shot up, Ron Johnson—onetime Minnesota Dragways publicist, action photographer, and partner in the Big Wheel fueler—made cloning acceptable by faithfully reincarnating not one, not two, but three of his all-time-favorite 1960s slingshots. Behind the scenes, he’s been instrumental in bringing cackle cars to Escondido and, for the first time this year, to Barona Drag Strip a day later. He was also a two-time cancer victim and one tough hombre, checking out of hospice long enough to enjoy both events. Ten days after hugging Gloria (Mrs. Steve) Gibbs on Grand Avenue, Johnson passed away at home.

Reproducing a particular, personal-favorite car is so commonplace that two clones now exist of the same Surfers’ slingshot, albeit in early versus late iterations. In the course of acquiring period-correct parts to recreate the earliest version, builder Bob Higginson and sole-surviving Surfer Tom Jobe unknowingly obtained what Hilborn identified as the company’s first four-port injector. Jobe reproduced the distinctive scoop. Beyond, sit Ron Johnson’s clones of the Schubert & Herbert Chevy fueler and Ivo’s Barnstormer.

Ironically, the king of making flames for fun is a retired fireman. Bill Pitts (left) decided to make a 392 Chrysler functional to liven up the MagiCar’s static display at early California Hot Rod Reunions. Event directors Steve Gibbs and Greg Sharp invited Pitts to idle the car in the background while announcers read the names of racers and friends who died in the past 12 months. More owners built motors and, boys being boys, lobbied to put their high-gear drivelines to use. Thus did an unscheduled, one-time exhibition accidentally invent the now-trademarked Cacklefest.

Even from behind a restaurant’s glass storefront, side-by-side fuel motors will rattle eardrums. Sarah Beaubara loves her hometown’s annual Nitro Night, but the twins seem undecided.

History’s hottest traditional hot rods are invited to play in the street with dragsters once each year. The Sacramento-based Burkholder brothers hung onto and revived a Chrysler-powered Fiat remembered as one of the north state’s fastest AA/Fuel Altereds.

Canadian Wendy Williams hauled her late father’s famous Top Gasser the length of the West Coast in his original, canvas-topped trailer. Amazingly, the 392 is the same bullet last run by Jack Williams. In the distance are the tower and concession stand. Named for the Barona Band of Mission Indians that owns the reservation property outside Lakeside (San Diego County), eighth-mile Barona Drag Strip was carved out of surrounding hills in layers.

Steve Gibbs, ex-NHRA racemaster turned independent cacklemaster, directed the first commercial gathering of real drag cars at a real dragstrip where no real drag racing occurred. He foresees a profitable future for the Nitro Revival concept here, and possibly at interested venues elsewhere.

With entrants not only allowed but encouraged to push-start or light off fuel motors at will, there wasn’t much quiet time for catching up with old pals. Rich Guasco (left) and Tom McEwen have been shouting over blown fuel motors for six decades.

The newly formed Cacklecar Owners Alliance came up with a new/old twist for Barona’s grand finale, recreating the side-by-side, on-track push-downs that heightened the drama of match-race duels between Chris Karamesines and Tommy Ivo.

As Ron Johnson looked on from the golf cart beside daughter Connie, son Kol Johnson and friend Mark McCormick pulled Ron’s two hobby cars to the line for a side-by-side exhibition launch that closed the single-day Barona program to applause.

Three weeks later at the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bako, on-track practice was offered for drivers of cackle cars and push vehicles, some of whom had never met their respective match. The customized F-100 has just fired the Syndicate Scuderia gas dragster with Wendy Williams aboard.

Unlike either of the single-day, noncompetitive San Diego County shows three weeks prior, Bakersfield’s reunion delivered three full days of for-real fuel racing. Adam Sorokin in the mouse-motored Champion Speed Shop streamliner dropped a close semifinal match to eventual runner-up Jim Murphy, the newly crowned NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series points champ.

John Hertzig’s Fiat-bodied AA/Fuel Altered demonstrated why a class that NHRA dropped four decades ago not only survives but thrives. By the time photographer Dave Kommel turned to shoot his first downtrack frame, the front tire was already smoking from abuse. Rookie pilot Kurt Cruise somehow kept the shiny side up by repeatedly whacking the throttle—until the right-front wheel and suspension mercifully snapped off, angling the “Awful-Awful” into the right-side wall and a long, grinding halt.

The look on little Crew Young’s mug suggests that nitromethane flows through the veins of father and son. Daddy Jim Young came from Wisconsin to defeat the world’s best modern slingshots and set Top Speed for the breed at 261.78.

Nostalgia Funny Cars ain’t what they used to be just a few short years ago, but there are still a lot of them. More than 30 shooting for 16 spots included Brad Thompson’s swoopy, droopy 1969 Camaro facsimile, which fell in round 2. Photographer Dave Kommel had a clear shot of the front end until the driver’s fiancée, Jana Treur, got in the way, dang it.

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[itsworn]

The Crow Comes Full Circle

Losing a first love can be extremely painful. Over time you form a relationship. You build trust. There are ups and down, but you know deep down that they are there for you. And then it all ends. Justin “Big Chief” Shearer’s first automotive love, The Crow, was violently taken from him in front of millions. The Crow, a 1972 Pontiac LeMans, was the culmination of years of hard work and countless dollars. What the TV audience didn’t see was the private times of the relationship: the long nights, the fights, the hurt feelings. Like any relationship, the good comes with the bad. When the Crow was totaled, Big Chief did what any heartbroken guy would do– he found a rebound chic (or car…).

  The rebound was better looking, weighed less, and had nicer parts. All the other guys were jealous, but typical of most rebound relationships, Justin’s heart wasn’t in it. He describes the Crowmod as a tool. The 405’s list was evolving, and everyone was getting lighter and faster. He didn’t have the time to build a car with as much history he had with the Crow, so a Pro Mod chassis fit the bill at the time. That’s why, when the opportunity presented itself to start to build a relationship with a new car, he jumped on it.

Justin “Big Chief” Shearer is all business when it comes to street racing. He has been to the top of the list with two different cars, and his sights are set on doing with a third.

The Crow has the same heart that motivated the first iteration of the Crow and the Crowmod: a very basic 482ci Pontiac engine from Butler Performance. It even has the same cast cylinder heads!

Squaring off against Richard Rawlings and Gas Monkey Garage in Discovery Channel’s Mega Race meant Justin and the crew at Midwest Street Cars had to build a new car. From the onset, it was clear that his plan was to resurrect the Crow. Who doesn’t want to get back what they had with their first love? After the painstaking search for the right car yielded no real results, the right car found him. Justin found a 1970 Pontiac GTO roller with an incredible history. If you’re into Pontiacs and early Pro Mod cars, you might recognize it as Mart Palbykin’s GTO. The one that set the trend for turbocharged door cars long before it was commonplace. This was one of the earliest, if not the first, twin turbo Pro Mods. It had Haltech EFI, ran on alcohol, and had turbos from a Detroit Diesel semi engine. It was also the first true Pontiac-powered Pro Mods in the 7’s, first in the 6s, and came just short of being the first to break the 200mph barrier. Impressed? You should be. Especially when you learned it did it with cast iron factory Pontiac cylinder heads!

  In preparation for Mega Race, the Midwest Street Cars crew thrashed day and night, and took the GTO from a jungle gym to one of the baddest cars around is 8 days. Yes, you read that correctly. She’s gritty, unfinished, a bit rough around the edges, and about 10 different colors, but she’s earned her new name: the Crow. The car has earned its place in Big Chief’s heart, not because it looks like his first love or because it’s dressed the same, but because over 8 days, a group of friends who share a passion and love for what they do came together accomplished what many would say is impossible. You can’t buy passion. You can’t enthusiasm.  It’s impossible to fake what they have at Midwest Street Cars. If the results of the Mega Race and Chief’s climb to the top of the list for a third time with a third different car are any indication, these guys are the best at what they do. There are very few people in the world that debate that.

The car rolls on Weld V-series front wheels and a set of Weld Delta-1 wheels out back. This gives the Crow and awesome look, even when it’s sitting still.

The interior is all business. The chassis is a double frame rail design, which can handle all of the power from the little Pontiac engine. A Rossler TH400 handles the transfer of power, but the gearing is kept secret. All of the electronics are out in the open to make everything very easy to work on.

The Crow’s performance on the show is proof of the hard work of a group of friends who pour their heart and soul into what they love—racing.

  Tech Notes

Engine: The new Crow carries many parts from the original Crow, most notable is the powerplant. It’s the same 455-based 482ci Pontiac engine that was pulled from the wreckage of the Crow and run in the Crowmod. This made it the natural choice for the rebirth of the Crow. The engine uses a set of as-cast aluminum Edelbrock cylinder heads, which makes how quick and fast it is nothing short of impressive. Airflow comes from a set of 94mm Precision turbochargers, which are capable of pumping north of 60 pounds of boost into the little Pontiac bullet. The spark and fuel is controlled by a Fueltech FT600 EFI system.

Drivetrain: Power is transferred to the rearend through a Rossler TH400. A secret, close ratio gearset resides in the SFI-approved transmission case. Gear selection is controlled by an M&M shifter with a hopped up CO2 regulator customized by Midwest Street Car’s fab guy, Monkey. Power moves to the tires through an all-aluminum Mark Williams floater rearend housing. The 9-inch is strong enough to take anything Big Chief can throw at it.

Wheels and Tires: The Crow sits on a set of Weld Racing Delta-1 wheels. The 16×16 rear wheels are wrapped in 34×17 Goodyear slicks. This gives Chief the biggest possible footprint for doing what he does best—street racing. If you’ve seen Street Outlaws, you know the car gets down the road with every available horsepower.

Paint and Body: On the outside, the Crow looks a bit rough. But when you start to peel back the layers of this onion, you learn that it tells a story. The roof and quarters wear the original paint and colorful graphics from its early Pro Mod days. The tattered white doors were pulled off the original Crow. This brings a visual piece of Justin’s first love font and center. The one-piece carbon fiber nose was a gift from Justin’s best friend and adds a special touch tying in all the hard work put in a buy a group of friends. The car may be a bunch of different colors, but none of that matters-the Crow is bad fast!

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