I spent this past weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway instructing with VARA-U, VARA’s annual driving school. It was about a 70/30 split between street cars and race cars, with some students getting ready to earn their race license, while others were just there for some track instruction. Students age ranged from teenagers to others well into retirement, and [...]
Sailors may get the summer doldrums, but racers get the winter doldrums. What to do when the tracks shut down for a couple months? Well other than getting re-acquainted with your friends and family, and catching up on all your household chores, racers can get around to fixing all those little issues with their cars. [...]
Today I made my annual visit to Fantasy Junction in Emeryville, CA. This “used car” showroom houses one of the greatest collections of consignments open to the public. The very plain looking brick warehouse in a East-Bay industrial neighborhood belies the dozens of jewels that await within. The family business owners are very pleasant to visit with, and [...]
The Vintage Automobile Racing Association has announced the schedule for it’s annual High Performance Driving School called VARA-U. It is held at the beginning of every race season as an opportunity to either get your provisional vintage racing license or enjoy a weekend of track-based instruction. Some drivers come every year for a fun and affordable weekend, [...]
This weekend was VARA’s 2011 season finale, the Big Bore Bash held at Willow Springs Int’l Raceway. Most vintage race weekends have a theme event, and this wknd the thundering V8s got the spotlight. Turnout was excellent, the weather remained raceable (cold, damp, and windy), and Saturday night’s spagheti dinner was a hit. The Shelby Club joined [...]
Every vintage racing organization has the same primary rule – no racing contact! However the enforcement and levying of penalties varies widely Sometimes the rule is specific, sometimes it’s vague. Sometimes enforcement is “personalized”, sometimes it’s consistent. The vintage club I race with regularly is VARA, based out of Southern California. Their rule on racing contact is [...]
This is an open letter to all the members, management, and boards of SOVREN, CSRG, VARA, HSR-West, and VSCCA: I am aware that with the economic malaise and the small grid counts, many vintage and historic racing clubs are considering increasing their eligiblilty cutoff dates. This makes good sense as there must be hundreds of [...]
These awesome pictures were taken by fellow Datsun racer Will Campbell at the October LeMons race held at Infineon Raceway.