#and its the part that makes him most successful in a racecar | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wheelsgoroundincircles · 3 years

Text

The story of Swamp Rat 17: Don Garlits' most misunderstood Top Fueler (part 1)

Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat 17, the Wynn’s Liner, had a very short life in 1973 and is roundly considered to be among the few disappointments of the more than 40 Swamp Rats he campaigned. Here's the story behind this most misunderstood car.

09 Apr 2021 Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor

Earlier this year, I wrote a column about racecar experiments that didn’t come to fruition and cited, chief among them, Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat 17, the Wynn’s Liner, which had a very short and disappointingly unsuccessful life in 1973.

I think the reason that car always leaps to the top of my “Well, that sure didn’t work” list is because it was a rare dead end for “Big Daddy,” one of the sport’s greatest innovators and chance takers. Although there are only 38 official Swamp Rats, there were some A and B versions, and the actual number well exceeds 40, according to “Big.” So, he had a pretty great batting average, yet strikeouts are going to happen, but better to go down swinging, right? Or, as hockey great Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.”

[Coming later in this column: Garlits rates his five favorite Swamp Rats and five least favorite. Stay tuned for that.]

Anyway, after heaping criticism upon the car back in February, I thought it only fair to allow The Man Himself to provide the context that defines this car’s place in the sport’s history. Not sure if he’d want to discuss one of his missteps, I reached out to the sport’s most storied driver and received an enthusiastic “I’D LOVE TO!” response to my query and away we went.

Before we get to that discussion, let me provide a little more context. The other thing that always intrigued me about Garlits’ decision to build Swamp Rat 17 was that he had blown away the sport with Swamp Rat 14 (the first rear-engined winner, 1971 Winternationals) and its evolutionary successor, Swamp Rat 16, which won the 1972 Gatornationals. (Swamp Rat 15 was a front-engined car built just in case SR14 was a flop; it never ran.) After all this success, why take this detour, especially when no one else was experimenting with aerodynamics?

Turns out that while the ‘Liner didn’t make its debut until mid-1973, the idea was conceived in mid-1971, not long after Garlits had proven that the rear-engined design worked. It was at that point that Garlits’ old buddy, Jocko Johnson, whose similarly shaped entry had made huge waves in 1959 with “Jazzy” Jim Nelson at the wheel, suggested that maybe it was time to resurrect his design and have “Big Daddy” put it on one of his chassis.

“I always liked streamlining, and Jocko had never given up on the idea, but he needed a success rear-engined car to try it again,” Garlits explained.

The only rub was that Johnson needed a shorter car, a 180-inch wheelbase chassis, to fit under the body, Swamp Rat 14 and 16 were 215 inches.

I've never seen any detailed shots of the car without the body, but did stumble across this image, a 1/16th scale version that Johnson had built to show Garlits his idea. Very cool!

Johnson, a laid-back Californian, began work on the body mold in 1971 but didn’t finish it until 1972, then came to Garlits' Seffner, Fla., base to build the body, which would not be completed and the car not race-ready until Garlits was already on Swamp Rat 19 in mid-1973.

The slow pace for the Liner’s body construction was frustrating for Garlits, who was well-known for being able to build a complete car in just a few days, and in his great book, Don Garlits and His Cars, “Big” pulled no punches about the reason for the delay.

"Jocko by now was growing his 'weed' next door and stayed 'high' most of the time! On several occasions, I went next door, pulled up the plants, and burned them. Jocko just planted more and stayed high."

In anticipation of the Wynn’s Liner’s someday completion, Garlits built Swamp Rat 18, the car dubbed “Shorty,” with a 180-inch wheelbase so he could get a feel for the three-foot-shorter configuration and ran it at several AHRA events in 1972 but never felt comfortable in the car, but he felt sure that the Liner’s body would give the car stability and faster speed, just as adding the rear wing to Swamp Rat 14 had improved top-end speeds.

“18 just wanted to do funny things going down the course," he remembered. “You had to be really careful with it. I had to really slow down the steering to even make it work at all.”

The ‘Liner was finally ready early in 1973, and Garlits towed it and “Shorty” out to California to run the AHRA Grand American event at Orange County Int’l Raceway. Veteran Funny Car racer Butch Maas, finally recovered from serious burns he had suffered in the Hawaiian Funny Car the year before, was itching to drive the car, so Garlits let him and set about getting “Shorty” also qualified for the race.

There had been so much hype built about the ‘Liner, which had been featured on the cover of Car Craft magazine back in July 1972 with the cover blurb “Garlits Aims for 275 mph.” The feature had been shot and originally the blurb had targeted 250 mph (Garlits has a copy of the original mockup with 250 on it in the museum display, and kindly shot a photo for me), but the editors decided to raise more eyebrows. Although the official national record at the time was 234.37 (set by Gaines Markley in April in Seattle), Garlits had run 243.90 mph in the final round of the Gatornationals but didn't get the chance to back it up, so maybe 250 wasn't far enough "out there" for the publication.

“By the time we got the car read, [the editors] told me that 250 wasn’t enough, that they wanted to put 275 on it,” Garlits recalled. “We thought the car might go 255 or 260, but I agreed with them that 275 sounded better and more exciting.” [For the record, we wouldn’t see 275 for another 15 years, when Darrell Gwynn ran 278 in Dallas in late 1986.]

Just as had been the case when he debuted the famous rear-engined Swamp Rat 14 in 1971, Garlits’ fellow racers scoffed at Garlits’ latest project, mostly, he thinks, because if it had been successful it would have created a major sea change in the class just as Swamp Rat 14 had done. That wasn’t to be.

Maas made several attempts in the car but was spooked by its handling and ran a best speed of 180 mph. You can see by the photo here that the car didn’t yet have the bubble canopy on it, and Garlits is not sure it ever did in the car’s short lifespan (although it's visible in the Car Craft cover, Garlits says they didn't have a working cockpit hinge yet). You can also see "Big" in the background holding the bleach bottle. Although Maas couldn’t qualify the ‘Liner, Garlits was able to put "Shorty” into the show but lost in round one to Herm Petersen. “The whole trip was a disaster,” Garlits summed up in his book.

Still determined to make it work, Garlits put Don Cook in the car for the IHRA event at Lakeland Dragway in Florida. Cook had driven the short-wheelbase, rear-engined Piranha in late 1966, so Garlits figured he could get the job done, but he also was forced to lift a half-track on several passes. "They both said it was doing something funny, so I got in the car myself for a ride,” said Garlits.

“It took off kinda slow because it was so heavy, but then it was cruising along pretty well and making a decent run when all of the sudden the motor revved up. I quickly lifted and then felt a bump, like I had hit a bump in the track or something.

“We brought it back to the pit and tore it apart, but there was nothing broken in the driveline, and that’s when we figured out that the whole car had gone airborne and when lifted it came back down, and that was the bump I felt.

“Jocko thought I had sabotaged him, so he wouldn’t get any credit for the design, which is pretty ridiculous. He went to his grave never believing that the car was doing the things I said it did.”

Garlits also had concerns about the amount of nitro fumes being trapped under the body and the fact that the car was not easy to get out of. “I knew that someday it would catch fire, and that would be a helluva deal for the driver, so I just gave up on the project,” he said.

Garlits sold the car to rocket-car racers Russell Mendez and Ramon Alvarez, who envisioned turning it into a hydrogen peroxide-powered rocket car, but Mendez was killed in an exhibition pass in their Free Spirit rocket dragster at the 1975 Gatornationals, and Alvarez, a plumber by trade (who actually had done the plumbing for Garlits' house) needed cash and sold it back to "Big." Given the 'Liners inherent instability at less than 200 mph, one can only imagine what it would have done at rocket-car speed. (“It would probably have flown right up into the sky,” Garlits marveled.)

So, I asked Garlits the million-dollar question: "Is he glad he built the car, or was it just a waste of time and money?"

“It was definitely a waste of time and money, but I’m glad we did it. I enjoyed all of the projects I did, even the ones that didn’t work out, like the Sidewinder and the turbine [-powered] car. Everyone raved about the turbine engines and how powerful they could be, and that car didn't work out but it was fun to figure it out. I always loved experimenting. That’s what made it so fun. When you’re involved with projects like those, your mind is going 24x7, trying to think of all of the scenarios to make it work.

“Plus if I hadn’t gotten together with Jocko, I wouldn’t have his original streamliner in my museum or the body from the Mooneyham-Ferguson-Jackson-Faust car. That all came together because of my relationship with Jocko."

#Garlits #Swamp Rat 17 #swamp rat #don garlits #drag racing #top fuel dragster #dragster #dragstrip #drag race

8 notes · View notes

haywire4 · 6 years

Photo

Popular Science - Formula None (Sep 2004)

Trevor Harris is laughing so hard, A waiter stops by to make sure everything's OK. Harris can't speak, so he just waves him away. Ten seconds pass. Twenty. Thirty. Finally he masters his breathing and dabs at his eyes. "And the crowd would be going crazy," he says, still chuckling despite his best efforts, "because the driver would be near death." Another laughing jag. "Not because the racing is so dangerous," he wheezes, the words escaping in a rush, "but because his blood vessels are on the verge of exploding!"

Harris isn't a contemporary Caligula salivating over a twisted 21st-century blood sport. He's an innovative engineer who's designed some of the most successful and iconoclastic racecars in motorsports history. But nothing he's created during a career spanning the Daytona 24 Hours and the Baja 1000 comes anywhere close to the bizarro vehicle he is now envisioning for the racecar formula I've suggested.

Imagine, I´d said, a series with no rules. None. Zero. Zilch. The sky´s the limit. Any technology you can imagine. All the time and money you need to develop it. What kind of car would you create?

Harris´s salad goes uneaten. His wine goes undrunk. Thinking on the fly, he methodically works his way through the aero package, the chassis, engine options, braking systems, you name it. The conversation ranges far and wide. Then, suddenly, it stops. With Harris, a world-class talker, this is cause for concern. "This is ridiculous," he says, snorting with equal parts derision and amusement. "Oh, this is going to get ugly."

"What?" I ask him. "What's going to get ugly?"

Pretty soon we're both laughing uncontrollably, although to be honest, I'm not sure what's so funny. "Preston, this is what's going to happen," he says. "For the first time ever, we're going to have racecars that test the limits of human endurance. So instead of engineers in the pits watching telemetry from the cars, we're going to have a bunch of guys in lab coats monitoring the drivers' vital signs. We'll have Dr. Blood Pressure and Dr. Blood Oxygenation Level and Dr. Heart Rate." This prompts a new wave of laughter. "It won't be racing at all!" he says. "It'll be a war of drug companies and Ph.D. medicos!"

For much of the 20th century, racing was to automobiles what war was to airplanes-the crucible for technological breakthroughs. The rearview mirror debuted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1911, and disc brakes were proven on the road circuits of Europe in the 1950s. "Racing improves the breed" wasn't mere advertising; it was a truth revealed every Sunday from the chicanes of Le Mans to the salt flats of Bonneville to dirt ovals in Podunksville, U.S.A.

It all started to go wrong in the '60s, when engineers brought new technical sophistication to the sport, and the influx of millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship allowed them to play Mr. Wizard. Speeds made a quantum leap. Ditto driver fatalities. Ever since, Job One of the rule-makers has been to slow the cars down. And they've done it, for the most part, by banning leading-edge technology.

The result, ironically, is that contemporary racecars are, in many respects, less sophisticated than everyday econoboxes. "People talk about technology trickledown," says British aerodynamicist Mark Handford. "But it's tosh, really. If you look at the spec sheet for an E-Class Mercedes, you'll find electronic stability control and next-generation antilock brakes and all sorts of other things that are illegal in Formula 1. It's so frustrating to have all this technology and not be able to use it. If you want racing to be dynamic, to encourage innovation and get people excited about engineering, then the ideal formula could be written on a single piece of paper."

Stitched together a couple of scans from an old article in Popular Science, where race car engineers walk through what race cars and tracks would look like without any rules or regulations involving the design of the car. In short, if not for limitations on the human body, such as those seen during an ill fated CART series race in 2000, car racing at its highest levels would more or less be F-Zero but with wheels. The full article (free, in that google books link up top) also goes into other specifics, such as limitations on tires and active aerodynamics, along with speculation on what changes would have to be made to insure spectator safety with cars traveling in excess of 300 mph.

#scifi #science fiction #race car #g force #car racing

1 note · View note

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Cobra Kai Season 4: What to Expect

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Cobra Kai season 3 spoilers.

“Hey. Long time,” Kreese (Martin Kove) says at the end of Cobra Kai season 3 when he calls someone mysteriously, as if to ask a favor. Now just who could it be?

The most likely candidate is Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), Kreese’s war buddy and the main villain from The Karate Kid Part III. Season 3 of Cobra Kai explored Kreese’s backstory, adding credence to this postulation. We see Young Kreese’s (Barrett Carnahan) traumatic experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and how he saved his friend that he nicknamed Twig (Nick Marini). It’s implied that Twig is Silver. In The Karate Kid Part III, Silver was a rich CEO of DynaTox Industries, an unscrupulous nuclear waste disposal company. He helped to fund the Cobra Kai schools and was a major sponsor of the All-Valley Karate Tournament. Since the season 3 finale reveals that season 4 is headed to another yet showdown this tournament, Silver would be a good play.

And here is everything else we might be able to glean about Cobra Kai season 4.

Potential Villain Cameos for Season 4

There are some other possibilities for a potential Cobra Kai season 4 villain for as we’ve already seen, Cobra Kai Easter egg clues can be intentionally misleading. Tory’s (Peyton List) mom was an expertly played red herring, which we’ll come back to in a moment. The writers know that their audience is watching the callbacks closely and are game to toy with our expectations.

With the season 2 cameo of Chozen (Yuji Okumoto), Cobra Kai has exhausted all the villains from The Karate Kid Part II except for Sato (Danny Kamekona). At the end of that film, Sato had mended his ways so he wouldn’t have returned as a villain anyhow. In season 3, episode 4 ‘The Right Stuff,’ Sato is mentioned when a villager explains the changes at Tomi Village to Daniel (Ralph Macchio). But in the following episode, ‘Miyagi-Do,’ Chozen reveals to Daniel that he inherited the Miyagi-Do artifacts when Sato died.

Sadly, Kamekona died in 1996, so even if Cobra Kai wanted to revisit him, he would have to be digitally reincarnated like Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) in Rogue One, and that doesn’t seem likely. Those episodes also revealed that Yukie (Nobu McCarthy) died too, which is appropriate since McCarthy died in 2002. But back to villains, Chozen had some dojo-mates, Toshio (Joey Miyashima) and Taro (Marc Hayashi), who helped him harass Daniel (Ralph Macchio). However, they were tertiary henchmen roles. Few fans would recognize if they reappeared in Cobra Kai and Kreese had no ties to the Okinawan Miyagi-Do villains so he wouldn’t call them.

The other great villain from The Karate Kid Part III was ‘Karate’s Bad Boy’ Mike Barnes (Sean Kanen) although he was Silver’s guy, not Kreese’s. Both Kanen and Griffith are still alive so maybe they both can return. Kanen is still acting with movie and TV roles as recent as 2019. Griffith retired from acting about a decade and a half ago and shifted to writing. Most recently, he was a writer for the NBC TV series Grimm. Regardless, he’s still in the business. What’s more, Barnes had two henchmen, supplied by Silver, Snake (Jonathan Avildsen) and Dennis (William Christopher Ford), but they were peripheral characters like Toshio and Taro. They wouldn’t have much impact without Silver or Barnes. Most fans wouldn’t even remember their names if not for the Internet.

One other wild card for Kreese’s call recipient is Dutch (Chad McQueen) from the original films. When the Cobra Kai dojo-mates reunited in season 2, episode 5 “Take a Right,” Dutch was the only one missing from the original line-up. During that episode, the rest of the gang raise a toast to him, explaining his absence as due to his incarceration in Lompoc Federal Prison. Perhaps in season 4, he’ll be released.

McQueen is the only son of Steve MeQueen. He retired from acting around the turn of the millennium and has devoted himself to racecar driving since then. In 2010, he founded the custom car company McQueen Racing. There were rumors that Cobra Kai reached out to McQueen to reprise his role as Dutch in “Take a Right”, but he was too busy with McQueen Racing at the time. Dutch was arguably the worst bully of the original Cobra Kai members. When Kreese beat Johnny (William Zabka) after he lost at the All-Valley Karate Tournament, the gang abandoned their sensei, but Dutch could have remained loyal.

Mysterious Parents

One of the best red herrings of Cobra Kai was the identity of Tory’s mom. Most fans thought it was Ali (Elisabeth Shue) because Tory introduced herself in Season 2 as “Tory… with a ‘Y’” echoing Ali introduction to Daniel in The Karate Kid when she said “Ali… with an ‘I.’” Tory’s mom is bedridden due to health issues, forcing Tory to hold down two jobs while in high school to support her family. Her mom was offscreen in a scene in Season 3 which further stoked suspicions. But later in the season, we discover Ali is back and healthier than ever, and her two kids are Lucas and Ava, not Tory.

So, who is Tory’s mom? The only potential remaining lead female characters from the original films are Jessica Kennedy (Robyn Lively) from Karate Kid Part III and Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank) from The Next Karate Kid. Both actresses are still active in TV and movies. Tory had some martial arts background which she may have received from her parents (Tory’s dad could be in play too, but her mom has already been presented, albeit hidden from view, so she’s a more likely reveal for Season 4). Jessica wasn’t a student of Miyagi, but Julie was. So maybe Julie is Tory’s mom.

Fans are split on the possible return of Julie. The Next Karate Kid was a critically panned flop, so it is generally disdained by the fanbase. It was Swank’s first lead role, and she shines despite the awkwardly bad script. Swank went on to win two Oscars, two Golden Globes and was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine. She is the most successful alumni of the Karate Kid franchise. What’s more, if Cobra Kai should bring Julie back into the canon, it opens the possibility of The Next Karate Kid villains, Colonel Paul Dugan (Michael Ironside) and his school security squad, the Alpha Elite, including Ned Randall (Michael Cavalieri).

Beyond Julie and Jessica, there weren’t many other women in the original films. Ali had some high school girlfriends in The Karate Kid, Susan (Juli Fields) and Barbara (Dana Andersen) but like Toshio, Taro, Snake and Dennis, they were peripheral characters. The dramatic impact of one of them being Tory’s mom would be minimal.

The other mystery parent is Miguel’s (Xolo Maridueña) father. His mom Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) describes him in Season 3 as “a very bad man.” Perhaps he could be Barnes or Dutch (Silver should be around Kreese’s age because they both served in Vietnam so he’s too old for Carman, although it’s noteworthy that despite playing his elder, Griffith is a year younger than Macchio). If Miguel’s dad is Dutch, that could really mess with Carmen and Johnny’s blossoming romance.

Return to the All-Valley Karate Tournament

A key figure to bring back at the All-Valley Karate Tournament in what will probably be the season 4 finale is the Referee (Pat E. Johnson). Johnson was the martial arts master behind the original franchise, a noted master of Tang Soo Do. And in season 3, episode 6, ‘King Cobra,’ Captain Turner (Terry Serpico) tells Young Kreese that the martial art he will learn is Tang Soo Do. This confirms a theory that many martial artists have held about what martial art Cobra Kai really practices – it’s Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art often labelled as Karate. Following the original movie, Zabka continued to train under Master Johnson. Coincidentally, Johnson also taught Steve McQueen and along with several other notable celebrities. Now in his 80s, Johnson still teaches Tang Soo Do. It would be so fitting to honor Johnson with a cameo because he was largely responsible for the Karate in the franchise.

One character we’d like to see developed in season 4 is Anthony LaRusso (Griffin Santopietro), Sam’s (Mary Mouser) punk little brother. So far, he’s only been a nuisance for the LaRusso family, the one slacker, but he has untapped potential for a more significant role. He appeared in almost every episode of season 1, but his role diminished to just two appearances in season 2. At least he’s still in the cast for season 3. Aisha (Nicole Brown) and Raymond (Paul Walter Hauser) were major characters who simply vanished in the third season.

A huge wild card might be a cameo from Dre Parker (Jaden Smith). In the 2010 redux of The Karate Kid, Dre was the reinterpretation of Daniel’s role, the bullied outsider who finds redemption in the martial arts. While many hardcore fans of the original reject this as part of the Miyagi canon because there’s no connection of any of the characters to the original films, there’s no reason Dre can’t be integrated. After all, if Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy) can meet Spock (Zachary Quinto) from the Kelvin timeline in the Star Trek redux, anything is possible with franchise reboots. Admittedly, the plot of Cobra Kai doesn’t include time travel (except for an overdose of nostalgia), however that doesn’t exclude the possibility of Dre existing within the world of Cobra Kai. More intriguingly, it would open the door to a cameo from Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). That would really raise the bar on the martial arts of Cobra Kai. And most significantly, Will Smith is an executive producer of Cobra Kai. Smith’s company, Overbrook Entertainment, acquired the rights for The Karate Kid to make the reboot and retained them for Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai has been incredibly witty with its homages to the original film franchise, but with more seasons to come, it will need to expand its scope lest it exhaust its supply of those golden Easter Eggs.

For years, there have been persistent rumors about a sequel to the Jaden Smith/Jackie Chan version of The Karate Kid. The film was by far the most profitable installment of the entire franchise, earning $359 million from a $40 million budget, more than all the original four films combined, so it is surprising that Hollywood hasn’t pushed harder for a sequel. But Jackie Chan is a busy man. There have been unconfirmed rumors of his involvement with Rush Hour 4 and Shanghai Dawn for years too and those are no closer to fruition. Nevertheless, a Dre cameo in Cobra Kai would be a good steppingstone for a redux sequel. And Dre could fit right in with the cast easily. Jaden Smith is the same age as Tanner Buchanan (Robby).

One of the reasons that Cobra Kai left YouTube Red to go over to Netflix was because YouTube wouldn’t commit to a fourth season. Given how the show has played out, the writers seem to have the underlying story arc sketched out, at least as far as season 4. With the escalating surprises that Cobra Kai has already brought, season 4 should be even more fun.

Cobra Kai never dies!

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Cobra Kai season 3 is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Cobra Kai Season 4: What to Expect appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/356HRcn

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

1 note · View note

nigelolsson · 5 years

Text

As an Intuitive Drummer, Elton John’s Nigel Olsson Can’t Be Beat

https://lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2012/oct/17/intuitive-drummer-elton-johns-nigel-olsson-cant-be/

By John Katsilometes, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012 | 6 p.m.

Nigel Olsson has always wanted to be a showman, but onstage he’s not always so showy.

At times, he might even be overlooked.

It’s not easy to lose track of the drummer in a rock band, of course, except when the man at center stage is Elton John, and his instrument -- and show -- is known as “The Million Dollar Piano.”

But Olsson, the self-described quiet one who took up drums early in his career primarily because it was a safe place to hide when fans in English pubs threw bottles at the stage, has a move that’s all his own. He pivots his body from his right to left and crashes the manhole cover-sized cymbal high atop an oversized drum set fashioned after a World War II Royal Air Force Spitfire fighter plane.

Olsson slams that cymbal with a flourish, part orchestra conductor, part lumberjack. It’s a move made by any drummer, but none strike the cymbal with quite the flair of the man who has played drums for Elton John since 1970.

This isn’t to suggest the 63-year-old Olsson has choreographed this act or is one to throw thunderbolts from behind his drum kit.

“You know, I don’t play hard. People think I play hard because of the way my drums are tuned, which is very low,” says Olsson, whose silver suit on this day matches his hair and drum set. “But I’m proud of the emotion I put into the sound. I hardly ever break sticks. They wear out, but they rarely break.

“The way I play, I want to give the emotion that comes from these incredible songs to whoever is listening. Maybe the best way to say it is I am a very descriptive drummer. I play to the piano, and to the lyrics.”

John’s “Million Dollar Piano” is in the midst of its most recent run at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace. The remaining performances in this spree are tonight through Sunday and Oct. 26-28. (In September 2011, John signed a three-year contract to perform a total of 90 shows, but Olsson said he hopes two more years might be added to that agreement; he would buy a condo in Las Vegas if that happens.)

John’s band is mostly comprised of musicians with whom he has performed for decades, but none dates back as far as Olsson.

The two met in 1969, and the first credited performance by Olsson on any John collaboration was the song “Mr. Boyd” by the soon-forgotten band Argosy. The group featured Roger Hodgson (who later founded Supertramp) on vocals and Reginald Dwight -- later to be known as Elton John -- on keyboards.

Asked about that initial project, Olsson laughs and says, “Wow, that sounds right, probably. I’ll have to check my royalty checks.” Olsson also was a member of a short-lived band called Plastic Penny, which was managed by Dick James Music, which also was the publisher of songs written by John and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin.

“With me being around the office, I got to know all the guys, and Bernie and Elton were there writing songs for other people,” Olsson says. “I got to know them that way.”

In a nomadic path familiar to many rock drummers, Olsson shifted to the better-known Spencer Davis Group. When that band fractured, John recommended Olsson to play with Uriah Heep, a partnership that lasted “nine dates, and, I think, one record,” as Olsson recalls.

But John had more far-reaching plans, as he had just recorded his eponymous first album (using Terry Cox on drums) and was being sent to the United States on a brief but career-changing promotional tour.

John asked Olsson and bassist Dee Murray to join him for a trip to the Troubadour rock clubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco for weeklong engagements in each venue. This was in the summer of 1970, as the trio were to debut in the U.S. in late August.

The three filed into James’ office to rehearse. Among the songs sampled were “Your Song,” “Bad Side of the Moon” and “Take Me to the Pilot.”

“Within the first eight bars, I knew this was the kind of music I wanted to play,” Olsson says. “It took me totally to a different place. It was inspirational, refreshing. I thought, ‘I haven’t heard this type of music since the Beatles broke through.’ ”

Taken as a whole, the club dates were a make-or-break proposition. If they were well-received, Elton and his little band might well be on their way to international success.

If not …

“(James) said he knew a shoe store down the street (from the Troubadour in L.A.), and you can get a job making shoes,” Olsson says, laughing. “True story. So I didn’t get the job at the shoe store.”

Aside from a 10-year hiatus to pursue his chief nonmusical passion, racecars, Olsson has since been John’s primary drummer. He has been at the epicenter of some of the greatest music and performances in the history of rock music, yet is nonchalant about his rise to fame. From that opening night at the Troubadour (which is memorialized in a color-splashed montage during John’s show at the Colosseum), when Neil Diamond, Quincy Jones, Gordon Lightfoot, Leon Russell and Mike Love of the Beach Boys were in the audience, Olsson has remained hard focused on the music.

“We didn’t have time to figure out what was going on. We were working nonstop,” he says. “We’d go in and record an album, then go and tour. We always were touring some songs that were still in the can, basically, and we didn’t have time to sit back and think, ‘Wow! We’re getting big time here!’ ”

When asked of his music inspirations, Olsson first mentions the Beatles. Many of his references to his playing style, or even his personal disposition -- unassuming, like Ringo -- are geared toward the Fab Four.

“I would say that I’m not a technical drummer at all. I can’t read music. The way I love to play is just putting the headphones on and listening to the Beatles,” Olsson says. “I idolized Ringo. I modeled my playing after him. I loved his work on songs like ‘I Am the Walrus,’ and from him I learned that what you leave out makes it work.”

Olsson favors ballads, quickly listing “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Circle of Life” and “Empty Garden,” the tribute to John Lennon just added to the Colosseum set, as his favorites.

“When you play the ballads, you can feel the warmth from the crowd,” he says. “We play the same songs every night, the exact same show, but the feeling from the crowd is always special, you can really feel that each night.”

Asked to name another drummer he counts as an influence, Olsson’s answer raises an eyebrow: Stevie Wonder.

“Believe it or not, yeah, the way he plays drums is amazing,” Olsson says, grinning. “I worked with him on the ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ album because I was doing a solo record in the same studio complex (the Record Plant in Hollywood). He heard my drums that Slingerland (Drum Company) had especially built for me and said, ‘Can I borrow your drums?’ So I called the company and asked if it would be possible to make a drum kit exactly the same as mine for Stevie Wonder. They said, ‘Stevie Wonder? What?’ but stopped the production line and had them sent within a week.”

Olsson stops at that story and says, “Funny, isn’t it? Who you meet?”

But Olsson is not terribly fond of telling Elton stories. Years ago, he grew tired of the questions about the iconic, and occasionally temperamental, superstar. “Everyone wanted to know, ‘How many pairs of glasses does he have?’ Or, ‘How high are his shoes?’ because he used to wear these knee-high boots. It was just so boring.”

But he does speak to John’s brilliance. “There’s no two ways about it. I mean, he’s a genius. He’s so kind to people, even though he’ll throw what we call ‘wobblers’ now and then.”

John threw a "wobbler" during a show at the Colosseum in May, tossing a stool and water bottles across the stage and complaining generally about his management team.

“He’ll get mad if the flowers are dead in the dressing room -- or wilting. There is a certain type of flower he hates, I can’t remember which,” Olsson says. “But he’s such a decent person. Since Zachary came along, the baby, it’s made his life a lot calmer.”

The son of John and his husband, David Furnish, Zachary turns 2 on Christmas. He was born to a surrogate mother and also is remarkable because his godmother is Lady Gaga.

“Elton sent me a video of Zachary in France when they were on holiday, in August,” Olsson says. “He’s eating lunch, and you can hear David in the background, ‘What’s that you’re eating, Zachary?’ And he says, ‘Petit pois! Peas!’ So he’s now bilingual! One of the cutest kids I’ve ever seen.”

Olsson likens John’s band to a family. Longtime members back John onstage at the Colosseum. The graybeards include guitarist Davey Johnston, keyboardist Kim Bullard and percussionist Ray Cooper (whom is a flurry of activity onstage behind Olsson). Percussionist John Mahon and bassist Matt Bissonette fill out the band. Bissonette is stepping in for the late Bob Birch, who died at age 56 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in August.

Birch had for years been suffering from pain in his legs and back from being hit by a truck in Montreal in 1995, an accident that nearly killed him. In the shows leading up to his death, Birch was in such pain, he played while seated on a stool.

Olsson says that when it came time to reunite the remaining band members, John pulled the musicians and crew together and said, “We all loved Bob, and we will only think happy, good thoughts about him. There will be no crying, no miserable faces, and we will always have him in our hearts.”

“Of course, by the end of it, everybody was crying,” Olsson says.

He is similarly moved when recalling the “electric” night of Thanksgiving 1974, when Lennon joined Elton and the band for three songs at Madison Square Garden. This was to pay off a bet Lennon had made with John that he would join John for that show if “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” reached No. 1. It did, and Olsson counts the moment as one of the highlights of his career.

“You would not have believed the energy of that night,” he says.

During the show at Caesars, as grainy footage of Lennon charging onstage with John plays on the Colosseum LED screen, Olsson starts the song by stepping into his bass drums with two quick beats.

“Thump-thump” is the sound, and the descriptive drummer is keeping perfect time with every heartbeat in the room.

#lovely article about nigel #aww nigel #having a place to hide when bottles were thrown at the stage #sweetheart #why would you throw bottles at such a sweet person?#how rude #the last line of the article is a beautiful one #thump thump is the sound and the descriptive drummer is keeping perfect time with every heartbeat in the room #beautiful #poetic #that is a good way to describe nigel generally #he's got such a big heart #of course he keeps time with every heartbeat in the room #i never ever overlook nigel #not a chance

0 notes

douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

Text

YOU GUYS I JUST THOUGHT OF THIS

Startups live on speed and momentum. Early stage startups are the exact opposite of this.1 So a truly effective refutation would look like: The author's main point seems to be quite malleable; there's a lot you can do high-resolution fundraising: if you wanted you could have a separate note with a different cap for each investor.2 Bad circumstances can break the spirit of a strong-willed person, but I think it would help to put names on the intermediate stages. It was pretty advanced for the time.3 Investors don't realize how much they suck. Most VCs can't do anything that would sound bad to the kind of noobs and control freaks VCs should be trying to fund more Airbnbs we have to rely on. By far the biggest influence on investors' opinions of a startup is the opinion of other investors. We could never stand it. Thanks to Trevor Blackwell and Jessica Livingston for reading drafts of this.

The whole Viaweb site was made with our software, even though it feels wrong. Maybe it's just a surface bruise, but why even bother checking when there are so many other unbruised apples to choose from? Control of a company is doing well, investors will want founders to turn down most acquisition offers.4 For example, suppose you have to keep pushing, keep selling, all the way to the closing, because the next best deal will be almost entirely overlooked by the press. Because most investors are dealmakers rather than technology people, they generally don't understand what you're doing. But when you do that?5 Angels are different in this respect. In a rapidly growing business as software. Most successful founders would probably say that if they'd known when they were starting their company about the obstacles they'd have to overcome, they might never have started it. Their unconscious mind decides for them, shrinking from the work involved.6 Splitting deals thus has similar advantages to confusing paternity. General Foods, General Motors.

Perhaps one reason people believe startup founders win by being smarter is that intelligence does matter more in technology startups than it used to in earlier types of companies. Put yourself in the position of someone selecting players for a national team.7 Lisp syntax is scary. What good is it? So startup culture may not merely be different in the way you'd expect any subculture to be, in any kind of value of the alumni network. Ad Hominem.8 Once you realize how little most people judging you are more like a fickle novel buyer than a wise and perceptive magistrate—the more you realize you can do that much better with computers.

The customer is always right in the sense that the startups they like most are those that are rough with them.9 I understand determination a bit better now.10 Whereas hackers will move to the Bay Area to find investors. If you work this way, then in principle you never have to end the day with something that actually looks unfinished. An ad hominem attack is not quite as weak as mere name-calling.11 In the past, everyone wants funding from them, closing the deal after a comparatively short 8 weeks. So there is a second much larger class of judgements where judging you is only a means to something else.

I soon learned from experience that schleps are not merely inevitable, but pretty much what business consists of. I managed to get him to agree to a compromise: we could use his bio but not his name.12 Except an inverse one. The early twentieth century must have had a moral courage that's lacking today. To see how, envision two things: a the amount of wealth people can create has not only been increasing, but accelerating.13 But I know the real reason we're so conservative is that we just haven't assimilated the fact of 1000x variation in returns. For example, when I grew up, the ambitious plan was to get lots of attention, we made the version number an integer. Meanwhile, the one thing you can say about something is to criticize its tone, you're not saying much.14 Basic: Fortran is scary.15

Maybe in college you walked past their fraternity on your way to the lab.16 The author is a self-important dilettante. We regularly have startups go from hot to cold or cold to hot in a matter of days, and literally nothing has changed. How important it is for founders to keep control after an A round? It is not merely a better speaker.17 I didn't notice when the shadow disappeared. But in the mid 80s. Fortran into Algol and thence to both their descendants. They felt a two-party system ensured sufficient competition in politics. But if you do that, they'll usually seize on some technicality or claim you misled them, rather than just the whim of an individual partner. Notice anything missing? This is often combined with DH2 statements, as in: I can't believe the author dismisses intelligent design in such a cavalier fashion.

But there isn't and may not be for several months. Professional investors are constantly trading little favors. The breakup of the Duplo economy was an evolutionary phase. So in borderline cases the rational thing for them to do is to sacrifice unpromising startups.18 A round. Which in turn means the variation in the amount of cash Microsoft now has on hand, and b Larry and Sergey.19 Service rates for men born in the early 1980s that the term yuppie was coined. It was as if we'd created a Formula 1 racecar, not a sedan with giant rims and a fake spoiler bolted to the trunk. He didn't say anything, but instead ask do we suck?20 I've been around the startup world a little advantage can expand into a lot. As well as being smarter, they tend to operate in secret.

Notes

At any given person might have done well if they'd survived. It's unlikely that every fast-growing startup gets on the partner you talk to, but suburbs are so dull and artificial that by the size of the most part and you might have.

If you're a loser they're done, at least should make a brief entry listing the gaps and anomalies. Some translators use calm instead of blacklist. They have the. At the time.

The dialog on Beavis and Butthead was composed largely of these limits could be pleasure in a reorganization. There were a handful of companies that got bootstrapped with consulting.

Yes, strictly speaking, you're using a degenerate case of journalists, someone did, once. Perhaps the most, it's easy to read this essay talks about the meaning of distribution. The point of a startup could grow big by transforming consulting into a pattern, as I make it.

For the computer hardware and software companies constrained in b. For example, understanding French will help dispel the cloud of semi-sacred mystery that surrounds wisdom in ancient philosophy may be that the highest price paid for a market of one, don't make their money if they can get cheap plane tickets, but this would probably be the dual meaning of distribution. Actually, someone did, but he turned them down. I don't know yet what they're wasting their time and Bob nominally had a contest to describe what they built, they might have infected ten percent of them.

One great advantage of startups is uninterruptability. This includes mere conventions, like a conversation—maybe around 10 people.

Note: An earlier version of this type of proficiency test any apprentice might have. It's sometimes argued that kids who went to prep schools is to start some vaguely benevolent business. Corollary: Avoid starting a startup. To help clarify the matter, get an intro to a study by the financial controls of World War II, must have faces in them, just that they discovered.

Analects VII: 36, Fung trans. But the question of whether public company not to make you feel that you're being gratuitously troublesome.

01. People were more at home at the final whistle, the jet engine, the LPs who invest in a separate feature. And you can say they're not. Different kinds of startups have over you could try telling him it's XML.

On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 1981. And while this is also the 11% most susceptible to charisma. But the usual way to solve a lot of classic abstract expressionism is doodling of this: You may not understand you at all.

And when a wolf appears, is to carry a beeper?

I have a significant startup hub. Once he showed it could hose the whole. Conjecture: The variation in wealth over time. They'll tell you that if VCs are suits at heart, the whole story.

If they no longer written in Lisp, they mean statistical distribution. This just seems to be promising.

But core of the former depends a lot of the crown, and when you have to watch out for here, I put it here.

Patent trolls can't even trust the design world's internal standards.

But knowledge overlaps with wisdom and probably especially those that will seem dumb in 100 years will be weak: things Steve Jobs did for Apple when he received an invitation to travel aboard the HMS Beagle as a collection itself.

There's a sort of wealth for society. In practice sufficiently expert doesn't require one to be when it was so violent that she decided never again.

Starting a company if the VC. The kind of people thought it was not just the location of the most demanding but also like an in-house VC fund they outsource most of them, initially, to get out of Viaweb, Java applets were supposed to be so obsessed with being published.

Their inexperience makes them better: reading a draft of this process but that's not as completely worthless as a constituency. There are people who might be a founder; and not others, and Cooley Godward. They may play some behind the scenes role in IPOs, which is a bad sign if you pack investor meetings as closely as you start it with a neologism. If it failed.

How to Make Wealth when I switch in the 1980s was enabled by a combination of circumstances: court decisions striking down state anti-dilution protections.

0 notes

smoothshift · 5 years

Text

The Kremer K3 - A 740hp road legal Porsche 935 commissioned by Formula 1 team owner and businessman Walter Wolf. via /r/cars

The Kremer K3 - A 740hp road legal Porsche 935 commissioned by Formula 1 team owner and businessman Walter Wolf.

Quick Look https://i.imgur.com/zBnczEu.jpg

Extensive Gallery https://www.jamesedition.com/cars/porsche/935/porsche-935-kremer-k3-for-sale-10485394

Based on 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans winning car

740hp / 4 Speed

930 Turbo leather Interior

338km/h on Autobahn (210mp/h)

375,000 Deutsch Marks in 1980 ($800,000 USD)

2,100,000 Euros today ($2,340,000 USD)

Anyone wanna buy it for me?

Quite an interesting history, taken from listing.

Today, still many of us connect the name Walter Wolf mainly with oil business and self-made success, Formula One and the golden 1970’s. And rightly so. However, he was not only the spiritus rector of some of this world’s most fascinating supercars of their era but also their enthusiastic driver. Wolf was born in Graz, Austria on 5 October, 1939 and therefore directly into troubled times, at least in Europe. The family somehow managed to survive WWII meanwhile having moved to Yugoslavia which they left in 1951, heading up for Wuppertal, Germany. From there Walter Wolf emigrated to Canada in 1958, later obtaining Canadian citizenship. In Canada Walter Wolf first started a sporting career as a member of the Canadian Olympic ski equipe and participated in the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria in 1964. Coming from a rather petit bourgeois family environment, Walter Wolf soon turned out to become a very successful self-made executive, first in the construction business, later in supplying oil-drilling equipment, while benefitting from the oil crisis early in the 1970’s. And like almost all “old-school” businessmen act when becoming tremendously rich: They look for the right toys to spend all the money, and Walter Wolf had ALL the toys in this world!

Walter Wolf was always highly interested in and a fan of the Formula One of that time and soon became a common visitor of almost every Formula One race in the early 1970’s. In 1976, the time was right for him to buy 60% of Frank Williams Racing Cars while agreeing to keep Frank Williams as the manager of this Formula One team. Furthermore, Walter Wolf bought the assets of the Hesketh team that had recently withdrawn from Formula One. The team, based in the Williams facility at Reading, used most of the cars, then called Wolf-Williams, and equipment once owned by Hesketh Racing.

Not being successful in their first year with the drivers Jacky Ickx and Michel Leclere, Walter Wolf decided that the team needed restructuring. Frank Williams was removed from the manager job and replaced by Peter Warr. Although it looked promising having hired Jody Scheckter from Tyrrell, nobody expected that Walter Wolf’s team would win its first race in Argentina for the 1977 season. Scheckter then went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix and also – very important for Walter Wolf - the Canadian Grand Prix, not to forget six other podium finishes which enabled him to finish second to Niki Lauda in the World Championship, giving Walter Wolf Racing a sensational 4th place in the Constructors‘ Championship of 1977!

In the following Formula One seasons Walter Wolf Racing could not repeat to the former success and finally Walter Wolf himself got tired of his toy at the end of 1979 and sold it Emerson Fittipaldi, while retiring completely from Formula One. Still being THE most illustrious Formula One team owner, Walter Wolf visited Kremer Racing in 1979 while searching for a new toy to satisfy his needs for a new super-, if not hypercar. Eventually his purpose-built Lamborghini Countach LP400 S had to be replaced by something more special and – of course – far faster.

After his strong personal Lamborghini episode he looked north over the Alps and found out that a Porsche 935, one of the most successful race cars ever and this year’s overall winner of the 24h of Le Mans, would be just enough for him to match the required profile. However, it seemed fully out of reach to convince the Porsche factory a) to sell him one of its evolution models and b) to try to make it street legal! And there Kremer Racing came into the scene. As Porsche hesitated to sell their Evolution models, some teams developed their own ideas, especially Kremer Racing from Cologne, Germany. Parallel to the factory, in 1976 they had built a 935 K1, and, in 1977, modified their customer 935 to the K2. For 1979, they introduced the 935 K3 (for „Kremer Type 3“; the derivative of the successful K2). Driven mainly by Klaus Ludwig, it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979, beating all prototypes even in the rain. Coming in second was a works 935, driven by Rolf Stommelen, and supported by team owner Dick Barbour and actor Paul Newman.

Kremer Racing, in collaboration with Ekkehard Zimmermann agreed to take this absolute crazy order from Walter Wolf and realized not only a look-a-like Kremer K3 race car which Walter Wolf never would have accepted, but really built a genuine Kremer K3 with 24h of Le Mans specs just for simple street use. When eventually taking delivery of his new one-off street-legal Kremer K3 Le Mans, it was according to Kremer - 98% identical to the K3, which won Le Mans in 1979. The car had (and still has) an 2,85-liter twin-turbo, twin spark 6-cylinder boxer engine slightly detuned to deliver “only” 740hp at 8,000 rpm to the 4-speed 930/30-gearbox with Le Mans gear ratio (!). For the bodywork, Kremer/Zimmermann used original K3 Kevlar body panels, adding only small blinking lights and side markers. The tires were hand built by Goodyear and mounted on original BBS race wheels in the dimensions 11x16 at front and 14,75x19 at rear.

Walter Wolf also asked for a speedometer in km, which could display the full range of the Le Mans gear ratio. Therefore, Kremer had to invent a special magnetic sensor for the rear axle. The development of the new exhaust system only took Kremer nearly six months! The suspension was also modified with special Bilstein dampers and the race chassis clearance was raised up to 10cm (instead of the original 5cm) because Walter Wolf wanted to use his new car for high speed travelling all over Europe. For the luxurious interior Kremer used Recaro seats and parts coming from the 930 Turbo. Everything was clothed in dark blue leather; the seats also had red piping. Although Kremer wanted to fulfill everything, he refused Walter Wolf’s wish for a second aircon for the passenger’s side, reputedly in answering Walter that, from a technical point of view, it would be better to wear just a polo shirt while driving in the summer months.

Painted in his special dark blue color with red stripes, Walter Wolf’s Kremer K3 Le Mans used also his famous logo on the rear fenders and at the back. Before delivery, Erwin Kremer tested this car on a German autobahn clocked with 338 km/h top speed, having a good argument then to send Walter Wolf the final bill. All in all the realization of his toy cost Walter Wolf not less than 375,000.- Deutsch Marks which was approx. $800,000.- in 1980. Walter Wolf, a man who always reaches his targets, indeed was able to obtain a Vehicle Registration Certificate from Alberta, Canada for his Kremer K3 Le Mans with plates “DJD 639”. Moreover, of course he used these license plates for travelling Europe with his rocket.

Walter Wolf sparingly used his Kremer K3 Le Mans and finally sold it in 1987 to Swiss ex racecar driver and car collector Angelo Pallavicini who directly put in on display in his private museum, while the street license had already expired on 31 January 1986. In the mid-1980’s, new toys had attracted Walter Wolf’s attention, especially a street-legal BMW M1 modified to Procar specs and then the Ferrari 288 GTO but this is another story. Becoming a lobbyist for arms manufacturers in later years, Walter Wolf is still good for newspaper headlines from time to time. However, this only adds to Walter Wolf’s mystic aura. In Angelo Pallavicini’s ownership, the Kremer K3 Le Mans lived an unmolested life in his private museum all the years before he sold it early in 2013 to Germany based CARTIQUE GmbH, domiciled in Pleidelsheim, part of the FRG Group of companies and specialized into high-end collector cars. Walter Wolf’s Kremer K3 has only original 10,124km on the odometer. It is exactly in the same condition as delivered to Walter Wolf in 1980. It still wears completely its original paint and it still has its original interior. Even the front tires are the original ones!

This Kremer K3 Le Mans comes with the original Vehicle Registration Certificate, the customs papers for Switzerland and EU import docs. It needs nothing but a technical inspection and a new caring owner who is man enough to bring it back on the street, handling 740hp at the back. No one can turn back time, of course. However, with this time capsule, one comes as close as possible to feel like being Walter Wolf himself in his very best days.

#reddit #autonews #auto #cars

1 note · View note

itsworn · 5 years

Text

Bounty Hunter Street/Strip 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Is No Dog

Muscle cars were a common sight at Jack’s Esso in Lockport, New York, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Owner Jack Poyfair kept busy performing typical bread-and-butter auto repairs, but he would also work on high-performance street cars, street/strip cars, and racecars.

“It was gas station, but we changed motors and transmissions, and we rebuilt a lot of components,” Poyfair recalls. “I installed a lot of headers. There were a bunch of guys hanging around the station who had fast cars. One guy had a 427 Ford medium-riser. There was a guy with a 1958 Pontiac with a late-model engine in it. We had a couple big cars with 283 motors that wanted to go fast. I owned a white 1965 GTO convertible, 360-horsepower Tri-power, four-speed close ratio transmission, and 4.33 gears. The GTO didn’t have any headers, it was more of a street car, but it was pretty quick. We had a lot of fun.”

New and aggressive restyling for the Chevelle in 1966 brought the bulging rear quarter-panels and swept-back C-pillars with the signature tunneled rear glass design found on other GM intermediates.

A certain Regal Red 1966 Chevelle with skinny Cragars and “Bounty Hunter” scrawled on its fenders was part of the landscape at Poyfair’s gas station. The car was owned by Nick Colaizzi, a loyal employee at the GM Harrison Radiator plant in Lockport, New York. Bounty Hunter was powered by an L78, and it was no dog.

For early 1966 models, Chevrolet offered two engines in the newly introduced Chevelle SS396. Standard was the L35 396ci Mark IV big-block with two-bolt mains and oval-port heads rated at 325 hp at 4,800 rpm and 410 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm. Initially, the only optional powerplant in the SS396 was the L34 engine. With a hotter cam, it was factory rated at 360 hp at 5,200 rpm and 420 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm.

A few months into the model year, Chevrolet quietly began to offer a top-dog performer underrated at 375 hp and branded with the RPO code L78. Simple math deduced that its upgrades—four-bolt-main block, compression increased from 10.25:1 to 11:1, solid-lifter cam, bigger rectangular-port heads with bigger 2.19-inch intake valves, and bigger 780 Holley on new aluminum intake—would add up to more than the advertised 15hp bump over the L34 motor. Later tests would put the motor closer to 425 hp. Those in the know knew about the L78. Nick Colaizzi knew.

The 396/375hp L78 engine option was installed in 3,099 Chevelles, including SS396 hardtops, SS396 convertibles, and El Caminos. The idler pulley assembly mounted on the passenger-side head was installed on the 1966 L72 427/425 fullsize cars and the L78 Chevelles. Owner Larry Robison has heard that the purpose of the idler pulley was to provide an extra belt that would keep the water pump running in case the alternator belt broke.

He Persisted

Early in 1966, Colaizzi entered Heinrich Chevrolet in Lockport, New York, to order a 1966 Chevelle SS396 with the L78 engine. Though the people at Heinrich Chevrolet were (and still are) great people, the salesman had not received notice from Chevrolet of the L78’s midyear introduction. Fearing the order would not go through, he suggested ordering the L34 360hp version. Colaizzi persisted. The salesman ordered an L78, and the order was accepted. One month later, Colaizzi became the first owner of what would become one of the most desirable Chevelles ever built, one of 3,099 1966 Chevelles built with the L78 engine.

For the first six months of ownership, Colaizzi’s SS396 served street/strip duties. His passion for drag racing grew, as did his pursuit of making his Chevelle faster and more competitive. He sought out Jack Poyfair to help him make the Chevelle faster. Poyfair answered, “If you can beat my GTO, I’ll work on your car.” They raced, Colaizzi won, and the two men became fast friends building a fast car.

The single-reservoir master cylinder worked fine in 1966 and still does the job today. The trim tag mounted on the firewall shows the crucial 13817 code, which indicated in 1966 that this car was indeed a Chevelle SS396 Sport Coupe.

Many hours were spent working on various combinations and trick parts. Colaizzi says, “Those were good times spent together working on the car and racing it with Jack. He’s a great guy. At one point, I asked GM for sponsorship, but they said no. The Chevelle did well, and we did our best to make it fast.”

The Bounty Hunter’s racing career spanned from 1966 to 1974. Colaizzi put the Chevelle in storage with the hopes of restoring it sometime. It would remain in storage until 1993, when he decided that he would have to sell his prized Chevelle.

For 1966 Chevelle SS396 cars, the L35 and L34 versions of the engine used oval-port heads with the casting number 3872702. The L78 engines used casting number 3873858 rectangular-port heads with 2.19-inch intake valves and 1.72-inch exhaust valves. The spark plug heat shields are absolutely spotless in the highly detailed engine compartment.

Enthusiast Extraordinaire

Enter Larry Robison, Chevelle enthusiast extraordinaire and longtime employee at the GM Parma Plant in Cleveland, Ohio. Robison likes 1966 Chevelles—he likes them a lot. Though many Chevelle guys trumpet the glory of the 1970 LS6, Robison says, “I would stand on the hood of a ’70 to get a look at a ’66.”

Robison was checking out the Cleveland Trading Times in 1993 when he came across a 1966 Chevelle SS396 race car for sale. His interest was piqued when he learned it was an original L78 car, only showed 2,109 original miles, and had been campaigned on the dragstrip as the Bounty Hunter. He called Colaizzi, who was moving to Nevada and not able to bring his Chevelle with him. Robison made a deal to buy the car and all the spare parts as a package. The parts filled a box truck, and the car was transported back to Robison’s home in Ohio.

The black SS’s interior had virtually the same layout as standard Chevelle models. The A51 Astro Bucket seats were a $110.50 option. Check out the crazy-expensive D55 Center Console With Clock, which came in at an outrageous $47.40, the typical tab for your daughter’s wedding reception at the local Howard Johnson’s.

Bounty Hunter stayed in storage until 2009 while Robison worked on a few of his other project Chevelles. Once work began, he took the body off the frame and restored it to original condition. The rear quarters had been pushed out to make room for slicks. Rather than replacing the quarters, Robison worked the metal to get the quarters close to straightened out. He then had paint and body expert Paul Clark finish the metal work and paint the car in its original Regal Red hue.

Robison brought the car back to his house and began assembly with the help of friends and Northern Ohio Chevelle Club brethren Ron Thompson, Mark Meldrum, the late “Big Ray” Tumbry, and George Kelovski. The car was finished in 2015, and debuted at MCACN that year.

Behold the reason that the 1966 SS396 is superior to all other Chevelles: the “knee-knocker” tach. Since original owner Nick Colaizzi went with the $79 U14 Special Instrumentation Package with the L78 motor, he got the 7,000-rpm tach, plus a mechanical oil pressure gauge and gauges for amps and water temperature. The knee-knocker tach could be ordered separately as RPO U16 on any V-8 Chevelle.

In 2017, Robison and Mark Meldrum arranged to reunite Colaizzi with the restored Bounty Hunter. Jack Poyfair was also called in for the occasion. “It was great meeting Larry and Mark, and seeing Jack again,” Colaizzi says. “Larry did a great job restoring the car. Seeing it again, and getting to drive it, brought back a flood of mixed emotions. It was really a tremendous experience.”

These days, Robison proudly displays the Bounty Hunter at various shows. Mark Meldrum will sometimes park his Bounty Hunter tribute car next to it. Robison’s not a tough guy to spot at a car show. He’s the one jumping on the hoods of 1970 Chevelles to look at 1966 Chevelles.

The swept-back cut in the fenders for the entire 1966 Chevelle line created lots of traffic in Chevrolet showrooms. According to Chevellestuff.net, total 1966 Chevelle production was a strong 447,364 units. Of those, 66,843 were SS396 sport coupes and 5,429 were SS396 convertibles.

At a Glance 1966 Chevelle SS396 Owned by: Larry Robison, Avon, OH Restored by: Owner, Paul Clark, and friends Engine: 396ci/375hp L78 V-8 Transmission: Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed Rearend: 12-bolt with 4.10 gears and Positraction Interior: Black bucket seats Wheels: 14×6 steel with caps Tires: 7.75-14 Firestone Deluxe Champion redlines Special Parts: 7,000 rpm “knee knocker” tachometer, best e.t. 11.73

The body-colored rear cove treatment on the SS396 was often painted black by Chevelle owners. Larry has spoken to a number of people on the subject and has concluded that the coves on SS396 cars were never painted black at the factory.

Bounty Hunter at the Dragstrip

Nick Colaizzi’s Bounty Hunter Chevelle was raced most often at Niagara International Drag Strip. It proved to be an excellent race car that brought Colaizzi and Jack Poyfair a good measure of success, thanks in large part to Poyfair’s mechanical efforts.

“We worked on the cylinder heads, tried different camshafts, stagger-jetted the carburetors, used steel and aluminum flywheels, and changed the collector length on the headers just to get a tenth of a second out of the car,” Poyfair recalls. “Nick had an edge in driving. He was good on the tree, pulled the gears really good. He knew he had to go through the traps at 7,400 rpm to get a good run.”

Colaizzi is thankful for the support and friendship of Poyfair, as well as the help he received from his brother Dick and his son Nick. Over the years, Colaizzi had a few racecars, but the Bounty Hunter Chevelle was always his number one race car.

The Bounty Hunter is the third Chevelle that Larry Robison has restored. Northern Ohio Chevelle Club member Mark Meldrum was so committed to giving Bounty Hunter its proper due that he created a tribute “as-raced” Bounty Hunter from one of his 1966 Chevelles.

The absence of lettering suggests that this shot, taken at Niagara International Drag Strip, was early in the car’s life. Cragar SS wheels and the tow-bar plate are installed.

When Colaizzi was asked how the car’s name came to be, he said, “I told Jack we’re going to name it like we’re going to go after somebody.” Interestingly enough, Colaizzi would later purchase the big-block 1966 Impala you see in the far lane.

The lettering on Colaizzi’s car was very typical for any race car of the day. “Jack’s Esso” was painted on the quarters in appreciation for all the work Jack Poyfair put into the car.

Check out the M&H Racemaster tires on the back. “I set up the rear that used to jump out of the gate hard,” says Poyfair. “I wedged the control arms so that they would be stiff with brackets from the rear housing to the control arms. It worked well.”

The post Bounty Hunter Street/Strip 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Is No Dog appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network https://www.hotrod.com/articles/bounty-hunter-street-strip-1966-chevrolet-chevelle-ss396-no-dog/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Hot Rod Network

0 notes

mikecoperacing · 5 years

Text

Mike Cope Racing Enterprises, Inc. 2019 Season Preview

New Season, Fresh Faces, Sebring Opener

Clearwater, Fla. [February 26, 2019]— The race cars are loaded, the haulers are fueled up, and the Mike Cope Racing Enterprises (MCRE) team is all set to hit the road for a short drive to Sebring International Raceway to kick off the 2019 Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.

The Mike Cope Racing Arrive and Drive Program, established in 2014, has seen great success throughout its 5 years in the Trans Am TA2 series and this year will prove to be no different. Returning to the team, full time, is the #9 HP Tuners Chevrolet Camaro of Keith Prociuk as well as the #14 Venture General Contracting Ford Mustang of Matt Parent.

“I am excited to get back in the car and be with the amazing people that make up the Trans Am racing community,” said Parent. “I love being under the Cope tent and always feel I am given the best equipment to compete.”

When talking goals for the season, Parent showed great optimism and we are excited to get back on track with him in 2019. “My goals for the season are to continue to improve my race craft and work to gain the respect of the other incredibly talented drivers that make up the TA2 field. The field keeps getting stronger and stronger. It is an honor to be a part of the Trans Am series.”

Keith Prociuk held much of the same regard and while Sebring might not be his favorite track on the circuit, he’s up for the challenge and ready for Round 1.

“Sebring was never one of my preferred tracks. The concrete surface is nice for grip, but the bumps bothered me. However, last year I found a lot of speed and as a result, now I like Sebring. This year I’m hoping to continue last year’s progress and do well during the race. It would feel [really] good to start off the season strong,” explained Prociuk. “Last year, to finish the season and miss out on 3rd by just a few points was a bit of a bummer. This year we have yet another stacked field, so competition is going to be tough, but should be a fun challenge. I really want to do better than I did last year. Every year I’ve made progress with Mike Cope and the crew, and hopefully this year follows the established trend. Ultimately though, I want to have another fun season in Trans Am with Mike Cope Racing. This will be my 5th season with the team. Time flies when you’re having fun!”

Last season, Lawless Alan, accompanied MCRE to 3 races as part of the rental car program; however, this year he’s piloting his own 2019 Cope Chassis as he brings his AutoParkIT sponsor with the #52 Ford Mustang. Alan will compete for the 2019 Rookie of the Year title and based on his accomplishments in 2018 we believe he has what it takes to take the top honors and make his way to the top of the podium in 2019.

The 2016 TA2 champion, Tony Buffomante, will run a limited schedule with Mike Cope Racing for the 2019 season. The #34 Ford Mustang of Buffomante is a staple under the MCRE tent and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome him back, and Buffomante feels the same way.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in my Mike Cope Racing Mustang at one of the most historic race tracks in North America,” said Buffomante. “With Koury engines getting us down the straights and Wilwood brakes getting us into the 17 corners at Sebring, we have an amazing package and a great shot at the top step of the podium.”

The #57 Silver Hare Racing Ford Mustang driven by Maurice Hull will join MCRE at Sebring. Hull partnered with MCRE for the last two races of the 2018 season and captured one of his best career finishes at the season finale in Daytona. Hull also took home the 2018 TA2 Hard Charger Award presented by MCRE at the season ending awards gala. MCRE predicts that the Silver Hare Racing team will continue the momentum shown in 2018, into the 2019 season, starting with Sebring.

MCRE would also like to welcome, Tom Sheehan, to the growing family of Cope Chassis supporters. MCRE just finished up on his brand new 2019 Ford Mustang that will make it’s debut this weekend for the season opener at Sebring.

The off season has produced new builds, new teammates, new crew members, and a nice break from the fast-paced race season; however, MCRE couldn’t be more pumped to say goodbye to the off season and hello to Round 1 at Sebring International Raceway.

Team VP, Travis Cope, summed it up perfectly when he said, “2019 is the year to continue to improve our program and build our brand to become a staple for the Trans Am Series and road racing, in general—not just for the short term, but for many years to come.”

And THAT is exactly what MCRE is going to do as the Mike Cope Racing team returns to Sebring International Raceway for the commencement of the 2019 TA2 season on March 3, 2019.

About Mike Cope Racing Enterprises:

Perhaps no other team has worked so diligently to achieve success over the course of 30 years as MCRE. Over the years, they have successfully launched corporate sponsorships in national series, developed short track and SCCA Road race champions and mentored young upcoming drivers. Lead by Mike Cope, he brings the same enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge to his race team that made him victorious in his own racing career.

MCRE offers a variety of services for drivers interested in the Trans Am Series’ TA2 program, including custom builds, arrive and drive programs, maintenance programs, consulting, driver mentoring, set-up and shock dyno. Mike Cope Racing Enterprises is based in Clearwater, Florida. Learn more at www.mikecoperacecars.com.

Mike Cope Racing Enterprises partners include: Koury Engines, Keyser Manufacturing, FiveStar RaceCar Bodies, Wilwood Brakes, Bassett Wheels, Penske Racing Shocks, Integra Racing Shocks, and Tilton.

Parties interested in the MCRE “Arrive and Drive” Program in TA2, or would like to purchase a Mike Cope Chassis can contact the team office at 727-201-8910 or email [email protected]

inor-latin

0 notes

jonathanbelloblog · 5 years

Text

Who is Max Hoffman?

If you’re one of the millions of Americans with an affinity for European automobiles, you’re a part of a fan base dating back several generations to the early 1950s. Though long before any of the European auto marques prowled our roads and interstates, Americans largely bought Detroit-made automobiles. In that sea of land yachts, endless chrome, and tail-fins proliferating from a booming industrial revolution and war-driven economy, foreign automobiles of any kind were virtually non-existent, except for the few aristocrats who could afford the really expensive ones.

The presence of European automobiles on U.S. soil wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for one ambitious man with a knack for fine automobiles and a rather extensive dealership network: a Mr. Maximillian Edwin Hoffman. Max Hoffman is credited for single-handedly introducing European cars to the world’s largest market for the automobile at the time.

And at this year’s massive and second annual air-cooled Porsche gathering, Driven to America, in Long Island, New York, Mr. Hoffman’s presence was acknowledged with the display of his “Circle of Legends,” or all of the key models Hoffman introduced to American buyers for the first time. Hoffman was celebrated in conjunction with Porsche’s 70th anniversary as a sports car maker. The company’s presence on U.S. soil, along with nearly every other major European manufacturer, would not be without the efforts of Mr. Hoffman.

Hoffman’s U.S.-based operation officially began on the East Coast after immigrating to the U.S. and fleeing the grasp of Germany’s Third Reich. He opened up his first American dealership, Hoffman Motor Company, in 1947 initially selling Jaguars and eventually, Volkswagens by 1948.

By 1952, he opened the flood gates to Mercedes-Benz models, allowing him to gain an understanding for America’s interest in fine European automobiles. Hoffman’s first major move however occurred when he suggested that Mercedes-Benz produce a road-going version of Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s record-breaking W194 300SL racecar, driven by none other than the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.

He anticipated the street-going variants and the idea of a toned-down Grand Prix racer for the road would bode well with the flamboyant tastes of wealthy Americans. But Mercedes-Benz wasn’t quite in synchrony with the idea, until Hoffman himself placed an order for 1,000 examples before the project could gain approval. His determination and belief in its success eventually led to the birth of the legendary W198 300SL Gullwing and W121 190SL roadsters. Its first actual customer: none other than the one and only Briggs Cunningham.

In 1954, the Gullwing debuted at the New York Auto Show after Hoffman convinced Mercedes-Benz to build it. From that, he secured the rights as the sole official importer of Mercedes-Benz with his own dealership network that he personally built up since 1947 out of the New York area, selling the finest automobiles Europe had to offer to rich Americans.

He then expanded his operation, utilizing his accumulated expertise and understanding of the U.S. luxury car market to coax BMW into developing the 507 as a more affordable German sports roadster alternative to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, using influence from the 501 and 502 sedans.

Along the same lines, he later convinced Porsche to cut the roof off its all-new Type 356 coupe to make a high-performance sports roadster, leading to the birth of the 356 Speedster. Word on the street is that he even designed the company’s iconic insignia. And he even played a major role in making Alfa Romeo come up with the Giulietta Spider.

But Hoffman didn’t just dedicate his business to exclusive luxury sports cars. His efforts played a monumental role with introducing the Volkswagen Beetle and the BMW 2002 to the U.S. market. Further, his showroom space wasn’t limited to just German automobiles, as he also imported Alfa Romeos, Austin-Healeys, Fiats, MGs, and other famed European marques.

Born and raised in Vienna, Austria, Hoffman lived out most of his early life perpetuating his father’s bicycle manufacturing operation and later, as an amateur racer. He retired from the sport in 1934 and commenced a career importing the most opulent American iron available into Austria, from the likes of Duesenberg, Cord, Auburn, and Pontiac. Hoffman was also the first agent to pitch Volvos outside Sweden’s domestic market.

With the rise of Germany’s Third Reich encroaching its way into Austria because of the Anschluss of 1938 and Hoffman in disagreement with its rhetoric, particularly since Hoffman himself had Jewish ancestry, he relocated his business to Paris. But a few short years later in 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, forcing Hoffman to cross the Atlantic and settle down in the New York area.

Unfortunately, after arriving on U.S. soil on December 7, 1941, Hoffman had to temporarily shelve his car dealer operation since automobile demand within the U.S. virtually vanished as the country focused on fighting the Axis powers. Let alone, nobody in America had interest in European automobiles, especially German ones, and battered European automakers weren’t exactly in the position to continue manufacturing passenger vehicles either. To make ends meet, Hoffman temporarily and successfully took up the business of manufacturing costume jewelry.

Once the war was over, Hoffman permanently made New York his home. Using the funds he accumulated from his costume jewelry operation, he reentered the car dealer business, opening shop in both Manhattan and Los Angeles establishing the Hoffman Motor Car Company. With soldiers returning home, fueling the baby-boomer wave, buyers eagerly awaited Detroit to churn out the post-war “cars of tomorrow.”

But Hoffman insisted that those cars were already available, albeit, just from Europe and with levels of sophistication never seen before. As a result, interest in European automobiles skyrocketed. Such marques ranged from French Delahayes, to Italian Lancias, and British Jaguars—most notably, the Jaguar XK120, a personal favorite of his.

It was then that he became the sole importer and distributor for both Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and eventually Volkswagen. And upon receiving the first set of 20 Volkswagens ever shipped to the U.S., this transaction led to his introduction to Porsche.

Through the 1950s, Hoffman continued as the sole importer of those major German marques, coordinating the sale of Mercedes-Benzes through the Studebaker-Packard corporation. With Daimler-Benz AG seeing the market potential in the U.S. themselves, they decided to embark on a mission to establish its own dealership network in America, cutting ties with Hoffman by 1957.

By this point, Hoffman’s initial contract with Jaguar and Volkswagen had long-since been in the garbage bin and he sought new efforts. Witnessing growing success with BMW in America, Hoffman went full-speed ahead with the brand. He persuaded the at-the-time reluctant and financially conservative management to build a two-door version of its newly introduced 1500 and 1600 “New Class” era of passenger vehicles, complete with a new 2-liter engine, specifically for the U.S. market. And thus, the 2002 was born and from its profound success in the U.S., it led BMW to establish its North American operation.

With Mercedes-Benz dominating the European full-size luxury sedan segment in America, Hoffman further convinced BMW to follow the America’s popular hot rod and muscle car formula of the 1960s of “fitting the largest engine in a lower optioned, lightweight version” of its automobiles, with its 2500 and 2800 sedans (also known as the Bavaria), establishing a line that would soon become the famed 7-Series.

Hoffman’s introduction of the Bavaria would later mark the end of his efforts as a car importer in the U.S. as he retired from the auto business in 1975, selling off his remaining company to BMW. And in 1981, Hoffman was laid to rest.

But Hoffman’s legacy remains with millions of buyers still flocking to European automakers as the choice for their set of wheels. So the next time you appreciate a European automobile on U.S. soil, you can pretty much thank Mr. Hoffman for making European imports less foreign to American buyers.

Check out Five Favorite Porsches from the Driven to America 2 Car Show.

The post Who is Max Hoffman? appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2PBY5DD via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

0 notes

eddiejpoplar · 5 years

Text

Who is Max Hoffman?

Check out Five Favorite Porsches from the Driven to America 2 Car Show.

The post Who is Max Hoffman? appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger 6 https://ift.tt/2PBY5DD via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger 6

0 notes

jesusvasser · 5 years

Text

Who is Max Hoffman?

The post Who is Max Hoffman? appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk WP Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2PBY5DD via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk WP Feed 4

0 notes

junker-town · 6 years

Text

Dale Earnhardt Jr. enjoys beer, laughter after last Cup Series race

The beer flowed in the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final race as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.

First there was a long embrace with team owner Rick Hendrick, followed by high fives and handshakes with his crew members. Then out came the Yeti cooler with the camouflage top stocked with Budweiser and Bud Light.

“Do you want a red or a blue?” the crew guy tasked with distributing beer repeatedly asked those surrounding the No. 88 Chevrolet.

What ensued was a fitting way to cap Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final Cup Series start; a collective toast to the career of NASCAR’s most popular driver. For an hour Earnhardt stood on pit road next to his and had a beer with his team. Not that he could’ve left if wanted to, a mob of media and fans left no avenue for escape.

“We’re going to miss you, Junior,” was the most common refrain from the masses who encircled him.

So Earnhardt sipped beer with his crew guys and friends. They laughed and basked in the exact kind of ending Earnhardt had envisioned when he said he wanted to make it to the finish line Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I told them a couple weeks ago, the only thing I care about really is finishing all the laps and pulling down pit road and getting out of the car and having a beer with my team,” Earnhardt said. “These are my brothers, and we're very close, and I want to just have a moment with them before I leave and go home.”

Although a win would’ve been an storybook way to cap his career, that was going to be a difficult. The Chevrolet painted in a red-and-black scheme that mirrored what Earnhardt drove in his first Cup race in 1999, just didn’t have the speed necessary to allow its driver to be any sort of factor. He would finish 25th, two laps behind Martin Truex Jr., who not only won the Ford 400 but the 2017 championship.

But on this night, where Earnhardt finished was inconsequential. This was about having a memorable sendoff. As evident by the scene post-race, which resembled a bunch of guys sitting around a bar shooting the bull only with a car roof acting as tabletop, that objective was certainly fulfilled.

“It's hard to understand that relationship that you have with those guys, but it's very close,” Earnhardt said. “We're a big part of each other's lives away from the track and support each other in everything going on in our personal lives.”

Of course there were tears. It really hit Earnhardt during the moment he had with Hendrick, who in many respects has become a second father to Earnhardt. Owner and driver even struck a deal where Hendrick got the helmet Earnhardt wore Sunday in exchange for gifting Earnhardt the car he raced.

“I didn’t cry until I was hugging Rick’s neck,” Earnhardt said. “Man, he’s been like a father to me with the things he’s done for me personally. He’s really helped me more than anybody will ever know.”

Earnhardt isn’t completely done with NASCAR. Not by any means. He co-owns a successful Xfinity Series team, JR Motorsports, which won its second championship in four years Saturday night. He will also join NBC as an analyst where he will have a prominent role on the network’s NASCAR coverage next season. And he will continue to make the occasional start in Xfinity, including at least two in 2018.

This, though, was Earnhardt’s last time in the NASCAR’s major leagues. After Sunday night he ceased being a full-time driver, instead he will now move on to the next chapter of his life. He and wife Amy, who will celebrate their one-year anniversary next month, are expecting their first child in the spring.

And as customary when someone ends one phase to begin a new journey, it deserved an adult beverage. On a hot and humid South Florida night, Earnhardt remarked multiple times how cold the beer tasted. A second cooler would be summoned, then a third.

Eventually the party broke up, though not before Earnhardt walked around and personally express his gratitude to each crew member. Connections he says will extend well beyond his driving career.

“I've worked with a lot of those guys for a lot of years,” Earnhardt said. “We've been down and we've been out, and we never turned on each other. We stayed together. We finished this together. It's meant a lot to me. Those relationships I'll have beyond driving racecars.”

0 notes

jonathanbelloblog · 5 years

Text

Who is Max Hoffman?

Check out Five Favorite Porsches from the Driven to America 2 Car Show.

The post Who is Max Hoffman? appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2PBY5DD via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

0 notes

jonathanbelloblog · 5 years

Text

Who is Max Hoffman?

The post Who is Max Hoffman? appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

from Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2PBY5DD via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

0 notes

itsworn · 6 years

Text

Move Over Sports Cars! Dragsters, Funnies and Altereds Take Over Laguna Seca at Nitro Revival 2

If vintage, nitro-burning dragsters, Funny Cars, and altereds are your thing, Nitro Revival is your event. In just one year, Nitro Revival has gone from an experiment to a must-see happening for historic drag racing machinery.

In 2017, Steve Gibbs, along with a host of dedicated friends and family, had a vision to organize a standalone event that would rival those of the establishment. Nitro Revival was born, and the inaugural offering was held at the Barona Dragstrip east of San Diego. The deal was for one event at Barona, with the Revival’s future being uncertain.

All Smiles: Big Daddy Don Garlits found himself at the center of attention at the 2018 Nitro Revival. His weekend culminated with a trip to the top of the Corkscrew for a photo shoot with Swamp Rat 3.

Buzz started building when Revival 2 was announced, but it was the site that took the drag racing faithful by surprise. WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway was the place. Nitro Revival 2 would merge into the Raceway’s Spring Classic, also in its second year. The deal was inked and the tag line printed, “Where racing worlds collide!” Was the Monterey sports car crowd ready for this?

The event was held May 18-20, with Saturday the 19th being the feature day for Revival. Festivities started early on Friday with registration and a host of random fire-ups. Friday concluded on historic Cannery Row at The Clement Monterey, where Mike Dunn hosted a question-and-answer period with Hall of Fame drivers. The evening culminated with an autograph session sponsored by the Jim McLennan (the Champion Speed Shop founder) Drag Racing Foundation and the firing of Swamp Rat 3 on Cannery Row.

Nitro Haze: By day Bob Lawson works for the man himself, Connie Kalitta. But on the weekend, Bob slips behind the wheel as The Bounty Hunter. This beautiful dragster is owned and built by Allen Bridges of Simpson Safety Equipment.

Things got off to an early start on Saturday, as the popping of nitro-burning engines could be heard echoing through the hills of Laguna Seca. As part of the Revival, participants in Ace’s Hot Rod Hangout car show got to take their cars for a supervised lap around the legendary track.

Around lunchtime, push starts took place along Laguna Seca’s pit lane. About a dozen cars pushed off, showing everyone what Revival was about. The cars then parked nose toward the wall at the end of pit lane and stayed running, giving the crowd a small dose of what was to come later in the day.

No Way: Glenn Way and The Ground Shaker were among the fuel altereds at Nitro Revival. Glenn vacated the seat of The Ground Shaker for the weekend, turning the driver chores over to Dale Kraskey Jr.

The “Line of Fire” closed track activities for the day. Any car that could fire did, putting a big exclamation point on what had become very successful days for the Revival team. Cars were started in succession from one end of the paddock, down the row, and then up the opposing row.

Whether you wanted to get a sense of what this nitro thing was all about, or if you were there to bask in the nitro haze, there was no avoiding the roar or the sweet smell of nitro. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Tears were flowing about as fast as the nitro. Ah, heaven! As the last engine expired and the paddock fell silent, a roar erupted from the crowd, stomping their approval for what they had just experienced.

Tight Squeeze: Jim Cooper, his son CJ, and Boogie the Bassett Hound made the trip to Monterey from Washington. Jim’s Model A is powered by a Walt Austin–prepped Hemi. As a bit of trivia, Jim is credited with coining the nickname “Ace” For Ed McCulloch.

The icing on the cake came shortly after the Line of Fire. Word quietly circulated in the paddock that Big Daddy and Swamp Rat 3 were headed to Laguna Seca’s Turns 8 and 8A, better known as the legendary Corkscrew, for a photo shoot. This would be the first—and possibly the last—time a Top Fuel dragster would make its way onto the fabled hill. Sonny Messner was in the seat as Big Daddy smiled for the cameras.

When the crew tried to figure out how to get Swamp Rat back up the steep incline, Sonny shouted from the cockpit, “Just let go, it will be fine!” Everybody just looked at each other as Sonny sat back in the seat. The car was released, and down the hill went the dragster. In a spontaneous act, Sonny released the clutch and was able to get the engine to light as he drove the car back to the pits. Epic!

Stay tuned to nitrorevival.com for info on next year’s event.

Twins: The ageless Mr. Isky, styling in his new Bean Bandits jacket, holds court with a couple of guys who know a little bit about twin-engine dragsters. John Peters (right), owner/builder of The Freight Train, ran both twin small-block Chevys and twin Hemis. Walt Stevens drove Red Fogleman’s Odd Couple, which had a small-block Chevy sitting out in front of a Hemi.

It’s Alive: The long journey to find and restore the one-of-a-kind Buick-powered Skylark flopper named Ingenue has come full circle. Just days after Nitro Revival, owner John Lipori neared completion of the project as the 430ci Wildcat engine was brought to life. John will continue to bring the tune-up along and have this candy-apple-red beauty ready to sing at full song soon.

Fired Up: The drivers and their attire are part of the allure of an event like Nitro Revival. Being period correct is a must; an open-face helmet, fire/breather mask, and a pair of goggles are key. These drivers are strapped in for the mass fire-up on Saturday night.

Small Stuff: TV Tommy Ivo was the consummate showman, and his beautifully appointed racecars were works of art down to the last detail. The drilled and styled steering wheel of Tommy’s Barnstormer is finished with a personalized bolt cap.

Iconic: Historic memorabilia was plentiful at Nitro Revival, but none more unique than Roger Lee’s Smokers jacket. Roger proudly displays the jacket with his Masters and Richter tribute car.

Long Haul: The tale of Rich Guasco’s ’29 Ford has spanned the decades. Rich built the car when he was in grammar school, improved on it as the years went on, and won America’s Most Beautiful Roadster at the 1961 Oakland Roadster show. (For the full scoop on the car, see “Mr. Roadster,” May 2013.) Rich drove his pristine survivor to Nitro Revival.

Champion: Champion Speed Shop and its founder, Jim McLennan, are synonymous with the glory days of drag racing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jim’s son Bob keeps the legend alive with the Jim McLennan Drag Racing foundation, helping to sustain auto-shop classes in high schools and colleges.

Alias: Drag racer’s alter egos propelled them to great public notoriety and legend status. For Bob Muravez, it was just the opposite. Bob laid low and raced his way into the history books with a very unassuming alias, behind a mask of secrecy. Floyd Lippencott Jr. is seen here pushing off in Tom Hoover’s Fishbowl.

Aces: A big part of Nitro Revival was Ace’s Hot Rod Hangout car show, hosted by none other than Ed “The Ace” McCulloch. Ace took advantage of the early morning quiet to get his hot rod ready for the day ahead.

Honor: Ron Johnson was a big part of Nitro Revival becoming a reality. Ron passed last October, but his contribution to the sport lives on. Ron’s son Kol was in the seat of the TV Tommy Ivo Barnstormer for push starts. We would think the “victory” sign was for the success of something his dad helped create!

Soul Mates: The original Pure Hell driven by Dale Emery is pictured here with the present-day Pure Hell that races in the 6.0 Heritage Series class. The old car has been away from home for quite a while, spending time in museums and private collections. In April, Rich Guasco and company took the old car to Texas for Dale Emery’s funeral and then back home. As they were loading the trailers for Nitro Revival, it occurred to them that the two cars had never been side by side.

Familiar Territory: Big Daddy making some adjustments to the injector on Sonny Messner’s Swamp Rat 3b before a warm-up run on Friday. This is a Garlits-built re-creation of the destroyed SW3b. Of the three original Swamp Rat 3s built, two are restored and reside at the Garlits Museum.

The King: Jerry Ruth wears a hat that says, “I’m the Boss!” There probably aren’t a lot of people who would argue with him. But at the track, he’s known as “The King”—of the Northwest, that is. Aside from his Top Fuel world championship, Jerry is the first person to win Top Fuel and Funny Car at the same event, a feat he accomplished several times.

Sport’n: The Greth and Fisher Speed Sport Special has been starting events like Nitro Revival for many years, for good reason. The car was built in 1955 and retired in 1958. The restoration to race-ready status took place about 18 years ago. Here, the SSP is in a familiar spot, out in front of Steve Gibbs’ Ford for the start of push starts on Laguna Seca’s pit lane.

Reviver: We were surrounded by legends as we joined Steve Gibbs’ driver’s meeting prior to push-start practice Friday morning. When it was said and done, Steve humbly thanked everyone for coming, which was followed by an unidentified voice saying, “No, thank you, Steve!” and a round of applause for the father of Nitro Revival.

Cheers: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca’s Sr. Vice President of Marketing Melvin Record (left) and a crewman prepare to release Sonny Messner for his memorable journey down the Corkscrew in the Swamp Rat 3.

The post Move Over Sports Cars! Dragsters, Funnies and Altereds Take Over Laguna Seca at Nitro Revival 2 appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

from Hot Rod Network http://www.hotrod.com/articles/move-sports-cars-dragsters-funnies-altereds-take-laguna-seca-nitro-revival-2/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Hot Rod Network

0 notes