Nationwide- In Vegas!!! by Dave Lee

It was a cool and damp morning in Vegas today. But the racing Gods decided to look favorably on the Nationwide race. After about an hour and a half rain delay and the Jet Dryers working hard to dry off the track, the race was under way.

Now I had just the day before placed a small wager on one #33 Kevin Harvick to win this race. but at about the mid point of the race, and with some pretty poor work from his pit crew, my man Kevin was close to mid pack and with the sky's threatening to unload on the track, I had pretty much given up any hopes of cashing in on that wager. But with a caution for rain and some intense driving by Kevin he over came the bad pit stops and surfaced as the winner! Alas, poor Miss Danica, didn't far as well. bring out one of the cautions of the race and totalling her car.
Tomorrow! The Cup Race! I will report on that after the race.
Dave

Can't Wait for March!

It's February 26th, and looking at the calendar there are some really cool things going on in the next 2 weeks! One, my head wrench is in Las Vegas for the NASCAR race. He's camped in the infield with a great look at turn 4. I'm checking to see if he has his laptop with him in which case I'll have him guest blog from the track! Wow, that was quick. Just got his txt reply- "yes"! So we'll get that set up!

Two, the March Meet at Auto Club Famoso is just a week away. There will be a busy Test-N-Tune session this weekend in preparation (weather permitting). The March Meet is a huge draw on it's own, but to make this year's running even more special, the grand marshall will be John Force!

And three, at the NHRA Gatornationals March 12-14, Doug Kalitta will be sporting a Coors Extra Gold paint scheme in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Darrel Gwynn's 1990 Gators victory.


So for the next 2 weeks or so I am going to be following these stories and hopefully bringing some great pics and stories. Stay tuned!

Baywood Park

It's a little chilly outside, but nice. It's actually just a little break between two storms. And that's just enough for me to take a little trip to Baywood Park to see if the local guys have brought the hot rods over to the coffee shop. Happily, there are a handful of cars in the parking lot when I pull in.


The guys are sitting on the patio sipping hot drinks, and as far as I can tell this is the routine: Every Saturday a small group of locals (mostly) bring their cars over to the parking lot that's shared by the Back Bay Inn and the Good Tides Coffee Shop. It's located at the south end of 2nd Street, alongside the Baywood City Pier. They like to show up around 2PM, and as one of them told me "we stay until 4 O'clock. 5 O'clock if the weather's good!"

This is special. It's no big city, hamburger stand, show off your stuff kind of atmosphere. No, this is just a small group of car enthusiasts, doing what they love. hanging out with like minded folks and talking shop. I might have to make this a "regular" Saturday thing in the future!

And besides, Baywood Park is not a bad place to kill a leisurely afternoon any day of the week. Within 2 blocks are 2 B&B type hotels, A pair of great mexican resturants, a pizza joint, a Thai Resturant, and a couple of art galleries. All in a picturesque setting, surrounded by water on 3 sides. This is one of the most well kept secrets on the central coast! The lifestyle is decidedly "small town" and definitely coastal. But not touristy. If you want crashing waves and lines at resturants this isn't the place. But if you prefer a casual getaway, on the tranquil waters of the back bay, this is for you. If you haven't experienced the simple beauty of Morro Bay's southernmost reaches, you're really missing out. This is where relaxation goes for a vacation!

And Here It Sits

Guilty as charged! In 1987 my wife and I bought this 1966 Mustang. And here it sits. It was a slightly older "restoration". Let's just say it had new paint, and a newer (albeit incorrect) interior. Seems like the previous owner had put in a '65 interior combination that wasn't available in '66. No big. To each his own.

But it bugged me enough that as soon as we could afford it I ripped out the '65 stuff and put in a new parchment and burgandy '66 interior. Sweeeet! The car was/is killer- a converible with power top, the c-code 289, with a c-4 "cruise-o-matic" transmission and dealer installed air conditioning. It was an awesome weekend driver, and when the weather was right, I drove it to work daily. Back in the day, we would take road trips to the coast and Yosemite National Park on a whim. The car was dependable as any car we've owned, and a blast to drive. And it STILL is, except that it seems like we only get it out of the garage a couple times a year. There are lots of "excuses" for this, but no good reasons!

So yesterday I decided that it's time to make an effort to drive it more, and if it doesn't work it's way back into our lifestyle then...well let's not go there! So I dug the keys out of the basket in the hallway cupboard (I'm not kidding) and went out to the garage to fire her up. Now this car has always started right up...3 pumps on the gas, turn the key,and "fire in the hole"! Well...after 14 attempts with no such luck, the beast finally woke up, and I feathered the gas pedal furiously to keep it lit. After a minute or two, it sounded like it might stay lit without constant attention to the pedal, and I let her idle. Well, i don't know if this qualifies as "idle" exactly- it sounded like it was running on 7 cylanders and it was belching some pretty rich black smoke out the back end. I've got a slightly bigger cam in the thing, but this sucker was loping like no street car I've ever seen. Anyway, after a slight idle adjustment and a little warm up it seemed like it might actually be drivable. That is after I put some air in the tires. As for that little (or not so little) dark spot on the garage floor, (conspicuously located under the tranny) well that can wait 'til another day!

So, having got to this point, all I needed to do was move my Ford Flex, which was parked in the driveway behind the '66, pull the Mustang out to where I could get to the right side tires and air them up, and go. But, alas, I think I've done enough for one day, so Here It Sits. Maybe tomorrow...

Day Tripping

The Presidents Day weekend turned out to be spectacular weatherwise on the central coast! We had out of towners staying at the SLOracing pad, and so we did some incredible "day tripping". On Saturday the girls wanted to do the shops on Higuera Streret in SLO, so Bud and I were forced to pay a visit to The Black Sheep Bar and Grill, and Downtown Brew to keep our "spirits" up! If you're looking for a load of garlic fries that'll make you say uncle, Black Sheep can do it. Oh, BTW, KILLER bloody mary's at Black Sheep too. I want to start every weekend there! And, man, Downtown Brew not only has some outstanding micro brews,(I had their Irish Stout and it was perfect) but what a music schedule! Lot's of live and lot's of good!

On Sunday we took the spectacular drive up the coast to Cambria for brunch on the patio of the incomparable Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill! This might begin to sound like a common thread, but...BLOODY MARY. Uh huh! If you go to Moonstone Beach, you HAVE to have the fish tacos and a bloody mary. I mean, it's the law. Well it should be.

On Monday, we took a drive over to Olea Farm in Templeton to taste and buy olive oil! Yep, olive oil! Now, I am a red meat eater, mostly BBQ, usually marinated. I have this killer , marinade gizmo that tumbles the meat in a vacuum cylander, (no kidding)
and one of the staples I use in any marinade is good olive oil. And this place has the BEST. These guys take this stuff very seriously. They have a "tasting room" where you can taste about 7 or 8 different olive oils and other stuff. Holy cow! Who woulda guessed it? In any case it is a beautiful drive out to the farm. It's only about 5 miles off of Hwy 101, but it's some of the prettiest country around. You pass through some awesome horse farms that would make you think you were in Kentucky, and wind your way up a little country road, and finally a dirt lane that leads you onto the farm and home of Olea. After buying a couple jugs of oil, we headed back over Hwy 41 to Morro Bay and then south for a quick stop at the Baywood Park farmers market. I want to fill you in on Baywood Park, but it'll have to wait. One of these Saturdays I will get over there to the coffee shop where the local "car guys" hang out and I'll get some pics and the 411 on the local scene.

For now, I'll leave you with a couple pics I snapped at Avila Beach today! Cheers-

Ultimate California Roadtrip?

Talk about a weekend full of shiny and fast! The NHRA Winternationals, the Daytona 500 , and if that isn't enough, the MAVERICKS!

The word is out- The top 24 surfers in the world have been summoned to Half Moon Bay, CA for the annual Mavericks surf competition. That means that thousands of Californians (and surf nuts from all over) will be making the last minute trip to witness the most spectacular break found on the North American Continent! You see, there is no pre-set date for the Mavericks competition, it just happens when conditions set up for the biggest break of the year-usually waves in the 40 foot range, and always during winter.

I can't think of a better reason to pack an overnight bag, get into your favorite ride, and take that ULTIMATE CALIFORNIA ROADTRIP up (or down) the California coast. There is nothing more beautiful than the Pacific Coast Highway in the spring. Well, okay it's not officially spring, but here in CA, the hillsides turn green in January and the flowers start blooming ubundantly along the coast in February, so it feels like Spring to me! The weather report for Half Moon Bay says sunny and low 60s for Saturday and Sunday. Here in San Luis Obispo County, they are calling for 75 degrees this weekend! So, there is even an opportunity for some "topless" driving on the coast! For a map of the area go here . I know I am going to get out this weekend and take advantage of this great weather. I hope you do too! Enjoy!

p.s. Thanks to my newest followers: Andy, Carrie, and Holly!

Pomona is an integral part of drag racing's rich past - latimes.com

In celebration of the 50th running of the NHRA Wiinternationals the L.A. Times ran this great article. Worth a look!
Pomona is an integral part of drag racing's rich past - latimes.com

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Daytona 500 Practice

Wow! I just had to comment on the Daytona 500 practice today. I know, I know- drag racers don't turn left-but hey, shiny and fast is hard to resist! Anyway, it looks like the defending champ might be starting at the back after crashing today in practice. No fault of his own- according to NASCAR -

"The wreck, one of several incidents and near-incidents in a frenetic session, was set off when Mike Bliss lost control on the low side of the track in front of a pack of cars coming out of Turn 4 and slammed into Joey Logano's Toyota. As the rest of the field took evasive action, Johnson rear-ended Denny Hamlin".

JJ's car sustained enough front end damage to require going to the backup car. On another note: Hey, how 'bout that Mark Martin? I'd love to see him go wire to wire. Of course, this IS Daytona, and the drivers are operating under the new NASCAR credo, "have at it, boys", so anything can and will happen.

Welcome!

Well, it's just about time to break the hot rod out of the moth balls, dust off the cobwebs and start preparing for the go-fast season. Here on the Central Coast we have had some pretty good rain over the last month, which is welcomed by most. Now the days are slowly growing longer, the temperatures are inching up, and the 50 weight is beginning to flow through the big block! Time for me to check in with Racer Ric, over at Fauset Racing , and finish those last couple of tweaks. We'll plan to run the Summit Series at Famoso and hopefully, ANRA events this year. Test and Tunes will be starting up within a couple weeks and that means we have to go over all the equipment, tools, and race paraphenalia this weekend so that we know we can be ready. I bought a new rig over the off season, a Ford Flex AWD, with the ecoboost motor. The ecoboost makes 355 HP and 350 lb/ft of torque, and I am anxious to see how it handles towing. Fortunately I have a fairly lightweight trailer and since the torque curve is very flat on the eco (350 lb/ft from 1500 RPM to 5250 RPM) it should do alright. I'll post my impressions once I've had the chance to do some hauling. Meanwhile, here's a picture of the Flex.