Where I’ve Been

As if I don’t have anything better to do, I’m going to list off the places I’ve been in 2012, as a reminder of this super crazy year. Get ready…this is gonna take a while.

Taking a Break from Vacation

The past few months have been wall-to-wall action for me, including a very special weekend that should have been used as an anniversary trip. Instead, I worked all weekend at LS Fest, covering the event for Super Chevy magazine. Have I mentioned how much car stuff my wife puts up with? Anyway, she went to Bowling Green with me but it was by no means an anniversary trip. So, we decided to take the next available weekend and turn it into our little vacation. Somehow, I managed to squeeze a drag racing event into that vacation, too!

Robert Killian brought out his 2,000hp Model A (Uncle Jed) and made a few 7 second quarter mile passes.

May 2012 Bounty Race Coverage

I’ve been going to the Bounty Race on a regular basis for the past 4 years. I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff at I-40 Dragway…wheelstands, wild burnouts and out-of-control passes that leave you wondering how the guy managed to save it. When I heard that Jim was offering $5,000 to the winner of the Pro Street class for the May Bounty Race event, I knew I couldn’t miss it.

World Index Challenge Coverage

My home track, I-40 Dragway is known for its Bounty Race event, which is a monthly heads up race that always brings out a great crowd of racers and spectators to the eighth mile track. The Howe family has owned the track for 20+ years, and Jim Jr. is always creating new events to keep things fresh and exciting from year to year. For 2012, the highlight event for I-40 Dragway was the World Index Challenge, which offered up a $10,000 prize for 6.0 and 7.0 index classes. We’re talking guaranteed money here, so it drew racers from all over the country, and made for a HUGE event!

Looking Back on the Great Race

I’m a car guy, but if you’ve seen many of my posts, then you know I generally like drag cars, nostalgic hot rods and muscle cars. I don’t really get into the restored classic car stuff, although I can appreciate the time and effort spent. With that said, I wasn’t exactly excited to be covering the 2011 Great Race. Most of the cars were restored originals or some sort of hand built speedster that was built to resemble a vintage racecar from the ’30s…either way, it just isn’t my thing. And if you’re not familiar with the Great Race, it’s actually not a race if you want to be technical. It’s a time, speed, endurance rally, meaning that the cars (1969 and older) have to travel a pre-determined route in a particular time. Going too slow is bad and going too fast is bad–it’s all about precision driving. I know I probably should’ve blogged about this while it was still relevant, but I just thought I’d wait until I had some time to really sit down and write for a minute or two. It was a grueling trip and I’m gonna tell you all about it and show off some of the pictures I took along the way.

I guess you could say this is my "famous" shot, since it was on the cover of Hemmings Motor News. This was shot on day one somewhere in North Carolina.