The Vintage Auto Racing Association (VARA) held their Route 66 Classic Vintage Road Races at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana,CA April 29-May 1, 2011. JBA stopped by on Saturday April 30th to check out the action. Interesting weather…warm with clear blue skies and high winds that tried to tip everything over! In addition to five run groups that included a variety of vintage iron, the event featured a cool collection of historic Champ and Indy Cars from all eras of open wheel racing. As always, see the images for more of the story and if you like Austin Healys, check out the last 15 pictures!

The West Coast Fuel Altereds put on a great show at Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip April 23, 2011. Lots of fun watching the drivers try to hook up for a full pass…especially after sunset when the track cooled off and it got damp. Quickest run we saw was a 4.32 ET at 152.95 mph. The two quickest altereds of the day met for a final showdown at about 10pm and it was worth the wait. At the finish line, the cars were separated by 1/100 of a second with the winner laying down a 4.54 ET. If you want to see a video of that final, click here. In addition to the altereds, a number of local hard-runners came out, including J.D. Watkins with a couple passes in the 4.80′s with his notch Mustang. The white Courier with the blown monster motor hooked up for a full pass. Rick Reynolds ran his black Pinto in the 5.30′s and was tough to beat. Dennis Gonsales was running his green Mustang. Bunch of fast bikes ran in the 5.00′s and 6.00′s. The show included Junior Dragsters, a quick VW that was on the juice, and one guy on a quad! Muchos gracias to Quickdraw for the great barbecue and beer! All in all, a good time. And a big thank you to the guys at Barona for putting on shows like this. Support local drag racing! Check out the attached pictures for more of the story.

Cool car show today in Coronado. Lining both sides of the avenues just off of Orange down near the Del, this show was larger than it first appeared. There were lots of folks wandering up and down the long lines of vehicles on display as the sun burnt off the morning fog. If you’ve been around car shows in San Diego County for awhile, you’d recognize many of these entries. Still, every show has a few surprises and this one was no exception. Enjoy the attached images, led off by the immaculate 1966 Mustang built and owned by JBA’s restomod expert David Toth. Cars, food, live music and sunshine. All in all, just another day in paradise!

What do you get when you combine a 2011 Shelby GT350, a supercharged 2009 BMW M3 and a 1950 Ford Woodie with a 302?  You get an interesting day on JBA’s Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno. Check out the pictures for more of the story!

Blue skies, the Knott’s Berry Farm parking lot and nearly 2,000 Fords make for a special Sunday. After the high speed cruise from JBA up to Buena Park, it was Blue Oval Paradise at the 26th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever car show. Check out the random shots of vehicles that we found interesting for one reason or another!

On Sunday, the weather was better…the crowds and parking lots a bit thinner. But still lots to look at. See the attached pictures for more of the story!

One really cool feature at the Good Guys Del Mar Nationals is the autocross event. You’ll find the best performing street machines at the show ripping through the cones or hanging out in the parking lot trackside. Manufacturers such as Detroit Speed, Ridetech, Hotchkis and Agent 47 bring out their best handling cars to compete alongside a combination of street rods and other independent participants. Here are a few pictures of some of the competitors during Saturday’s event.

The Good Guys Del Mar Nationals is the largest car show in San Diego County each year and features over 2000 vehicles. Spread out over the Del Mar Fairgrounds, it’s a three-day affair. JBA exhibited at this year’s show and as usual, we’ve run into lots of friends and fellow racers. Here are a few random shots we snapped on Saturday. Also see our separate blog for pictures of vehicles that compete in the Good Guys Autocross event.