So you’re a gearhead and you have enough property for your house, a shop and a long, straight driveway…why not build a concrete burn-out box and launch pad? Then you can throw your own burn-out contests like the one we attended today! Cool cars, cold drinks, tasty barbecue and tire smoke. Just good clean fun! Here’s a BIG THANK YOU to Mike and the Shafters Car Club of Fallbrook. See the pix for more of the story.

It was the last meet of the 2011 season for the Southern California Timing Assocation (SCTA) and its land speed racing members. As usual, the season points chase for number one came down to the November two-day meet. If you weren’t setting records all season, you weren’t going to be number one. As it worked out, the #827 roadster with its turbocharged Hayabusa power came out on top. And for the sixth year in a row (sorry Jimmie Johnson), the San Diego Roadster Club won the points competition among the SCTA clubs. It rained on Friday night but the lake bed ate it up and the SCTA volunteers provided two days of speed trials on November 12 and 13. For more of the story, check out the pictures. See ya next year at El Mirage!

This event never disappoints. With more than 250 vintage race cars gathered in one location, how could it? When you toss in San Diego weather, military displays, drifters, fly-bys, Leap Frogs, the Car Corral, music, food, vendor boothes and more, there is truly something for everyone!  The cars compete in nine race groups on the runways and taxiways of North Island Naval Air Station, Coronado. Team JBA had a great time and the #29 1968 Trans-Am Mustang driven by J. Bittle had its moments of glory. And JBA must have served around 200 hot dogs on Saturday and another 200 on Sunday!  Be sure to add this event to your must-do list for next year. See the pictures for more of the story.

Jan Wagner is an avid autocrosser and also co-hosts the weekly “You Auto Know” show (from 8-9PM on Sunday evenings with Dave Stall) on KCBQ AM 1170.  JBA recently installed a Steeda competition front sway bar on Jan’s 2011 Mustang GT. Here are Jan’s thoughts on the results: “The Steeda Competition front bar surprised me because it does not seem to have had any negative effect in terms of ride quality on the street. On the track is where its presence became apparent. I noticed that in hard cornering there was considerably less drama. I had the sense that I was not fighting the car nearly as much as I had been before. Despite the common wisdom about what happens when a large front swaybar is used, I think my car actually understeered less, which was my hope – my thoughts being that with significantly less front end lean, the load would be shared amongst both front tires instead of mostly by the outside one.”  We’ve attached a few pictures of Jan’s Mustang on-track courtesy of Impressions by Elliot Photography.

The Air National Guard Bayfair World Series of Powerboat Racing rolled into San Diego this weekend. The Unlimited Hydroplanes are the featured event of the weekend and anything that fast is cool, but we really get a kick out of the drag boats. The Lucas Drag Boat Series runs just off Crown Point Shores. Are these guys maniacs or what? The top fuel run group is so edgy, most of them seemed to have a hard time even making a full pass. What do you call it when a boat does a huge wheelstand? Sternstand? But we digress. See the pictues for more of the story.

Cool car show today in Santee hosted by The Manzanita Brewing Co. and co-sponsored by JBA. Food, cold beer, models, music, hot rods, trophies, sunshine, a charitable cause…hey, what’s not to like? Check out the pictures for the rest of the story.

Land speed racing for kids!!! The All-American Soap Box Derby held its annual local race today in Sherman Heights on 25th Street between Market Street and Imperial Avenue.  Opening ceremonies included speeches by a few San Diego dignitaries and a cool rendition of the Star Spangled Banner on trumpet. Actor Corbin Bernsen has produced a movie titled “25 Hill” about the Soap Box Derby and he spoke to the crowd and participated in the celebrity race. The competition began after a short delay to move the finish line and timing lights up the hill a bit to provide more room to stop at the end of the course. Local winners in three classes qualify to compete against other local champions at the AASBD World Championship in Akron, Ohio. See the pictures for more of the story or go to sdsoapboxderby.org. A big thank you to the sponsors that support the Soap Box Derby!

The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) kicked off the 2011 land speed racing season with a two-day meet at El Mirage Dry Lake on May 14th and 15th.  JBA cruised up Friday night to hang out for the weekend with our buddies from the San Diego Roadster Club (SDRC). Did we mention that SDRC has been Number One in club points for FIVE seasons straight? It was warm on Saturday and very windy in the afternoon, but all tailwind so that was good (free horsepower courtesy of mother nature). Sunday was overcast and much cooler…still windy! Lots of records fell. Not all the pyrotechnics were on the course. There was a music-blaring, flame-belching pirate ship cruising around the lakebed each night, and of course, Dan performed his one-man twirling-flame light show. See the pictures for a bit more of the story. Or, check out SCTA’s website at www.scta-bni.org.

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.

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