REAL 1968 Shelby GT500KR on the track  You've probably seen a 1968 Shelby GT500KR... it's easy to watch Barrett Jackson or the RM Auctions when they're on. If  you're a Mustang fan, you may have sought them out and seen a few.  You ever seen one this nice on the track? Todd Stevens has got balls! The autocross at the Goodguys Spring Nationals is the one thing about the March show that  better than our November show. I watched for a while as random hot rods, muscle cars and G-touring cars tore up the track, but when I saw my friend Todd sitting in his Shelby, I thought... WHAT?? (Knowing the cars Todd has, I knew not to ask if it was real) Here's what happened... I didn't have the camera gear to catch a shot of Todd in action, but the picture above shows the hard earned racing scars as proof.  When the big Shelby took right hand turns, I could see the old-style and correct looking Firestone Wide O Oval tires rolling over like they were about to come off. Not sure what the problem was, maybe...

Datsun 510 For Sale at Bringatrailer.com To start your "My Ride is Me" obsession, you need to find that perfect car. So where to look? Instead of searching through disorganized and slow loading classifieds sites, check out BringaTrailer.com. The name might sound like basket-case junkers that need a flat bed to pickup, but that's not it at all. Bringatrailer features everything from Obsure Fiat's and Opels to mainstream hot rods and performance import cars. A car I've wanted to own for a long time is the Datsun 510. Here's a couple that recently came up at BAT: This 1969 Datsun 510 has been a dedicated race car since the 70's and has the SCCA log book to prove it. With all the obvious upgrades visible, there's much more than meet the eye. The engine is a 2.0L Datsun with a dyno sheet reading 238HP. Gotta have it? It's a Bringatrailer Exclusive car, so you'll only find it for sale here: 1969 Datsun 510 For Sale Another BAT Exclusive Datsun 510 for sale is this beauty: This 1972 Datsun 510 sports the vintage BRE paint scheme and a NOS FJ20...

Car Concept Drawings that'll blow your mind! This little Dodge A-100 has been the one piece of my work that gets me more emails, calls, letters and requests for re-prints than any other I've sketched. This car concept drawing's just got that something that makes people grin, and everyone just seems to get it. It's fun, it's irreverent, it's obnoxious... It sums up my earliest inspirations and daydreams in one bright orange, low-slung package, and looks like it just did something wrong... And, frankly, it doesn't give a shit. It's my inner child, street machine-style, hyped-up on orange soda and pizza. I began drawing cars after a career move from cubicles to cubic off-road insanity. I was designing project cars and doing car concept drawings for clients at night and on weekends, and managing them during the day at that new job. My personal artwork was taking on a realistic appearance out of necessity, but the wild style within still wanted to play. One day in late 2006, I let it out in the form of this orange hued bit of my ID, now simply known in the studio...

Blown 41 Willys Hot Rod Marty Hacker loved to get out to the track and drag race whenever he got a chance back in the 60’s and 70’s. One thing always caught his eye, the ‘41 Willys. Rat Rodders and drag racers alike have a love for the Willys. It’s one of the most popular street rod designs and probably the most recognized and famous drag/gasser bodies of all time. The ‘41 Willys was stuck in Marty’s head and he knew some day he’d purchase one. The interesting thing was he just could not seem to find the one he was looking for. So what do you do? You find one you can purchase and get to work on it to build the look you want. Marty’s son Mike Hacker started looking for his dad’s dream. One day while scanning racingjunk.com, he located a Willys in Long Island, NY. They contacted the owner of the ‘41 Willys to let him know they were interested… but wouldn’t be able to see it until the following weekend. Wednesday, they called the owner and found out the Willys had been sold. Disappointed,...

Hot Rod Video from Idaho Give credit when it's due. I gotta say, I like taking pictures. Not just pictures of hot rods, but just about everything. And although editing takes some time, I enjoy it! For the pictures, recomposing them, making the most of the colors, zooming in or out... it's fun and the end result's rewarding. That's not true for me with video. I hate editing video! For that reason, the few I've done aren't much to look at. On the other hand, check out the handiwork from Josh Clason. Josh tells us: "I had the opportunity to cruise up to Boise, Idaho a few months ago and meet with Matt Whitlock of Wrecked Metals. We had a great time shooting this over the course of 2 days. The cars and motorcycles Matt has put his touch on have been amazing." [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20498710[/vimeo] Josh first caught my eye when in his first trip to Bonneville, he shot this Bonneville Speed Week Video. The boy's got skills! Josh, let us know what's next! More on Josh at his home page: JoshClason.com/ Can you shoot video like...

Pinstriping for Charity at 2011 Grand National Roadster Show Not only does the Grand National Roadster Show bring out the best in hot rods and custom cars, it's also home to one of the best pinstriping jams anywhere in the United States. Fellow pinstriper Von Hot Rod organizes this gang of line-laying artists to raise money for charities every year, and this year was one of the best. I talked to Von Hot Rod and got this info: We raised $12,375 for charity from the hard work from almost 40 pinstripers that were invited.  Eggie won the Von Hot Rod's "Brush-off" (pinstriping races) so he's now ''The fasted Pinstriper in the West". Butch Tucker and Ron Myers were this years inductees into VHR's Pinstriping Hall of Fame, and Harry Malicoat won the VHR Pinstriping Award in the art of pinstriping. As for next year that's always a surprise!! That's what keeps people coming back... The crazy manikin and skateboards are from Hot Dog Kustoms' Pete "Hot Dog" Finlan. Dig it!! This custom pinstriping is from Diablo's House of Style in Bakersfield, CA. One of these days, I'll have a...

Team Force Wins Gatornationals TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 2nd of 22 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 42nd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals Gainesville Raceway Gainesville, Florida March 13, 2011 * * * * Final round results from Sunday’s 42nd annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, second race in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series: FUNNY CAR – Mike Neff, Fishers, Ind., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 4.092, 310.48 mph, def. Cruz Pedregon, Brownsburg, Ind., Snap-On Toyota Camry, 7.819, 99.32 mph. TOP FUEL –Del Worsham, Chino Hills, Calif., Al-Anabi dragster, 3.858, 318.00 mph def. Tony Schumacher, Brownsburg, Ind., US Army  dragster, 3.866, 318.39 mph PRO STOCK – Jason Line, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.554, 211.96 mph def. Greg Greg Anderson, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.545, 212.43 mph PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg, Ind., Harley Davidson V-Rod, 6.847, 197.08 mph def. Karen Stoffer, Gardnerville, NY, Geico Suzuki, Red-light DQ, 6.949,193.27 mph. * * * * CASTROL GTX’S NEFF WINS GATOR NATS GAINESVILLE, FL --- Mike Neff and his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang were hot on Saturday and they got hotter on Sunday...

Force Selected As Newest Inductee Into Texas Motorsports Hall Of Fame FORT WORTH, Texas (March 8, 2011) – John Force, one of drag racing’s most legendary figures, will add yet another racing accomplishment to his illustrious career resume when he becomes just the fourth NHRA racer inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. Force, a 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion (1990-‘91, ‘93-2002, ’04, ’06, ’10), will be honored Thursday, April 7, at the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Gala held in the Speedway Club’s Grand Ballroom at Texas Motor Speedway during the Samsung Mobile 500 NASCAR doubleheader race weekend. Force’s induction will highlight an evening that recognizes the accomplishments of some of the biggest names in motorsports, all while benefitting Speedway Children’s Charities at Texas Motor Speedway. Others being recognized are seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Richard Petty; defending race winner of Texas Motor Speedway’s Samsung Mobile 500 and AAA Texas 500 Denny Hamlin; five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson; four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon; and veteran motorsports reporter Terry Blount. “Being inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame is a great honor,” Force said....

2011 Winternationals Winner Robert Hight HIGHT MIXES LUCKY CHARM WITH FORD ONE APPROACH TO START SEASON 1-0 YORBA LINDA, CA (March 1, 2011) ---Minutes after Robert Hight and his Jimmy Prock tuned Auto Club Ford Mustang raced to a season opening win at the 51st annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals Hight was giving some of the credit to a lucky charm he picked up from a fellow Ford teammate last season. In honor of the Wood Brothers dominating performance at the Daytona 500 Hight raced all day with a commemorative coin Eddie and Len Wood gave him at Charlotte’s zMax Dragway in 2010. “I had a little good luck charm (Sunday) besides my daughter Autumn. The Wood Brothers gave me this (commemorative coin) last year,” said Hight a three-time Winternationals winner.  “It was a celebration of their 60 years of racing. They went out and won Daytona in the No. 21 car this year and they didn’t get lucky. They dominated kind of like John Force Racing did (on Sunday). This year is NHRA’s 60th anniversary.  It was cool as the day went on to look at that coin and to...

1923 Hot Rod T At the best hot rod and custom car shows like the Grand National Roadster Show there's always car instantly identify with and of course, cars that totally miss. For example, car-covering murals of dragons done in florescent green on a black base ain't my thing. Lucky for me, it didn't take long to find my car. (Click any picture for full size) On the first day of the show, right through the side doors of the main hall where I set out for my first look at the 12 America's Most Beautiful Roadster contenders... there sat Russ Freund's "Takeout T". At first I was shocked. Is that purple? Can it be? Yes. Knowing the 12 AMBR cars are the best of the best roadsters at Grand National, I knew I'd found this year's "America's Most Bitch'n Roadster". When's the last time you heard someone say a light purple car is Bitch'n? Is there another AMBR award? No, not officially! I made it up for the sick-of-sick roadster called, "Double Trouble" back in 2009. Here's the blown, Ardun head 32 Roadster built by Hot Rod Garage....

My Ford Falcon Wagon's Finally Got Paint   It's been a long journey. I'm rebuilding/restoring/modifying (choose what you like) my 1963 Falcon Wagon. I'm way over due on what's been done, but here's where it is now:     Shown with premium primer from Squeeg's Kustoms (Squeeg's is a TOP QUALITY paint shop, not to be confused with the painter mentioned later)   OK, fine, the car's been sitting around way too much waiting for me to get off my butt. I'm kinda off now, but not completely. Thanks to buddies here in town helping me "get off the computer!" and back into the garage... there's been some progress.   So I have one question: Do you like GOLD?   It looks great in the sun here, but I would NOT recommend this painter. Terrific Paint and Customs, a Phoenix, AZ custom painter and body shop.     The great thing about MY Ride is Me is that I don't really care all that much if you like it.   I've been working with a Phoenix, AZ painter that specializes in affordable paint. The idea was to get a...

Gave Their Lives for Racing This video's a compilation arranged by Ryan over at Jalopy Journal. This is vintage racing video, and Ryan warns that in some cases, the drivers lost their lives. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20247765[/vimeo] Here's the original story called, "Killed Myself When I was Young" Check out more videos from days gone by here: Jalopy Journal Motion Pictures Thanks to my old buddy Swanee for the...