Mike Matune checks out historic Clifton, VA, when it’s transformed for one day into an incredible car show.
Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer. The kids here go back to school the Tuesday after and hot, lazy days become a distant memory, for at least another year. It also marks the day the Clifton Lions Club and the Custom Cruisers of Northern Virginia present their “On The Streets” car show in historic downtown Clifton. If the red building to the left, top, looks familiar, i...
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Month: September 2013
BILL THOMAS CHEETAH: TUBE-FRAMED TERROR!
Fully developed, the Cheetah could have been a Cobra & Corvette slayer!
Bill Thomas ran a very successful speed shop in southern California, specializing in dyno tuning, modifying Corvette (Rochester) fuel injection systems, designing his own headers and preparing Corvettes for competition. Thomas also developed and marketed specialty equipment for road racing Corvairs. He was extremely smart and, best of all, had access to the legendary
"back-door" at Chevrolet. Wayne Pontes, above, dri...
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RADNOR HUNT CONCOURS: 100 QUALITY MOTORCARS!
By invitation only, ‘The 100 Motorcars of Radnor Hunt’ showcases the best of the best. Mike Matune attended for the Chronicles.
This year was the 17th for the Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance, held in the Northwest suburbs of Philadelphia. Officially titled, The 100 Motorcars of Radnor Hunt, the show is invitational only. Cars are carefully selected and divided into featured groups. Among the groups this year was Cars of the Art Deco Era, that period of design flamboyance generally considered...
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POLE SITTERS: DON’T GET RESPECT ANYMORE!
Race series could prevent so many of their own problems if they would simply allow the pole sitter to do his job, blogs Stephen Cox.
Every driver's meeting across the country is plagued with endless speeches dictating what the drivers must do at the start of the race. Here are a few of the pre-race instructions I've been given just over my past twenty races or so:
•You can accelerate once you reach the white stripe on the asphalt.
•You must accelerate simultaneously – as if you could driv...
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HOT RODS & MUSCLE CARS: STARS & STRIPES HILL CLIMB!
Next month UK’s Prescott Speed Hill Climb celebrates America’s hottest cars on
their side of the pond!
Once again, the legendary Prescott Speed Hill Climb will be presenting its All-American Stars and Stripes weekend, October 5-6. In addition to vehicles competing, there will be special displays by American car clubs alongside USA-themed entertainment. Special displays will include American cars and motorcycles: Pontiacs, Mustangs, Cadillacs, Chevys, Flathead Fords, Hotrods, Indians, ...
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LEXUS IS350 SPORT SEDAN: IN YOUR FACE!
The new IS350 has an aggressive new face and is a helluva lot of fun, blogs road
tester, Dan Scanlan.
My Lexus IS350 stares at me with its Predator-style grille and LED swoosh headlights ablaze, daring me to consider it a threat to BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class rear-wheel-drive sedans. Sure, the redesigned ‘14 Lexus IS sport sedan has been one of Japan’s answers to the razor-sharp compact sports sedans made in Germany, with a touch of origami thrown in. And yes, the IS ...
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ECURIE ECOSSE LAST HURRAH: KOP HILL CLIMB!
Next weekend at the Kop Hill Climb will be the last opportunity to experience Dick Skipworth’s iconic Ecurie Ecosse competition collection.
There are few teams better known in the world of motorsport than the iconic blue-liveried Ecurie Ecosse, Scotland’s flagship 1950s double Le Mans winning race team founded by
David Murray in November 1951.
The team enjoyed some 68 victories across just 10 seasons, often operating on a shoestring budget. The cooperative syndicate, running largely ...
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VINTAGE COMPETITION CORVETTES: CARLISLE REVISITED!
Mike Matune showcases some of the finest vintage racing Corvettes, off track
at Corvettes At Carlisle.
It was like I couldn’t get enough of Corvettes. Scarcely a week after attending the Monterey Reunion where Corvette was the featured marque, I found myself in Carlisle, PA attending Corvettes at Carlisle. With dust from Laguna Seca literally still on my shoes, I wandered the grounds among the Corvette faithful, as fervent a crowd as you would ever hope to see. There’s little doubt ...
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CORVETTE C7 STINGRAY: RALLY ‘ROUND THE ‘RING!
European Export C7 Stingray testing at Nurburgring prior to sales debut.
Nürburgring is a name that evokes strong feelings in any motorsports aficionado; a place where racing history has been made and re-written time and again. It also is the location where
the European model of the new Corvette Stingray coupe is currently being tested,
a few months prior to the start of sales in Europe.
"Nürburgring is renowned for its demanding race track and it is perfectly suited for our p...
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WINCHESTER SPEEDWAY: WORLD’S FASTEST HALF-MILE!
Stephen Cox blogs about one of our great racetracks you’ve probably never seen.
In the spring of 1914, Indiana farmer Frank Funk had an idea. This whole newfangled automobile thing seemed to be catching on. Lots of folks were racing them. Carl Fisher had recently built a big oval near Indianapolis and scads of people were paying to see his 500-mile race every year.
Funk had made good money in farming. He had plenty of acreage, and his fields, just west of the small town of Winchester, did...
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