roddingandracing
roddingandracing
.PHOTOS
2015 HOT ROD POWER TOUR
CAR SHOW
COVERAGE
Weather forecasters kept saying that the rain chances for all last week were unpredictable; they weren't kidding! The LONE STAR DELUXE was this past Saturday and the forecast for the day of the event started at 40% on Sunday, 30% on Monday, 70% on Tuesday and up to 80% on Wednesday. It wasn't until Friday night that they changed it to a 40% chance, but the system coming from the north was going to start dissapating about 100 miles north of Houston. The weatherman said that it was more like a 30% chance, but probably 20% or even 10%! The event was a "Rain or Shine" event so it didn't really matter but it was nice to hear.
BEST IN SHOW AWARD
BEST IN SHOW AWARD WINNER
This isn't the first time I've seen someone modify a LITTLE TIKES Cozy Coupe (left) but this one had some major body mods performed. They posted a video on Facebook and it shows them molding a body kit with foam, trimming it and then cover it all with fiberglass (right). Add some wide tires and paint and it's done. It does look they're adding a scoop on the roof.
Finally...the rain worked in my favor and I didn't take advantage of it! It's been years since I've covered a Tractor Pull with the closest currently being 73 miles west in Columbus. It's a yearly stop on the TTTPA (above) schedule and like all other TTTPA events, it's a Friday/Saturday show with pulling starting at 6:30 pm. Well a couple of weeks ago, the Friday night pull was rained out and they posted at the last minute (9 pm Saturday night) that it would be held on Sunday with pulling beginning at 1:30 pm! That would give me more than six hours of daylight to get a lot of good pictures. Again; it didn't happen. Above are class winners on Sunday that were posted on the TTTPA Facebook Page. (If you check the stands, it looks like a lot of people got the info too late!)
.....DIECAST, PLASTIC MODELING, ARTWORK COLORING BOOKS
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Short CAR TUNED history.....they began putting out caricature ("Tooned") diecast cars a couple of years ago. All releases were Chevrolet and/or General Motors vehicles. A year later, they signed with Toyota and started releasing those including a new JDM Series. A month or so ago, they signed with Ford and here comes Ford muscle cars, pickups and
hot rods (Series 10). As you can see with their upcoming Series 11 release (right), Volkswagen is now on board! And if you hadn't seen them yet, Series 11 also has different versions of the Ford '56 pickup and hot rod. Needless to say; I've already pre-ordered!
Here's one of my latest projects and as I usually do, I'm fitting 1/24 scale wheels, tires and engine in a smaller 1/32 scale model kit. The body is a resin, 1/32 scale '48 Anglia drag car. I checked
the seller's other pieces and also bought a 1/32 '55 Chevy Dirt Car and a 1/24 scale Christmas Tree and Mercury Pedal Car. The '55 is my next project in line.
...photographer's choice!
Since I didn't cover any car shows in 2020 and very few in 2021, I decided to join several private and public Facebook Groups to share my old pictures, some going back 50 years! Below are the latest images I shared.
I think I need to explain the last image above (lower, right). I had just started developing my own 35mm film and decided to use metal reels to load the film manually...like the "pros". As you can see, my "loading" skills were still way off; and the film touched itself in a few places; including this one. You can see the front half of a dragster on the left and the rear half (wheels, tires, etc.) on the right. Disappointed doesn't even begin to explain how I felt. I soon went to plastic reels that automatically loads the film by clicking it back and forth. THANK GOD FOR DIGITAL!
Before heading out to cover the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green (KY) back in 2018, I made some prints of a handful of pictures that I had taken of "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. He had made surprise appearances in the past so I was hoping that he would show and I could get the pictures
autographed. As you can see above and right, he did and so did I. My old images, now autographed, were taken years ago at Alamo Dragway in San Antonio and Green Valley Race City in Fort Worth (top row). Both bottom images were taken at Eastex Dragway in Porter just north of Houston. Now as far as the political bumper sticker above, Garlits ran for Congress in Florida back in 1994.
After a couple of years with a two-door 1962 Chevy Bel Air which I wish I still had, I bought my first brand new vehicle; a 1972 Datsun pickup (left). Once I got used to working the manual shift, I slapped on some big-meat Goodyears on Ansen wheels. It got plenty of attention
whenever I picked up my younger siblings at Junior High and High School.
Check out my admission ticket from Houston International Speedway (above). Not sure of the year but only $3.00, it had to be from quite a while back.
Right after the Pandemic shut everything down, I joined several Private Facebook Groups to share my old images. As I share, usually 8-16 per week, I also post them further above. Before the Pandemic, I
also had a "RACING" page where I posted my old racing images. I've decided to post a condensed version of that page below. What I'm trying to show is the variety of motorsports that I frequented back then and as you can see, it was quite a few!
Yes, all the images above were taken by me over the years but this image was not. It's the only image I've ever seen posted that actually has me on it!
Although I never use my camera's motor-drive feature, I do get lucky enough sometimes to get an action sequence.
That's me on the right side (w/beard) leaning on the trailer at Eastex Dragway when Don Garlits was there.
GREEN VALLEY RACEWAY HISTORICAL AREA
Several years ago, I received an email from someone on the North Richland Hills (TX) City Council concerning a Green Valley Race City Historical site that was in the planning stages. They were asking permission to use several
of the images that I had taken at the track back in the '80s. I of course told them that it wouldn't be a problem. Below are the latest images of the site that were posted on a Green Valley Race City Facebook Page.
A quick check of the three information boards that are already put up (top, right) shows eleven of my images! I posted those images below and I hope I can make it up one day to check it out. (On the right image, you can see some of the original track that's still there)
It was a lot more fun to be 20 in the '70s than to be 70 in the '20s!
Time is precious,
Don't waste it.
2018 NHRA
HOT ROD REUNION
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Before heading to the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion in 2018 (Bowling Green, Ky), I decided to make some enlargements of images I had taken over the years including some of "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen in hopes of getting them autographed. They had both showed up in previous years so I decided to give it a shot. As you can see above (left) and below, Garlits did show up and I was able to get some of my personal images signed. Not sure if he had planned on showing up or not but sadly, McEwen passed away three days prior at the age of 81.
All the images above were taken at Texas tracks that I frequented when I was a lot younger. Left to right...Alamo Dragway in San Antonio, Green Valley Race City in Fort Worth and the final two were taken here (Houston) at Eastex Dragway in Porter. The tracks have been closed for years.