CAR SHOW COVERAGE
Playing catch-up so I've posted two Houston area shows that we covered recently below.
Don't know much about this monthly gathering. My brother usually covers it. I know it's a "CARS & CAFFEINE" event and it's held just outside MS. NORMA'S CAFE (right) at the Pearland Plaza here in Pearland. Event is put on by the TEXAS WISEGUYS MOTORCAR CLUB.
Looks like I jinxed myself by mentioning that I was behind in posting show coverages. After months of little or no rain, it came down heavy this past Friday and Saturday. We had a Friday afternoon cruise planned in Alvin and a Saturday show down in Lake Jackson; both rained out.
Recently I posted images of a handful of M2 VW diecast that I had bought including pickups and vans. I love the short, stubby design (right). Any way this past weekend we were covering a CAR CULTURE Houston event in Katy
and look what popped up (left). Pikachu inspiration aside, it looks just like the M2 VW vans! Never did find out the make but it did have right-side steering.
Let's start with
the bottom row. The SHIFT KEYCHAIN ($10.00) I've posted
before and I've been wanting to post the 1/5 SCALE WHEELS ($60.00) for a while now. They're available in several BBS and Rays designs with a display stand for an additional $25.00. The turbo designs above I came across when I checked the TUNEDINTOKYO.COM website. Left to right is their basic TURBO KEYCHAIN ($10.00), their ELECTRIC TURBO KEYCHAIN ($15.00) that spins and shoots air at the touch of a button and lights up (LED), their TURBO ELECTRIC LIGHTER ($25.00) with built-in lighter and USB charging cable and their TURBO AIR
FRESHENER ($15.00) for of course your car's interior. Most of the above items comes in several colors. If you're an automotive enthusiast, especially imports, the website offers many products including personal items, clothing and accessories for your car and home. Check it out, I'm sure you'll like it.
I joined the "ISCA Car Show Pictures" Facebook Group earlier this year and they don't update their "Profile Picture" very often, three times in the past seven months. Check it out (left); they just updated it with one of the pictures that I just submitted!
During the Covid-19 shut-down, I joined several Facebook Groups to share my old pictures (50+ years). Many of them are then reshared. On the left is an image I took of Carl Stones' Altered at Green Valley Race City (GVRC). This "share" was just posted on the GVRC Facebook Page by Carl's brother and as you can see, his post has been shared 11 times! What I liked about the post was that he gave me credit and that isn't done very often. I post to share but credit is nice!
It's been years, decades since I've covered a truck/tractor pull event. I started at the Houston Astrodome and then at several small Texas cities once I got older and more into it. I'm currently caring for a disabled sibling so my out-of-town trips are pretty much done. A couple of years ago I came across the
schedule for the TTTPA (left) and noticed that their "Finals" are in Bryan, Texas just 115 miles from Houston. It's a one-day (Sunday) event with the pulling in the early afternoon. I was planning to make a quick trip up and back this year but unfortunately, they changed it up this time around. Like all of their events during the year, it's now a two-day event (Friday,
Saturday) with late evening starting times. That pretty much shuts me out. I've also posted last year's and this year's posters (above, right) that shows the difference in schedules.
Every so often, I decide to do a little "spring cleaning" of my many, many diecast vehicles but this year, I also decided to take pictures of
some of them to document and share a few. I found the four on the top row and as I was dusting them off, I remembered a similar series but with automotive engines. I searched and found them (bottom row). As it turns out, they are all from the same JOHN DEERE series from ERTL. Can't remember the year they were released but it was quite a while back. ERTL is known for their farm and heavy machinery diecast but I love these "TOONED" versions.
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 have so many ISCA indoor car show pictures that I decided to load them up for a while. I can't believe I missed the Houston Autorama last year. Hope I can make it this coming November (Thanksgiving).
Before heading 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.
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Posted a couple more images of my son (right) enjoying (?) himself. The photo with the late George Barris standing in front of the Munster Koach I've posted before. Took this at the Houston Autorama. Ran across the Indy Car image recently that was taken at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum while we were following the Hot Rod Power Tour.
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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.
roddingandracing
I've always liked automotive caricatures ("CARtoons") and a few years ago, I purchased a couple of designs (right) from Wayne Sadler (CARTOONS 'R' WAYNE) and I used them on a couple of previous pages ("RODDING", "RACING"). I recently ran across them and decided to "revamp" my website a little and repost them.
