roddingandracing
roddingandracing
.PHOTOS
2015 HOT ROD POWER TOUR
CAR SHOW COVERAGE
TOMBALL
HOUSTON CARS
AND COCKTAILS FEBRUARY 2026
The 2026 HOT WHEELS Legends Tour schedule has been released (right).
APRIL 25 - TAMPA, FL
MAY 2 - CHARLOTTE, NC
MAY 16 - DETROIT, MI
MAY 30 - TORONTO, CANADA
JUNE 13 - LOUISVILLE, KY
JUNE 27 - BIRMINGHAM, AL
JULY 11 - HOUSTON, TX
JULY 16 - DALLAS, TX
AUGUST 1 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA
AUGUST 16 - ALBUQUERQUE, NM
SEPTEMBER 26 - LAS VEGAS, NV
OCTOBER 3 - EL SEGUNDO, CA
The tour stops here in Houston on July 11. As it turns out, July 11 is my birthday. I know it's just a coincidence, but I'm hoping GOOD LUCK!
My wife and I had just returned a rent-a-car and were on our way home and this nice-looking Trans Am crossed in front of us at an intersection.
Spotted in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant my son and I visited recently.
This Pro Street Dodge A100 Pickup debuted at this year's Grand National Roadster Show in California. If I could see this thing in person, it would make my day, probably my year!
.....DIECAST, PLASTIC MODELING, ARTWORK COLORING BOOKS
+
Before (above), and after (right). Found the old kit as a "barn find" on Ebay and after disassembly and a good cleaning, I got after it. I ordered a couple of decals for it, including a custom one and once they got here, everything went together pretty smoothly. If you haven't noticed already, I'm still missing the rear bumper and everything I have doesn't look right. I checked Ebay again and there's a couple of "parts" kits and one has the bumper so I'll probably break down and get it.
When I'm building models, sometimes I have to make changes based on necessity. I had planned on putting the "Texas Twister" decals on the side, but they were too big, so I put one on the hood. Now that's where I was going to mount the simulated engine but as you can see, I had to move it to the back (exhaust looks better there!). To fill in the space on the side (doors) besides the stripe I painted, I decided to find a good sponsor. There were hundreds out there and when I saw decals with the 7-11 logo on it, a light went off. First off, the company (originally the Southland Corporation) was based in Texas and if you've followed motorsports as long as I have, you know that they were heavy into motorsports; NHRA, NASCAR, Indy Cars, IMSA and many smaller organizations (see below). And if that wasn't enough, my birthdate in on July 11 (not sure the significance of that, but it felt right!)
Every so often, when my son is out and about, he'll surprise me and pick me up a model kit that he thinks I'll like. Recently he brought home a '41 Willys Pickup and a Tommy Ivo dragster (above). When I look at parts, I see projects they can go on. As you can see above right, I put together the wheels and tires from both kits and started on the engine from the Willys. On the right, are the kits they'll go on. The
old Hot Rod kit is on its way, and the Chevy Van is a current project. I stuck the dragster tires on it to get a visual. Now I have to go look for another one. I already ordered another kit to get the engine from. I should have both kits by my next update.
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.
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!
That's me on the right side (w/beard) leaning on the trailer at Eastex Dragway when Don Garlits was there.
Although I never use my camera's motor-drive feature, I do get lucky enough sometimes to get an action sequence.
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
.jpg)
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.