Bonneville or Area 51?

I went to Bonneville Salt Flats with Paul and the whole Knights Of The Round Track team. A surreal place. Once you move away from the staging area there you are surrounded by white  in every direction and distant mountains floating above a perpetual mirage.

Me and Paul drag-raced. Their car pulled ahead off the line but I could keep up. When we hit 90 MPH Paul veered off to head back, but I pushed ahead to see where V-RAM maxed out. It took some time to make 100. At about 102, things got strange. The car felt floaty. The horizon started to misbehave. I had the wheel pointed straight ahead, but the distant peak I was aiming for was sneaking of to the right so casually that I almost didn't notice. I had entered a wet region and was hydroplaning. No braking. No steering. Car spinning. 102 MPH last time I checked. Larry shitting. I didn't try to correct and just hoped I didn't hit a dry patch and flip. Salt sprayed my face whenever the car was sideways. The trunk opened and slammed shut as rotation passed backwards. The car finally stopped and I took a moment to get my bearings. The landmark peak was behind me now. I drove and the staging area slowly emerged ahead of me.

I had made a few calls to find out what the conditions were and got 'they may dry out by Saturday'. They seemed dry enough, but I must have sprayed 70 pounds of salt off the car tonight. Next year we'll give Bonneville Speedway a few more weeks to dry.

The Evolution of The Car

Cars have come a very long way in the last 100 years or so. They used to be slow-moving, cumbersome things that weren't a whole lot better than walking, and they were unattainable to most people because they were cost prohibitive. Plus, there just weren't that many of them. Now cars are everywhere, and they have changed so much. They not only go much faster and are much more reliable than their predecessors, but they have features that wouldn't have even been imagined or dreamt about in the past. Even simple things that most people take for granted like windows that open and close and air conditioning weren't in the first cars. There were no radios, and there certainly weren't any navigation systems or diagnostics that allowed your car to 'tell you' when something was wrong or the door wasn't closed tightly. The first cars weren't much above horse-drawn carriages, and they broke down a lot. People were always fiddling with them to keep them running properly and there were no warranties. Long distance trips weren't realistic, and there weren't gas stations on every corner, either. Slowly, though, cars started to develop and acquire more features like air conditioning, heating, and windows that could be rolled up and down - which were eventually replaced with power windows in most vehicles of today.

Radios and things like them came later, and the first were AM/FM only. Eight-track tapes, cassettes, and CDs came along eventually, as did navigation systems, diagnostic checks, and being able to plug your iPod into your car and play the music that's on it through the stereo. Whether these things are actually needed is debatable, of course, but that doesn't mean that they aren't wanted or that they don't enhance the experience of travelling. Now that there are good warranties on cars and they are very reliable, people can take long trips without being so concerned about them breaking down. There are always places to fuel up and get a snack, and there are auto clubs that you can call if a tyre goes flat or the engine gives up - or if you run out of fuel. It's nothing like driving a car 100, 50, or even 25 years ago, and it makes one wonder what kinds of options are going to be seen on cars in the future. Undoubtedly there will be many more changes and features to come.

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20 Inch Rims...riding parts Style

If a custom ride with high performance and a ton of style is what you are after, then Chrome 20 Inch Wheels would be the way to go. With 20 inch wheels your car not only looks better, it will seem to drive better

If you are thinking of putting 20 Inch Chrome Rims on your ride there are some things to think about before doing so, if you are riding on 320is then by adding the 20 inch rims it will cause tire rubbing and therefore your ride loses performance.

Are you thinking about lowering your ride? Although 60mm would make your car phat, more than likely it will result in tire rubbing and rough cruising. 40mm, on the other hand, is sure to result in less rubbing and a smoother ride. 20 inch custom wheels will complete your look. Contact your local dealer for the hook-up!

ou get to pick from a wide variety of designs and styles which can be selected from the following alloy, bronze, black, chrome, brushed, machined and platinum, which are only a few of them. Choosing the most suitable one for you is a bit confusing and time consuming, but will certainly be satisfying in the end. No matter what your choice is your car will finally appear great.

heck with your local dealer to determine with 20 inch rims really are the best choice for your car's suspension, engine and body style. You don't want to lower your vehicle's performance for the sake of style alone. You want to upgrade the style and performance of your car and there are plenty of other options available.

f course, you want to be riding in style. Take a look at your car. The look of the car flowing up from the tires, as well as the way the tires take hold of the pavement can make that difference. So, if you want to be the envy of all your friends, then you need to get up, hit the gas, and roll down to your dealer for some custom 20 inch rims.

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Powder Coat

April is making the car whacky and cool.

Dusty desert roads are mayby not so good for the car. At least all the spilled and leaked fluid stains are hidden now.

(2 Weeks Until Reno) Success!

(Here's a link to more photos from today.)


First, my little '98 Tacoma handily pulls the trailer and car.


Second, somewhere between the Energy "Solutions" nuclear waste facility and the Air Force bombing range, we found a great location to test uninsured, unlicensed, un-street-legal, unattractive cars. It was so out-there that four totally nude people didn't expect Mark Jr to drive by in his jeep, honking and waving. When he returned from scouting and told us about it, I knew we had achieved sufficient boonieness.


Third, the car ran like a champ. It looks like we've resolved our overheating issues. Mark Sr took it above 100. Mark Jr made sure it could handle a spin-out into sage brush, and also made sure it had enough mud on it. The only issue that bugs me now is that sometime when I removed the dash and climate controls I disconnected the fuel gauge. Hmmm.


It was an effective test, but next weekend, (last one before the race) I want to talk Paul into a bit of wheel to wheel at the real-deal Bonneville Speedway.

Course Configuration

I'm very excited. 

Yes. Very. 

Very very EXCITED. 

The course layout for the Reno race has been published. 

For the sake of comparison, here is the course and configurations of races to scale.  

First is Altamont. (RIP, counter-clockwise) 

Cute, isn't it? It actaully was the craziest 24HL course I'm aware of. They crammed about 100 cars into that little kidney, same amount as the bigger courses, and told the course workers that unless cars were exploding, not to flag anyone. I will miss the chaos of Altamont, but then again, I won't.

Next is Thunderhill as raced December 08. (Counter-clockwise) As you can see the course is much bigger. Not nearly the bumper-car rally that Altamont was. Very fun. Very fast.

I sort-off had to unlearn everything I picked up at the Altamont school of driving. Lots of black flags. Lots of yellow flags. The course allowed a few capable cars to hit 100 mph. The course was beautiful and a blast.

Three short weeks from now we should be racing the following twisty layout at Reno-Fernley. (Counter-clockwise) 

This may just look like a femmie blue line on a brown map, but let me assure you it is a actually about 14 hours of shit-eating, white-knuckle grins. WAHOOO! Look at all those turns, and much more distance that Thunder Hill. I can't wait!

You can check these locations out on Google Maps, and the full size images I made are here.