We love all sorts of racing here in The Garage, but nothing more than rally. As a driver, there is something very primitive about racing balls to the wall along a real road. Back in the early days of racing though, there was no choice between formats. They raced on real roads that were usually some sort of dirt. Sort of like modern rally cross, only without all the safety equipment like roofs, seat belts or decent brakes. As Ryan from the Jalopy Journal points out, these guys truly were daredevils.
Ryan tells the incredible tale of the Vanderbuilt Cup, held on Long Island in the early 1900’s. His story is accompanied by some stunning photos that were found by a member of the H.A.M.B. who was working on a research project. Both Ryan’s tale and the photo gallery are well worth spending some time.
Not really, the sign is a warning for the evil speed bumps the Mexicans call Topes. This shot was captured by Coop at the 2006 La Carrera Panamerica.
We promised some fun today and who are we to lie? Over at The Jalopy Journal, lucky Ryan Cochrane spent some time interviewing the man himself, Mr. Cooper, aka Coop.
“When I drew that Devil with a cigar clenched in his teeth, it was a one-off thing for a Zippo lighter. It took me about thirty minutes from start to finish, and I had no idea that it was going to become my trademark, my Flying Eyeball or Rat Fink.”
As a late blooming Coop fan, I hadn’t really known too much about the man’s background, only what I’ve picked up from a few e-mail conversations. Oh yes, and my obsession with his Flickr page. When you visit, be sure to uncheck the safe search box on your own Flickr account so you can get the full effect.
Now, enough of me! Head on over to The Jalopy Journal for the full read.
Over at the Jalopy Journal last weekend, they hosted the H.A.M.B. drags and Brian Fox brought out the Zorba’s Ghost dragster. After rectifying a throttle problem (or so they thought) Brian set out to show the crowds what the rail could do. He must have been taking lessons from those NASCAR winners!
