Over the past week, The Garage regular Gary Faules has been keeping on top of all the La Carrera Panamericana competitors who went up the hill at Pikes Peak. As I’ve been dealing with some technical issues at my end, I haven’t kept up to date myself. Now that my Laptop is functioning properly again, I’m going crazy with all the incredible video that is cropping up.
Youtube user allterrainvideo has put together a great highlight video, shot from a variety of different spots on the mountain. A few things caught my interest. First off, once you get up near the top, it’s really windy up there. Spectators are completely crazy, standing right along the edge of the road. There is next to no margin for error, if you make a mistake, the edge is really close. There are some incredible sounding machines hammering their way up the hill, and then there is Monster Tajima’s ride. That just has to be the coolest race car ever built!
When it comes to racing everyone seems to have their own agenda and understandably so. However one of the biggest misconceptions regarding agendas that some drivers have is that not all of them are hell bent on leather to just win races. On the contrary many drivers are more than happy just being part of the adventure and sharing all that they love with others and taking part of all that it entails… The excitement, the smell of fuel and burning rubber, the sights and sounds of cars sliding as gracefully into the apex of a turn much like the elegant hand of Sophia Loren slipping into a perfectly fit evening glove.
I really admire any racer that feels the need to give back something but there are a few that love it so much in fact that not only do they want to enjoy it and share that experience with others but in fact they go out of their way to find a way to use it to help others. One such person is none other than Michael Emery of Lucha Libre Racing and I feel it worth mentioning. Recently BRINGATRAILER.COM wrote a nice article about Michael and his efforts to not only race again in this years La Carrera Panamericana but also about his efforts to raise money to help a very worthwhile cause. CLICK HERE (http://lacarrera2007.blogspot.com/2008/07/featured-la-carrera-car-article.html) to take you to the article which is also posted on my blog at http://lacarrera2007.blogspot.com/
There will be more posted with regards to this cause as California’s Best Racing Team also takes part helping out the same efforts when we attend the get together in San Miguel de Allende in October with many other La Carrera Panamericana teams and celebrities. Trust me when I tell you, the efforts made by racing gentlemen like Michael Emery really DO make a difference and if that doesn’t put a smile on your face nothing ever will. Take the plunge and send something his way. Even the smallest amount makes a HUGE difference in Mexico.
As a wee lad, I remember watching a bunch of NASCAR races on TV. As an impressionable young boy, the roundy rounds of the early Seventies were pretty neat stuff and that Petty guy was just too cool. As I grew up, NASCAR lost it’s luster for me and I lost all interest. The cars from a decade earlier never really became more than the tiniest blip on my radar.
Lately though, as I learn how many of those early oval track drivers also got involved in open road races like La Carrera and how many of the cars were sort of multi use, I’m starting to notice these cars a lot more. There is a whole new element of automotive cool that I’ve just never really exposed myself to.
At the 2008 VARAC Festival at Mosport, I came across what might have been the coolest car I’ve seen in years, David Strachan’s 62 Ford Galaxie. That’s a pretty strong statement for a clone car in a paddock full of Can Am cars, but it is the truth. Strachan’s machine is a period correct copy of the Holman Moody Galaxie’s from the early Sixties. David and the team went to great lengths to use as many original bits as possible. The shocks are true old Holman Moody pieces, as are the wheels. Great care was taken to replicate trick pieces like adjustable front shock mounts. The car is powered by a big honkin’ 427 cubic inch V-8, just like one would expect to find. Continue reading →
Speak up now or forever hold your piece not only applies to weddings but in car races as well. Have you ever wished you could take part in a world famous race? Well here is your big chance and like the old saying, there is no time like the present. My very good friend Francisco Ortiz has years of experience running La Carrera Panamericana in several cars. Last year he ran a beautifully prepared Datsun 510 replica of PETE BROCK’s BRE 510. Francisco is already signed up to run again this year’s world famous La Carrera Panamericana and is looking for a navigator. This is the opportunity of a lifetime in more ways than one. Since Francisco is from Mexico obviously he speaks Spanish (and English), has a very good understanding of all the customs of Mexico and knows the roads very well. This is a great opportunity for someone to arrive and take part without all of the concerns of the long drive to get there. All you need to do is arrive a couple days in advance with your racing suit and helmet and Francisco will be able to get you familier with your duties as navigator. Continue reading →
About 50 of us fellow La Carrera Panamericana nuts got together in Pasadena California for a fiesta at Ron Lee’s home where we lied about how fast we go, how cool our cars are and how big our… Engines are. Our host Ron Lee and his wife were extremely gracious and the grog and ale were as good as it gets. Besides drivers, navigators, fans and some directors, we were honored by the presence of Eduardo Leon the President of La Carrera Panamericana.
Ron has an incredible car collection many of which he built himself to his impeccable standards. As the evening continued not only did we get to enjoy each other’s stories and company and but we also got to enjoy the sounds and smell as Ron revved up a few of his awesome sounding toys. The Philharmonic Orchestra doesn’t hold a candle up to the sounds we enjoyed!
There is already talk of another La Carrera Fiesta at Laguna Seca on the same weekend of the Monterey Historics. Do I hear Lucky asking to be uncaged?
Here in The Garage, we’ve all been waiting for the debut of the La Carrera 2007 movie, following Gary Faules and Team California’s Best through the classic Mexican road race. Production has been taking longer than anticipated, but finally we can have a sneak peek at a trailer for it. When the full deal arrives, you can be sure we’ll let you know!
The folks over at the Unlimited Class Blog have been busy as hell uploading photos from La Carrera into their Flickr page. Their fisheye lens caught Lucky in action. If you look around, you might even find Gary Faules working his charms with a lovely lady! Continue reading →
The kind folks at Go Fast Energy Drink have put together a quick, short video of Gary, Jon & Lucky from La Carrera. This is a nice little teaser of what’s to come.
One observation. In Mexico, the crowds are happy to pass a cold beer to teams as they reach the end of a stage. While we don’t get that in Ontario, I will say that there is absolutely nothing like having a course worker put a pair of ice cold cans (of anything) through the passenger window at the end of a stage!
As exciting as racing in this years La Carrera Panamericana was I just can’t help but want to get back behind Lucky’s wheel for more… A LOT more. But before I go any further, please don’t get me wrong, the effect of having competed in the La Carrera is far from over.
One of the single biggest accomplishments for a car builder is to see his or her project not only perform well but in fact having done it against the very best competitors and having done it at a do or die level and that is exactly how I drove Lucky. Backing up several years ago I remember it was near the end of the year and I was in a very good spot to take the overall points lead for the national seasons championships with only two races left in the season. Right when I thought nothing could go wrong… That’s right… everything went wrong as my car took me head-on into a concrete retaining wall while doing over 125 miles per hour. The good news was I walked away unscathed. The bad news was there was not a single piece of the car that resembled a race car and there was only three and half weeks until the next event in the series. Back in those days I did not have the usual 8 or nine back-up cars that we typically keep on hand for such reasons these days. That meant I had very little time to build and test a car that had already taken me years to accomplish and as everyone knows even the best built car will have “bugs” that usually will only be found while thrashing the car. In an endurance series finding gremlins or any other type of problem can result in a less than satisfactory result and usually any car needs to be “dialed in” regardless of how well built it is.
On the following Monday after the crash I found myself along side my team of dedicated men building a replacement car that had ONLY a roll cage and not a single other part whatsoever in it. I mean NOTHING! With only 3 days before the next race I found myself buckled in the car sitting on Infineon (Sears Point) International Raceway on a test day waiting for the green flag to drop. If you asked me if I thought there would be something that needed attention I would have told you it wouldn’t be if but more like how many. I will never forget that day as I began tearing up the track and going faster and faster all the time asking myself, “When in the hell is something going to happen?” As amazing as it was, the “when” never happened. Not only did I go on to win that years seasons championships but that car kept on going until it had 4 more seasons championships and a lot more and not once did a single component ever break or give me a problem.
Funny thing about the differences between some rally events. Here in Canada, we are very proud of our Targa Newfoundland and teams come from all over the world to race around The Rock. South of 2 borders, the Mexicans are equally proud of their La Carrera Pananmerica. A quick glance around the Gootoobz yesterday produced very little of quality Targa content. La Carrera however is a totally different beast. Almost daily we are seeing new videos, many of which are really good quality. I’m thinking that we need more film crews in Newfoundland next year, but for now let’s see the latest cool La Carrera video.
