Mile High Nationals 2009

Pictures from the Mile High Nationals In Denver July 10-12th 2009.

Saturday Hot August nights!

I took these pictures this weekend at the NHRA Hot August Nights event at the Albuquerque drag way. Being a huge drag racing fan, I can't think of a better way to spend my weekend than experiencing the unique aromas of tire smoke and racing gas. Featured at this particular drag race were Nostalgia Altereds, Rods, and the famous Texas Bandit Wheel Stander! whoo! Pictured on my left here is a Fiat Altered dragster. If you are new to this kind of racing madness, the Fuel Altered is equiped with an apex predator blown Hemi and crazily runs a quarter mile in a mid to low 7 seconds. At least here at our raceway. Around the country there are Fuel Altereds that run in the low 6's and even in the break into the 5 second barrier. The main contribution to the character of the Fuel Altered is the incredible amount of power in a short 75-100 inch wheel base. This along with the toaster like aerodynamics lead for a very unpredictable, life flashing before your very eyes type run. 6 second times=200+mph=6-700hp. You do the math.

This shadowy image below is actually a 10th anniversary edition Mustang Cobra. Code name ...Terminator! Performance wise they are equipped with all the same applications as a std 03 cobra. The only difference is the 10th anniversary wheels and the bad ass red on black leather interior.

The odd looking piece of ingenuity below is the Texas Bandit Wheel Stander! The motor is mounted on the back of the truck and the wheelie bars are set on a higher setting that allows the Bandit to maintain a Wheelie stand for a longer period of time (like a whole quarter mile). The first run was pretty anticlimactic whereas all the show was the Bandit parading up and down the strip with flames rising up out of the headers about a good 7-8 feet in the air. Pretty impressive at first, then after about 5 minutes of driving back and forth he accidentally placed himself among the jr. dragster status of the event. When he did finally make a successful full wheelie run down the quarter, he did it in like a 10 .4 second time! Redemption!

68 or69 Cheville can't tell from the photo I ran to the Terminator parked behind. You'll find all kinds of sweet rides at the drags...Its basically a time to bring out the joy you keep in your garage and drive with a purpose to meet all the other gear heads at one place to immerse themselves in high octane, full throttle mayhem!

I'm not sure but I think this a 68 or 69 Cadillac. One thing I am sure about is that this beast ran in the 10's. It seemed like it took forever for it to drive past you but once it did, it was gone! I would have to say besides the burnt orange 41 willies, this is one of my favorite cars to see run and win at the drags here in Albuquerque.

Pride of being a Mustang owner

Before I got my very first car I always dreamed of being the proud driver of a near mint condition 69 camaro or restoring my uncle's 67 Chevelle and cruising up and down the local strip with all eyes on me. Well, unfortunately sometimes your dreams only go as far as a junior in High School's cash flow situation. My first car ended up being a crap brown 73 Nova. It was literally half bondo with baby moons and a bench seat. It did have a strong running 350 though, with a Budweiser beer can coil cover! Anyway since then many cars have come and gone, some loved and some hated. And now I am the proud owner of a Zinc yellow 2001 Mustang GT. Through the six years of ownership with the help of family and friends I've installed Hooker long tube headers and x pipe, flowmaster cat back, Richmond 373 gears, MGW shifter, 75 mm throttle body and plenum with a cold air intake provided by JLT. Installing the headers was a son of a bitch due to having to disconnect the motor mounts and lower the motor just to access the bolts that held on the piece of crap manifolds that some emissions expert with a media arts degree designed. Since I had to take off the factory A-arms and drop the K-member I figured what the hell and decided to order a light weight tubular front suspension kit from UPR. It wasn't the most expensive kit out there but having just dropped close to a grand on exhaust I didn't have a whole lot of funds to contribute. At any rate the UPR kit is exponentially better than the close to 70lb hunk of metal that's laying in my back yard. Well now my car is lowered 2 inches in the front and 1 in the back and carries one hell of a tone. In my opinion there isn't a late model car that sounds as sweet as a Mustang with a good exhaust system. Along with this...every mustang out there has it's own unique sound, it' s own personality if you catch what I am sayin. And they haul ass! Now I'm not going to sit here and say that mustangs rule the road because I know from experience that Camaros and Firebirds with LS 1 350's have a lot more horse power. And a few other things they have a lot more of is problems. I used to have a Trans Am and every time I slammed on the gas the rear end sounded like it was going to come flying through the trunk and right up into our laps. I used to keep a box of all the parts of interior that seemed to fall off about once a week. Hell I couldn't even honk the horn because both buttons fell off! What a piece of shit that car was! The only problem I have with my Mustang is keeping the power to the ground. 70,000 miles and counting , not once has it been in a shop or out of commission. So, whenever I am asked the question Mustang or Camaro? Ford or Chevy? It's Ford Mustang all the way baby!