Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Team California's Best and our families would like to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and a special thanks to our men and women who fight and defend this country we love. Don't forget to tell your friends and family how much you love them.
Another Mustang Domination
When you consider my love of racing then combine that with my life long infatuation of anything to do with Africa it's easy to understand why get excited this time each year when they are holding the 2009 East African Safari Classic Rally.. But if that isnt exciting enough this years race adds to the fire because of the type of car that's leading the race at this time.
Check out Ian Duncan's 1967 Mustang catching some air and travering a river.
Check out Ian Duncan's 1967 Mustang catching some air and travering a river.
Friday, November 20, 2009
2009 LCP By Hauke Fischer
Anyone that enjoys Mexico will enjoy Hauke Fischer's site for more than just LCP but it has lots to enjoy. CLICK HERE
For some great shots from 2009 LCP CLICK HERE
For some great shots from 2009 LCP CLICK HERE
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I Can See Clearly Now
Growing up in the country in Oregon was very memorable. When I was a teenager I was really feeling good about things when I finished building my 1937 Ford pickup hot rod and got it running like a top. After taking it for a trial run I drove up to the house where I saw my mother standing so over the loud exhaust I yelled at her to climb in and go for a ride. She really didn't want to go but finally she gave in. As she was getting in she was laughing as she looked my pickup up and down. A little insulted that my own Mother would laugh at my truck knowing I had worked so hard on it I asked, "What's so funny?" She said the reason she was laughing so hard was because she couldn't even remember the last time she had stepped on a running board.
This all took place on a day when it had been raining a little and my vacuum wiper motor was broken and would only work in one direction so I had temporarily run a piece of string around through the passenger's side window and back across to the driver side. This way when it rained I could pull the string one way and the wiper would return the other way so I could see clearly which suited me just fine for the trial run. When she got into the truck she asked what the string was for so I told her I would show he later and took off for town to show off my truck. As soon as we got to town and drove around for a bit it began to rain really hard. That's when I began telling Mom about the string and how to pull it to make the wiper work so I could see to drive. No sooner than I handed her the string and a split second before I could tell her to be gentle while she began cracking up, she gave it a big yank. By now she was laughing so hard at my custom wiper set that she tugged a little too hard causing the entire wiper blade and arm assembly to go flying off and landed on the side of the road. It was just my luck that Sydney, the local cop saw the whole thing and pulled me over and wrote me up for no wipers.
My Mom was not very comforting as she sat there laughing uncontrollably the entire time Sydney was writing the ticket until even he couldn't hold back the chuckling.
Finally the two of them found a way to restrain themselves long enough that Sydney the cop offered to give mom a ride home and recommended that I go to the local wrecking yard to find a new wiper motor.
If the day wasn't already black enough while I was walking around the wrecking yard looking for a wiper motor it began to pour like cats and dogs adding even more insult to injury. By the time I got home and walked into the kitchen where mom was enjoying a warm cup of coffee there I stood soaking wet, standing there with a ticket in one hand and a receipt for a fifteen dollar wiper motor in the other. As if my mother hadn't already been helpful enough she told me that while riding along with Sydney she had mentioned to him that she thought my exhaust was too loud and Syndey told her he would discuss it with the next time he saw me driving around. All I could think to say was, "Thanks a lot Mom. You're a big help. If you ever need a ride to town call Sydney."
It's a story I remember well and one mother and I have laughed at many times over the years. In retrospect my mother helped me many times to see the road clearly and helped show me the way including those times when I was blind or simply being an adolescent that needed guidance. On Sunday evening November 15th 2009 my mother closed her eyes for the last time and now God shows her the way. I am blessed to have had such a loving mother that taught me how to see so many things and how to love and cherish all that I have seen. She shared my passion for racing and life and family and for that I am also a blessed man.
This all took place on a day when it had been raining a little and my vacuum wiper motor was broken and would only work in one direction so I had temporarily run a piece of string around through the passenger's side window and back across to the driver side. This way when it rained I could pull the string one way and the wiper would return the other way so I could see clearly which suited me just fine for the trial run. When she got into the truck she asked what the string was for so I told her I would show he later and took off for town to show off my truck. As soon as we got to town and drove around for a bit it began to rain really hard. That's when I began telling Mom about the string and how to pull it to make the wiper work so I could see to drive. No sooner than I handed her the string and a split second before I could tell her to be gentle while she began cracking up, she gave it a big yank. By now she was laughing so hard at my custom wiper set that she tugged a little too hard causing the entire wiper blade and arm assembly to go flying off and landed on the side of the road. It was just my luck that Sydney, the local cop saw the whole thing and pulled me over and wrote me up for no wipers.
My Mom was not very comforting as she sat there laughing uncontrollably the entire time Sydney was writing the ticket until even he couldn't hold back the chuckling.
Finally the two of them found a way to restrain themselves long enough that Sydney the cop offered to give mom a ride home and recommended that I go to the local wrecking yard to find a new wiper motor.
If the day wasn't already black enough while I was walking around the wrecking yard looking for a wiper motor it began to pour like cats and dogs adding even more insult to injury. By the time I got home and walked into the kitchen where mom was enjoying a warm cup of coffee there I stood soaking wet, standing there with a ticket in one hand and a receipt for a fifteen dollar wiper motor in the other. As if my mother hadn't already been helpful enough she told me that while riding along with Sydney she had mentioned to him that she thought my exhaust was too loud and Syndey told her he would discuss it with the next time he saw me driving around. All I could think to say was, "Thanks a lot Mom. You're a big help. If you ever need a ride to town call Sydney."
It's a story I remember well and one mother and I have laughed at many times over the years. In retrospect my mother helped me many times to see the road clearly and helped show me the way including those times when I was blind or simply being an adolescent that needed guidance. On Sunday evening November 15th 2009 my mother closed her eyes for the last time and now God shows her the way. I am blessed to have had such a loving mother that taught me how to see so many things and how to love and cherish all that I have seen. She shared my passion for racing and life and family and for that I am also a blessed man.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
La Buffa Country Western Style
I froze my ass climbing up that hill
But I'd do it all over again all for the thrill.
It's called La Buffa and it's way up high
The place Poncho Via fought so as not to die.
Men drive their cars in La Carrera Panamericana
But if they miss the road they know their a gonna.
We swerve to the left
We swerve to the right
Eat in a bullring and
Stay in Zacatecas for the night.
Tonight we drink tequila to stay warm
and dance and walk with a donkey
I've been away from home to long
I swear that donkey winked at me.
It's the last night before the end of the race
Tomorrow will be one hell of a pace.
We all pray that we make it
For minana we will drive like hell
As soon as we finish
One hell of a ride over the top of that hill.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Can You Guess Where This Is?
Any veteran of LCP might be able to make a pretty good guess as to where this circa 1890's photo was taken. But I am willing to bet they would be wrong. If you guessed it was taken along the main street in Morelia where many of us sat and enjoyed a few cold ones and a bit of lunch next to where we parked after racing through Mil Cumbres you guessed wrong.
It was however taken in another familier spot where many LCP teams have raced to. It is Aguascalientes, Mexico, circa 1890s.
It was however taken in another familier spot where many LCP teams have raced to. It is Aguascalientes, Mexico, circa 1890s.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
How Cool Would This Be?
One of my favorite blogs is the quality blog of HEMMINGS.COM and the other day they featured a very rare find of a 1929 Studebaker RV. But this isn't just any body's RV. This one belonged to Harvey Firestone.
Considering the populatity of so many Studebakers throughout La Carreara Panamricana's history I couldnt help but imagine how cool it would be to see a team like Mats Hammarlund Racing using this as their team support vehicle. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.
Here is what my buddy Daniel Strohl had to say about this amazing and unique ride;
It’s long been known that Harvey Firestone, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were camping enthusiasts, motoring out into the wilderness for a good ol’ time (and, likely, leaving the wives at home). But did they build RVs to serve that purpose?
Allegedly, Firestone did, and one of them recently turned up in South Carolina on a 1929 Studebaker chassis, and H.A.M.B.er mottsrods shared some pics of the behemoth with us. The only real clues as to its origin – beside the apocryphal Firestone story – are the “Dulce Domum – San Marino” painted on its flanks and the Advance Auto Body Works plate screwed to the body. Dulce Domum, mottsrods informs us, is Latin for “Sweetly at Home.” Advance Auto Body Works, meanwhile, was around at the time building commercial bodies on the corner of North Mission Road and East Macy Street and is best known for building W. Everett Miller’s Arrowhead.
Considering the populatity of so many Studebakers throughout La Carreara Panamricana's history I couldnt help but imagine how cool it would be to see a team like Mats Hammarlund Racing using this as their team support vehicle. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.
Here is what my buddy Daniel Strohl had to say about this amazing and unique ride;
It’s long been known that Harvey Firestone, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were camping enthusiasts, motoring out into the wilderness for a good ol’ time (and, likely, leaving the wives at home). But did they build RVs to serve that purpose?
Allegedly, Firestone did, and one of them recently turned up in South Carolina on a 1929 Studebaker chassis, and H.A.M.B.er mottsrods shared some pics of the behemoth with us. The only real clues as to its origin – beside the apocryphal Firestone story – are the “Dulce Domum – San Marino” painted on its flanks and the Advance Auto Body Works plate screwed to the body. Dulce Domum, mottsrods informs us, is Latin for “Sweetly at Home.” Advance Auto Body Works, meanwhile, was around at the time building commercial bodies on the corner of North Mission Road and East Macy Street and is best known for building W. Everett Miller’s Arrowhead.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Rodolfo Gonzalez's Photos
I sure would like to know how in the hell Karl missed that barbed-wire fence!
If Olympic officials were judgeing this one I'm sure Karl would get a 9 for distance, a 9 for execusion and a perfect 10 for missing the pole.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Caught Red Handed In The Act
Some times it just doesn't pay to be a bad boy. I had quite a laugh this evening when a reader posted a comment about the La Carrera Panamericana photo gallery found on radio station XHNOE-FM STEREO 9 which is he Official Radio Station for La Carrera Panamericana and has been since the late 80's. You can view some great shots at the finish arch in Nuevo Larado going back as far as 2002 by CLICKING HERE.
There is also a very complete gallery from 2009 by CLICKING HERE.
I was excited to see there was a gallery from 2007 so I clicked on it and sure enough there was a photo of Jon and I receiving our medals from the awards girls. But when I clicked to enlarge the photo you could see me poking the gal in the belly button with my finger. LOL
CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE
There is also a very complete gallery from 2009 by CLICKING HERE.
I was excited to see there was a gallery from 2007 so I clicked on it and sure enough there was a photo of Jon and I receiving our medals from the awards girls. But when I clicked to enlarge the photo you could see me poking the gal in the belly button with my finger. LOL
CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE
A True Love Affair Of La Carrera Panamericana
This evening it was my pleasure to be introduced to the most amazing young men by my good friend Jorge Arellano Vital from Queretaro. His name is Jonathan Mejia and like all of us he has a true love affair with La Carrera Panamericana. The only difference is that Jonathan does things on a smaller scale that the rest of his. But don't let that word "small" fool you because Jonathan's attention to detail is as grand as that of any La Carrera Panamericana team.
Jonathan told me that La Carrera Panamericana is his favorite race and building exact miniature La Carrera Panamericana cars is his hobby. Just take a look at some of the cars he has built from scratch and be sure to notice the fine detail on them. many of us LCP veterans will recognize many of them.
Jonathan Mejia and Stig Blomqvist
A fitting tribute to Jerry Churchill
Jonathan told me that La Carrera Panamericana is his favorite race and building exact miniature La Carrera Panamericana cars is his hobby. Just take a look at some of the cars he has built from scratch and be sure to notice the fine detail on them. many of us LCP veterans will recognize many of them.
Jonathan Mejia and Stig Blomqvist
A fitting tribute to Jerry Churchill
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