YOU LOVE IT, WHY NOT RACE IT? SOUTHWEST MOTORSPOR TS @nmmotorsportsreport
VOL #5 ISSUE #4
FALL 2019
TRICKS OF THE TRADE NM NITRO FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
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FALL 2019 VOLUME 5 ISSUE 04
NO COAST DRIFT
By Officer Dan (Dan Brockett) Photos by NCD9 Facebook Posts / Whiskey Garage
RODS RACING
Story by David Swope Photos by David Swope & Sara Pennington / Cherry Bomb Photoworks
NM NITRO FUNNY CAR
Story by David Swope Photos by Paul Fields / 2 Brothers Landscaping
Plus! Bo Baker Josh Hodges NSRA
Publisher RaDine William Media Editor David Swope Design & Layout David Lansa DL Graphic Design,LLC @DLGraphicDesigns Photographers Sara Pennington & Cherry Bomb Photoworks Adam Mollenkopf w/ Dirt Racing Syndicate & Melons Photography Bill Robertson WJR Photography Daniel “Matt” Courson David Swope Trisha Tilbury Drew Garcia john Lamparski Getty Images Luis Zaragoza Lyle Greenberg NMIADA
Editorial Contributors Dan Brockett Daniel “Matt” Courson Caleb Luce David Swope David Werth Trisha Tilbury Geoff Bodine Jim Costa Jim Cowling John Haverlin Lyle Greenberg RJ Lees Spencer Hill Publication Sponsors 4 Rivers Equipment ABQ Dragway Bobby J’s Yamaha NAPA Auto Parts NMIADA Unser Racing Museum Yearwood Performance Amsoil, Seductions Maverick Auto & Fabrication 2 Brothers Landscaping Budlong Motorsports Cover Photo Photo by Valters Boze
No Coast Drift By Officer Dan (Dan Brockett)
So... It always takes me a few days to come down / recover / detox from The
No Coast Drift Party , and 9 was no exception. It is now time for the emo rant post I do every single year. We had 128 drivers from all over the country, and almost 1000 spectators roll through. I am always super, super anxious before these things. Months and months of planning, printing shirts, promotion, blood sweat and tears go into it to make it perfect. Will people show up? Will they have fun? Will my event live up to expectations? Will someone get hurt? Will this be the last year? Will I even sell any of the t-shirts I have printed? All these things run in and out of my head the weeks before the actual event. I don’t sleep, I lose like 10-15lbs and my stress levels are through the roof (sorry Michaela!). But, every single year, all of that stress is alleviated by every single person who comes out to the event, drivers and spectators alike (except the meth head with the gun, he sucked). You all sort of selfpolice yourselves into creating what is to me the greatest automotive event I have ever thrown and or been to on this planet. It may not be the biggest, or the most expensive or the funnest to drive, but it’s OURS, and I am damn proud of doing it my way. From the driving, the bonfire, the drinking and party, mosh pit dodgeball, the mechanical bull to the fans to the metal bands, it it quite literally the event that I hold all others to, and I am glad you are all a part of it.
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As I was doing the first parade lap with over 120 drivers in tow, I honestly got a little teary eyed that this many folks would come down to our little event in the desert. All of the feels came crashing down on me at this moment and I fell in love with drifting all over again. I want this to happen year after year until I physically cannot do it any longer. I want to thank a couple of folks for being amazing humans, first and above all else, my wife, Michaela Hajkova for being all around amazing, putting up with my shit, and slinging Whiskey Garage shirts for 3 damn days. Scottie Fox (and Rianne Fox for letting him) for working tirelessly with me every single night after a long ass day at work on getting the S13 running. I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH <3, Heritage Driven for letting me even have a place to work on the car in the first place, Charlie Fegan Performance Driving School and Sandia Motorsports Park for letting us throw this insane shindig every single year, and for being amazing track support, Scott Maron and Jesus Nunez for organizing and setting up the bands, without you guys it would be just another bland ass drift event, and we need you to keep it fucking metal. My startline bois. They volunteer their time and sanity all season long, and make no coast do able for me. Jeff Marquette Bubba Price Gerard Jacinto also make the time on the mic fun as all get up and I love you guys to death. @anthony barnes from Seven Six for cleaning up them pitttts, Thank you to all my volunteers for
the skid pad and cones, as well as the dudes that put out the firework induced grass fire, to the media dudes who came from all over to make us look cool (especially David Karey, Valters Bože, Andrew Oeffinger Drew Fishbein Taylor drone footage Robert Robinson and more). To Dom Höst for the help getting ready for everything. @johnny hernandez for smashing his tire changing record, and kicking ass for you guys all weekend. To the PRO 2/3 drivers that make the event special Adam Lz Brandon Wicknick, Nick Stucky, John Yim, Will Parsons, Dewayne Ramsey, and to each and every single one of the other 128 guys that came to get absolutely rad. To my current sponsors, Style UP Wheels, Magnuson Superchargers, gktech.com, S1 Sequential Shifter, SPEC Clutch, Fueled Racing 2F Performance and 7 Grafix for helping me get the car up and running. Much love! And thats all for now. I love you guys so much for keeping New Mexico Drifting alive, I cannot wait for 3+ weeks of feeling the worst I ever have for The No Coast Drift Party 10!!!!!!! Sincerely and with all my love, “Officer” Dan Brockett
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You Love It, Why Not Race It? By David Swope.
6 NMMotorSportsReport.com
S
outhwest Motorsports (SWMS) is a racing organization for collectors and racers with the opportunity for both to happen at the same time. Take for instance, a 1962 Chevy II, originally designed as an affordable “grocery getter” in the compact line
for Chevrolet to compete with the successful Ford Falcon. A shorter wheel base car, originally designed for utility more than speed evolved into a champion in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Jake Wright took his love of the Nova, which was a trim and performance package available on the Chevy II, and created an amazing ride. The curb weight of the Nova and shorter wheel base made it a natural for drag racing but road racing would be a stretch. The Nova Wright brings to the track has many modifications including a LS engine swap and many Speedway Motors parts including a complete replacement of the front suspension. Many other safety and interior modifications were made but most of the credit goes to Sick and Twisted Fabricators wit a tribute noted on the radiator. The paint and final trim featured LS1 badges on the cowl-induction hood, Nova Chevy II badges on the body and Fast & EZ-EFI badge on the dash. SWMS still has two events on the calendar for 2019 with a race weekend September 28-29 at Sandia Speedway and November 2-3 at Arroyo Seco (more information on those events are available at SWMS.org). Spectators are welcome and have pit access to “get up and personal” with the drivers and vehicles. If you become so motivated to want to participate, a HighPerformance Driving School is available in your own vehicle. Learn the racing line, green flag starting procedures and racing safety equipment are just a few of the lessons learn by participating. 2019 has seen the loss of a few important people to the racing community and the Sandia racing family. Truman West, a longtime dirt track race passed, as well as Susan Johnson who was instrumental in the formation the accounting and business plan for Sandia. Her skills also included the timing and scoring system and yet her driving prowess in the Legends division should be noted as well. One of the biggest losses came with the passing of Charlie Daniels. That is right, New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Charlie Daniels, was a racer. Charlie served on the board of directors and personally build car and raced in many divisions. I can count myself as one driver who started racing circle track because Charlie built a car. I won a championship with the 63, which was Charlie’s number. A tribute is being planned for Sunday September 29th at Sandia Speedway.
SouthWest MotorSports FOR BEGINNERS TO PROS & EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN Racing, High Performance Driving and driving Instruction. www. .org The safest place to get your competitive racing license. NEXT RACE IS AT ARROYO SECO RACEWAY IN DEMING, NM - PLEASE JOIN US!
swms
1
st Annual NSRA Route 6 T
he National Street Rod Association (NSRA) started in 1970 and just had their 50th Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky a couple weeks
ago. August 23, 2019, they rolled into Albuquerque and the EXPO New Mexico for the 1st Annual NSRA Route 66 Street Rod Nationals. The three-day Hot Rod extravaganza was a long time coming. Cars traveled from Washington to California, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana all wanted to be at the first one in Albuquerque. NSRA hosts 12 events around the United States, typically starting off in Bakersfield, California. Cities that have hosted events include: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tampa, Florida; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Burlington, Vermont. Just North on I-25, Pueblo Colorado is the closest one to New Mexico. Louisville, Kentucky, just two weeks ago had 12,762 cars at that event. This year the tour ends at Gonzales, Louisiana. A lot of these cars like to travel “The Circuit” and do all 12 shows collecting awards from Pros picks to Outstanding Use of Color with about 45 trophies for the Albuquerque show out of the 800+ entries in the inaugural event. Another unique aspect to the Route 66 Nationals is the fact that the vehicles actually “cruise” the event and change parking spaces. Cars roll down Main Street at the Fairgrounds and park on the street, on the grass and any open
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place left. “We’re not a static display of cars,” stated Sena. “Some will go back to their hotels for something or go out offside to eat or maybe they’ll just go down to our safety area and have their car safety inspection, which is a free service that we provide to all members of our association. It’s a fluid car show.” On display was national touring cars and local cars including a group of local cars built by Jamie Johnson and Hot Rod Haven. Pre-1940 Ford’s are their specialty and at least 4 were on display. “I’ve owned it for 20 years opened in 1999 of March and I build hot rods one at a time or individual customers,” said Johnson about Hot Rod Haven. On display was a 1932 5-Window Ford Coupe owned by John & Becky Oertel that Johnson had restored. “This car was almost lost in 1945,” said Oertel, “my father-in-law drove it back and forth from New Mexico to New Jersey. He worked in Los Alamos as military support on the
324 INDUSTRIAL AVE. NE 505-244-1149 MILDTOWILDINC.COM MILDTOWILDINC@GMAIL.COM 8 NMMotorSportsReport.com
Manhattan Project.” This beauty was a show stopper. Other local cars included Steve Haydu’s T-Bucket. It seems every time I see Haydu, he has another Hot Rod. The DJ Business must be good. “It’s a 1923 T-Bucket. It’s a total performance package. It’s got a small-block Chevy in it 350 with dual quads Holley carburetors. It’s actually got a Muncie 4-speed
66 Street Rod Nationals by David Swope
Celebrating 20 years! would like you to remember: While it may be true that
“Winning isn’t everything” it is also really nice to have a skillfully designed, carefully produced and lovingly personalized trophy as a memento that will not ONLY celebrate your heroic victory but ALSO remind you to... remain humble.
Akasa’s
which is pretty rare with a straight-up steering which is actually all too rare for a T-Bucket,” said Haydu who also explained, “the DJ business didn’t pay for these, our family business of appliance repair did.” Racecars always attract my attention and Jim Leatherwood’s roadster did not disappoint. “This is a 1926 Dirt Track Roadster. I mimicked it after a car driven
#remainhumble #ornot
WE’VE MOVE D!
by a friend of mine who is now in his 90s,” explained Leatherwood. “Sonny Coleman and he’s a Colorado Hall of Fame racer. I built the car to honor him. The number 21 was always his race number. It has a late model, small-block Chevy in it with three deuces and then a five-speed manual transmission out of an Astro Van.“ Wow, that’s a hodgepodge of parts. The NSRA is negotiating to come back in 2020 so keep your eyes on Facebook or NSRA-USA.com.
3917 4TH STREET NW ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87107 (505) 881-2504 AKASA@AKASASTROPHY.COM ALLABOUTTROPHIESNM.COM
Trophies, Plaques, Engraving and More! NMMotorSportsReport.com 9
I Just Got Beat By A Girl by David Swope
E
xcerpts from NM Motor Sports Report interview 6/26/2019. Local Motocross Racer, Katelyn Clauss, had just qualified for the 2019 Loretta Lynn AMA National Amateur Championship. Most individuals get into racing from a close family member or relative. They follow them to the track or in some cases, were taken to the track as infants. Katelyn Clauss was one of those kids. “I got started watching my Dad (Robbie) race. He raced his whole life so I wanted to do what he does,” said Clauss. “My Dad got me this P-Dub (PW50) and I started riding around.” It didn’t take long for Clauss to want to start competing. There is no barriers to competition but being a “girl” didn’t seem to be helping. “It is crazy how motocross is such a “guy” sport. Sponsors don’t support girls (like boys) very much,” explained Clauss. “They don’t want to be beat by a girl. I deal with that a lot. At the last race I beat a kid who got off the bike and started screaming “I just got beat by a girl,” Clauss said with a chuckle. “I have two brothers so I think it is funny. I am faster than them.” Clauss was at a training facility in the Dallas / Fort Worth area during this interview. “I want to be the best and someday a pro rider,” Clauss said with conviction. The road to the professional ranks start at your local & regional tracks. “To qualify for the Lorretta Lynn you must finish in the top 8 in an area qualifying and top 4 in a regional qualifier. Only 45 can make it to the Loretta Lynn.” The 2019 Loretta Lynn Amateur Championship was July 29th – August 3rd in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Clauss finished 5th in both the first and second moto and 3rd in the final moto earning a 4th overall in the Women’s
Division. Brandon Chavez and Kevin Flores also qualified from New Mexico. You can find Clauss at Moriarty MX and around the state chasing her Motocross Dreams typically with her family in tow. “If I am struggling with a turn or a particular section, my Dad will give me insight in how to go faster,” said Clauss. It’s clearly a family thing! Follow Katelyn Clauss on Instagram and Facebook. About the American Motorcyclist Association: Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. Join the AMA today: www.americanmotorcyclist.com/membership/join.
LONGEST RUNNING YAMAHA DEALER IN THE U.S. (505) 884-3013 • 4724 Menaul Blvd NE - FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1956 www.bjsyamaha.com As Low As 2.99% APR for 36 months Offer available on approved purchases of new 2016-2020 Yamaha Motorcycles, Scooters, ATVs and Side-by-Sides made on the Yamaha Credit Card issued by WebBank, member FDIC. Subject to credit approval as determined by WebBank. Offer valid 7/1/19 through 9/30/19. Available to cardholders of the WebBank Yamaha Card. Account must be open and current to be eligible for this offer. Promotional 2.99%, 5.99%, 9.99% or 16.99% APR with Minimum Payments of 2.92%, 3.05%, 3.24% or 3.57% respectively of the purchase price balance, based on your creditworthiness, are effective until the purchase is paid in full. Minimum Interest Charge $2 per month. Standard APR 15.99%-23.99%. 2As Low As 0% APR For 60 Months Monthly payments required. Valid on Amount Financed of $2,500 or more of new 2018 Star Venture & Eluder purchases made between 7/1/19 and 9/30/19 on your Yamaha installment loan account. Rate of 0%, 5.99%, 9.99%, 13.49% or 16.99% will be assigned based on credit approval criteria. Example: A 60-month term on a $24,000 purchase, at a 0% rate requires monthly payments of $400. A 60-month term on a $24,000 purchase, at a 16.99% rate requires monthly payments of $596.33. Program minimum amount financed is $2,500 and minimum 0-10% down payment required. Offer is subject to credit approval by Synchrony Bank. CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH CUSTOMER CASH OFFER. †Customer Cash - Motorcycle Customer cash offer good on select models 7/1/2019 through 9/30/2019. See dealer for additional customer cash available on prior year models.
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Indian Motorcycle
BBQ Challenge
by David Swope
1. Mark – BBQ Rib – Uses Brisket Rub Recipe 2. Nick – Brisket – Nick would not share his recipe (it’s a secret) 3. Denise – Pulled Pork – Family recipe 4. JR – Pulled Pork - Carolina BBQ / family recipe, comes with extra sauce 5. Brennen – Slow Smoked Pulled Pork – It doesn’t have a sauce because it doesn’t need it 6. Kraft Q – Pulled Pork – homemade sauce, homemade rub 7. Kraft Q – Ribs – homemade sauce, home 8. Larry (retired firefighter) – Brisket – green chile rub July 20, 2019 at Indian Motorcycle as a judge for the BBQ Challenge benefiting Locker #505, Student Clothing Bank. 505-294-1647, director@locker505.org or locker505.org. Judging was based on a blind taste test with 100% agreement. Myself and Louis Herrera were the judges. Herrera used a scoring system while I used a ranking system and, in the end, we both agreed that #8 Larry’s Brisket with the green chile rub was the winner. #1 Mark’s Ribs with the brisket rub was the runner-up. Third place went to #2 Nick’s Brisket and he still wouldn’t give us the recipe. Indian Motorcycle of Albuquerque always has great events!
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505-508.2830 4509 Alameda Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM | www.indianmotorcycleabq.com *No Interest / No Payments Until 2020 Offer The no payment no interest offer is valid on any new, unregistered 2018 or 2019 Midsize or Heavyweight Indian Motorcycle models. This is a limited time offer which is valid for the purchase of select qualifying models. Offer may not be combined with certain other offers, is subject to change and may be extended or terminated without further notice. Financing offer available through Performance Finance, and is subject to credit approval by Performance Finance. Offer available to well-qualified applicants only; your actual terms may vary, max term once payments begin are 60 months. Not all buyers will qualify and if approved may receive a higher rate, depending on credit score. Where no money down is indicated, it is available only to those well-qualified applicants with approved credit. Some buyers will require a down payment in order to receive credit approval. No interest accrued until January 2020 and no payment until February 2020. With Performance Finance, Annual Percentage Rates (APR) of either 6.59% or 7.99% for 60-month terms begins January 2020. Rates are available to qualified applicants only and determined by credit score. Not all buyers will qualify for this promotion and if approved may receive a higher rate with principal and interest payments beginning immediately. Offer may not be combined with certain other offers. Other terms, conditions, and limitations may apply. Subject to model availability and dealer participation. Financing offer can change or terminate at any time without prior notice. Finance offer valid through authorized U.S. Indian dealers only. Please see your local authorized Indian dealer for program details. Offer valid May 1 – June 30, 2019.**2018 & 2019 Scout Family and Thunder Stroke 111 Financing This is a limited time offer which is valid for the purchase of selected qualifying models and is subject to credit approval on qualified purchases financed during this program. Offer may not be combined with certain other offers, is subject to change and may be extended or terminated without further notice. Offer valid on a new 2018 and 2019 Midsize and Heavyweight Indian® Motorcycle models. Monthly payment and cost of borrowing will vary depending on amount borrowed and down payment/trade. Minimum amount to finance is $5,000. Example: $12,499 financed at 5.99% APR over 84 months = 84 monthly payments of $150.40; financed amount of $10,299 with $2,200 down payment, total cost of borrowing of $2,334.95 and a total obligation of $12,633.95. An example of monthly payments required on an 84-month term at 5.99% APR is $14.60 per $1,000 financed. Monthly payment examples do not include taxes, title, and other fees. Indian Motorcycle® is a registered trademark of Indian Motorcycle International, LLC. Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing and obey the speed limit. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. ©2019 Indian Motorcycle International, LLC. Offer valid May 1 – June 30, 2019.
NMMotorSportsReport.com 11
Sitting down with Gary Castro and Albuquerque
Driveshaft
by David Swope
Q. When did you take over Albuquerque Driveshaft? A. 2012, in February. It’ll be eight years next February. Wow, but it’s been a good 36 years for the business, same location for 36 years. Q. How many driveshafts do you think you do in a day or a month? A. 5 to 8 a day depending. Some days several individual jobs, some days items I pickup several at one place. We do work for individuals and businesses, dealerships. Q. Do you specialize? A. We have all kinds of driveshafts. We keep parts from ones that are hard to find. You looked in the back. All sizes, you know off-road or big rig, just everything. Q. Would you consider yourself more of a problem solver than business owner? A. Yeah Problem Solver. Yeah Problem Solver of other people’s nightmares. Yeah, my last name is Murphy. Q. Do you get a lot of phone calls or walk-is? How many times did somebody call or come in and they thought they had a different problem? A. All the time. You look at it and you’re like that’s not what the problem is. It is this or that. That’s not the driveshaft that is supposed to be on your vehicle.
36 years YEARS in IN business BUSINESS 32
Complete Driveshaft Repair and Exchange For Your Car, Truck, and other Vehicles Custom Work and Fabrication C.V. Axles Installed • C.V. Axle Boot and Service Custom Fabricated • Driveshafts
417 Summer Ave. NW Albuquerque, NM 87102 (505) 247-0736
AlbuquerqueDriveshaft.com 12 NMMotorSportsReport.com
Q. How often do you do custom work? A. All the time. Custom fabricators have custom jobs. Recently, I worked on some for a Netflix series. It was a custom fab bus for Army of the Dead, then I recently did the fabrication for the movie Good Year with Tom Hanks. It’s a huge post-apocalyptic Winnebago. Yeah, so I mean we’ll do a driveshaft like this Beasts of the Desert. Q. How important are the parts you use? A. As far as the parts, you have any parts available, quality parts made by guys like me. There’s almost no competition and other places just raise their prices. I think they feel like they can because there is just a limited number of supply houses. Q. How do you keep track of everything you got? A. Aldo clearly knows where everything is. It’s put in some order. He knows where it all is. Q. Do you pickup and deliver? A. I’m doing it from Edgewood to Tijeras, all the East Mountain areas with pickup and delivery back either the same day or within 24 hours depending on the issue with the driveline. I’m already doing this job right here. I’m on the freeway, heading home as a customer called me told me that he was coming into Albuquerque. I happened to be right there by the same exit with him, maybe three miles. I pulled off and he ended up meeting me. I pulled them all the way in by myself. He couldn’t leave his car on the Let’s figure this out. We got it to the shop last night. I had him down here settled within about an hour and a half. Yeah. The driveshaft is ready and he’ll be pick it up here today. Albuquerque Driveshaft is Open Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm. Check them out at 417 Summer Ave NW or on Facebook. Call 505-247-0736 to reach Gary or Aldo.
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Maverick auto & Fabrication 3612 HigH St • Albuquerque
505.974.9541 www.MavericknM.coM Facebook.coM/MavericknM NMMotorSportsReport.com 13
Bo Baker by David Swope
N
ew Mexico has some talented Sprint Car Drivers. From my youngest memory of Buddy Taylor, The Unsers to young shoes like Josh Hodges, our own – Spencer Hill, Michael Fanelli, JR Bonesteel & 2018 Defending NMMRA Champion, Caleb Saiz. Don’t even get started on all the drivers I have missed because there are quite a few. Generations of drivers are included bunch and got started in different ways. Whether karts, quarter midgets, asphalt or dirt, many find their way to one of the fastest vehicles on the planet. Bo Baker, from Grants, NM started racing motorcycles. “I started when I was about nine years old nice racing motorcycles. My dad was a sub dealer for Bobby Js Yamaha. Oh, yeah, we got into motorcycles and racing those around here in Grant’s. Later my dad got us into race cars,” said Baker. Born and raised in Grants, Bo and his son Jesse have built quite a racing legacy. “I guess the first racecar would be a Super Modified. When we went racing, we just jumped right in. 1976 is about when I got in my first Sprint Car,” said Baker. 1993 Tr-State Champion, 2003 New Mexico Motor Racing Association Champion and 2007 Hollywood Hills NM Sprint Car Champion, Baker commented of his racing career, “We got into sprint cars and have been running ever since. You just win the next one. I mean past victories don’t mean shit. You want to win every one of them.” Has the Uranium has affected his brain? “we are so close to actually where a lot of the uranium mines were. The mines are only about 20 miles from here,” explained Baker. “I really couldn’t tell you how many races or championships we won because I really don’t keep track of that stuff. I just want to win pretty much every race.” Now Bo enjoys crewing with his son Jesse. “I enjoyed racing with him, especially when we finished 1 – 2, we sure did awesome. Good times at Hollywood Hills. I remember a lot of people thought that I let him win but, no. I don’t care who was I was going to try to beat. Unfortunately. I couldn’t beat him that night,” said Bo with pride in his voice. “The key to longevity in racing is just loving. Just love it and it’s in your blood. That’s probably pretty much all I’ve ever done in my life. Now I’m helping my boy.”
adiatoR R B J- 6400 2nd st. nw 44-1458 3 5 0 5 New & RecoNditioNed RadiatoRs custom Built RadiatoRs coppeR & BRass RadiatoRs Build to oRigiNal specs foR Hot Rods all alumiNum RadiatoRs foR Race caRs (custom Built & seveRal iN-stock)
spRiNt caRs & dRag RaciNg. 14 NMMotorSportsReport.com
“I get just as much satisfaction helping my boy, maybe more. We’re traveling to every race. Over the last three years we go to Phoenix with the Southwest ASCS region, maybe 20 times a year. We were at Royal’s new track and up at Aztec this year,” said Baker describing this year’s racing schedule. “It’s like anything else you can always do better but definitely you could always be worse. You never have enough but I have a lot of good people behind me in support of our racing effort. Budlong does our engines. People like Chuck Jackson. Royal Jones. So many people have been with us and for a very long time.”
Representing
New Mexico by David Swope
W
e caught up with Josh Hodges on August 31, 2019 on an off weekend doing some projects around the house. “We have been posting a lot of frequent flyer miles back and forth to Indiana. A lot of day trips to Phoenix and California,” explained Hodges. “The cost of diesel is such that we can fly back and forth for the same cost as a plane ticket. We can get three nights out of a weekend: Gas City or Bloomington on Friday nights, Putnamville or Lawrenceburg on Saturday night and maybe grab a Kokomo on Sunday. If it rains at one track you can grab another. Even the local tracks have USAC talent.” While racing, Hodges graduated from New Mexico Tech and currently works at Sandia National Labs. “Racing has allowed us to make a lot of lifetime friendships, from Quarter Midgets to Micro Sprints to Sprint Cars,” said Hodges. “Just before I got to Quarter Midgets, racers like Derek Ortega and Cody Mansfield were racing. During the time I was there Jason & Justin Irwin were probably the best. We raced with Alex Bowman and now he is in Cup. There is more talent in the Southwest than we get credit for.” “We were able to run in Oklahoma around guys like Christopher Bell. All progressed whether it is pavement or dirt or all the way to NASCAR,” Hodges elaborated. “Being from the Southwest, people don’t think of this area in regards to motorsports but the Unsers and Herreras were from the region.” “Traveling around the Midwest we have become friends and raced with Jon Stanbrough, Dave Darland, Kevin Thomas Jr. You can’t race them any different than anyone any else but meeting them in the pits, you could help being star stuck,” said Hodges. “The Knoxville Nationals was the biggest race, from Kinser to Lasoski. You learn from every one of them, whether its watching or racing.” Follow Josh Hodges on Twitter @joshhodgesracin or Facebook @ joshhodgesracing Upcoming Races: 24th Annual Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway November 9, 2019.
Jackson compaction
proud supporter of LocaL racing
You trash it, we smash it! 6420 2nd St. NW. Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 344-8848 jacksoncompaction.com NMMotorSportsReport.com 15
SERVICE NEW MEXICO’S INDEPENDENT
AUTO DEALERS
by David Swope
T
he Mission of the New Mexico Independent Auto Dealers Association (NMIADA) “is to serve, share and support independent auto dealers in New Mexico,” said Marc Powell, executive director of the NMIADA. “Probably three-quarters of the car dealers are micro businesses. They’re very small business and it’s a highly regulated industry. It’s a veritable alphabet soup of States Federal County and local rules that they have to follow. So, we really focus in terms of sharing on three areas of compliance; operational support, best practice and operations and marketing. For small dealers, helping them figure out how to maximize both their time and their money.” “Dealerships are not required to be members but all dealers in New Mexico are required to have continuing education & training annually. The bigger picture goal is to ensure that New Mexico consumers are being sold safe and reliable vehicles by licensed dealers that they can trust,” explained Powell. “So many consumers in New Mexico are taken advantage of when they try to get a deal on Craigslist. They come to find out the car has a salvage title or it’s been stolen. The mileage may not correct so we really want to do is encourage consumers to feel safe that if you go to an independent dealer, they are going to get a good product, that the dealer stands behind and that they’ll fix any problems. We don’t because folks who buy off the internet want being stuck.” Powell continued “our primary mission in addition to education is to provide a variety of services to dealers, allowing them to focus on buying and selling cars instead of administrative stuff. We help them to be in compliance by the services we provide. We do the required damage inspection through our Dealer Inspection Services business and the six percent rule. The six percent rule is basically that a repair on a vehicle cannot exceed more than six percent of the total selling price of the vehicle.” “Political action responsibilities are a portion of our mission,” states Powell. “the state legislature is proposing an increase of the gas tax that we are fighting. Next week. I’m going to Washington DC to work with the National Association lobbying on Capitol Hill and sit down with our Congressional Leaders with intense lobbying and discussion about the negative effects of changes to the tax code that affect our dealers. Political action is an important part of what we do.” “We often work together with consumers and dealers when there’s an issue that they can’t resolve,” explains Powell. “We try to get it done quickly and effectively to everyone’s satisfaction without the legal system. We also act as support lines with the MVD and registration services, but only for dealers. We try to really help Dealers Licensing support, work a lot with law enforcement regarding stolen vehicles and how to ensure that people are getting better and safer vehicles.” “We do a Convention and Expo every year for dealers. What are the best tools available to support their business, technology and services provision in a rapidly changing industry changing? Our invention is on October 17, 2019 at Isleta. We’re expecting some 400 people and 450 dealers. All to help independent dealers to improve their capability to run an efficient and profitable organization while ensuring that they have good quality cars to sell.” “We have a lot of data on our website but we are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 5:00. We’re available both to the to the public and to car dealers. We probably see 60 to 70 people a day in our office,” said Powell.
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“TRICKS of the TRADE” By Jim Costa – Owner Yearwood Performance Center
EUBANK EXPANSION!
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hings have been happening at Yearwood Performance this summer. We have been moving things around for the last few months. All of this is in anticipation of the expansion of our Eubank location. We have added to our showroom, it’s almost 5000 sq ft now. We are very excited to get everything set up. Unfortunately, we also decided we aren’t going to renew our lease on our Eagle Ranch location. The last day was August 31st. We would like to thank everyone for the last 5 years of support. It was a hard decision to make, a lot of time and effort has been put into the store, and we are all disappointed that we couldn’t keep it open. But, to show our appreciation, if you bring a receipt before December 31st to the newly remodeled Eubank location from Yearwood Performance on Eagle Ranch that is dated between June 1 and August 31st, we will give you a FREE Yearwood t-shirt (limit one per customer). Once the expansion is completed, we will be able to put a lot of inventory out on the floor. There are so many parts we have that can’t be displayed because of a lack of space. I like to use our oil pans as an example, we currently have 7 pans on display, but if you go into our warehouse, you will find another 60+ oil pans. Some are duplicates, but most are not, there are many pans for many applications that we cannot represent without all of this new space. We are hoping to make a better hotrod experience for everyone. In addition to all of products we are going to get on the new showroom, we are hoping to have enough space that we can introduce a lot of new products, maybe even expand into different areas of performance. Same great performance, just different platforms. We have so much to offer, hundreds of thousands of parts, but yet so little space. Many don’t know, but we can get anything you find on the internet, anything. We do truck parts, circle track, drag racing from sportsman to the pros, we do it all, including off road, yep off road #yearwoodoffroad, from 4x4’s to UTV’s to jeeps, even some of the two wheel variety. WE DO IT ALL. Come check out the new digs at Yearwood Performance at 341 Eubank Blvd. NE, just south of I-40, across the street from Sam’s Club.
18 NMMotorSportsReport.com
NEW MEXICO MOTORSPORTS REPORT
‘ANCHORS’ FIELD AT CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT Team NMMR, left to right: Ron Martinez, Franklin Romero, Dominic Aragon. Photo taken by Pat Olivas.
Players gather for a prayer prior to the start of the 2019 Knights of Columbus Community Charity Tournament.
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NMMR sponsored a hole at the tournament, donated merchandise for a silent auction held after the tournament, and had Madrid come on the radio to talk about the tournament and raise awareness about the organization two weeks prior on ESPN Radio Albuquerque.
Golf Tournament in Grants on Saturday, June 29 for the second straight year.
The worst score any team could net was 18 over, as the lowest score a team could earn per hole was a bogey, one stroke over par.
ou could say our team finished as the last car running. We were among the backmarkers, laps off the pace. Or, that we had a start-and-park showing. You get the point.
The New Mexico Motorsports Report’s team sent a three-man group to represent the media outlet at the annual Knights of Columbus Community Charity
Despite the three men — Dominic Aragon, Franklin Romero and Ron Martinez — placing the organization last in the 18-hole-three-man scramble tournament at the Coyote del Malpais Golf Course, their smiles could not be wiped off their faces. In fact, the tournament featured prizes for the podium teams, but none of that mattered, as the teams gathered for one main cause: to help the local community. All players were smiling and the positive energy could be felt across golf course. FOR A CAUSE 2019 marked the fourth time the annual charity tournament was held in Grants, a community 70 miles west of Albuquerque along Interstate 40. The tournament was previously held six times at the Milan Golf Course during the 1990s. But what was this for and who are the Knights of Columbus (K of C)? The K of C is a Roman Catholic men’s fraternity that was founded in the United States in 1882. Presently, the organization has over a million members worldwide and thousands of local councils.
RECAP 28 teams participated in the 18-hole event.
Through nine holes, NMMR was sitting 6 over. Our team managed to net three pars, but were unable to secure any below par holes through the first half of the tournament. Through the second half of the tournament, our team secured seven more par-caliber holes, posting NMMR at 8 over to finish the day. We finished 28th overall. The 27thoverall team was one stroke better. The winning team? They scored 18 under, averaging a birdie per hole. Our players had the following to say after the tournament. Ron Martinez, Grants, N.M. (1st year; filled in for NMMR’s David Swope) “Thank you, New Mexico Motorsports Report, because you gave me an opportunity. I didn’t play well, but the course was very challenging because the hard greens and all, but it was a fun time. People treated us very well, and it was just fun as it can be to be out there and try and play.” Dominic Aragon (2nd year representing NMMR) “What a fun day, great day for golf, hadn’t played in about a year.
The Grants council, No. 3683, serves the Cibola County area. The volunteer-based organization is committed to helping those in their area — regardless of religious affiliation — with various efforts including Coats for Kids, the local food pantry and New Mexico Special Olympics.
“But getting to represent the New Mexico Motorsports Report, and know that it is a charity golf tournament, play with some great people, play with Frank and Ron, great, great time out there and always a great opportunity to meet people as well.”
The golf tournament, held once a year, is the only fundraiser for the local council.
Franklin Romero, Grants N.M. (2nd year representing NMMR) “I’m glad New Mexico Motorsports Report sponsored a hole, it adds some representation. People asked who we were and why we were taking photos.
Local businesses and individuals made up many of the 65 sponsors at this year’s tournament. The tournament itself is a one-day show, but the planning and logistics takes much longer. “There’s probably hundreds of hours, if not thousands, put into this tournament,” said Chris Madrid, District Deputy for the Grants council, about the amount of time donated to make the tournament happen. Altogether, the fundraiser brought in over $14,000 for the organization this year, and the money will be used throughout the year to give back to the community. “Hopefully for new sponsors, if you want a big bang for your buck, of where it’s going to truly help a community, this is where it’s at,” Madrid said. “As we are all volunteers, everything that we make goes back into the community.”
“It’s really nice for a community like Grants to be able to have [the] organization sponsor a hole. “As far as golf, fantastic, I had some great puts. The rest of the game, we won’t talk about it right now, it’s in the pits.” MOVING FORWARD Next year’s tournament will be held at the same venue on Saturday, June 27, 2020. “This is THE golf tournament in the area,” Madrid said. “No other tournament is as big, and no tournament is as fun, hopefully. We keep trying to work it out that way. “I had a lot of good feedback from all the players, saying they liked this tournament, and they liked the idea of where the money is going.” We’ll see if NMMR can climb to a lead-lap finish and contend for the victory in 2020. NMMotorSportsReport.com 19
REAL OUTLAW DOOR SLAMMERS by David Swope Photos by CherryBombPhotoworks.com
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he Real Outlaw Door Slammers (RODS) are one of the fan favorites at Albuquerque Dragway. The 2019 season had the film crew from the Proview Network (DirecTV Channel 26) and the staff from the New Mexico Motor Sports Report (NMMSR) chasing down interviews and grabbing racing footage for the first RODS TV coverage in New Mexico. Once shot by cameramen Dana Childs and Josh Luna (RJ Lees shot the Memorial Day Mayhem for Luna), Josh Luna would do his magic in the edit room. The final product was aired locally on Direct TV Channel 26 and eventually posted to YouTube, where you can view it now (and probably forever). The BIG races for this season were the Memorial Day Mayhem, Firecracker Nationals and the Labor Day Bash each presented challenges – mainly the weather. The Memorial Day Mayhem had wind and guest host Lyle Greenberg handled it like a pro. NMMSR host, David Swope, provided background interviews. The Firecracker National had most of the Elimination rained out. Only the Labor Day Bash had no weather issues but the heat might have played a factor. Swope handled the interview duties
as Greenberg got back into the car to test at the Firecracker Nationals and race at the Labor Day Bash. The Memorial Day Mayhem was contested with Art Cordova’s low ET of 4.478 @ 165 defeating Mike Labbate’s 4.496 @168 on the 1/8 Mile. “Both drivers had good lights. Labbate’s was 6 thousandths better but had to peddle in the middle of the track. Cordova makes a career best run to take the win by just .008. Congrats to Cordova. Is he on his way to a 4th Championship?” asked Robert Costa, owner of the Albuquerque Dragway. The Firecracker Nationals was not run to completion but a new track record was set by Mike Maggio at 4.13 @ 183.22 with a solo pass in the Yearwood Performance Lane. Gordy King put on a great Burn-Out Show and broke in time trials while Art Cordova broke during a burn-out in the tower lane while Ed Thorton red lighted in the Quick Lane by leaving before the Tree was activated. Jacob Villegas defeated Mike Labbate with a 4.71 @ 146.63 versus a 4.82 @153.27 as Labbate touched the center line trying to keep control of the car peddling it a faster top speed but slower ET. The
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rain came before the first round was completed. The Western Fuel Altereds battled the RODS during qualifying with the Altereds winning more head to head matches, bragging right was won and on full vocal display. August brought the Labor Day Bash with an 8-car field and the New Mexico Nitro Funny Car Championship (which will be discussed later in the edition). Would this race come down to Cordova v. Labbate? Labbate has been consistent all season while Cordova has struggled with the Vette. Friday’s qualifying ended with Cordova having low ET and top speed at 4.57 @154.37. Mike Garcia had a pass of 4.93 @144.28, James Mosher a 5.02 @ 141.38 and Mike Lababate a 5.133 @ 123.02 to round out the top half of the field. After a pill draw to decide match-ups and Cordova breaking, Ken Person got an automatic berth to the second round. Eliminations came fast with Labbate def. Mosher & Garcia just edging out Malone after the two drivers being matched-up for all three of these races in the first round (1-1 & a rainout head to head). Labbate had low ET for the round at 4.56 @ 162.98. Odd number of cars had Labbate with the automatic berth into the finals. Garcia defeated Person to get Labbate in the final. In the final, Mr. Consistent Labbate ran a 4.50 versus the 4.85 of Garcia for the victory. As of publication, Mike Labbate leads the RODS points with 290 over Mike Garcia’s 235. Art Cordova has 204 in third allowing for a big showdown in the final points race on October 27th for the Championship. Sponsorship of the RODS division provided by Homes by Labbate, Ben’s Automotive and Whatever It Takes Construction. More information available at realoutlawdoorslammer.com, abqdragway.com or checkout the coverage on YouTube hosted by NM Motor Sports Report in collaboration with the Proview Network, Channel 26. NMMotorSportsReport.com 21
Modern Day By Spencer Hill
Time Machine
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hen retired racer Harold Brasington first broke ground on Darlington Raceway, it is unlikely that he had any idea the impact that the then cotton farm would hold to dedicated race fans around the world in the year 2019. Brasington bought the land from farmer Sherman Ramsey in 1948 and was determined to make a racetrack that would become as popular as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was at the time. It was not smooth sailing for Brasington, however, as many challenges arose in construction of the speedway including the need for a unique configuration to keep Ramsey’s old minnow pond intact. The solution? A somewhat flat, sweeping turn on one side and a tight, high-banked turn on the other to protect the pond. This challenge has intrigued racers and fans since the first NASCAR race in 1950 and continues to produce some of the best racing the sport has ever seen. A lot has changed since that first Southern 500 victory by Johnny Mantz, including a complete flip of front and back stretch assignment in 1997, but one thing has always stayed consistent with Darlington. It is undoubtably the most historic track on the NASCAR circuit.
To celebrate the incredible history that is associated with Darlington Raceway, NASCAR teams have recently used the famous Labor Day weekend to pay tribute to the sports’ heroes, being dubbed as ‘The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR’. Each year, teams are encouraged to paint their cars and dress up like the heroes before them did many years ago in order to show their respect for the history of NASCAR and Darlington. With this year’s theme of 1990 through 1994, it was as if you were walking into a time capsule as the garage filled with flamboyant colors, recognizable logos, and impressive mustaches. For the first time in years, it was back to the memorable days of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and team members fully embraced the idea with a few of them even wearing genuine uniforms from the time. Names such as Landon Cassill, Alex Bowman and Brad Keselowski gave way to Sterling Marlin, Tim Richmond and Rusty Wallace as fans went wild capturing every moment they could of this unique opportunity to see these great paint schemes on track for one last time.
Wheels Up Wednesday is a racing-influenced lifestyle podcast hosted by Spencer Hill and Matt Omick from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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The only thing that may have beat the beauty of the cars in the garage was the action on track as the NASCAR Busch Series would get things started in a fantastic way on a hot Saturday afternoon with cars slipping and sliding all over the 1.33 mile worn-out asphalt surface. As if the throwback weekend wasn’t a good enough reason to fill the stands in South Carolina for Labor Day weekend, it also happened to be the racing return for Dale Earnhardt Jr. who just two weeks prior was involved in a terrifying plane crash on his arrival to Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. Every time Jr. passed a car on track, the roar of the crowd was equal or louder to the roar on the track and fans saluted a man giving back to a sport that he owes nothing more to. Virginia’s Denny Hamlin was the first across the line, but a ride height penalty in post-race inspection handed the official victory to Cole Custer who sported a wonderful throwback of the double-zero driven by Buckshot Jones. Sunday’s running of the Southern 500 would get to a slow start as rain pounded the facility shortly after driver introductions. After close to four hours of waiting for the track to get back into racing condition, the green flag dropped just past 10:00 PM eastern for 500 grueling miles. Both opening stages would go to a Busch brother a piece, but the brotherly domination was cut short after a bad pit stop for the No. 1 of Kurt Busch. Things would get even worse for Kurt on lap 275 when he would be collected in a big crash
in turn four which also collected championship-hopeful Jimmie Johnson. As the laps wound down and the Monday morning hours started, Michigan’s Erik Jones found his way to the front of the field with a hard charging pair of Kyles breathing down his neck. Both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson got within striking distance of Jones, but Jones kept his cool and drove on to win his first victory of 2019 as Kyle Busch’s heavyweight version of a Darlington stripe allowed Larson to sneak by him on the final lap to finish second. Like many others, it was a sleepless morning on Monday as we drove from a 2:00 AM finish time back to the Charlotte area to hop on the 6:00 AM flight back home to Albuquerque. I had an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction knowing that I was able to experience something so exclusive. The Darlington throwback weekend truly is like nothing else in any sporting event because NASCAR fans have a different appreciation for the roots that made the foundation for the sport that we all enjoy so much. Seeing everyone partake in the throwback festivities is exactly what makes Darlington a must-see event when it is partnered with the jaw-dropping action that the tired asphalt provides as drivers flirt with disaster inches from the wall. A year from now, I encourage everyone to grab their old outfits, grow out their hair and do what they can to make their way to South Carolina Labor Day weekend as the Southern 500 opens up the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs next season.
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nny Car Championship by David Swope
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ot since 1973 has Albuquerque Dragway seen 4 Nitro Funny Cars all at one time until the New Mexico Nitro Funny Car Championship on August 30th & 31st, 2019. 2 Brothers Landscaping, The Super Nationals and “Wheels” Harrison Inglis put up some sponsorship money bring the show to the ABQ
Albuquerque racer, Lyle Greenberg and the Corvette TFX Hemi Powered Cone Hunter, and Alamogordo racer, Ray Stringer and the Olds Cutlass steelblock Chevrolet powered Blown Cent-Less, who meet in a match race in 2018 at Albuquerque Dragway invited Dave Gallegos and the Nitro Clown out of Manhattan, Kansas and Keith Jackson and High Heaven out of Denver, Colorado to battle for the first New Mexico Nitro Funny Car Championship. Qualifying was Friday night and getting traction was trouble for all the Nitro Funny Cars. Ray Stringer’s team was able to make qualifying after wrenching all afternoon and evening. Low ET and Top Qualifier went to Stringer with a 7.0868 at 153.32 MPH on the quarter mile which was in the first -round time trials. Greenberg secured the second seed with a 7.2674 @147.20. Gallegos had a 8.5189 @ 116.91 and Jackson 9.6336 @102.23. The Nitro Clown got into the Quick Lane wall but got the car back on the track for Saturday night. The second round of did not produce faster times but had all the drivers pedaling to keep it straight. Saturday night Eliminations has the crowd hyped up with smoky burn-outs and those Nitro crackles. High Heaven drew a bye with Stringer failing to stage. Jackson’s pass of 10.8999 @ 18.07 was enough to make it to the finals. The 2 & 3 seed match-up had Cone Hunter and Nitro Clown with Greenberg posting a 7.4948 @ 205.48 for the first pass of the weekend over 200 MPH. Final Eliminations had High Heaven versus Cone Hunter with Jackson taking the title with a 8.0141 to Greenberg’s 8.0981. The Third-Place match-up had Blown Cent-Less versus Nitro Clown with Stringer setting top speed and low ET with 6.7088 @ 214.08.
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The New Mexico Nitro Funny Car Championship can be viewed on YouTube during the Labor Day Bash filmed as a collaboration of Albuquerque Dragway, Proview Network (DirectTV Channel 26) and the New Mexico Motor Sports Report. Sponsorship for the Nitro Championship included prize money from 2 Brothers Landscaping, The Super Nationals Car Show and “Wheels” Harrison Inglis.
1 0 Ye a r s C o m b i n e d e x p e r i e n c e 12400 View Ct NE, Albuquerque
PHOTOGRAPHER for the
MASSES by David Swope Photography by Sara Pennington / Cherry Bomb Photoworks
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hotographer for the Masses Why is tire smoke so alluring? Fans cheer at Drift Competitions and the drivers actually get points for “the show.” The winner at a NASCAR race burns the tires down as the fans cheer. At a drag race, you get a burnout warming up the tires and the launch when the lights turn green. Albuquerque Dragway has had some pretty good photographers and many amateurs in the stands over the years. The 2018 season saw a change of the guard as long time track photographer, Corey Ringo, decided to pursue other interests. “I think a posting was up for five minutes (referring to the post that Ringo was retiring) before I was like, please pick me, pick me. Based on the fact that I do drag race myself and I really have a passion for the sport,” said Sara Pennington also known as Cherry Bomb Photoworks. “Well, I’ve always had a love of photography but it really kicked off when I bought my first Mustang. I got my feelings hurt because every time I go to a car show, they’d skip me because mine is just a boring black one,” said Pennington with a look of defeat on her face. “I started taking pictures and I took pictures of everybody because I feel like if I’m proud of my car, so we’re you. I joined a car club we started coming out to the track, started taking pictures out here and watching the track photographer was doing.” “I have a 2014 California Special. It’s got a 500. I haven’t really done much to it other than make it pretty for car shows. I did win (Slow Pokes) at the Fall 2018 All Out Call Out with it. It earned its stripes on the track,” said Pennington as her pride started to show. “I like the competitive spirit. I like getting the action shots. This is what they’ve worked on. This is their pride. This is their show off moment. I like to catch that for them.” My favorite shots would have to be “the RODS burnouts. I love a big Smoky burnout. I’m a sucker for a smoke show,” said Pennington. “I’ve come out here and made sure that I was damn good at using this ‘camera’ before I do any work for these guys. I’ve had to learn how to lot of techniques on how to shoot around these challenges. It goes from very harsh sunlight all the way down to almost dark. In which I can’t shoot very fast in the dark. I think I have maybe an hour and a half of good light out here. That’s actually good. Good light.” “I’m trying to get my name out there a little bit. I don’t even care if I make any money that’s just gravy on top of a good time. I’ve been trying to get out in the region a little more. Made friends with some of the photographers in Tucson, Phoenix and Dallas, getting know people in the industry. When I go visit their tracks, I’m welcomed. I’ve started going to events like Funny Car Chaos,” said Pennington. “I went to Funny Car Chaos, they looked over my stuff and made sure that I wasn’t just a tag along with somebody. They made sure that I was like actually going to give them good stuff.” Cherry Bomb Photoworks is “on Facebook. I’m an Instagram. I’m all over the place and anywhere out here. I’ve had people hunt me down on the track,” said Pennington.
What are you by David Swope
looking at?
W
henever you go to a car show, the questions range from; What year is it? How long have you had it? Is it original? What modifications have you made? Rarely do they include; Have you raced it?
If you have ever been around Bill Swope and his collection of cars, you don’t have to ask the “have you raced it question.” Many of the other questions don’t seem to have an easy answer. Take for instance the Sports Racer he has. It was built by Beach which has no relation to the Beach Aircraft which took me years to understand that it is just a coincidence. The year is a little harder to nail down, it is more of a model number that could have been built over a series of years. There are even changes during the production of the model. In regards to the racecar featured here we have to back up to the Why? Or What were they trying to do? questions. It is widely known that sports car racing gained popularity in the United States with service men returning to the States after WWII with sports cars from Europe. Even though they had smaller displacements, they were quick and nimble, basically fun to drive. “The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) was organized to unify these “gentlemen’s racing clubs” into a unified group with a rule book and racing classes,” said Swope. “It was originally meant to be amateur racing. Once I got racing, about 1960, they had 5,000 members nationwide and they started getting his idea that they should be a professional racing organization. There should be a professional race group of SCCA that would prepare drivers for professional racing.” “So, what are you looking at, what is a Sports Racer” asks Swope? “To me is kind of like an open-wheel car but it has fenders on it. SCCA took the car and ran it with a lot of closed fendered, production sports cars. A separate racing classification later started and this particular group were under 2-liter sports racers that in SCCA classified them as B & C Sports Racers. It grew with such excitement that, I believe it was 68 or 69 that they allowed the cars to go bigger and faster. Basically, Thundering Ducks of the Can-Am series took off then.” “I like to stay away from the rule book and when you get into production car racing or spec car racing, you just really have a real big rule book,” said Swope “You’re not allowed to be creativity, build the better mousetrap, so I love purpose-built race cars versus the idea of modifying a production car. I consider myself to be an engineer. It’s the taking a car that was very successful and then putting some modern applications to it and not having a scrutineer looking over my shoulder and say that’s not legal or that’s not legal. That attracted me to Sports Racers.” “So, when they when they talk about the year like the 1963, that is the year of creation of that particular design, molds were cast and started manufacturing those cars but could be building built at any time until they decided to just not build any more of them. They could even build them 120 years later if they still had the molds,” explained Swope. “At Beach, according to the registry and they kept records of all these, there are 14
Sport Racers built and over 60 Formula Fords. This car is their ‘65 model of their Mark 2 and then there are some modifications and things come along. A lot of these Beach cars have been rebodied through time. The rear section on this car has been rebodied from the original production that left the Beach’s facility.” Swope has taken this car down to the frame and restored it to in some cases, nicer than, new. After all, these cars were meant to be raced and not “show queens.” With so few cars built and hand built at that, maybe this car should be in a museum – no way! It’s a Race Car. NMMotorSportsReport.com 29
We Build Winners with
by David Swope
Budlong Motorsports
B
udlong Motorsports started in 1986. Todd Budlong, fresh out of UTI and looking to make a career based on his passion. “Well, I I’ve had Budlong Motorsport since 1986, but I did work for other people. I graduated high school in 1984 went to UTI in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s the only thing I’ve ever done in my whole entire life.,” said Budlong. “I had a shop that used to be at the corner of Wyoming and Menaul and I outgrew that and moved over here to Trumbull.” The keys to success can be complex or just plain simple to Budlong. “I guess just doing quality work, at a fair price and people come back. You just kind of stay to your system, your beliefs as far as how you build stuff. We just we just try to do a good job,” Budlong explained. “Well, I love what I do.” “Treat everyone fair and you’ll have as much work as you’ll need, we just get bigger and bigger and bigger every year, you know. Just try to work with a customer and see what he wants and that’s all we did. I mean we’ve been really busy while machine shops are closing down around town. There’s quite a few of them are closing down so it’s putting the workload on all of us a little bit harder,” Budlong said. “I would like to do something else some somewhere down the road, but for right now, this is all I’ve done is. Automotive engines, it’s still real physical. You know after 30 something years of great, I still enjoyed getting up every morning going to work. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Budlong explained. “Brian has been with me 30 years. We have a staff of six guys, full time,” said Budlong. “Monday through Friday and I was opened on Saturdays for half a day. Then I was racing cars and so, you know by the time I got home from the racetrack. It’s two o’clock in the morning. And on Sundays, I had to wake up and do my yards. I got a big house with a lot of grass in the front and grass in the back. Being closed on Saturdays gives me a little time to catch-up.” When it comes to the modern vehicle, “here’s the problem, today’s cars just don’t break down any more they don’t. We pretty much do a little bit of everything and send out suspension work, just engines. No suspension, no transmissions, no rear ends. What we see is a guy that’s has an old truck that he’s had for 20 years and now he decides he wants to rebuild it or restore it or something like that. We do street stuff. We do restoration stuff. We do circle track, drag racing, pretty much do anything there is except for air-cooled Volkswagen and Mazda rotaries, and I don’t do diesel stuff too much. I do a little bit of Cummins diesel is because I like them. Pretty much every single customer is a repeat customer.” Budlong Motorsports has built Championship Winning racing engines in pretty much every division and series you can think of that is where the “We Build Winners” comes from. Its not a boast but fact. Check out their facility today at
10205 Southern Blvd SE. 505-275-3996. Budlongms.fatcow.com.
We Build Winners! 505-275-3996
New Mexico’s most successful
engine builders
since 1991.
www.budlongms.fatcow.com
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