Here's what it looked like at the entrance, from the beach side looking back. Then this is the view out towards the beach and the pits. It got a little crowded down there. The sand was a little deep and loose right at the entrance to the pits. The racers went downhill to this point, then had to accelerate a slight upgrade through the sand while turning to avoid the huge tidal pool.
Spectator area This shows one of the problems, no way to see the actual races. The only elevation on the beach was outside of the paid spectator area, up on the bluffs. They brought some bleachers in, but not nearly enough, and most of those they did ended up being compromised by the tide and were closed off. nobody could use them. In order to see any actual racing we had to go down to the end of the course. But that actually got us some good views of the racers at that end of the track. We eventually moved down to where they staged for their return runs and got some good views and shots there.
Finally, some actual racing! I shielded the camera as best I could, and wiped the lens many times, but you can see it still got a bit wet)
Only got to take a couple quick photos on the way in Saturday before manning the Hop Up booth. Dave Shuten knowing how to make an entrance in the historic Edelbrock Special. In line in John Gunsaulis 32 Phaeton following Jay Cavello in the Hop Up Magazine Special T. Justin Baas' T finished the night before! and sounding tough! Had a great time seeing old friends and making new friends from all over the world. I can't even imagine how crazy it would have got with better weather.
Thanks for the great coverage of the event under difficult circumstances. Old Mother nature sure threw a curve here making the best laid plans a shambles. Looks like everyone made the best of it though.
After making it down the track the guys would typically gather at the end and wait to be guided back to the pits (some guys didn't wait and went on their own, with the event staff trying to wave them down as they sped away). Guys were doing a bunch of slides and donuts and throwing a lot of sand down at the end of the track, generally just having a blast. Lot's of friendly talk between racers after their pass. Smiling faces and good natured fun was the theme of the day. #24 on the right, Asian dude on a flat head Indian, kicked ass all day. I think he won every race I saw him in. The motorcycle guys seemed to get quite a few more passes than the car guys. I bet he ran 5 or 6 times. Finally it stopped raining and I could get some decent shots without the lens getting spotted.
These Thor bikes and the single cylinder Indian had already completed a 3000 mile Canonball run prior to coming to this event.
Thanks for the Sunday pics! Definitely one of the best show/race/weekends I have been to. Looking forward to next year...hope this weekend didn't put TROG off from coming back. We had a blast! If any of you Oilers see this thread Lets do it again next year!!! Thanks!!! Sent from my SCH-I535 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I agree 100% As I posted in a different thread Friday night, the level of cars was astounding to me, much better than I was expecting. I mean, they had to be pretty special cars to stand out at this event. You're run of the mill banger model A with finned aluminum head and dual carbs is just pretty ho-hum in this company. I'm sure there were a lot of lesson's learned by the organizers that they can address going forward. I'm not going make a bitch list here, but I'd give some constructive criticism to the hosts if they'd care to listen. But overall we had a great time at a historical event, we'll be able to tell the story about going and being a part of it for many years to come. A couple of observations; first was the lack of the oh so common Street Rod at every other event around. Not hardly a shiny paint job to be found ('cept on the Custom's). No 4 bar fronts, no IFS's, no 350/350's, no fiberglass, no subwoofer sound systems, no Boyd wheels, no billet anything, just good old fashioned traditional rods, it was very refreshing. Also, the average age was quite young, lot's of families, lot's of folks in their 20's - 30's, and then us old farts pushing 6 or more decades. Seems like a big gap in the middle. I take that as a good sign though, that hot rodding may have dipped in popularity for a few years, but is coming back strong, and the younger crowds seem to favor traditional rods and custom's. That's cool. Another thing is just the overall friendly atmosphere, I saw very few attitudes, especially among the younger crowd. Everyone was just there to enjoy the event and share the space in poor conditions with no temper flare ups, no shoving or fights anywhere. The racers, for the most part, were very pleasant and willing to talk about their cars, very accommodating to people invading their space and taking ton's of pics. Everyone was just so cool to each other. Smiles and nods and sharing of information it was all good. Hot rodders and racers haven't always been so nice, I've been to so many drag races back in the day that were pretty bad; alcohol and lot's of competitive young men don't always make for the best situation for women and children, but I like the family friendly atmosphere. Hopefully that is something that will continue.
The Deluxe speed shop had 4 cars to die for...my kid loved the 3 window and said it reminded him of my Buick 40 seies that I had 12 years ago... Safe travels to the guys as they were loading up as we were leaving too... Sent from my SCH-I535 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
LBCD, Thanks for the coverage, been on that beach many times...but with all of those cool old cars and racers, it must have been a fabulous time. Thank you to all of the others that contributed to the outstanding photos. Jnaki
Great pics, thanks for sharing! At the very least, the weather made the pictures that much more spectacular looking. How about TROG north, on the Michigan shoreline, home of Harley Davidson? Maybe?
Glad that I was there, was a pretty rough weekend, but the racing was worth it!!!!!! Glad that we left after saying by to Bruce, Dennis and I hit the 101 south for home. And after we made it to Temple City All the in all, The best time possible for spectacular Hot Rods......
Maybe someone already asked... But what's up with the Barney Navarro roadster... Sans nose and hood with blister?
"No 4 bar fronts, no IFS's, no 350/350's, no fiberglass, no subwoofer sound systems, no Boyd wheels, no billet anything, just good old fashioned traditional rods, it was very refreshing." I find this comment interesting as I was told the grey primer 34 roadster is fiberglass. I didn,t realise that trailering your car was traditional either
Shouldn't be any glass body cars in the race, the rules state: "Car body must be 1934 or older, American made only". Hauling a race car to an event by truck/trailer isn't traditional? Did you think that through?
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