Event Coverage TROG Bonneville ??

The WoS event is much smaller than the SCTA SpeedWeek. Motel rooms are not hard to get and are more reasonable in price. Check out the USFRA web site for entry and rules for the 130 club. Lots of race cars and bikes there. Not many spectators.

 

The opportunity to race at Bonneville sounds great to me, i was hoping more events like this would pop up, whether it be a type of franchise or by multiple organisers. Being in northern Wisconsin, a trip to the coast is a big proposition.

Ive said it before, hint hint, lake Michigan has lots of beach...

Sent from my LG-M153 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Straight up!

 

Leave the salt alone to what it was intended to host please!!

 

Pretty sure a naturally occurring phenomenon that has been there for thousands of years wasn't "intended to host" any automotive events.

 

If my first reply to this thread is considered negative it sure wasn't meant to be. I just thought the TROG cars were going to get to run longer and faster, with that safety becomes more of an issue. Bob

 

I don,t know why it takes some guy from the east coast to make you guys get off your ass and go to Bonneville.
SCTA has been running there for decades and USFRA has a 130 class.
SO,why have you waited until now?

 

Because the rules and restrictions are a lot more lax. You don't need fire suppression or a lot of the other super expensive safety items.

I drove to Bonneville in 2008 with a bunch of buddies, we drove on the salt for three days and honestly..we drove pretty fast going from course to course(they had three courses open).
I took mark Morton for a ride and I'm pretty sure I was going at least 100mph... it was exhilarating.....but if I could take that same street car and make a few timed passes or heads up race on that very salt...I'd do it.

 

The salt is a great place to add permanent "patina" aka rust to your TROG vehicle. And yeas you will never get it all out.

 

The salt flats surface issues are mainly with making a good course that is 7 miles long. It should not be difficult to find a piece long enough for 1/8 mile course plus shutdown. It could be laid out closer to the mountains then the traditional Mountain course. I would think they would only 1/2 mile of smooth surface.

 

Maybe you could gather a traditional ice racing event.

Hint, hint.....

 

All I can say is, because TROG has set perimeters as to what the car should look like and be built with, the sales of TROG period correct parts has really gone up. TROG has helped the period correct USED parts market for the better. Thanks

 

Dang I may have to ask for another vacation or retire a few months earlier than I had planned.
I went to Trog at Pismo beach and yes the racers have period clothing but it works and isn't anywhere near as silly as some who seem to never go anywhere to an event further than half a tank of gas from the house make it seem.
I don't remember seeing one frigging "burn out" at the starting line at Pismo. I did see some sand thrown up but that was expected and made for some good photos by the guys who were in place behind the cars to take them. Most guys were trying to keep wheel spin to a minimum to be first to the end of the track.

A bunch of 50 to maybe close to 300 hp cars with skinny tires can't do anymore damage than a bunch of cars that may run a couple thousand horsepower or the hard charging push trucks of the ones that need a push off the line to get up where they can pull themselves. after a certain number of passes pull the drag over the start area to fill in the ruts and go again to keep from digging holes. They are already set up to do that as they do it in NJ and did it at Pismo

They were at the mercy of the tide charts and the phase of the moon at Pismo (don't schedule a beach race during a full moon) Also at the mercy of a popular area that has some big group activity going on most every weekend of the year. When this is the time we can get the camp grounds and the beach coincides with this is the time of the full moon and ultra high tides that just happen to be exactly when you want to be on the beach racing it doesn't come out well. I still think there are some cool as hell venues in Cali that could host the event albeit not at the beach but with a lot of character and nifty vibe and bleachers to hold a bunch of people, a spot for a car show and room for the vendors. Throw down a layer of sand for about 3/8 of a mile and you have an event.

 

I don't know why you need a beach. The FAST guys have what they call a level hill climb and several using real hills. When I was at Yakima, we pitted (motor pool) on a mile square paved area, Mybe you could use that. BLM might let TROG on El Mirage on a weekend SCTA isn't there. I still say it's just an excuse to go out and play. Any place should work for that.

 

The biggest worry for preserving the salt flats isn't our old skinny tired cars. Its the potash plant that's been depleting the surface of the salt for decades that needs encouragement to continue pumping as much salt as possible back onto the flats. Motorhomes and large trucks seem to do the most damage too. I encourage everyone to follow what's happening out there year around by logging on to http://savethesalt.org/ and read about their efforts to preserve the flats. Donations are welcomed!

 

Correct, give the place a break is all Iam saying.

 

There is no way that the USFRA are going to let these guys anywhere near the 3 or 5 mile courses. They will probably be near to hiway 80 and a few miles down from the start line for the race cars. They only need a short amount of good salt to run 1/8 mile. So I bet they will be next to or on the same course as the 130 club 1 mile runs. Salt at 7:30 this morning. You need to be in this picture.

 

Honestly, the race is not about moustache wax and costumes. It's about building a certain type of car that could have been in the book Birth of Hotrodding or Veda Orr's Hot Rod Pictorial. The only "costume" part of it that we ask racers to have is a vintage helmet so that your head doesn't stick out like a sore thumb in this great classic car.

That being said, it's a celebration of a certain time in history. People come to celebrate that. Many have taken it upon themselves to get into it. I think it adds to the experience. Think of a party that is Hawaiian themed. Now think of someone saying "Look at all those stupid people going to a Hawaiian themed party wearing Hawaiian stuff. How dumb." That wouldn't happen. Sure. Some people show up in jeans and a T-shirt and no one cares. Cut loose a little and have some fun and join in. It's really no big deal.

Also, us Oilers were just all publically discussing the person that we think most embodies the spirit of Trog and we to a majority agree that Mark Conforth, Joe Conforth's father, 80+ years old who worked 22 hour days to build a rail and a car so that they could participate. They ran the Lincoln 12 speedster the past 2 years and won. They walk around in their modern clothes all weekend and get the mighty respect from us Oilers because they are legit hot rodders. They make it happen at all costs. No sitting around saying "costumes are stupid, cars look slow, so I won't try."

This is really like nothing else on the planet and the people who were there with a car all walked away with some of the best memories of their lives. Seize the day. Build a car and join in the fun. Bring a cool Cromwell helmet that I guarantee you will display with pride when you get back home and leave the moustache wax in the medicine cabinet.

 

I think the people who are worried that the racers are ruining the salt flats need to read http://www.landracing.com/index.php?start=4 Scroll down to the Car and Driver banner and click it on. In 1972 the salt miners said that by 1992 there would be no salt left to mine. They would have taken it all. They were off a little on the time line. But that is what is happening. This is on a very large scale. The racers are not the problem. And don't forget. People dress up for Civil War reenactments. I don't. But I don't care if they do. Same for TROG.

 

I think the real issue is elitism. If your car is not 100% period correct you don't get in. I have seen at Lone star round up special parking area, LA roadster show, Mooneyes etc. The whole traditional hot rod "scene" has just gotten out of control with how perfect your car has to be or if you are in with the "in group" . If you don't qualify you are cast aside and are told, your car is cool but not cool enough for our group.

 

Haters gonna hate! I went to the first three Trogs and they were all a great time.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

This year we were hunting for cars that followed the receipe. We got tons of submissions of stock model a chassis with a T body bolted on. We want some more effort than that. We had a few entires who sent in registrations and we sent back some "change a few things and send in a pic again" emails. They were close. We have a set number of seats on this bus and then the bus is full.

It's not an elitism thing. It seems that there is really only a large handfull of folks that are willing to build to the receipe, haul the car the distance, pay the hotel stay, take the time off work, etc. And then we can only run just over 100 cars and 100 bikes in a 5-6 hour window each day that is determined by the ocean tide coming in and out.

Sorry that everyone doesn't get a ribbon of participation to access the race course on this one. However, there were a few hundred additional hotrods parked on the beach just outside the front gate and driving around all weekend. Some outstanding stuff NOT running on the beach. We love you all!!

One could say the Olympics are elitist. The NBA is elitiest, our daily job is elitiest... People who wake up in the morning saying the whole world is against them usually encounter road blocks. People who really want it seem to make it happen. We each control our own reality.

 

I have mentioned this before, and I think I'll mention it again. I have "known" Mel for years. We met on this board. We text each other every once and while. Usually dirty pictures or crude thoughts. But I never met the man until I went to TROG in NJ a couple years back. It was the year you went Ryan, as I BS'd with Joyo for a few. And there was Mel, in his bare foot glory with a huge smile on his face. He would hang on behind cars and surf, he would walk around shaking hands and enjoying the day. He raced his motorcycle. He just soaked it all up. He saw me in the crowd and came over and shook my hand.

Later in the day, he was walking down the line and again saw me. He said "hey come here" and he, my Dad and myself went into one of the closed tents and he pulled three beers from a cooler. He handed us each one, held his up and said "cheers". I don't want to sound cheesy but it was a special moment, this guy had this huge event going on, all around us, and he took the time to have a beer with us privately. After the drink we left the tent, he flagged down a friend of his with a car and said "you gotta let my buddy Chris run that thing down the beach". So I even got to participate. He told the security guy, who earlier in the day would not let us in the pits "you let these guys go anywhere they want" and the security guard said "yes sir".

With all that said, I guess what I am saying is Mel is the real deal. He is like a poet, only instead of a pen he builds props and selects cars that envision his dream. He makes sure everyone has fun and he also has fun. I truly think he just wanted to get some cool bikes and trucks together and race down a beautiful beach and it blossomed into a worldwide event. He did the leg work and got the OK, he spent all year building towers and props and tents, he and the oilers and other help, spend a lot of time before AND after the event. He's got that little bit of crazy in him, along with that slight hippy "I don't give a shit" vibe that are both needed to pull this off. I would have been a nervous wreck and panic'd all day, not having fun. Ryan, I am sure you would have too. But Mel just took it all in. He lived life for that very moment. With a smile on his face and his toes in the sand.

 

Elrod, Chris, and Ryan. You bring up very valid points and I agree with just about all you have said. The point I was trying to make is when someone you never met comes up too you and says hi I am soso and we have connected on the internet, you should not blow them off or say yea cool and then go about your business. The internet has changed how we interact with each other and it seems people have two personalities. I try very hard to keep the same personality across the board. I think the whole reserved parking areas and special access is all BS. If we are supposedly all in this together then it needs to be that way. Now more than ever we need to be the ambassadors of this hot rod world we are in and not cast off anyone. Do not repeat what the gold chains did in the 80's and 90's.

 

Maybe I need to reword my reply. I've never been to a TROG event, I'd love to though. None of my builds fit the bill for it, nor will they, and I'm fine with that. I'll go to watch.
I just hope the vision doesn't get too strung out over too many events and too many locations and then the quality of it all drops due to lack of time to plan and execute each event.
Dare I say it, something like the Americruise, it was a really fun event when it landed in Lincoln each year (plenty of space, central location in US, all those things) Then it got sold off and became super commercialized (more than initially) and started doing silly locations like Vail Co, where vendor trucks couldn't make it in, and there wasn't enough parking in any particular area and cars were spread wherever they could find a spot. It died shortly after that. For me, events do better if they focus on one or 2 absolutely bitchin events a year and stick with what works, not flopping here and there and trying to do too many.
Best of luck. Were it not the same weekend as the hill climb I'd do my damndest to go watch. Maybe next year?

 

SCTA just sent a cease and desist letter to Mel so he stops Plagiarising their logo in his advertising as this is not an SCTA sanctioned event

 

Agreed, it has practically become a "brand".
Can't tell you how many CL ads now use the keyword TROG