Hot rod fine art: Tom Fritz’s Front Engine Dragster

Please enjoy your brief, but meaningful and entertaining, look “over the shoulder” of painter Tom Fritz as he makes what I think is my favorite piece of Hot Rod Art to date (and he’s got alot to like!).

Over My Shoulder… Making Hot Rod Art
Written By Tom Fritz
(Car and Motorcycle fine art)

One of the side benefits of working at my art is that I’ve been blessed with the development of an extended family of very close friends, a rich variety of both men and women who support me in my self-inflicted torture. And as sit here in front of yet another blank canvas trying to figure out the combination of what I am and what the world needs, I’m reminded of all the conversations in which I’ve been asked, how hard is it to make my art, or how long it takes me to make it — in which they try to get a handle on how I put a painting together.

You gotta see how he did this!!

510 Cubic Reasons to Dig this Studebaker

When Kevin Nichols sets up to build his first street car (he’s been primarily a drag racer) he doesn’t mess around! I ran into Kevin a few weeks ago at the 83rd Ave. show up in Peoria. This car’s under construction, but there’s still a ton to see. Plus, sometimes cars that aren’t quite finished yet tell a better story than a finished car.

Read the complete story at MyRideisMe.com

Nostaglia Funny Car Body Builder

If you want to have some funny on the net, type in Nostalgia Drag Racing. From wild fuel altereds to stockers banging 4 speeds to top fuel funny cars, I like it all! No delay boxes or throttle stops there, just honest drag racing. I can’t get enough. So stumbling around, I found Army Armstrong of The Funny Factory. You ever wonder who builds the bodies for the growing wave of nostalgia racers? You found it.

The Funny Factory’s got a short but impressive list of funny car bodies and it sounds like they’re growing. Here’s what Army had to say about his business:

Read the rest of the story here:

Nostaglia Funny Car Body Builder at MyRideisMe.com

If you like this story, please join MyRideisMe.com. It’s all free! We’ve also got KILLER GARAGES to browse through and more blogs to read.

Ashley Force leads NHRA Funny Car Standings

Lead and some content for this story courtesy of Ford Media.

Without a doubt, John Force Racing is the team I’m routing for on Sundays. 3 of the 4 Force teams are in the Top 10 with Ashley Force at #1!

Ashley made history Sunday at the NHRA Funny Car race in Las Vegas, Nev when she drove her Castrol GTX Mustang to the final round and jumped up four spots in the standings to #1. She’s the first woman to ever lead the Funny Car standings after an event.

It was Ashley Force’s second appearance in an event final in as many weeks and the third appearance in her last six starts. She remains the only female driver ever to reach a Funny Car final.

I hope this made John Force feel a little better after failing to qualify for the Vegas race. I wonder if John’s thinking of gambling instead of racing. He ended his streak of qualifying at 393 in Vegas. That mark will never be broken. John, you’re still my man!

In case you didn’t know, Ashely’s ROLLING!

She was the 2007 AOL Hottest Female athelete (info here)

Ashley and the whole family were on the Tonight Show (LINK)

And yes, she’s got a Myspace Page (LINK)

Ashley and my relationship ends at me waving at her and playing with her Barbie Doll, but still, I’m pulling for her and I wish her all the best.

So check out her official site by clicking on the link below. Good luck Ashley and all of John Force Racing! (photos are copyright of Ford Media and AshleyForce.com)

Mayhem on Main Street

This blog, “Mayhem on Main Street” Rampage Altered Wheelbase Dart Hits the Highway was written by Steve Magnante. He took the photos too! Rather than trying to run down every driver on the information superhighway, the guys from Moparmax.com, MaxChevy.com and Dragracingonline.com pulled over to share a story with MyRideisMe.com. All three online magazines are great… That is if you like wheels up racing action! Take a look and tell’m MyRideisMe.com sent ya! Now for some altered wheelbase fun!

Begin Mayhem on Main Street
When is a car buildup finished? To some the answer to that question is never as continual upgrades are expected for as long as they own the car. But for me, I m the type that pretty much has a vision of what I want the car to be, how I want it to run and what I want it to look like. So when it is finished, I m the first to know. But in the case of the altered wheelbase 63 Dart I ve been chipping away at here for the last year or so, I m breaking my own rules.

I’ve performed final assembly and gotten the thing in running condition even had it lettered without doing any body work, chrome plating or detailing of any kind! Yep, it s got plenty of raw, rusty steel and I m not going to do a thing about it for now. Oh sure, the raw steel tubing of the roll bar and surgery scars from the mini tubs and altered wheelbase operation are protected by a heavy coating of Rust-Oleum brush paint, if all that stuff was allowed to turn orange, it d be a bitch to prep later on for the real final assembly. But that s as far as I went.

You see, I like to say you either own the car, or the car owns you. I ve got one car that surely owns my ass. It s a super shiny altered wheelbase 63 Nova that s lettered up as the Wilshire Shaker.

The Nova turned out exactly like I wanted it too but the problem is the darned thing is too nice to drive. I keep it in a bag 99-percent of the time. Oh, it ll run hard when I set it free, go to YouTube and search Wilshire Shaker video for some neat wheels-up antics.

But in the case of this Dart, I decided to wrap it all up and get it running on the street without cosmetics. I tell myself this is like the sea trials the Navy puts new ships through before final fitment of the superstructure and armament. In sea trials mode, there is no way to harm the paint because there is none. But it s also a great way to set yourself free from the neurotic stuff that goes with a shiny new car, the stuff that adds so much hassle and worry to the whole experience. Sure, some of the yard birds say I m being lazy and irresponsible. I just hop in the thing, flip em the bird and lay fifty feet of rubber as I scoot away from these sour nay-sayers.

So check out the photos of the latest progress on this insane little critter. The funny thing is how lots of people ask if I found the car in some old barn. When I answer it s just over a year old, they either love the raw edge and say don t do a thing or ask so when ya gonna paint it? What s your opinion?

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CNTA, Cal-Neva Timing Association Reunion

I just got off the phone with Glenn Stephenson, founder and official torch holder for the CNTA or California, Nevada Timing Association. This drag racing club was founded in 1939 and met at the track for club races continuously until about 1970 when the popularity of professional drag racing made it tough for the hobbyists to compete.

Glenn is a long time friend of my Pops. I wanted to let all the CNTA members know this reunion’s happening cause as Glenn said, “Since the 1999 reunion, those guys are all dying, so this might be the last one!”

The details are this:

March 15th, 2008

at the Richmond Rod & Gun Club in Richmond, CA

For any other info, you should contact Glenn Stephenson or his wife Karen at 510-237-4238.

I took notes the best I could and I hope to get more info from the reunion from Pops and his buddy Harry, but to fill you in on a few details, the CNTA was a group of racers that had an organized schedule of where they’d run. They’d rotate tracks, Baylands in Fremont, Cotati, Vaca Valley, Half Moon Bay, Fallon in Nevada, all over Norcal and Nevada. It was a great deal for the track owners cause they’d have about 40 more racers show up when CNTA was in town. The members would race the locals and each other for the track’s prizes, usually a trophy or if you won a few times, a jacket and for points withing the CNTA. Points would be awarded for winning, setting records and even for traveling the longest distance to the race. At the end of the year, the top guys would get a club jacket and a plaque. I can tell you for certain that my Pops treasures his jacket and his plaque from those days.

I could hear in Glenn’s voice that he was proud of the CNTA and the things they’d accomplished. Well, not all of the things! (he did mention trying to bury my dad head first in the sand…)

Some of the old CNTA members you might still know (or should know!)

How about Wayne Torkelson? I had never made the connection when I saw his bad to the bone Pro-mod Thunderbird racing. Always a Thunderbird!

And there’s Butch Blair, long time drag racer and pilot of the Fugowie front engine dragster.

And do a search for CNTA member Dale Emery and you’re bound to find another member, Rich Guasco of Pure Hell fame. This picture shows Dale Emory at the wheel. (Thank you purehellracing.com for the image.) That’s some pretty good company that Glenn’s hoping will all attend, some from as far away as Ohio, Texas good old Arizona and all over California and Nevada.

Please spread the word about the reunion so these guys can talk about all the good times, one more time. Thanks!!

(and while you’re here, why not join MyRideisMe.com. It’s free!)

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NHRA Coverage: Rain Sucks

Out of all the days…
It rains here 0.8″ on average in February’s in “sunny” Chandler, Arizona, but for some sick, demented and just play wrong reason, it had to rain on my vacation day at the NHRA Nationals.  Why not rain on some damn golf event! 26 days of rain a year! That’s all we get… It’s a fact. 7% for the math challenged… 7 days out of 100. I guess I’m just lucky.

I did have a good time though!

Hang’n at a track is always fun. My buddy Dave (click for his garage) races a 1974 Vega in Super Street. Lucky me had a dry trailer to hang in and I got to bring the 12 pack and the Carl’s Jr. Just in case you’re wondering, a “Combo meal with a side of hamburger” isn’t a joke. It means get an extra burger or Joe’s (click for his garage) gonna be hungry. Somehow we survived with a 4-buck hot dog to ease the hunger pain.

Dave wasn’t so lucky, or was he? After his shake down run, he felt his powerglide slipping. (Was that the name of a b-side Journey song?) After checking the fluid, he decided to drop the deep sump pan. Doing so, he heard the problem as one of the bolts that holds in the fluid pickup had snapped off. We trucked over to the Mac Tools center to find some left-handed drill bits. I thought we were looking for easy-outs, so I wasn’t fall’n for the old, “left-handed drill bit “routine… sure, I ask, “What’s a left handed drill bit?” and I look like the knuckle head searching for a bucket of prop wash or a quart of blinker fluid on his first day on the job. NOT ME! Umm, turns out there are left-handed drill bits and for $40 you can buy’m. (I didn’t really let on that I had just learned something… I was too worried about my 6’4″ frame bouncing off the back of Dave’s quad as we rode “Broke Back” style back to his pits…) (not that there’s anything wrong with that…) Here’s Dave’s, “I said sprocket, not socket” face and the limited edition, MyRideisMe.com racing stickers, ready to go to battle (don’t ask about contingency prizes!). Dave broke out first round after cutting a 0.005 light with a 10.79 on a 10.90 dial. Oops.

So as I left, damp and pissed that the rain had stopped, started, started and stopped all day, I grabbed this shot. This is how the top tier of drag racing rolls: (BAM! That just happened!)

These rigs represent the EMPIRE that is John Force Racing. 6 identical Peterbilt haulers in pristine white. As my luck would continue to run, Force went out 1st round and the sweetheart of drag racing, Ashley Force, didn’t even qualify with only the 2 runs on Saturday to get in. At least Robert Hight stayed hot and kept on to the final round where he lost to flu-stricken Fast Jack Beckman. Force had the call of the day following his and Mike Neff’s 1 & 2 (at the time) qualifying run. The 2 funny’s nearly touched at the end of the track. Force said, “Good thing we’re sponsored by Old Spice cause that was a close shave!”. Nobody does it better. Hats off to all NHRA pros for keeping on. After Eric Medlen’s death last year, I almost couldn’t watch racing anymore. Compare that to the Force team and amazingly, John Medlen. They’re out there trying to win and go as fast as they safely can while unselfishly sharing all they learn to protect other drivers. Thanks guys!

So all in all, a bad day of racing is better than work. Don’t you agree? Let us know and while you’re here, don’t wait for the next rainy day, please JOIN MyRideisMe.com.

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1937 Fiat Topolino Dragster

My new friend Newt’s got this super clean dragster (he let a girlie girl drive it once!) and this tough looking dropped Caddy tucked into his garage. You gotta love that!

Newt was also the winner of the Lincoln Electric Welding helmet MyRideisMe.com gave away. See, it pays to be a member!

The Day a “GIRLIE-GIRL” drove my dragster!

We built a new 496 c.i. engine for my dragster in Jan 06, got it race ready Feb, then found the bad fuel pump. Much to my sadness, I lost my sponsor (my wife, whose company moved to St. Louis leaving us financially unable to race. THANKS DEAR!), so I had to put my racing on hold for a while. Boy do I need a sponsor!

The months were very long with all the races rained out and not being able to afford to go racing when Rick Rogers from HammerHead Racing came to me in September and asked if he could put his girlfriend Jennifer Luna in my car to get her supercomp license. I told him the fuel pump was junk and he offered to get one. DONE DEAL, WE’RE GOING RACING!.

We arrive at Bakersfield’s Famoso Raceway for a test and tune on Friday afternoon. We set up the pit and prepped the car for a warm up. Rick and the crew decided that I will make a couple shake down runs first as the car hasn’t been down the track since last November, and now we have a new motor in it. I make an easy pass at 8.47 sec. and go back to the pits. Everything looks good so we went back to the starting line to make another pass. This time I push it a little harder and run a 8.36/163 mph. The car is ready for Jen..

See the rest of the blog here: CLICK ME, (you’ll be glad you did!)

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Care to comment? Is Newt’s a nice guy or crazy for doing this? And while you’re here, please JOIN MyRideisMe.com

It pays to JOIN MyRideisMe.com

Remember that “Member Drive” we had a while back? Well, Chris (Napalm) and Craig (pikesan) picked the lucky ones on Christmas day cause we thought that’d be fitting and we were in the giving mood.

Well, we’ve got a couple pictures from the winners we’d like to share. The first is from member 86crazyhorse with his wax and detail kit from Eagle One.

The next is from MyRideisMe’s newest best friend, LIL_NEWT Newt got the welding helmet from Lincoln Electric (that I REALLY wanted for myself!) and is putting it to great use. That guy does a little of everything automotive from racing to restoration to custom paint. His garage is BOOMING with cool stuff. Check it out

He’s got the helmet, the MyRideisMe.com sticker, t-shirt (email us if you want one!) and a nostalgia funny car in the back ground! It just don’t get any cooler in my book! Newt wrote a blog for us too called, The Day a “GIRLIE-GIRL” drove my dragster! I’ll post that here in a minute. Thanks Newt, see you at the Grand National Roadster show in about a week!

I’m still waiting to hear from the other lucky ones! Shoot me an email with your smiling faces.