Thoughts On Being Last and Ghosts From The Past

For the first time in a while, I had trouble coming up with a title for this weeks blog. So many events have been happening over the past few weeks, I almost didn't know where to start. I figured here at the home of Maximum Power is as good a place as any - we'll be doing some slight changes over the next few weeks. The format will stay the same, but we'll be modifying some other aspects starting January 1st 2016. We're kinda pumped about it, we hope you will like what you see as well.

I actually ventured out into some stores yesterday, which is rare for me seeing it was black Friday. For the most part, the stores were nowhere near as packed as I thought they would be - which gave me a chance to grab a better look at what might be available this holiday season classic car wise. Some of the cool things I came across, in store as well as on-line, was this classic Chevy 750 piece puzzle. If they had more stuff like this when I was a kid, I might've done more of them. This will be a great project on those days when it's snowing like we're living in

Buffalo or when the Siberian Express is blowing up our address - which happens occasionally here on the coast of Maine. The other cool items I found  - and you have to have a sense of nostalgia as well as it being semi-twisted in nature with the 1st one, is the Dirty Mary & Crazy Larry Car vs Train Set. That's right - slot car fun combined with model railroading and Russian roulette! Typically a set includes a train set with an electric-motor-powered diesel locomotive, two or three freight cars, matching caboose, two slot cars, two speed controllers, and a UL-listed transformer to power it. Unlike the movie, you actually have options - you can race around and set up a perfectly timed crash just like at the end of the movie, or decelerate and avoid the train. You can also replay these scenarios over and over. The only bummer is that the slot cars look nothing like the Dodge Charger that was driven in the movie. The other cool slot car set I found was the American Highway race set featuring a modern Camaro SS and a Mustang GT.

While the Dirty Mary & Crazy Larry thing kinda got me on the ghosts of the past theme, it also carried over to NASCAR - and led to the 2nd part of the title for this weeks blog. I read of the passing of famed sports car racer Dick Guldstrand. While he was best known for racing Corvettes back in the 60's, he also dabbled in racing a 1967 427-powered Dana Chevrolet sponsored Camaro. He is also credited with giving Chevrolet its first Trans-Am victory at St. Jovite, Canada in May 1967.
Also as many of you know by now, Jeff Gordon drove his last NASCAR race about a week ago at Homestead-Miami for the Sprint Cup season-ending EcoBoost 400. While this blog focuses primarily on pre-1975 NASCAR, and love him or hate him, you have to admit that Gordon has contributed immensely to the sport over the past 23 years.

Vintage V8 Photography, which this blog is associated with, will be adding yet another car show to its "must attend" list for 2016. A friend of mine shared some pictures and details with me about this unique get-together - the Muscle Car Classic out in Inver Grove Heights in Minnesota. First off, it's hosted by a local GTO club, but it welcomes any and all muscle cars from the 60's and 70's. What makes this gig more interesting are the Street Muscle as well as the Rat Muscle categories. Rat Muscle is where all the barn finds, rust buckets, and anything else that looks downright pitiful gather for their moment in the sun. Oddly, it one of the more popular categories!

I also read this week about Shawn Bowen and his new "Violator" 1970 Dodge Challenger nostalgia nitro funny car. (Photo right courtesy of Dragzine.com). Bowen is no stranger to funny cars, but he's the latest driver to move to this increasingly popular class. That news got me to thinking - I can remember another driver who got her start in the 60's, but made her mark in a

1970 Dodge Challenger funny car. Della Woods is one of the few drivers, male or female, to drive funny cars for over 40 years. One of her most popular cars was her "Funny Honey" Challenger. As I compare the two pictures, I still can't help but have a soft spot for the old style funny cars, especially how they look, despite the all the safety improvements that have come about. There's just something about that old-school rake. Maybe I'm just gettin' old...

Until next time, peace out.
Dave