After watching last weeks Indy race it was back home to do a story. Naturally it was a three day weekend and the ol computer decided to disconnect from the internet again. Being the computer dummy it was wait till everyone returned to work to get the how to fix it answer.

In the meantime I spent a lively couple of days scanning some of the shot that always seem to be stacking up on the desk. Among them were some I like to call the S.C.T.A. Participant Collection because over the years car owners would send in pictures for use in the Speedweek Program. Some of the shots go back to the mid-fifties but most are from later years when the programs started showing snaps of all the cars. Some were taken at El Mirage and a lot at Bonneville and as usual you always run across some great ones like Al Teague's number 76 before it became a streamliner. Others that never cease to amaze me are a the oddball cars with outrageous power plants and configurations that are uniquely land speed.

One that is mostly forgotten today is Ermie Immerso's always evolving Thunderbird. He built a few of these rigs named after his Thunderbird exhause systems and boy were they wild. The first shot today shows his Twin-Turbine powered ride from the late '70's. It was an old school design that was a million feet wide and looked fast just standing still. Ermie's son Marvin finally drove it to a speed of 287.539 mph before he decided to build a new one that was a lot narrower. It never got finished but is still around and is on a chassis table undergoing some updates for possible future action.

That brings us to this last Saturday and a trip to the Wally Parks NHRA Museum as a guest of my pal Dan Warner and the Annual Bonneville 200 MPH Club banquet. Besides getting to see all the cool cars that rotate in and out of the place you get to kibitz with friends and heros from the old days. One of my favorites is Otto Ryssman who was a real player back in '52 when he ran 222.57 mph and became a charter member of the club. I am always amazed at how sharp he is when telling stories from the Golden Age of both the lakes and quarter mile. When I got home I found this pix (HMC_135) to share with you of the man when he was merely a tyke. This pix was taken in '53 with a few of our heros presenting Harvey Haller with a brand new Halibrand Quickie for becoming a new member of the "Club" with a speed of  209.480 mph. To his right is a chap you might recognize, it's Art Chrisman. The dapper Gent in the sports coat is Captain George Eyston who was an honorary member for his run in the Thunderbolt before the war at 357.50 mph. If you need gears then Willie Young was the man. He only ran 255.411 in the Kenz and Leslie flathead powered liner. Mr. tall is our man Otto showing off his prized 200 MPH shirt that is on display in one of the museum's cases these days. Last but not least is George Hill who ran 230.16 mph. Like I said. all these guys are heros for blazing the land speed trail. Thanks for the chat Otto.

Besides the chats, the food and the beer the 2-Club also has a raffle of many fine donations from the sponsors and members. On the top of the list this year of fantastic prizes was an autographed pix from Andy Green, the world's fastest man and proud club member. It was won by a just rescentaly turned 75 year old youngster by the name of Roy Fjastad seen smiling in  pix JMC_1229.

After loading up the truck with leftover beverages (you know what kind) it was time to go home. What a day it had been but it wasn't over for me yet. After Dan left I remembered that the Trompers were having a car show in the parking lot of Carrow's where they have their club meetings so it was off again. There were maybe a hundred rides of all kinds to oogle at and the cool thing is they were all drivers, not a single trailer queen amongst them. Again there was a good mix from customs to rods with a couple of bikes thrown in. Shot space being at a premium here's one that says cool (JMC_1229). Take one channeled '31 A-bone, stuff a OHV V8 in her and make it almost a taildragger then add some black primer and you got one rad rod. But the thing that really sets it off is the dash and the red and white interior. That '49-'51 narrowed Ford dash makes it a 10.

After not a bunch of sleep it was up and at it again on sunday with a trip out to behind Fontana Speedway and an event called the Antique Nationals. If you like old iron this is the place to go once a year. When I arrived and parked the car is was make a b-line to the starting line to check out the action. The first car I heard was a nasty little railjob powered by a GMC dump truck motor. It belonged to our old friends the Fergusons and had a little dose of Nitro added that you could smell a mile away. Naturally they won there round and here's a shot of it backing up after the burnout (JMC_1228). I later found out that the regular shoe forgot some paperwork so a substitute driver was found that just happened to be Bob Toros. What a small world. The day before at the "Club" party I was talking to his former race partner back in the fifties that goes by the name of Nick Arias. That opens the door for a pix of the boys car they ran together at Bonneville back in '54 (CWC_162.) They just happened to set a class record with the, you guessed it, GMC powered '38 Chevy at 138.41 mph. Really small world.

Lots more BS took place all over the pits and many more shots were taken. I'am always looking for the "out there" stuff and it was all over the place this year. You'd think that you've seen it all when it comes to rods but this next pix proves me wrong again. JMC_1230 shows a shot up Ford body on a kinda flimsey o-too-small ladder chassis. What got me was the spent cases wrapped around the top of the pipes and how the ends flaired out with noise supresion holes at the end just like a good old military rifle. I'am not so sure about the motorcycle front tires but I also like the Alberto Vargas chick on the cowl.

Down at the far end of the pits another dry lakes friend was hanging out that goes by the name of Fabian . He's not the guy from the fifties that couldn't carry a tune but Mr. Valdez of the Immortials and Bean Bandits that is certifiable like all us other car junkies. He showed up with his old Chevy (JMC_1231) that's been a work in progress for at least a decade and has a big ol Studie V8 stuffed under the hood. I couldn't resist a side shot. What you don't see is the Cad grill, Buick tailights and the zillions of hours it took to message every panel on the car. After he slings a little filler and puts some real paint on her this is going to be one nice custom.

All I can say is this was a hard weekend to beat untill the next one at El Mirage and the one after that at the Pomona Fairgrounds and the next one at.......