A close look at a NASCAR Whelen™ Modified at PRI 2018

The NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) booth at the 2018 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show displayed the #46 Goodie Racing 2018 Chevrolet NASCAR Whelen™ modified driven by Craig Lutz and sponsored by Riverhead Building Supply. Goodie Racing is owned by Riverhead Building Supply owners Russell and Jeff Goodale with crew chief Douglas Ogiejko. 

The 106-inch wheelbase LFR Enterprises chassis built in West Boylston Massachusetts is powered by a 610-horsepower NASCAR-spec  364-cubic inch Robert Yates Racing engine  based on  GM LS2 block  with LS2 CNC ported heads fed by an 830 CFM (cubic feet per minute) Holley carburetor. The Spec engine is not “sealed” and NASCAR rules do allow teams to assemble, disassemble and rebuild the engine but no modifications to the components are allowed. 

Craig Lutz from Miller Place New York finished in fifth place in the 2018 NASCAR Whelen™ modified tour points in his first full season with Goodie Racing.  With three races completed in the 17-race 2019 NASCAR Whelen tour Lutz is in 14^th place in the standings with one top ten finish.

 Check out the NASCAR Whelen™ site at https://hometracks.nascar.com/regional/whelen-modified-tour/ and LFR Enterprises at https://www.lfrchassis.com/

Datsun 510 Trans-Am race car

The 2019 Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) Charity Challenge at the Sonoma Raceway the weekend of October 5 & 6 featured nine race groups, among them was the cars that competed for the John Morton Cup, cars that competed in the Sports Car Club of America 2.5–liter Trans-Am series and in SCCA ‘B’ and ‘C’ sedan racing in the late nineteen sixties and early nineteen seventies.

The John Morton Cup is named in honor of racer John Morton who dominated the 1971 and 1972 under 2.5-liter SCCA Trans-Am championship seasons for Datsun (marketed these days as Nissan) with six wins each season. Morton was on hand to race over the weekend in this Datsun 510.

A view of the longitudinal mounted single overhead camshaft (SOHC) 4-cylinder carbureted Datsun 110-cubic inch engine under the fiberglass hood develops around 150 horsepower more than enough for the car that weighs around 1700 pounds.

The cockpit of race cars of this era were very sparse with the myriad of electronics that we see today. 

Photos by the author 

NCAR Sprint Car raffle

Northern California Auto Racing Inc. (NCAR) a non-profit, charitable organization that is fundraising to establish a Hall of Fame and Museum, is conducting a raffle of a commemorative scale model sprint car valued a $2,495.00. The car measures 17 inches in length,  9-1/2 inches high and 8 inches wide and is mounted on a walnut base.  

The raffle tickets are $5.00 each or five tickets for $20.00 when bought together will benefit the NCAR which is an IRS approved 501C corporation in its fund-raising efforts. The raffle drawing will be held during the 4^th annual ‘Dinner with Champions’ that will be held during 2020.

Send your check for raffle tickets to:

 NCAR c/o Roy Wilhite

 PO Box 41284

 Sacramento CA  95841