A pair of special RWB Porsches at SEMA 2019

A pair of special RWB Porsches at SEMA 

RAUH-Welt BERGRIFF (RWB) is a renowned Porsche tuner located in Japan that produces wild looking cars that are traditionally a big hit at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. 

Before the 2019 SEMA show, Akira Nakai, the founder of RWB, traveled to the Adam’s Polishes store and shop located in Anaheim, California and built two RWB Porsches for the 2019 SEMA show to commemorate the release of the limited edition Adam's RWB Detail Spray.

Both the RWB Porsches are equipped with one-of-kind Rotiform wheels fitted with Nitto Extreme tires were on dipaly at the Adam's Polishes booth outdoors in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

‘Showa,’ the Porsche 993  owned by Christian Coujin, a RWB collector from Seattle, sports twin turbochargers and is finished in ultra-rare Porsche "Project Gold" golden yellow metallic paint over the RWB wide-body kit. This is reportedly Coujin's eighth RWB Porsche.  

The purple air-cooled Porsche 964, owned by Miami-based RWB collector Allen Yang, also sports a RWB wide body kit.

 While the Yellow RWB Detail Spray in Summer Squash Scent was limited to only 888 bottles (to mark Nakai’s 88^th United States build), sold out quickly, you can purchase regular bottles of the Adam’s Polish detail spray. 

The manufacturer says users simply spray and wipe for a streak-free, brilliant finish that is guaranteed to outshine the competition. Adam’s Polishes says the spray, made in the United States, enhances gloss, depth, and shine, extends the protection of waxes and sealants, and has a pleasant strawberry fragrance.

Shop directly at https://adamspolishes.com/

The author has used and highly recommends Adam's Polishes 

All photographs by the author a proud member of SEMA 

The Yokohama Tires display at SEMA 2019

Yokohama Tires display at the 2019 SEMA show

The outdoor Yokohama tire exhibit at the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show was very unique in its compact display of Yokohama ADVAN tire-equipped race cars. ADVAN tires are race-inspired and street legal, and allow drivers to experience exceptional handling with their high performance sports cars.

In 2019, Yokohama Tire Corporation celebrated its 50^th anniversary in the United States.  ADVAN tires are manufactured in the US at Yokohama’s 1.2-million square foot Salem, Virginia facility. Yokohama also has a $300 million one-million square foot commercial truck tire manufacturing facility in West Point Mississippi. 

The first featured car at the SEMA 2019 display was this 2006 BMW M3 E46 GTR raced by Tom Milner’s Prototype Technology Group (PTG) in 2006 with ADVAN 2005 series tires. During its 11 seasons with BMW, the PTG partnership yielded titles in IMSA, the United States Road Racing Club championship, the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Series. Powered by a 3.4-liter inline six cylinder engine, Team PTG finished in sixth place in the 2006 American LeMans Series GT2 class.

This Panoz Esperante GTLMe was one of two raced by PTG during the 2007, 2008 and 2009 American Lemans Series seasons in the GT2 class. Powered by 5-liter Ford V-8 engines, the PTG team finished seventh in 2007, sixth in 2008 and fifth in the 2209 season final standings. 

Also on display was the ADVAN 2006 Porsche 911 GTS Cup racer.  For the 2020 racing season, Yokohama is the title sponsor and the ADVAN A052 series is the specified tire for the Porsche Sprint Trophy USA West and Porsche Air-Cooled Cup USA series, as well as the Porsche Sprint Trophy USA West Invitational.

This Yokohama display also included this striking display of hoods with graphics showing the layouts of the tracks which challenge the competitors in the Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup USA presented by Yokohama.

This is the 2018 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport driven by Yokohama brand ambassador Travis Pastrana to victory in the Porsche Pikes Peak Trophy by Yokohama class at the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2018 and 2019. The three-time AMA Motocross and Supercross Champion, X-Game winner and stunt performer set the class-winning time of 10-minute, 33.897 seconds in 2018 in this car equipped with ADVAN A502 tires.

Also on display was this Yokohama sponsored and equipped 2019 Toyota Baja trophy truck built by Racer Engineering.

No 2019 SEMA exhibit would have been complete without a display of 2020 Toyota GR Supra this one of course was equipped with ADVAN APEX V601® high-performance tires.   

Check out the ADVAN website at https://www.yokohamatire.com/advan-tires

All photographs by the author who is a proud member of SEMA 

“The West Coast Stock Hall of Fame Classic” on Saturday July 18th

Reminder: 

“The West Coast Stock Hall of Fame Classic” on Saturday July 18

July 14 – Today, the title sponsor was revealed for the Saturday July 18th co-sanctioned BCRA/USAC event at Petaluma Speedway.  To be known as “The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Classic” the race will feature an increased purse – $1000 to the feature race winner with $600 for second place, $500 for third place, $400 for fourth place and $300 to the fifth place finisher.  In addition, the Hall of Fame and several anonymous donors have stepped forward to offer the highest-finishing BCRA registered midget in the feature a $500 bonus.

The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, founded 2001, carries forth its mission to preserve history and heritage of the important role that West Coast stock car competitors have played in the sport’s development and continuation.

The Hall of Fame recognizes, through annual enshrinement,  outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media. The BCRA board, officials and racers all extend their thanks to the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame for their generous support in these trying times.

Rick Faeth, the Petaluma Speedway promoter announced that the pit gates will open at noon on Saturday, with a pit fee of $45. In order to gain admission to the pits, a mask or face covering must be worn and the track’s COVID19 waiver must be signed. Mud packing is scheduled to begin at 4 PM and the racing program will begin at 6 PM.

An old school "white wall" look with modern technology

An old school look with modern technology from Deluxe Wheels 

At the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, the Deluxe Wheel Company displayed a revolutionary, patent pending 20-inch rim that replicates a 15-inch steel wheel with a 2-½ inch section of whitewall tire attached. 

The Deluxe design allows the use of modern low-profile tires but still have the old-school wide whitewall look. Deluxe wheels are also compatible with the car’s original hubcaps to complete the original look.

There are two types of wheels available. The “Full Profile,” shown above, replicates a steel wheel profile and most 15-inch hubcaps, center caps and trim rings fit. This wheel is made with 3-1/2 inches of forward spacing from the edge of the rotor’s hub to the outside bead of the tire.

The “Half Profile,” shown above, is for applications with new after-market chassis with tight clearances of late model suspensions and brakes. This wheel is made with 2 inches of forward spacing from the edge of the rotor’s hub to the outside bead of the tire, but most 15-inch hubcaps will fit.

All Deluxe wheels are made from heat-treated 6061 T-6 Billet aluminum that is CNC milled to the finish details, including the raised logo on the pseudo-whitewall. The outer wheel is finished in a gray primer to be finished later to match each application, and the whitewall section is finished in a durable Alsa™ soft-touch paint—it has the durability of a powder coat, but with a soft-feel of a rubber-like texture.

Deluxe devised an ingenious solution to place the valve stem in the factory position of a 15-inch wheel. A special channel is milled through the center of the billet outer rim–intersecting the valve stem at the original position of a 15-inch steel wheel valve stem, making the valve stem functional.

Deluxe wheels are available in widths from 8 inches to 12 inches in half-inch increments.

Check out the Deluxe Wheel Company website at https://www.deluxewheels.com

You can reach Deluxe at  269- 612-8926 or email to info@DeluxeWheels.com

All photos by the author who is a proud member of SEMA 

2019 Dodge HEMI® Challenge Champion

2019 Dodge HEMI® Challenge Champion

On August 30 2019 second-generation racer Jimmy Daniels won his fourth straight Dodge Hemi Challenge at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis in this vintage 1968 Dodge Dart equipped with a HEMI® engine from Ray Barton Racing Engines.  Dodge displayed the winning car, the specially designed Dodge trophy, which is a cylinder head from a Mopar HEMI® Engine, and the $15,000 winner’s check from Dodge at the 2019 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For the past nineteen years the Challenge has featured heads-up competition between HEMI®-powered Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda factory race cars built specifically for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Super Stock competition in 1968. The factory-built lightweight, purpose-built package cars dominated Super Stock class competition over five decades ago with their high-compression 426-cubic inch  HEMI® engines equipped with a pair of Holley carburetors.

Dodge Production code L023 denoted the model designed specifically for competition in Super Stock racing. Only 80 HEMI® Darts were built, and they differed substantially from regular production models- it was more than an engine swap. Partially assembled Dart chassis were shipped to the Hurst Performance facility in Madison Heights, Michigan, to complete the transformation. Hurst technicians had to literally hammer out the shock tower sheet metal to create clearance for the valve covers.

1968 factory photo courtesy FCA US LLC

Other modifications included metal work on the rear fenders to accommodate the big rear slick tires, fiberglass hoods and front fenders, light weight front and rear bumpers and Plexiglas™ windows for secured by seat belt straps rather than window cranks. Although the cars in theory were street legal, the vehicles were delivered in primer sans warranty with a sticker that stated the car’s    “intended only for use in supervised acceleration trials.”

The 23-year old Daniels is unbeaten in the special event since his debut in 2016 and now has an unblemished 19-0 record in elimination rounds.  Daniels  the number one qualifier for the Challenge with an run with an elapsed time of 8.473 seconds, defeated first-time finalist Rich Locker’s 1968 SS/AH Plymouth Barracuda with an ¼-mile elapsed time run of 8.576 seconds to Locker’s 8.629 seconds in the finale.  

All color photos by the author  

USAC sprint car action

USAC AMSOIL® National Sprint Car action from Lincoln Park Speedway 

Our friend Rich Eisenbeis sent along some photographs from the USAC AMSOIL®  sprint car race at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville Indiana on July 4th    

Current USAC National sprint car points leader 

Justin Grant in the Topps #4 

Travis Berryhill, who works at John Force Racing Inc. 

in the Sturgeon Racing #77s

Second generation racer Dickie Gaines flipped 

the John Soudrette #44 into the fence during the second 

heat race but emerged uninjured 

Chop Suey Chevrolet C10 pickup

Chop Suey Chevrolet C10 pickup

This radical 1968 Chevrolet C10 pickup built by Air Art in Oklahoma and finished to a very high level, was on display in the “Feature Vehicle” lot outdoors at the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. 

 

This truck is outfitted with air suspension and modern drive train while the body has been chopped and channeled with a new custom front fascia and rear tailgate, finished off with an amazing custom bed and interior.

All photos by the author