Norwalk Blog|Your Blog About Norwalk
Dec
13
Filed Under (Automotive) by
Kaye Leery asked:
Driver Doug Kalitta of the 8,000-horsepower Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster views July 1 final eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio a bittersweet event for the olden quarter-mile veteran. Last season’s NHRA championship-points runner-up, Doug reached his first semi-final round of 2007 at the Norwalk race track that is situated just two hours away from his home in Ann Arbor, Mich. But thoughts of his father’s passing away just days before gave burden on the drag racing fan-favorite. Doug Kalitta, Sr. died due to cancer last Tuesday at age of 67.
Doug said that they really wanted to win for his dad. He continued that July 1 was their best day of the season and he really wish his father was there to see it.
Putting on a great show for the packed grandstands full of NHRA fans were Doug and his first-round opponent Larry Dixon. Doug, the No. 14 qualifier, and Dixon chased each other side-by-side all the way down the drag strip. But Doug’s Mac Tools machine succeeded at the finish line, 4.601 seconds, 322.11 mph to 4.632 sec., 317.94 mph. Doug won another close race in the quarter finals. It was Bob Vandergriff, Jr. this time that Doug sent home with 4.586 sec., 325.53 mph to 4.630 sec., 317.34 mph. Doug’s best of the weekend in Norwalk was the 2nd round.
In the semifinals, Doug rolled to the starting line to battle with current points-leader Rod Fuller. As the race got started, Doug looked to be on his way to his 53rd career Top Fuel final. However, his Mac Tools machine began struggling with valuable tire traction before the half-track mark and the “Big Red” dragster fell back to let Fuller escape with the win. From 13th to 12th, Doug moved up one position in POWERade championship points and now sits only 53 points away from the magical No. 8 position in points. After the first 17 events of the season, only the top eight in points will qualify to compete for the season championship in the new NHRA Countdown to the Championship format.
Native Australian Dave Grubnic, Doug’s Top Fuel teammate and driver of the Zantrex-3 dragster, qualified for eliminations positioning in the 8th spot. After Grubnic and opponent Luigi Novelli struggled to keep their nitro-fueled machines stuck to the racing surface, Grubnic picked up a round one win but managed to get the win in a tire-smoking affair, 6.857 sec., and 207.82 mph to 10.264 sec., 207.82 mph.
Grubnic raced Fuller in the quarterfinals. The Australian’s rail lost traction almost immediately after leaving the starting line. That let Fuller get the win light at 11.986 sec., 83.85 mph to 4.552 sec., 322.73 mph.
Furthermore, Grubnic moved up position in POWERade Top Fuel points from 7th to 6th.
Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, did not qualify for Sunday’s final eliminations in the Funny Car class. Probably, its Toyota Solara parts were not functioning well during a certain part of the race.
Hillary Will, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports-managed Ken Black-owned KB Racing LLC Top Fueler, was unfortunate and defeated in the quarterfinals.
The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals was the 11th of 23 national events in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
COTTINGHAM
Driver Doug Kalitta of the 8,000-horsepower Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster views July 1 final eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio a bittersweet event for the olden quarter-mile veteran. Last season’s NHRA championship-points runner-up, Doug reached his first semi-final round of 2007 at the Norwalk race track that is situated just two hours away from his home in Ann Arbor, Mich. But thoughts of his father’s passing away just days before gave burden on the drag racing fan-favorite. Doug Kalitta, Sr. died due to cancer last Tuesday at age of 67.
Doug said that they really wanted to win for his dad. He continued that July 1 was their best day of the season and he really wish his father was there to see it.
Putting on a great show for the packed grandstands full of NHRA fans were Doug and his first-round opponent Larry Dixon. Doug, the No. 14 qualifier, and Dixon chased each other side-by-side all the way down the drag strip. But Doug’s Mac Tools machine succeeded at the finish line, 4.601 seconds, 322.11 mph to 4.632 sec., 317.94 mph. Doug won another close race in the quarter finals. It was Bob Vandergriff, Jr. this time that Doug sent home with 4.586 sec., 325.53 mph to 4.630 sec., 317.34 mph. Doug’s best of the weekend in Norwalk was the 2nd round.
In the semifinals, Doug rolled to the starting line to battle with current points-leader Rod Fuller. As the race got started, Doug looked to be on his way to his 53rd career Top Fuel final. However, his Mac Tools machine began struggling with valuable tire traction before the half-track mark and the “Big Red” dragster fell back to let Fuller escape with the win. From 13th to 12th, Doug moved up one position in POWERade championship points and now sits only 53 points away from the magical No. 8 position in points. After the first 17 events of the season, only the top eight in points will qualify to compete for the season championship in the new NHRA Countdown to the Championship format.
Native Australian Dave Grubnic, Doug’s Top Fuel teammate and driver of the Zantrex-3 dragster, qualified for eliminations positioning in the 8th spot. After Grubnic and opponent Luigi Novelli struggled to keep their nitro-fueled machines stuck to the racing surface, Grubnic picked up a round one win but managed to get the win in a tire-smoking affair, 6.857 sec., and 207.82 mph to 10.264 sec., 207.82 mph.
Grubnic raced Fuller in the quarterfinals. The Australian’s rail lost traction almost immediately after leaving the starting line. That let Fuller get the win light at 11.986 sec., 83.85 mph to 4.552 sec., 322.73 mph.
Furthermore, Grubnic moved up position in POWERade Top Fuel points from 7th to 6th.
Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, did not qualify for Sunday’s final eliminations in the Funny Car class. Probably, its Toyota Solara parts were not functioning well during a certain part of the race.
Hillary Will, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports-managed Ken Black-owned KB Racing LLC Top Fueler, was unfortunate and defeated in the quarterfinals.
The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals was the 11th of 23 national events in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
COTTINGHAM
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Aug
11
Filed Under (Automotive) by
Anthony Fontanelle asked:
The Second International Teardrop Gathering, scheduled June 16 to 17 at Pioneer Village, a campground in Minden, Neb., was a convention neither for people with contact lenses, hay fever, nor depressing stories to tell. Rather, it was a gathering of more than 100 camping trailers dubbed teardrops.
Teardrops are atavists, tokens of a time when individuals got by on less, because they were flat broke. Teardrops were the aftermath of the Great Depression milieu. They are compact, lightweight, convenient travel trailer, which gets its name from its teardrop profile.
Teardrops first became famous in the 1930s and remained so until the mid 1970s, when they were overshadowed by bigger recreational trailers. As baby boomers begin to approach retirement, teardrops have made resurgence and are burgeoning in the present time.
Most teardrops measure from four to six feet in width and from eight to ten feet in length. They are usually from four to five feet in height. Wheels and tires are usually outside the body and are covered by distinctive fenders. Additionally, bigger teardrop trailers can have the wheels inside the body.
Compared with the ordinary car, teardrops are ***** yet striking. It may not be featuring the enhanced Subaru Baja parts but its captivating appeal has endured with time. Teardrops have a room for two people to sleep contentedly. They also feature storage for clothes and other items. In addition, they usually have ‘galley,’ an area for cooking found in the rear under a hatch.
Although factory-made models like the Kit Kamper, built by a Norwalk, Calif., company and launched in 1945, the earliest teardrops were home-built. The first recognized specification for a small teardrop trailer was published by Outdoor Life magazine in its 1936 issue.
Teardrops transformed into a more practical solution to sleeping while traveling instead of spending the night in the car or camping out. They were a way of avoiding the cost of a night in a motel or rooming house as people began to migrate across the country in search of work during the Depression.
Cliff Parker of Canoga Park, Calif., who normally uses a restored 1940 Ford woody wagon to haul an elaborate mahogany-and-ash teardrop trailer, missed this year’s Minden gathering due to teardrop trouble.
“I blew up the transmission going over to Yosemite earlier this year,” he said. He towed his teardrop to a smaller meet in June in Newport Beach, Calif., with his modern pickup. Regardless of what is towing it, the trailer is great for overnight trips, Parker said. But for long distances, “we’ve got to stop and get a room every other night, for a hot shower, if nothing else.”
Jacqueline Winters of Costa Mesa, Calif., brought her hand-built teardrop trailer to the same Newport Beach meet. “We don’t go very far because we only have vintage cars to pull them with,” she said. “But they’re perfect for two people.”
Chris Hart of Glendale, Calif., owns a 1936-vintage trailer built of plywood, with tin and aluminum overlays. He found it a few years ago, rotting for decades in a field in Beaumont, Calif. “I went shopping over fences while my wife went shopping at the outlet mall,” Hart said. He has added touches such as a period-correct icebox and camp stove.
Homegrown teardrops bred until at least the 1950s. But then came a generation of more powerful and larger travel trailers. By comparison, teardrops are in essence frill-free. But they continue to be appreciated by back-to-basics nostalgia buffs. Countries which have active teardrop builders and owners include Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
LANZILOTTA
The Second International Teardrop Gathering, scheduled June 16 to 17 at Pioneer Village, a campground in Minden, Neb., was a convention neither for people with contact lenses, hay fever, nor depressing stories to tell. Rather, it was a gathering of more than 100 camping trailers dubbed teardrops.
Teardrops are atavists, tokens of a time when individuals got by on less, because they were flat broke. Teardrops were the aftermath of the Great Depression milieu. They are compact, lightweight, convenient travel trailer, which gets its name from its teardrop profile.
Teardrops first became famous in the 1930s and remained so until the mid 1970s, when they were overshadowed by bigger recreational trailers. As baby boomers begin to approach retirement, teardrops have made resurgence and are burgeoning in the present time.
Most teardrops measure from four to six feet in width and from eight to ten feet in length. They are usually from four to five feet in height. Wheels and tires are usually outside the body and are covered by distinctive fenders. Additionally, bigger teardrop trailers can have the wheels inside the body.
Compared with the ordinary car, teardrops are ***** yet striking. It may not be featuring the enhanced Subaru Baja parts but its captivating appeal has endured with time. Teardrops have a room for two people to sleep contentedly. They also feature storage for clothes and other items. In addition, they usually have ‘galley,’ an area for cooking found in the rear under a hatch.
Although factory-made models like the Kit Kamper, built by a Norwalk, Calif., company and launched in 1945, the earliest teardrops were home-built. The first recognized specification for a small teardrop trailer was published by Outdoor Life magazine in its 1936 issue.
Teardrops transformed into a more practical solution to sleeping while traveling instead of spending the night in the car or camping out. They were a way of avoiding the cost of a night in a motel or rooming house as people began to migrate across the country in search of work during the Depression.
Cliff Parker of Canoga Park, Calif., who normally uses a restored 1940 Ford woody wagon to haul an elaborate mahogany-and-ash teardrop trailer, missed this year’s Minden gathering due to teardrop trouble.
“I blew up the transmission going over to Yosemite earlier this year,” he said. He towed his teardrop to a smaller meet in June in Newport Beach, Calif., with his modern pickup. Regardless of what is towing it, the trailer is great for overnight trips, Parker said. But for long distances, “we’ve got to stop and get a room every other night, for a hot shower, if nothing else.”
Jacqueline Winters of Costa Mesa, Calif., brought her hand-built teardrop trailer to the same Newport Beach meet. “We don’t go very far because we only have vintage cars to pull them with,” she said. “But they’re perfect for two people.”
Chris Hart of Glendale, Calif., owns a 1936-vintage trailer built of plywood, with tin and aluminum overlays. He found it a few years ago, rotting for decades in a field in Beaumont, Calif. “I went shopping over fences while my wife went shopping at the outlet mall,” Hart said. He has added touches such as a period-correct icebox and camp stove.
Homegrown teardrops bred until at least the 1950s. But then came a generation of more powerful and larger travel trailers. By comparison, teardrops are in essence frill-free. But they continue to be appreciated by back-to-basics nostalgia buffs. Countries which have active teardrop builders and owners include Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
LANZILOTTA
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