For the past ten years, everyone here at LotPro.com has been reading the advertisements from Volkswagen with the tag line “Drivers Wanted.” And while that ad campaign may have ended this year, the “Drivers Wanted” sign is being hung out by VW as the company looks for 25 young drivers willing to shell out $45,000 to race in next year’s TDI Cup.

More than Fahrvergnügen

Begun in 2008, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is a single-make series sanctioned by the SCCA that takes place only in North America. As an entry-level series, the TDI Cup is open to drivers between the ages of 16 and 26 with no prior professional racing experience (beyond the go-kart level), although previous TDI Cup entrants are also allowed to re-apply.

Applicants have until December 11th to submit their applications along with the requisite $45,000 entry fee. From these applications, up to 125 candidates will be selected to attend the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup final driver selection event that will be held from February 1st through the 9th in Las Vegas. This event will determine the final 25 driver lineup (plus 10 reserve drivers) for the 2010 season and includes three days of professional driving instruction, autocross competition, track time in a Jetta TDI Cup car, physical fitness training, sponsorship development workshop, marketing and media training as well as the requisite Volkswagen brand familiarization.

2009 Champion Timmy Megenbier

What you get for 45K

The racing season begins in March and ends in October. Each driver competing in the series earns a Pro Racing license from the SCCA at the conclusion of the season. To help defray costs, drivers are permitted a maximum number of 8 approved sponsors. In addition to the $50,000 in prize money awarded during the season, the series champion will receive Volkswagen factory “career advancement” support with a value of up to $100,000.

The career advancement shtick is no empty promise, as the 2009 Champion, Timmy Megenbier, will be traveling to Europe next year to race a full season in the newly-created Volkswagen Scirocco Cup.

For more information on entering, you can visit the VW motorsports site at www.vwmotorsportsusa.com.

All images courtesy of Volkswagen of America

Here at LotPro.com it’s hard to get a jump on the rest of the media when it comes to many of the stories on this side of the pond we call the Atlantic. We could’ve written about the Lingenfelter Trans Am concept due to be unveiled at SEMA, but that’s been plastered all over the web. Ditto the story about “Maximum” Bob Lutz taking on all comers in a Cadillac CTS-V.

So that leaves us with what is arguably a very niche story, from across the water, regarding Grégory Guilvert’s prize for winning this year’s Peugeot THP Spider Cup.

Peugeot THP Spider Cup

Originally established by Peugeot Sport as a one-make series offering a level and competitive field of open-cockpit sports cars, the class served its first two years as the opening act to rounds of the Le Mans Series, where it competed at some of Europe’s most famous racing circuits, as well as FIA and WTCC events.

Although the front clip of the Spider resembles Peugeot’s 207, the rest consists of a purpose-built chassis that is currently awaiting homologation for the FIA GT Championship’s new GT4 category, which covers vehicles for a number of one-make challenges.

The Prize

Soon after clinching this year’s THP Spider Cup (ahead of the final round, no less with Guilvert winning 11 of 12 races so far), driver Grégory Guilvert traveled to Le Castellet to claim his prize – a test session in one of the Le Mans-winning factory LMP1 Peugeot 908 HDi’s.

Here is his reaction: “It was the 908’s brakes that most impressed me to begin with; that was a big step for me. I was also surprised by the steering. To get a good feeling for the car, you need to go quite quickly, just as you do with a road car whose power steering gets stiffer as you pick up speed. I was therefore forced to push harder, but I felt more and more comfortable with every run, and it was such an incredibly exhilarating experience. It was a fantastic prize, and Nicolas Minassian gave me a great deal of advice. Maybe I’ll do another season with my Spider in 2010 to perhaps win a chance to do the same thing again next year.”

Prior to the NASCAR Banking 500

At LotPro.com, we see where Ford Motor Company interviewed both Len Wood and Bill Elliott before last Friday’s practice session at Lowe’s Motor Speedway regarding a new paint scheme the No. 21 Ford Fusion would be wearing for the weekend’s race that included the “Warriors in Pink” logo on the hood.

Here’s how that conversation went:

Talking with Len Wood, Co-Owner – No. 21 Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion

Ford: The 21 car has been a lot of different colors before, but has it ever been pink?

Wood: “This is the first pink race car that I can remember. We have pink numbers, but it’s primarily a burgundy and white car. We went around and around on the paint scheme because we weren’t sure if how it looked on paper would translate well to the race car, but I think it looks great. I think having the burgundy on it, with some touches of pink, it doesn’t get lost out there as just another pink car. The thing I’m really happy about is we were able to get the full Warriors in Pink logo on the car, so it looks really nice.”

Ford: Have you or your family been touched by cancer?

Len Wood: “Fortunately, it has not touched me or anyone in my family, but we know there are a lot of families out there that have been and this is an opportunity to create some awareness. We went to the Carolina Panthers game the other day and DeAngelo Williams’ mom was there and with a group of survivors wearing t-shirts and trying to raise awareness, so this type of thing is happening everyone. What I’m proud of being a representative of Ford is that this isn’t just something Ford does in October, it’s a year-round deal and that’s special.”

Ford: How did this deal come about?

Wood: “We were pleased to be in a position to do the paint scheme and help Ford with the awareness for Warriors in Pink. We didn’t originally have this race on our schedule, but we added recently. It was one of those situations where we had a certain amount of money and tried to figure out how many races we could run with that. Instead of saying 15 and then have to possibly back up, we went with 12 and as we’ve gone through the year we’ve re-evaluated things and added the All-Star Race and this one. Fortunately, it worked out really well for everyone.”

Talking with Bill Elliott, Driver – No. 21 Warriors in Pink Ford Fusion

Ford: How do you like the way your race car looks this weekend?

Elliott: “I think it looks pretty good, but the big thing is it’s for a good cause. This is an important issue and that’s what we hope people realize when they see all of these pink cars out on the race track this weekend. It means a lot for the people involved in this to raise awareness and raise money to help find a cure for breast cancer. Having our car painted up this way is another tool we can use to get the word out and doing things like this, I think, is important. We need to be doing stuff like this and I’m proud to be able to do my part.”

Ford: Now you just need to get the car running a little better than yesterday.

Elliott: “Yesterday was just one of those days. It felt like Friday the 13th all over again, but the main thing is we got through it and now we’ll just go from there.”

Join in the fight

During the month of October, Ford is also offering men an opportunity to join in the fight against cancer by purchasing a unique Ford Warriors in Pink tie. By going online to www.fordcares.com, the tie can be purchased for $26 with 100% of the net proceeds benefiting Susan G. Komen for the cure.

Genesis. No, we’re not talking about the British rock group that made Phil Collins a household name. Here, we’re talking about the word’s meaning as in “beginning” or “roots”.

In this case, as many of us at LotPro.com will attest, the genesis for one of the most successful racing classes in motorsports history. Formula Ford, was created in the U.K. in 1967. Although many of the earliest races were contested using the 1500 cc Ford Cortina engine (from the GT), racers quickly gravitated to the 1600 cc ‘Kent’ engine, which enjoyed a long and storied career until it was replaced in 1993 by the 1800 cc 16-valve Zetec. Since that time, between 5,000 and 7,000 drivers competing in Kent-engined race cars around the world have been finding it increasingly difficult to obtain spare parts.

A new beginning

Now, according to Ford Motor Company, a re-engineered ‘Kent’ is to be reborn here in the states.

“Our parts division has many years of expertise in re-making blocks,” says Ford Racing Engineering Supervisor Andy Slankard, “and we are going to take our knowledge of modern techniques to remanufacture the ‘Kent’ block and improve its durability. Our aim is not to make performance gains but to strengthen it and to make the unit more reliable.

Race of Champions Brands Hatch 1969

“There are many thousands of ‘Kent’-engined Formula Ford cars still racing around the world – particularly in the USA, which never adopted the Ford Zetec engine which replaced it in Europe – and we believe that the majority of owners of these historic machines will want to retain the originality of their car by using a genuine Ford engine.”

1988 Michael Schumacher in his formula Ford

Drivers of note

Lest you think the Formula Ford series is reserved only for casual weekend drivers, it should be noted that this somewhat unassuming engine powered some of the greatest drivers in motorsports to their first successes – drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Jody Scheckter, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard and Jenson Button.

Even Danica Patrick, early in her career, managed a second place finish in a British Formula Ford Festival.

Denis Hulme testing a 1967 Formula Ford

Images courtesy of Ford Motor Company

The previous quote notwithstanding and with apologies to John McClane, those of us at LotPro.com would like to introduce you to the latest era of racing from Ford Motor Company, Roush Fenway Racing and sponsor Con-way Freight.

Today’s unveiling was actually three events all rolled into one.

Back in July, Ford had announced that its new Mustang would take up the gauntlet handed to it through 45 years of continuous racing and compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series beginning in July of 2010 when a limited rollout of the car will begin at Daytona International Speedway.

Event number two was the announcement that Colin Braun, 21, and a native of Ovalo, Texas , would make the jump from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he was the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year along with his sponsor for the last 2 years, Con-way Freight.

“I’m so happy that Con-way Freight decided to move up with me to the Nationwide Series for 2010,” Braun said. “They have been a great sponsor for the past two years in the truck series so it means a lot to me that they will continue to support me in the future. I’m also looking forward to driving a Mustang next year. I’ve always thought they are such incredible cars, but have never owned one. Maybe when I win my first race the guys at Ford will want to give me one of my own.”

(Note to Colin: you win the series and you’ll probably get your pick)

Racing the pony in NASCAR

Worldwide, the Mustang has more than 2,000 professional race wins to its credit.

“This truly marks the start of the next era of Mustang racing,” said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “We fully expect this Mustang, with drivers like Colin behind the wheel, to start to enjoy the kind of success so many other Mustang racing programs have enjoyed throughout the last four decades.

“Mustang is a proud and historic brand for Ford. This is a car born to race, and NASCAR is the next logical step for its racing pedigree.”

The four hours and forty-eight minutes of Le Mans

To say conditions at this year’s Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta were horrendous would be an understatement. And while the duel between the Audi Sport Team Joest and Team Peugeot Sport was certainly evident in qualifying, many race fans were left to wonder who might’ve come out on top if the weather had been more forgiving and the cars had been allowed to complete the entire race.

Weather for the practice laps was marked by intense heat as the thermometer topped out at 85 degrees and extremely high humidity. On Wednesday, the first day of practice, the track surface had very little grip even in the early afternoon due to heavy rains the previous day. Audi suffered two mishaps in practice on Wednesday and Thursday as both Luhr and Werner put their R15 into the weeds which necessitated a new monocoque for the number 1 car on Wednesday night.

Other than a brake problem on their number 7 car in the early going, Peugeot encountered no such issues and, in fact, was able to test both cars with a combined equivalent of close to 1,000 miles.

Qualifying

Qualifying day saw air temperatures reach 91 degrees, while the temperature of the track surface was measure at 104 degrees. At the end of the day, Peugeot had both 908 HDi FAP cars on the front row with the number 7 car on the pole ahead of the number 8 car.

Audi, meanwhile, placed both R15 TDI’s in the second row, with the number 2 car in the third spot and the number 1 car in fourth, just 28 thousands of a second behind.

Race day

Not once in 11 years has the Petite Le Mans been run in such unfavorable conditions. The warm-up session had to be delayed due to rain and the cars were forced to line up on the grid immediately after only a few warm-up laps had been completed and for Audi, it only went downhill from there.

After dominating the race in the early going (McNish and Capello led for 163 of the first 168 laps), both Peugeots were able to get by the Audi under the yellow flag when McNish spun the Audi minutes after the two hour mark. Shortly thereafter, it began to rain in earnest and race officials parked the cars in pit lane.

The rain abated and the cars returned to the track, but this time there were no position changes between Audi and Peugeot. Then the rain returned and the race was red flagged for safety reasons at the 4 hour and 48 minute mark with the cars remaining in the starting block for nearly four hours waiting for a re-start that never happened.

Final Results

Here are the final results of the 2009 Petit Le Mans:

1. (2) Stephane Sarrazin, France; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (1, P1), 184.
2. (1) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (2, P1), 184.
3. (3) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Audi R15 TDI (3, P1), 184.
4. (4) Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (4, P1), 182.
5. (6) Nicolas Lapierre, France; Romain Dumas, France; Olivier Panis, France; Oreca 01 AIM (5, P1), 181.
6. (26) David Brabham, Australia; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Acura ARX-02a (6, P1), 180.
7. (28) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Lola B09 86 Mazda (7, P2*), 177.
8. (22) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari F430 GT (1, GT2), 170.
9. (16) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Joerg Mueller, Germany; BMW E92 M3 (2, GT2), 169.
10. (21) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Dirk Werner, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (3, GT2), 169.
11. (15) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Marcel Fassler, Switzerland; Corvette C6.R (4, GT2), 169.
12. (18) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Joerg Bergmeister, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 169.
13. (8) Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Lola B09 86 Mazda (1, P2), 168.
14. (19) Johnny O’Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Corvette C6.R (6, GT2), 168.
15. (25) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT2), 162.
16. (14) Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Matt Bell, Los Altos, CA; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (8, GT2), 157.
17. (7) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Lola B06/10 AER (8, P1), 152.
18. (20) Ian James, England; Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (9, GT2), 152.
19. (12) Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Lola B06/10 AER (9, P1), 144, Accident.
20. (13) David Murry, Cumming, GA; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT MK 7 (10, GT2), 142.
21. (11) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 139.
22. (10) Klaus Graf, Germany; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Porsche RS Spyder (3, P2), 136.
23. (23) Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Dominic Cicero, Portland, OR; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (11, GT2), 136.
24. (5) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-02a (10, P1), 136.
25. (17) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andy Priaulx, Germany; BMW E92 M3 (12, GT2), 133.
26. (24) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (13, GT2), 129.
27. (9) Jonny Cocker, UK; Robert Bell, UK; Paul Drayson, London, UK; Lola B09 60 Judd (11, P1), 123.
28. (27) Hideki Noda, Japan; Jose Manuel Balbiani, Argentina; Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, FL; Radical SR9/AER (12, P1), 0.
29. (29) Adam Pecorari, Aston, PA; Gunnar Van der Steur, Chesapeake City, MD; Robbie Pecorari, Aston, PA; Radical SR9 AER (4, P2), 0.
30. (30) No drivers; Jaguar XK

All images courtesy of Audi of America

They’re baaaack!

At LotPro.com where see where both Audi and Peugeot have gone toe-to-toe this year in the high-stakes game of endurance racing.

The opening salvo occurred in Florida in March as the two diesel-powered superpowers of endurance racing squared off with reigning champion Audi fielding a new car, the Audi R15 TDi against the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP.

At the end of 12 hours, less than 23 seconds separated the first Audi R15 TDi team of McNish/Capello/Kristensen and the second Peugeot 908 HDi FAP team of Montagny/Bourdais/Sarrazin. Third place also belonged to Audi with the Rockenfeller/Werner/Luhr team finishing 2 laps down, while the first Peugeot team was forced to retire with 25 minutes left in the race with a gearbox failure.

Round 2 – France

The Le Mans 24 hour race was quite another story. Peugeot was finally able to sort through the durability issues of the 908 HDi FAP that had plagued the team in the two previous years with a convincing 1-2 podium finish.

Audi, on the other hand, found that it had very little time in which to dial in the new R15. With only Wednesday evening’s free practice (in the rain), the Germans were forced to do much of their sorting out during qualifying on Thursday. At the end of 24 hours, Audi found itself 5 laps down from the second place No. 8 Peugeot and 6 laps down from the winning French car

Round 3 – back in the USA

The third round will take place this weekend at Road Atlanta and much more is at stake than just the top step of the podium. Audi has not lost a Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta since the inception of the series in 2000. And to make things even more interesting, even Peugeot admits that the course could favor the Germans, citing the advantage the Audis have in downforce – a factor that wasn’t nearly as important at Le Mans.

According to Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnel, the two Peugeot 908 HDi FAP entries (numbers 07 and 08) will be in the same aerodynamic configuration as that used in the Spa 1000 km, rather than the set-up used at the Le Mans 24 Hours. “We have chosen this aero configuration because the circuit layout calls for more downforce… which should suit our main competitors, and will make them very hard to beat. At certain points of the circuit, the difference between our cars may be significant, just as it was at the first corner at Sebring, for example, where they were 10 kph faster than us simply because their car produces more downforce.”

Audi Sport Team Joest Technical Director Ralf Jüttner had this to say about the upcoming weekend: “We’re happy to be able to contest a race again three months after Le Mans. We want to show that the R15 TDI is better than it looked at Le Mans. I think that the track at Road Atlanta should suit the car pretty well. Still, it won’t be an easy race for us. With twelve LMP1 cars on the grid, it’ll be a real battle that will probably be heavily shaped by tactics as well. Last year, there were ten caution periods. Getting everything just right will be crucial – and of course a little racing luck is necessary as well.”

Let the racing begin

Practice sessions begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow with the LMP1 and LMP2 testing to begin at 2:00 p.m. Qualifying for LMP1/LMP2 will begin at 2:55 p.m. on Friday with the race scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday (1,000 miles or 10 hours maximum).

Audi to contest in “Petit Le Mans” race

At LotPro.com, we see that Audi has announced that it will be bringing 2 Audi R15 TDIs to the 1,000-mile “Petit Le Mans” race on September 26th. The race will be held at Road Atlanta located in Brazelton, Georgia, 40 miles northeast of Atlanta and home of the race since its inception in 1998.

For those unfamiliar with the “Petit Le Mans”, the race was originally part of IMSA, but in 1999 became one of the original events featured in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Unlike its French namesake, the event covers 1,000 miles or 10 hours, whichever comes first and class winners receive an automatic invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the following year.

Audi Sport Team Joest

This year, Audi Sport Team Joest will compete with two Audi R15 TDIs with one being driven by the team of Dindo Capello of Italy and Allan McNish of Scotland, and the second piloted by Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner of Germany. Audi also plans for DTM racer Mike Rockenfeller to be the team’s reserve driver.

“The race at Road Atlanta already marks the first part of our preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We want to use it as an opportunity for our engineers to learn even more about the new Audi R15 TDI in direct competition with strong rivals. A lot of things can be simulated on test rigs and in track tests. But nothing can replace the experience gathered in actual racing events.”

2009 season

Audi is, indeed having to look forward to next year’s Le Mans. After an auspicious start at the 12 Hours of Sebring, where the McNish/Capello duo finished ahead of the Peugeot 908 HDI FAP – although by a less-than-dominant 23 seconds (and Rockenfeller/Luhr placed third), things were generally looking good for the R15’s inaugural race in France.

Unfortunately, the weather at Le Mans proved very uncooperative and free practice was reduced to one evening. As such, the team was forced to do much of the sorting-out during qualifying. Audi was still able to muster a podium finish, albeit it in third (6 laps down at the end), but for a team used to finishing at the front, this year’s results had to be disappointing.

“We’re convinced that we weren’t able to fully exploit the potential of the R15 TDI at Le Mans,” says Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “At Road Atlanta, we’ll have the opportunity to test on Sunday before the race so that we should be in a better position than we were at Le Mans. Despite the strong competition by Acura/Honda, Peugeot, Mazda, Oreca and other prototype teams we figure on having good chances of fighting for victory, as we did over the past few years.”

Footnote

It should be noted that Audi will be competing in the “Petit Le Mans” race for the tenth time and thus far has been unbeaten. The R8 won six times while the R10 TDI won three times. The plan is for the R15 TDI to continue the streak. Stay tuned.

The Best of Detroit

As we stated in yesterday’s article on LotPro.com, the years 1955 to 1970 are looked upon as the golden age for many followers of the sport of drag racing. During this time, big corporate sponsorships were the stuff of dreams and most drivers who raced also had full-time jobs that helped support their passion for the sport.

In addition to the six vehicles mentioned on Monday, here are the seven more that appeared at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance this past Sunday:

1963 Pontiac Catalina 421 Super Duty

This particular 1963 Pontiac Catalina 421 Super Duty was among a select number of Pontiacs (there were only 14 produced) that were dubbed “Swiss Cheese” vehicles. The name came from the fact that the perimeter frame had approximately 120 holes punched in the side sections and the side of the box section was also removed.

With a factory shipping weight of only 3,308 pounds, the body featured aluminum panels on the fender, hood, trunk and bumpers. Factory rated horsepower was 420, but the engine blue printed out at well over 500 horsepower.

This particular Catalina was raced out of the venerable Royal Pontiac dealership in Royal Oak, Michigan (which was to become famous for the Royal Bobcat Pontiac GTO). Driven by Jim Wangers, it went on to win the B/FX class at the U.S. Nationals.

1963 Ford Galaxie Factory Lightweight

Ford’s answer to the Pontiac “Swiss Cheese” vehicles was the “Factory Lightweight.” Built in Atlanta and L.A., on the Galaxie line, the bodies were modified with aluminum panels and the interiors featured little in the way of luxury – no heater, no radio, and no frills. A very few of these lightweights featured Ford’s high-performance 427 engine.

1963 Chevrolet Impala Z-11

The Impala Z-11 was Chevy’s answer to the need for more horsepower and lighter cars in 1963. Chevrolet produced 57 of these vehicles that featured a modified 409 cubic inch engine that, in different variations, produced anywhere from 340 horsepower up to 425 horsepower.

Like its counterparts at Ford and Chrysler, this particular Chevy had no radio, no heater and no sound deadener and, like the Ford Galaxie, it was assigned an RPO (Regular Production Order) number (RPO Z-11), although it took more than signing on the dotted line to buy one of these specials.

1965 Plymouth “Color Me Gone”

A number of things took place in 1965 that were to profoundly change drag racing in the United States. That year, the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) created a factory experimental class that had less restrictive rules. The resulting Altered Wheelbase cars became the ultimate production-based muscle cars that would eventually bridge the gap between the Super Stock cars of the early ‘60’s and the Funny Cars that would emerge years later.

Chrysler eventually built 6 Dodges and 6 Plymouths and sold them to teams like the Ramchargers, Dick Landy and Roger Lindamood. Lindamood, in particular, won the 1964 Nationals and is a hall of fame driver.

1965 Mercury Comet “Dyno Don Nicholson”

Dyno Don Nicholson began racing in the 40’s and 50’s and was one of a select few drivers that helped propel the sport from a hobby to big business. Along with Jack Chrisman, The Ramchargers, Dick Landy and Gas Rhonda, he experimented with altering wheelbases, fuel injection, supercharging, big slicks and super duty transmissions.

His “Mercury Cyclone” was one of the most successful cars of its era and the car’s altered wheelbase, flip top and engine configuration led to the name “Funny Car” that is still used in drag racing today.

1968 Plymouth Barracuda “Ron Mancini Car”

By the 1960’s, all the major manufacturers were taking part in the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” racing wars. In 1968, the Hurst Performance Center in Madison Heights, Michigan assembled 75 purpose-built cars specifically for drag racing. The new “Hemi” powerplant helped propel these cars to many NHRA victories.

This particular 426 Hemi Plymouth Barracuda was built by the team of Mike Dawson and Ron Mancini with the help of Gratiot Auto Supply and ran SS/AA.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle “Red Alert”

Beginning in 1970, General Motors dropped its self-imposed rule of restricting mid-size cars to engines with less than 400 cubic inches of displacement. The LS6 package included a 454 cubic inch engine that produced 450 horsepower that resulted in quarter mile times in the low to mid-13 second range.

In 1969, drag racer Bob Hamilton purchased this Chevelle for his wife as a Valentine’s Day gift and, a year later, turned it into the “Red Alert” drag racer that competed in the NHRA SS/DA class. In 1971, model car company AMT created a model of the car that became their all-time sales leader. “Red Alert” continued to race until 1976 when it was Top Stock Eliminator in 14 out of 16 races.

The Best of Detroit on Friday and Saturday nights

This year’s Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance promised show goers the “Best of Detroit” and it certainly was a promise fulfilled. Included in a very eclectic mix of vehicles were a few that had a great deal to do with the genesis of professional drag racing here in the United States.

For most followers of the sport of drag racing, the years 1955 to 1970 are looked upon as the golden years. This was the time before big sponsorships and most of the drivers who competed in the sport also had full-time jobs that helped support their passion for the sport.

So without further ado, here are the first six of thirteen from LotPro.com:

1937 Willys S&S Racing Team

S&S Parts Company in Falls Church, Virginia sponsored five Gas Coupe and Sedan Racers in the National Hot Rod Association in the 1960’s. This particular Willys was discovered in a field in Maryland in 1962 by Dave Hales who own, built, wrenched and drove it for 5 seasons, including 1963 when it was D/Gas runner-up at the NHRA Nationals that year.

1949 Packard “Flintstone Flyer”

Dave Koffel began his racing career driving a 1932 Ford, but needing something safer he traded it for a 1949 Packard. He campaigned the first series “Flintstone Flyer” at the 1963 NHRA Nationals. The current configuration of the Flyer is E/Gas and it is the most remembered of the five versions.

1937 Willys 2 Door Coupe

This particular 1937 Willys was owned, wrenched and driven by Barbara Hamilton, the first woman licensed to drive an NHRA Supercharged Car. Like many other drivers, she worked full time and drove on weekends. Barbara also won the 1966 Springnationals and was runner-up at the 1968 Nationals in the C/Gas Class.

The 1937 Willys was campaigned from 1964 to 1971.

1933 Willys Prock and Howell “F Troop”

This 1933 Willys was built in the fall of 1968 by Jay Howell of Berkley, Michigan to compete in an “Outlaw Gasser Circuit.” The Willys ran in the low 8’s at over 180 mph and featured a ’67 Big Block 482 Chevy with Hilborn injection and blower. Although intended to race with the gassers, its tilt body was deemed illegal, thus creating the need for an “Outlaw Gasser” class that, unfortunately, only lasted for a short time.

Tom Prock was responsible for the mechanical work while Jay drove the car.

1933 Willys Cates Speed Shop NHRA World Champion 1965

Virgil Cates began his racing career at the age of 16 in 1954. He was among the early drag racing pioneers and he ran two different NHRA classes. In 1965, Virgil won the World Championship as a C/Altered in Comp Eliminator.

At the 40th U.S. Nationals at Indy, this car was presented with a “Preservation” award as it is the only unrestored NHRA World Champion Gasser left and, ten years later, in 2004, the car was chosen as one of the NHRA Golden 50.

1967 Ford Super Mustang

In 1966, Ford Motor Company began work on the ultimate top-fuel dragster. Once it was completed in December of that year, it was taken to Florida (without its bodywork) where it was tested by legendary drag racer Connie Kalitta. With testing completed, it was shipped to California to compete in the 1967 Pomona Winternationals where Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen recorded an ET of 8.60 seconds and 180 mph.