CARSON CITY, NV (Nov.22): This weekend was when Carson Cars & Coffee had their second meet of the month. Of course this also might be the last for a while if another quarantine is announced.
Heading the Carson group is Patrick Paul who said, “Can’t really tell if it grows or not as there are kind of two different parts of it, the nighttime stuff and the daytime stuff. It really depends on the time of the year and how many car shows they’re having.
“A lot of it depends on what Reno and Sparks are doing. Reno is every first and third Sunday and we’re every second and fourth Sunday and Reno will usually do one on the extra Sunday.”
Then he described the stock appearing 1994 Honda Civic he has.
” The car and has been winterized asI took off all the aero stuff that was on it since it was too low to drive through the snow,” he said. ” I’ve had it about nine years, been through a few different phases, most set up for autocross or track but I’ve never actually done that with it.
“Right now it’s a B20 with a GSR Tran plus other modifications to it. Pretty much everything it doesn’t need is gutted out of the car. I built it to be a comfortable daily that I could go autocross on the weekends if I ever wanted to. I heard that next week they might be starting shutdown again so I figured this might be the last one before restrictions get heavy again.”
Variety is the theme at any meet like this. In fact one row started with a Tesla, a Sabaru, a Mclaren and a stock looking four-door Chevy sedan.
While many of the cars look stock they have been enhanced. In fact there were three older stock looking sedans with their hoods up. While they might look stock their motors told a different story.
One example of this is the 2009 Pontiac G8GT owned by Dustin Gregory.
He had the hood up and when asked about the motor said, “It’s completely rebuilt. It’s 430 over, after market pistons a little bit of head work done to it. She’s all right, pretty stout for what it is. The car is my daily driver for the moment and I get about 26 miles to the gallon on the highway but the city is a little different story.”
A few pickups were also on hand. Once again some were stock but others were anything but and all sat low to the ground.
One of them, a 1981 Step Side Chevy is owned by Hector Gordillo Jr. and has along history with his family.
“It’s been in my family for about 35 years. It was owned by my dad, he bought it in ’84, lowered it over the years and had it on American Mags with five spokes on them before he passed away a few years ago,” he said. “I drove this thing in high school it was always set that when he past I’d inherit it. I got it, bagged it in his honor and changed the wheels on it. We used to ride in this with my mother, my brother and my dad. Took a lot of trips with it.”
Now that it is bagged he can change the ride height. This allows the truck to be higher when needed to lower depending on the conditions and need. He also changed other things as well.
“The only thing I did was change the wheels and put the air ride in it,” he said. “It had the inline six with about 300 thousand miles so it was tired. I pulled it out, put a little small block in it for now changed it to a 700R4 Trans in it and I’m driving it.”
He then added his 7-year-old daughter has already said she wants the truck next. So it looks like this one will be in the family for quite some time to come.
Among the Mustang group is a special one owned by Faust Davango. He moved here from California this past spring and his Mustang is a Boss 302 Saleen.
Asked about the car he said, “They take a premium GT and Steve Saleen beefs all the engine, suspension, the braking and all that stuff. This is like number 29 as in 2015 this is the 29th car built. Usually they build about 100 but the amount depends on the model year and if there is a demand for them.
He also intends to make a few changes to the car.
” These are Cooper tires and this is how it came from Saleen. But they have black rims like this that’s kind of what I want to do with it. It drives like a dream and it’s really nice. However it gets a little squirrely on a wet road, cause there’s not much grip on those tires since they’re made for the track. I’m going to put Michelin all season tires on it.”
All in all it was a good meet that was larger since a group from Reno Cars & Coffee showed up. Great weather highlighted the day and there was something for about any car person. Have to see what transpires this coming weekend.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• The 53rd annual Baja 1000 was run this weekend and several Northern Nevada drivers and riders competed.
Highest placed overall was the 4th place Bronco SCORE Trophy Truck team of Cameron Steele, Curt LeDuc, Jason Scherer and local Shelby Hall. The Desert Assassins were the pit crew for Team Bronco.
Next highest place was Chad Hall as his team placed 30th overall and 6th in the Trophy Truck Spec Class. Reno’s J.J.Schnarr was 49th overall and 4th in Class 10 while Ely’s Marc Van Tassell was 95th overall and 10th in the Stock Full Class.
Motorcycles also competed and coming home 52nd overall but winning the Pro Moto 50+ Class was the team of Vance Kennedy, local Dennis Belingheri, Davie Meyer and Steve Hatch. It’s there second victory in as many years so they can keep this bike number for next year.
• Former racer Bob Oliver in 2017 started the Competition Carburetion Fast Lap Award. It all began with a visit to American Valley Speedway and has expanded to many tracksThe award is a cash prize to several drivers at the end of the season. This year the big prize of $500 went to Andy Graves with Nick Stone getting $350.
Sprint Car racer Trey Walters works for Oliver so his award was duplicated with Tucker O’Connor and both drivers received $250. Kevin Root gets $200 while Jake Mayden receives $150 and finally $100 to go Anthony Slaney and Tim Hartman Jr.
Once racing begins in the spring the Fast Lap awards will start again.
• Tuesday afternoon from 2 until 3 p.m. is when Teresa’s Garage is on the air. The show can be heard either at 1180 AM or the more powerful 1160 AM.
The show is also on a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm or can be seen live on Face Book. The show is focused on all things automotive such as trends, developments and trivia.
Sponsor List:
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We now have seven very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they not only support your sport but they help nvracingnews continue. Please let them know you heard about them through this site.
Our newest sponsor is G.I.S.L Land Services that, while having a global client base it has a Western U.S.A. Focus. Owner Greg Ekins is a long time off road motorcycle racer competing in the MRANN Series as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound series.
Among the services offers are Surface and Mineral Title Reviews and Cartographic Services. The website is www.gislandservices.com.
Another great sponsor is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School.
Former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian is the owner and they not only service older and newer transmission but now have a section dealing with high performance units including those used for towing.
The phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
Another sponsor is fantastic race photographer Melissa Coker. If you have raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Rattlesnake Raceway or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photograph of your car on the track.
She’s also been at the IMCA Duel in the Desert was well as the Wild West Tour and IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. Melissa not only has photos of the cars, and many times drivers, but she can produce hero cards and even a book covering from your season.
To see her collections or to place an order please check her website at www.melissasoutonalimb.smugmug.com.
Two of our sponsors are first class motorcycle shops located in Reno.
Our first sponsor is Reno Motorsports (RMS). Not only do they have about anything a rider might want or need and the store also has a full service shop.
Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
The next shop is Moto-Source located at 3180 Mill Street. Once again they are a full service shop plus about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com.
The next sponsor is an excellent place if you need collision repair on your car or truck. It’s Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno and has a long history of first class repairs.
Brian Saul is the owner, a car enthusiast himself and he’s committed to continuing the shop’s reputation of quality work. Phone number is 775-329-4557 and the website is, www.concoursbodyshop.net.
Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&CO for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
REPORTER’S NOTE: Due to new restrictions PJ&Co will be closed for three weeks starting on Tuesday, November 24.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or an off road demographic? We are always looking for more sponsors and will expose your business to the racing and off road community in this area.
You can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.
