RENO, NV (May 5) — Three car groups had meets this weekend. Two were on Sunday, although this reporter was only able to get to one while the other was on Saturday, fortunately after the storm passed Reno.
While the turnout was less than expected, probably due to the weather that passed over Reno, the JDM meet still two lines of cars.
The founder of the JDM group is Domonic Folkman, who recently moved here from Susanville, California.
Asked about his car he said, “It’s a GSX Mitsubishi Eclipse and I picked it up over the weekend. I still have an Eclipse but it’s the RS Model so it has a Dodge motor. This has the Japanese motor, the 4G63GT Evo Motor and has all-wheel drive.
“The Reno JDM is a group focused on Japanse cars but not necessarily cars that were completely made for Japan. You can see there’s a bunch of left-hand drives but occasionally we’ll be blessed with one with right-hand drive.”
Folkman didn’t know where to start in the car scene when he arrived in Reno. So far he’s been really pleased with his efforts.
“The response has been amazing, my first meets were huge. I think I made a mistake scheduling the same time as the Custom Car Show. It stopped at 6 o’clock so was hoping some would roll over,” he said.
Asked about the future he said, “It’s an amazing outlook, I’ve met really, really cool people. I got to meet the people at the 1TT Boba Shop, Juan is the one that runs that and they do Cars & Boba.”
Those interested in the group can go to the Face Book page at, Reno JDM or on Instagram at Reno.JDM.
• Reno Cars & Coffee had its first of the month meet on Sunday morning. While the weather was cool there was a cold wind blowing through the area.
As usual there were a mix of cars in the parking lot close to the Human Bean Coffee Stand. Variety is the name of the game at these meets.
There was a pair of Chevys parked next to each other. One was an early rust colored station wagon next to a modern Corvette.
In the mix were two very exotic cars, parked side by side. One was a 2006 Noble M400 owned by Niko Babovic, who was there with his 4-year-old son Sandro.
Asked about the car he said, “It’s a boutique pseudo kit car made by Lee Noble in Great Britain, made partially in South Africa and partially in the U.K. and then assembled in the U.S. Official numbers are kind of unknown but there’s about 75 M400s in existence and another 200 M12’s.
“It’s kind of the last year, last model. Lee’s still in the groups, he still supports the cars, he’s in the Face Book group the company itself is, the rights to the Noble were sold to Rossian an U.S. based company. So the successor to this car is the Rossian Q1 and its kind of the same chassis with an updated body and some other improvements.”
He added that driving it is a very different experience from most modern cars.
“Driving it very raw, has no ABS, no traction control. No Nannies what so ever, it takes a lot of concentration to drive. I just got this car three weeks ago, so I driven it four or five times so far. We do weekend runs.”
Another line had one car with a very unique paint job one it. And there were several more Japanese cars also in that line.
There was another unique car that looks more like a racer than one made for the street.
Asked about it owner Matt Gilsdorf said, “We’re looking at a 2024 Radical RXC 600R. Technically it is a track car that I street legalized and drove here today. I’ve had it since October of last year but I’ve only started driving it since the weather’s gotten better.
“It’s hand built in England by Radical, that’s the company. It is one of 200 RXC’s in the world and it’s the only one with this carbon body configuration. Whole body is carbon fiber, carbon fiber seats it is the most expensive Radical they ever built.
Of course the next question was how it is to drive.
His answer was, “It’s pretty insane. It’s the fastest thing I’ve ever driven, it’s twitchy and fast, goes around corners like nothing else I’ve ever driven. You can’t one-hand steer it and you can’t really take your eyes off the road cause it will go where ever it wants to.
“I have not taken it up Mt. Rose but I just did 1,000 miles with it over in Napa and up by Eureka and the Red Woods. It’s an amazing car. I led the pack for a while and no one could keep up by the time I stopped everybody else was about 15 minutes behind. It’s pretty easy to go to jail with this one.”
Then he added, “It’s not a top speed car as it’s only geared to about 185 miles an hour. It’ll get to 60 in about 2.8 seconds and pull 2 G’s in the turns. It’s a fun car as it weighs 2,100 pounds and has 1,900 hundred pounds of down force at 130 mph.
Next Sunday at 10 a.m. is when Sparks Cars & Coffee has its first meet of the month. Location for this is the Starbucks located at Disc Drive.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• For those planning to compete in the upcoming StadiumGP remember one must sign up online by May 15.
- For those planning to attend the StadiumGP you can save money if you buy the tickets in advance. A good place is Big Valley Honda as they are having an off-road motorcycle Show-N-Shine on Friday from 4 until 7 p.m.
- • It’s a busy week ahead as Battle Born Mopars meet at 7 p.m. Monday. Location is the Sparks A&W across from Reed High. The need more things for goody bags at an upcoming meet they have scheduled.
• Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. is when Trucks & Tacos of Northern Nevada meet at Carniceria Tejaro. Locaton is 6750 North Virginia, across the street from the Bonanza Casino.
• Wednesday, from 5 until 8 p.m. is when the Sparks A&W has its next cruise in. All makes are welcome there will be a D.J. and prizes.
• Davey’s American Racing is found on Face Book. His focus is on western oval tracks as well as national series.
He recently started his broadcasts so to check Face Book around 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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SPONSOR LIST:
• If you enjoyed this article please “like,” and share it as widely as possible. Comments are welcome.
Subscribers have articles posted to their inbox as soon as they are up on the site.
We now have six very appreciated sponsors supporting this site. Please patronize them as they support your sport and help nvracingnews continue. And let them know you heard about them through this site.
• Our newest sponsor is State Farm agent Kelby Schoorl, who was a racer in his younger days. He has some supplemental insurance that racers might be interested in checking out.
There is medical that covers visits to the ER, ambulance rides and if a person has to stay in a hospital. In addition trailers as well as tools and tools in shops can be covered with additional policies.
If Kelby isn’t available the other guys at his office will be very happy to explain what they can offer both to racers and those enjoying motorized recreation.
Office hours are from 9 until 5: 30 Monday through Friday, appointments are needed on Saturday. The phone number is 775-827-2255 or at his website, www.kelby@insuringreno.com.
• One of our sponsors is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists owned by former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian. The shop is located at 890 Gentry Way.
The shop services older and new transmissions and now has a section for high performance units and those used in towing. Phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.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 the showroom has about any thing a rider might need or want.
The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is,www.moto-source.com.
• Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno, is another sponsor. The shop does quality collision repair for cars and trucks.
Owner Brian Saul is a car enthusiast himself and is 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. Wednesday evenings, starting around 5 p.m. is Bike Night, good time to meet fellow riders and have a great dinner.
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.
Have a business targeted toward motorsports or car enthusiasts? This site is a great way to expose your services to those communities. Sponsorships are very reasonable and one can contact us either through the comment section of this site or on our Face Book page.
