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2nd Annual Run to the Coast - Exhibition Of SpeedIt’s back to California for the Second Annual Run to the Coast From the June, 2011 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by Robert McGaffin
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Nathan Swartzbaugh roasts... Nathan Swartzbaugh roasts the tires of our ’68 project car all the way down the main straightaway at El Toro. At least they’re no longer flat-spotted from the last year's Optima event. We’re constantly surprised at how fast time flies. It’s seems like it was only a few months ago that we were attending the inaugural Run to the Coast event here in sunny Southern California, and all of a sudden it was time to do it again. Like last year, this orgy of muscle car mayhem was organized by a group of gearheads from back East. Bill Howell, Yancy Johns, and Danny Thomas worked their collective butts off so that us Left Coasters could enjoy a kick-ass event like the ones that have become almost commonplace east of the Rockies. In the keeping with the theme of “more is better,” this year’s run promised to be bigger and cooler than ever. Last year’s event was confined to just Saturday for the driving competitions with a short cruise on Sunday. Because it was only held on the one day, all 40 spots were sold out in a few hours. This year there were two days of track action, which allowed 80 cars to run. Even with all this added capacity, the available spots sold out in less than a day. It really warms our hearts to know that so many car nuts are getting into the act of driving their cars in addition to making them look great. Like last year, there were three main driving competitions. The Detroit Speed Inc.–sponsored road course was shortened up a bit to accommodate the use of one of the strip’s hangars as a base of operations. The other two competitions were the Carbon Custom autocross and the Baer Speed Stop Challenge. Tire treadwear had to be 200 or higher, and the cars needed to pass a basic safety inspection. Points were awarded to the top finishers in each event. In addition, there was a 90-mile cruise on Friday that wound down the coast and through some rural twisties. Those that did the cruise picked up three bonus points in the competition, and in an event like this every point is important. The cruise ended at Spectre Performance in Ontario, California, where competitors were treated to some refreshments, a few chassis dyno pulls, and some friendly competition at the local indoor karting track. Later that night, Total Cost Involved (TCI) hosted a dinner for anyone interested in hanging out and talking cars. Put it all together, and it made for three days of automotive nirvana. On Friday there was a 90-mile... On Friday there was a 90-mile cruise ending at Spectre Performance in Ontario, California. Here we caught Sam Ashteokenyan enjoying the drive in his sweet ’67. Orange County Race Craft once again ran the road course and made sure everyone stayed safe. There was a bit of rain on Friday, which made the course damp on Saturday, but the weather held, and by Sunday the tracks were bone dry. The cars competing ran the gamut from big-buck Pro Touring cars to ones built on a shoestring budget. But they all had one thing in common: a love of cars and a desire to have fun improving their driving skills and seeing what their rides were capable of.  The competition really started...  The competition really started Friday night when everyone split into teams at the local karting track. Here Tech Editor Steven Rupp tries to put Mary Pozzi into the wall.  Doug “Peg Leg” Renner always...  Doug “Peg Leg” Renner always has fun running his traction-challenged ’69 every chance he gets. Even with a hangover from the party he hosted Saturday night, he still managed a 1:12.4 on the road course, 41.636 at the autocross, and considering he has rear drum brakes, a respectable 13.368 in the Speed Stop Challenge.  Last time we saw Casey Aldridge...  Last time we saw Casey Aldridge and his ex-cop–car Camaro was at our Duel in the Desert event. Aldridge came out all the way from Arizona to toss his ’02 through the cones.  For years now we’ve watched...  For years now we’ve watched Brett Campbell’s drop-top progress as a project. And while there are still a few more aesthetic details to finish, the ’67 is ready to rock in terms of performance.  Gerald Lum has to be one of...  Gerald Lum has to be one of the most enthusiastic participants we ran across. His ’71 is filled with parts from Global West and he pushed the Z28 hard all day. In fact, he pushed a bit too hard on the road course and took a spin through the grass. Aside from a few pounds of grass and dirt in the car everything was fine and Lum got right back to racing. Later he won a certificate redeemable for a free driving school course at Orange County Race Craft, so we’re pretty sure he left the event happy.  Matt Alcala’s Camaro is so...  Matt Alcala’s Camaro is so nice that it picked up a GM Design award at the ’10 SEMA Show. And while it’s pretty enough to just display, Matt prefers to drive the snot out of it. His best road course lap was 1:16.2 and he knocked down a 41.873 at the autocross; not bad considering he doesn’t have much wheel time. Look for a full feature on this ’69 in a future issue of Camaro Performers magazine.  With his passenger hanging...  With his passenger hanging on for dear life, Rodney Prouty flings his ’69 through the timing lights at the Carbon Custom’s autocross. This was one of Rodney’s first times running his ’69, and throughout the weekend his lap times kept improving.  David Gordon’s Camaro just...  David Gordon’s Camaro just oozed attitude and looked right at home being flung on the El Toro tarmac. It was pretty obvious that his car had the performance to back up its looks since Gordon finished 12th on the road course, 10th on the autocross, and in the top third of the pack in the Speed Stop Challenge.  By mid Saturday the sun was...  By mid Saturday the sun was starting to peek through the clouds and the tarmac was drying out. As a result, lap times kept getting better for all the participants. Here Paul Setter negotiates the autocross.  With a Magnuson TVS2300 supercharged...  With a Magnuson TVS2300 supercharged LS engine under the hood, Carl “Hollywood” Casanova’s ’68 had gobs of power on tap. And with a very capable Hotchkis suspension, it’s no wonder his lap times were in the top of the bell curve. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he never passes up a chance to get some seat time.  Last time we saw Kyle Tucker’s...  Last time we saw Kyle Tucker’s Camaro it was wearing a BFGoodrich wrap at the Optima event. Turned out the paint came off with the wrap. The upside is that his sick second-gen is now wearing fresh paint. Kyle tore up the event with strong finishes in all aspects of the competition.  Deanna Marengo has a killer...  Deanna Marengo has a killer ’67 Chevelle, but what she really wanted was a Camaro, so she bought this freshly painted ’71 from Jon Lindstrom over at Best Of Show Coach Works. Since she’s good friends with Mary Pozzi, it wasn’t long before the second-gen was stuffed with Mary’s old 383 small-block and a host of handling goodies. Aside from a couple of local autocrosses, this was the car’s first big event.  Jack Fields and Corey Condit...  Jack Fields and Corey Condit shared driving duties in this TCI-equipped Camaro. Both drivers did well and showed that the ’67 could hang with the best of them. We especially dig the billet rally wheels.  Cris Gonzalez was hoping to...  Cris Gonzalez was hoping to have his ’70 Camaro done in time for the event, but that didn’t quite work out so he brought this super clean ’69. Long-time readers might recognize this ride from the cover of the July ’08 issue.  Source Interlink Media Associate...  Source Interlink Media Associate Publisher, John Barkley, brought out his ’72 Camaro for some fun and mechanical hi-jinx. John ran a 1:12.8 on the road course and 41.748 on the autocross.  Larry Callahan does more than...  Larry Callahan does more than run and own www.pro-touring.com, he also lives the lifestyle in his twin-turbo ’68.  Brandy Morrow was on hand...  Brandy Morrow was on hand to drive Spectre Performance’s wide-bodied second-gen. With an LS engine under the hood and insanely wide tires, the ride really ran hard in all the events. She also got the dubious honor of being the first of many to wear the infamous pink cowboy hat awarded to those that spin out or mangle cones.  The event seemed thick with...  The event seemed thick with ’68 Camaros, in fact they might have actually outnumbered ’69s. One killer example was this one owned by Rob Chandler. With Baer brakes and DSE suspension, Rob’s car was certainly dressed right for the party.  To us Tom Foglesong epitomizes...  To us Tom Foglesong epitomizes what this hobby is all about. His ’67 was built on a shoestring budget, and what it lacks in fancy parts it makes up for in soul. Tom drove the Camaro all the way from Phoenix, Arizona, raced all weekend, then drove it back home. What’s not to love about that?  Last year Chris Robinson’s...  Last year Chris Robinson’s gorgeous ’69 big-block powered Camaro suffered a mechanical issue that took him out of the competition early. This year Chris’ ride ran strong, and he managed a 1:15.7 on the road course and 42.377 on the autocross.  Our Bad Penny ’68 got a real...  Our Bad Penny ’68 got a real workout at the event with both David Pozzi and Steven Rupp running the Camaro under two numbers. David ran a 1:07 flat on the road course and 38.313 on the autocross. Rupp was slower in both with a best autocross time of 39.811. Rupp did however come in Second in the Spectre Top Speed Challenge with a speed of 96 mph, just being edged out by Kyle Tucker’s 97mph run. He should have kept his foot in it just a bit longer, but fear of flat-spotting another set of tires kept him conservative.  Mike Wright showed up to this...  Mike Wright showed up to this year’s event wearing the Forgeline wheels he was lucky enough to win at last year’s gathering. Mike didn’t come to win, he came to have fun and improve his driving skills. Our kind of guy.  Here we caught Rick Klein...  Here we caught Rick Klein sliding hard into the box at the Speed Stop Challenge. He tore up the road course with an 11th Place finish, but had a hard time finding the groove on the autocross. Yep, that's Rick's car on the cover of this issue.  James Shipka decided to share...  James Shipka decided to share his One Lap Camaro with autocross driver extraordinaire and Camaro Performers magazine contributor, Mary Pozzi. Much like the Rupp/David Pozzi arrangement, this always helps illustrate how important the driver is in nailing down competitive lap times. In the autocross Mary was nearly 2.5 seconds faster and on the road course her experience was worth just over a second. The good news for James is that improving his wheel skills is a hell of a lot of fun.  The TCI Camaro was piloted...  The TCI Camaro was piloted by Sal Solorzano, and all their work tuning and tweaking the ’68 paid off with solid performances in all the events. Sal even took top honors in the Speed Stop Challenge.  Brian “Mr. Consistency” Finch...  Brian “Mr. Consistency” Finch did well in all the events, and although he didn’t win any of them, that consistency paid off with being awarded the event’s overall championship.  Theoretically DSE’s Ryan Mathews...  Theoretically DSE’s Ryan Mathews is on the same team as Kyle Tucker but that doesn’t stop the two from trying to best each other. This time it was Ryan’s turn to come out on top since he turned in the fastest road course lap of the event with a 1:02.8 run.
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