Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / A Budget Built Miata Earns A Fast 15 Spot in the Race to the Sky!

Transcript

A Budget Built Miata Earns A Fast 15 Spot in the Race to the Sky! · In Wheel Time Podcast

0:05
Don Armstrong: It's the in-wheel time car talk show just ahead.
0:09
Don Armstrong: We head to that scary place outside of Denver, Colorado called Pike's Peak.
0:14
Don Armstrong: I I guess there was a man named Pike.
0:17
Don Armstrong: We're not going to get into the history of that, but we are going to talk to Richard Tomlin about the scary hill climb.
0:24
Don Armstrong: Even if you're in a regular car.
0:26
Don Armstrong: Not too long ago, I white-knuckled it all the way up.
0:29
Don Armstrong: Why did they call it a hill climb?
0:31
Don Armstrong: Friends, this is a mountain climb any way you look at it.
0:34
Don Armstrong: Anyway, we're going to talk to Richard.
0:36
Don Armstrong: Mountain climbers has already taken that.
0:41
Don Armstrong: How about auto mountain climbers?
0:43
Don Armstrong: Jeff has the racing calendar, Mr.
0:45
Don Armstrong: Mars has this week in auto history, and I'll have the stories making automotive news this week.
0:49
Don Armstrong: Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars, in our other studio.
0:54
Don Armstrong: We always need more Jeff Zeken in this studio.
0:57
Don Armstrong: My name is Don Armstrong.
0:58
Don Armstrong: Glad you could join us.
0:59
Don Armstrong: And David Ainsley, our chief engineer and bottle washer, he too uh is listening and watching today and complaining about the audio levels.
1:09
Don Armstrong: And we're trying to get there, David.
1:11
Don Armstrong: Just be patient.
1:14
Don Armstrong: Or not.
1:15
Don Armstrong: So, anyway, that's beside the point.
1:18
Don Armstrong: All right.
1:19
Don Armstrong: Let's go up to the hill, if you want to call it that.
1:22
Don Armstrong: There he is, ladies and gentlemen.
1:24
Don Armstrong: It's Richard Tomlin, Apex Auto Works.
1:28
Don Armstrong: Richard, is that a tan or is that a burn on your face?
1:31
SPEAKER_00: This is burns.
1:32
SPEAKER_00: This is uh we're closer to the sun here.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: And uh very white.
1:37
Don Armstrong: Yeah, it listen, listen, buddy, it it's not closer to the sun, it's closer to the outside universe.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a rough uh been here seven days now and every day in the sun for you know five, six hours at a time.
1:53
Don Armstrong: You know, they they do make some uh sunblock, and uh yeah, I would suggest maybe have send somebody down the mountain and get you some sunblock.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: Too late for all that.
2:03
Don Armstrong: Yeah, all right.
2:03
Don Armstrong: So let's talk about automobiles that you've got up there on the peak.
2:07
Don Armstrong: Where do you want to start?
2:08
SPEAKER_00: Um been a hell of a year.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh we got the Apex O set, which you all know well, the Miata that you claim is not a Miata, but it is.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: Um qualified in the Fast 15, which basically tells you you're in the top 20% off cars from running up the mountain.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: We got 74 parts this year.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: Um never thought we would get there.
2:25
SPEAKER_00: Um we'd hoped it's been dreamed, but we made it.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: And then uh we've also got Big Bird up here, which is qualified at the back of the pack, having some carburetor tuning issues on top of the mountain.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: Surprise.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, this is the challenge of running a carburetor motor at 8,000 all the way up to 14,000 feet of elevation.
2:43
SPEAKER_00: And uh we're learning every day.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: So both cars are ready to race up the hill.
2:47
SPEAKER_00: We'll go stage both today.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Um they'll be parked up there.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: We'll camp out overnight, get up in the morning, and uh all the festivities start about 7 30 in the morning, and follow along on Racer T TV, which is where everything comes to life.
3:00
Don Armstrong: Uh well, as usual, uh, I think that cell phone service up there is sketchy.
3:05
Don Armstrong: Uh at what elevation are you currently?
3:07
SPEAKER_00: We start about 8,000 feet.
3:08
Don Armstrong: So you're are you down at 8,000?
3:11
SPEAKER_00: No, this year I will be at the top.
3:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm over protest this year, so I'll be at the summit house for the full day.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: Take care of protests.
3:19
Don Armstrong: Richard, you know, uh, we all we all of us look at you and go, is this a real human being?
3:26
Don Armstrong: He climbs mountains, he fixes cars, he races cars, and and not just regular cars.
3:33
Don Armstrong: He goes all out about anything to do with a car.
3:37
Don Armstrong: You know, you have this reputation now, you got to live up to it every day.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: I will say, yesterday was very humbling setting in what we call the Fast 15, and knowing that we have the lowest dollar car of the entire group.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: And being able to run toe-to-toe with these guys or in class with these guys is amazing.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: I run in front of them, I mean we're in front of, you know, literally a couple of things.
4:00
Don Armstrong: Well, Richard, yeah, I want to tell you that your signal is so bad.
4:03
Don Armstrong: Yeah, you're breaking out.
4:04
Don Armstrong: We can't even understand what you're saying.
4:05
Mike Marrs: So can you maybe lean closer to your microphone?
4:08
Don Armstrong: Or either that or maybe perhaps reconnect with Mr.
4:11
Don Armstrong: Mars.
4:12
Don Armstrong: We're gonna we're gonna exit away from you for just a second here.
4:15
Don Armstrong: Now that made no difference.
4:16
Don Armstrong: If you if you'll reconnect with Mr.
4:18
Don Armstrong: Mars, that'd be great.
4:19
Don Armstrong: You know, this is what happens when you get close to the sun.
4:22
Don Armstrong: We'll we're gonna call it solar interference.
4:24
Don Armstrong: That's what it that's what we're gonna call it.
4:25
Don Armstrong: Duck, it might be a satellite coming through.
4:26
Don Armstrong: Sure.
4:27
Don Armstrong: Yeah, exactly.
4:28
Don Armstrong: So Mr.
4:28
Don Armstrong: Mars, if you'd be so kind as to reconnect with him, that would be greatly appreciated.
4:33
Don Armstrong: You know, um like I said, a couple years ago my daughter lives in Denver suburb of Denver.
4:42
Don Armstrong: And hey dad, why don't why don't you go up to Pike's Peak?
4:47
Don Armstrong: I went up there with my parents back in the day when the road was still dirt, so you couldn't go real fast.
4:54
Don Armstrong: And we were in a passenger car, I think it was the Buick Skylark or something.
4:57
Don Armstrong: No, you couldn't go, but they were still using racing at the time.
5:00
Don Armstrong: Well, that that that's a whole nother story.
5:02
Don Armstrong: This is regular people, you know.
5:04
Don Armstrong: And I didn't think anything of it.
5:06
Don Armstrong: It was okay, okay.
5:08
Don Armstrong: No, now that I'm older, I white knuckled it at about five miles an hour all the way up.
5:13
Don Armstrong: I was thinking I'm gonna fall off.
5:15
Don Armstrong: I wouldn't even have chanced it.
5:16
Don Armstrong: I wouldn't even have done it.
5:17
Don Armstrong: No, you would yeah, I'm telling you.
5:18
Don Armstrong: Um there there was uh I needed to take some medicine when I got down off of the off of the pipe.
5:25
Don Armstrong: Here we go with martinis again.
5:27
Don Armstrong: No, not that kind of medicine.
5:28
Don Armstrong: No, no, it was uh it was something that you'd buy at uh CVS.
5:32
Don Armstrong: But anyway.
5:34
Don Armstrong: Um is he back, Mike?
5:36
Mike Marrs: Yeah, I I think we got him back.
5:38
Mike Marrs: He's he's moved.
5:39
Mike Marrs: So uh inside.
5:41
Don Armstrong: Richard, let's hear you, Richard.
5:43
Don Armstrong: Talk to us.
5:44
Don Armstrong: Go for it.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
5:45
SPEAKER_00: Is that any better?
5:46
Don Armstrong: It is it's it's it's good for it's good for much better.
5:51
Don Armstrong: Yeah, the audio is much better, and we and we see your your your beautiful sunburnt face.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: Didn't you just go like that?
5:58
SPEAKER_00: You turn the mic off, turn the video off, it's fine.
6:02
Don Armstrong: Well, yeah, I guess we could do that, but uh yeah, I know that everybody wants to see you.
6:07
Don Armstrong: So let's talk about the let's talk about the road runner and uh a little bit of the history because uh I know that we've got people watching us today that really don't know the history.
6:15
Don Armstrong: This is your family car.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, family car.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: Um parents drove it to the hospital when I was born.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: Um stayed in the family forever, it was a drag race car.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh father was killed in '95.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: I did a bunch of body work on it, restoring it over the years, and then parked it.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: Man, probably almost 30 years, and it set.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: And uh then we had a guy last year that was talking about commissioning us to help build him a car.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: And uh what he wanted to build, I didn't think was wise financially for what he was doing.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: And uh told me he need to build something old and something cool.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: What would you build?
6:48
SPEAKER_00: And he threw out Roadrunner, and I said, Well, nobody would build a roadrunner to race Pike's Peak.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: That's dumb.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: Um it's made to go in a straight line very fast.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: And uh dumb to find out, he's got a background much like mine.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: Learn to drive manual in a roadrunner, learn to race in a roadrunner, wrenched on a roadrunner as a kid, so it became a legacy project for the two of us to get this car up the mountain.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: And then we had some friends at Pike's Peak that helped us throw in a uh R5 P7 NASCAR engine chassis suspension underneath.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, so greatly violated my father's roadrunner, cutting out the belly of it and putting a NASCAR underneath, but it is a Dodge NASCAR, um, so that makes it somewhat acceptable.
7:29
Don Armstrong: Well, that and the fact that there's still a lot of uh parts and pieces, uh especially of the body of the car that continues to roll on, so to speak.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's exactly the same on the inside.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: There's stickers on the dash that I put there at seven years old.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: There's stickers on the outside.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: I remember 13, 14 watching dad put them on the car.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: So it's uh very close to home.
7:50
Don Armstrong: Yeah.
7:51
Don Armstrong: Well, uh uh did you did you send it up there in an enclosed trailer or open trailer?
7:56
SPEAKER_00: It was an enclosed trailer.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, but man, I'll tell you what, just the uh three weeks that they've had it up here and testing and on the mountain, I think every panel has got dings and dents and chips on it now.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: Already it is nothing like what it was, so it's gonna need some attention and some TLC very soon.
8:13
Don Armstrong: Well, but you know, that after the event.
8:16
Don Armstrong: So tell us tell us about the event, if you will.
8:18
Don Armstrong: Uh has it already it obviously is qualifying and stuff and you've gotten classifications.
8:23
Don Armstrong: When is the real event?
8:25
SPEAKER_00: Event starts tomorrow morning about 8 30.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: First car off the line.
8:29
Don Armstrong: Yeah.
8:29
Don Armstrong: And where are you scheduled in that?
8:33
SPEAKER_00: Um first car will start 17th overall.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, the other car starts third from last, so I think it's like 72nd qualifier overall.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, so we will be there all day.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: Um running.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, the racing is done by two.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: So if you're gonna tune in for the whole thing, consider from 8:30 mountain time, so 9:30 your time on Racer until 3:30 in the afternoon.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: Six hours, seven hours.
8:57
Jeff Dziekan: Racer TV.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: Racer TV is the number one, and then mobile one oil will live stream it as well.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: But Racer TV is the main one this year.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: They've got TV crews, uh media teams doing interviews, uh, radio and video coverage.
9:11
Don Armstrong: Wow, that's exciting.
9:13
Don Armstrong: And I guess you have to have a subscription, right?
9:16
SPEAKER_00: No, they've got a free one.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: It's it's a free one on their app.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: So and it's on TV TV too.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
9:22
Don Armstrong: Wow, that that's uh that that's that's pretty darn exciting.
9:25
Don Armstrong: So, how big is your crew for these two cars?
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, we've got seven on a PEXO set, and they've got six on Big Bird, but then we've got another four, five media team as well.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: Those are the ones cranking out the pictures and videos for us.
9:45
Don Armstrong: Yeah, it's like a NASCAR team.
9:52
Don Armstrong: Yeah, Mike's got a question.
9:53
Mike Marrs: Yeah, what's the question, Mike?
9:55
Mike Marrs: Yeah, Richard.
9:55
Mike Marrs: Um my question was you're part of the officiating crew.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: I do that, yes.
10:01
Mike Marrs: So you don't really get to deal with the cars during the race.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: Right.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: So I come up here and basically hand them off uh to our crew, and then I go away and do my technical duties and then watch my cars operate.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: And as we're going through qualifying stages and sessions that they run, I move to different sessions so there's no conflict of interest for anybody to scream and yell about.
10:24
Mike Marrs: Yeah, so you get to stand at the top of the hill waiting on your car to come up over that last rise.
10:32
Don Armstrong: Absolutely.
10:33
Don Armstrong: So, what what is up?
10:34
Don Armstrong: You know, I know that there's a visitor center up there at the top of that mountain, which by the way, I walked into and then crawled back out to the car.
10:43
Don Armstrong: And uh, I know, laugh if you will, but that was just that was it.
10:46
Don Armstrong: And I stayed in the car while everybody else had a nice time up there, and uh I was talking to God the entire time.
10:53
Don Armstrong: Lack of oxygen up there.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, there's that it's a challenge for a lot of people, it really is.
10:58
Don Armstrong: So well, it used to not be, but now uh it is for me.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: Probably ninety I would say ninety-nine-five percent of drivers actually run oxygen in their cars, yeah.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, just with a nose hose and regulator, and um, it helps them stay clear and focused, and you'll see them throughout the day going back to the car, putting oxygen on for 10-15 minutes, then walk away from the car.
11:17
Jeff Dziekan: So, are there any uh uh motorcycles or anything unique going up, like some home-built garage vehicle that's like a snow sled or something gonna make it?
11:28
Jeff Dziekan: No, not the melt, not the Miata Nam Miata, not that one.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: The uh this year they've got the uh Ultra Fours, uh, which are a couple of those from Texas, but they brought four Ultra Fours up here to compete this year as an exhibition.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, we always run the military up before us, but they'll have a couple Humvees and fast response vehicles that are pretty awesome.
11:46
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, no more motorcycles.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: Uh those got closed out a few years ago when uh Carlin Dunn lost his life.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: Um that was the final one, and we just don't do bikes anymore on the mountain.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: There's no recovering from that when you go off at this pace, you know?
12:00
Don Armstrong: Pace and altitude.
12:02
Don Armstrong: Right.
12:02
Don Armstrong: Yeah, let me tell you something.
12:03
Don Armstrong: You know, there's some roads up there that I happen to peek out the window just to see how much fright I could put into myself.
12:11
Don Armstrong: Oh Lord.
12:12
Don Armstrong: And it goes like straight down.
12:13
Don Armstrong: Yeah, there's no you know, ledge or cliff or something you can fall on that all the way down.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: There's some very steep spots for sure.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Very yeah, very steep.
12:24
Don Armstrong: So uh uh what is the closest city to Pike's Peak?
12:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh they would tell you Cascade at the bottom, but it's a very small town.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: So Colorado Springs is a real place where most of us stay.
12:36
Jeff Dziekan: I I think it's heaven.
12:38
Jeff Dziekan: That's the closest city.
12:40
Don Armstrong: That's awesome, which I which I will spend eternity in, hopefully.
12:44
Don Armstrong: Hopefully.
12:44
Don Armstrong: Well, maybe not.
12:45
Don Armstrong: I'm doing this show, so that's not gonna get me there, that's for sure.
12:49
Don Armstrong: Well, um, so what are you going to do the rest of the day?
12:53
SPEAKER_00: Um well, today is a trip to Walmart to grab supplies to live out of my truck for the next 30 hours.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, because you've got to be there before all the fans, because there's one way in, one way out, and about 18 to 19,000 people coming in this two-lane road.
13:09
SPEAKER_00: So we get there early and camp out, and then that way the next morning we can jump up at 1 30 and head up to the top of the mountain.
13:14
Don Armstrong: Obviously, there are viewing areas.
13:17
Don Armstrong: I mean, it's not all the way around the course.
13:19
Don Armstrong: Tons of things.
13:21
Don Armstrong: You can't stand in certain parts of the course, they won't let you do that.
13:24
Don Armstrong: Correct.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: I think there's six or seven viewing areas now.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Doubles playground being the number one, which has 10,000 tickets itself for that one viewing area.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: And it is packed with people.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: It's awesome to watch.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: So devil's playground, you can see the start line.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: So it's it's a really good spot to watch the race.
13:42
Jeff Dziekan: What is the ticket price for someone to get in?
13:45
SPEAKER_00: I honestly don't know.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: I know originally they opened up at 25 bucks, but somebody was told me the other day that they're 70, so I don't know for sure.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: And depending on which area you're in, it affects pricing and how high up the mountain.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: Like the more premiere viewing Devil's Playground, of course, costs more than some of the smaller spots where you get to just watch a car go by.
14:01
Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, it makes sense.
14:02
Jeff Dziekan: Makes sense.
14:03
Don Armstrong: Well, listen, man, we we wish you the best of luck.
14:07
Don Armstrong: Godspeed, John Glenn, as they say.
14:10
Don Armstrong: And uh, because you're blasting out into outer space.
14:15
Don Armstrong: Um uh we're going to follow you.
14:18
Don Armstrong: We're gonna uh watch you on TV and do all the things that we need to do to keep up.
14:24
Don Armstrong: And uh, what are the car numbers?
14:26
Don Armstrong: How how do how do we find you on the TV?
14:28
SPEAKER_00: Look for what super simple this year.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Car 6869.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: 68 for the 68 Roadrunner and 69 for the lunar lander, being a 50th year anniversary of the lunar lander.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: Okay, which is the Miata, yeah.
14:41
Don Armstrong: Yep, maybe maybe you'll get to see the lunar, but uh we hope hopefully we don't get to be the lander.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: Yep, yep.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we'll we'll be in touch, we'll be back in town next week, and uh we'll post up our results and stuff as soon as it happens on uh Facebook and Instagram.
14:56
SPEAKER_00: So follow along, it'll be great.
14:58
Don Armstrong: We look forward to it, my friend.
15:00
Don Armstrong: Be safe and take care.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: All right, see you soon.
15:02
Don Armstrong: Thanks, Richard.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Bye.
15:05
Jeff Dziekan: Wow, interesting stuff.
15:07
Jeff Dziekan: I would never do it.
15:08
Don Armstrong: I I have I will I will never ever ever go back up there.
15:15
Mike Marrs: You know, he's his wife won't let him do any of the drivers.
15:19
Don Armstrong: Have you ever been there?
15:20
Mike Marrs: No, I have not.
15:21
Mike Marrs: It's it's on the list.
15:22
Don Armstrong: Oh, really?
15:23
Mike Marrs: Didn't Richard used to drive, didn't he go up once or twice in the beginning?
15:27
Mike Marrs: I think that he did.
15:27
Mike Marrs: But well, I mean he he drives up and down, you know, to get out of the room.
15:31
Mike Marrs: Right, right, but but to compete.
15:32
Mike Marrs: He doesn't drive the race cars.
15:34
Don Armstrong: Okay.
15:35
Don Armstrong: Let me tell you something.
15:37
Don Armstrong: I will I will gladly be standing at the bottom of the mountain and I will wave the granny wave as you as you take off and head up toward the first little check-in point.
15:50
Don Armstrong: And uh that that that's all I'm gonna do.
15:53
Don Armstrong: You know when they take the player off the field in the stretcher and goes like this?
15:56
Jeff Dziekan: That would be me.
15:57
Jeff Dziekan: I'd be like, Yeah, I would not.
15:59
Jeff Dziekan: I wouldn't go back.
16:01
Don Armstrong: And the next time I get anywhere close there, I will be under I will propofol will be my friend.
16:08
Don Armstrong: Propofol.
16:08
Don Armstrong: What is that?
16:09
Don Armstrong: That's the stuff that they use to put you to sleep when you go into surgery.
16:13
Don Armstrong: Oh you wake up the next day and you go, Where am I?
16:17
Don Armstrong: Am I on this planet still?
16:18
Don Armstrong: No, you're not.
16:19
Don Armstrong: You're on Pike's Peak.
16:20
Don Armstrong: I thought that was Cuervo when they put that.
16:22
Don Armstrong: Well, there's that.
16:23
Don Armstrong: All right.
16:24
Don Armstrong: Well, that was fun.
16:25
Don Armstrong: Just ahead, Jeff has the racing calendar and Mr.
16:29
Don Armstrong: Mars has this week in auto history.
16:31
Don Armstrong: And I'll bring you some of the stories making automotive news headlines this week.
16:34
Don Armstrong: The In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues right after this quick break.
16:40
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17:34
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17:40
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17:44
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17:51
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17:52
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17:57
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18:03
Don Armstrong: It's been a great ride, and we hope to bring you more fun and adventure right here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
18:16
Don Armstrong: And we thank you for joining us.
18:18
Don Armstrong: In Wheel Time will bring you another all-new show next Saturday, 10 to noon central.
18:23
Don Armstrong: Listen and watch on InWheeltime.com, Facebook, and YouTube.
18:26
Don Armstrong: If you miss it, you'll be able to connect through a podcast from your favorite podcast channel anytime.
18:32
Don Armstrong: Pronto.
18:33
Don Armstrong: Pronto.
18:33
Don Armstrong: All right.
18:34
Don Armstrong: Time now for the racing calendar, sponsored by the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.
18:38
Don Armstrong: Mr.
18:39
Don Armstrong: Jeffrey Zeke has.
18:40
Jeff Dziekan: Thank you for that.
18:41
Jeff Dziekan: We've got Lawnmower Racing.
18:43
Jeff Dziekan: It's in uh Gun Barrel, Texas today.
18:45
Jeff Dziekan: It is the Lawnmower Racing Association.
18:47
Jeff Dziekan: It's the regular season, in case you are wondering about that.
18:50
Jeff Dziekan: Have you ever watched it?
18:52
Jeff Dziekan: Just on a YouTube thing.
18:53
Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
18:54
Don Armstrong: Yeah, I know, because it's not on live ABC wide world of sports.
18:57
Jeff Dziekan: FS1 or anything.
18:58
Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
18:59
Jeff Dziekan: Then you got NASCAR.
19:00
Jeff Dziekan: They're at San Diego.
19:01
Jeff Dziekan: They're at a naval base down there.
19:02
Jeff Dziekan: I saw a little bit of the trucks run yesterday evening.
19:04
Jeff Dziekan: I didn't really watch the whole thing.
19:06
Jeff Dziekan: It's like a road course?
19:08
Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
19:08
Jeff Dziekan: Road course on the on a naval naval base down there.
19:10
Jeff Dziekan: There's several down there in San Diego and they're on a particular island that they're running.
19:14
Jeff Dziekan: It actually looks pretty cool.
19:16
Jeff Dziekan: I didn't see a lot of it, but it's on CW today at five o'clock, and then tomorrow the big boys are running on the Prime Uh Pay Network or whatever that is.
19:23
Jeff Dziekan: Then you got any IndyCar, Indie Racing League.
19:26
Jeff Dziekan: They're at Road America.
19:28
Jeff Dziekan: And that will be tomorrow.
19:29
Jeff Dziekan: So that's going to be fun to watch.
19:31
Jeff Dziekan: NHRA is off this week.
19:32
Jeff Dziekan: They will be in uh where are they going to be next week?
19:34
Jeff Dziekan: They're going to be in Norwalk next week.
19:36
Jeff Dziekan: Norwalk, Ohio.
19:37
Jeff Dziekan: Formula One's going on.
19:38
Jeff Dziekan: They're going to be in uh Australia.
19:40
Jeff Dziekan: It's the Australian Grand Prix.
19:42
Jeff Dziekan: That's going to go uh today, actually.
19:44
Jeff Dziekan: I think it might have already run.
19:45
Jeff Dziekan: And then for you, Don, I got USAC.
19:47
Jeff Dziekan: We talked about USAC.
19:48
Jeff Dziekan: I love USAC.
19:49
Jeff Dziekan: USAC's going to be in Pennsylvania.
19:51
Jeff Dziekan: You've got all the series running in Pennsylvania.
19:53
Jeff Dziekan: It's the Port Royal Speedway out there.
19:56
Jeff Dziekan: So Winged and Unwinged, Midgets and Tall, whatever they call that.
20:00
Jeff Dziekan: So there you go.
20:01
Jeff Dziekan: USAC.
20:02
Jeff Dziekan: And where'd you say they're going to be at Pennsylvania?
20:04
Jeff Dziekan: They're going to be in Royal Port Speed.
20:09
Jeff Dziekan: No, I looked uh the other day when I pulled this up.
20:11
Jeff Dziekan: There's some in Michigan.
20:12
Jeff Dziekan: It's all kind of the Midwest stuff.
20:13
Jeff Dziekan: Kansas is probably going to be.
20:14
Don Armstrong: Well, this time of the year, yeah.
20:15
Jeff Dziekan: You got sprints, you got midgets, uh, you've got nothing, nothing, uh, nothing close.
20:22
Jeff Dziekan: A lot of California stuff going on.
20:24
Jeff Dziekan: That's a real shame.
20:25
Don Armstrong: Uh uh and uh you know World of Outlaws, that's another one that I like.
20:28
Don Armstrong: That's kind of in the sprint car thing.
20:30
Jeff Dziekan: This is the USAC USAC championship, like NASCAR is a NASCAR.
20:33
Jeff Dziekan: But uh check out your local tracks.
20:35
Jeff Dziekan: There's stuff going on all the time in your local area.
20:38
Don Armstrong: And I'm here to tell you uh Houston Motorsports Park.
20:42
Don Armstrong: That's the uh three-eighths mile uh asphalt track up uh near Lake Houston.
20:49
Don Armstrong: And they have a drag strip associated with it.
20:52
Don Armstrong: The days I think of that track, along with a uh motorcycle track next to it, are numbered.
20:58
Don Armstrong: I flew over it the other day.
21:00
Don Armstrong: And there's some really nice neighborhoods real close to it.
21:05
Don Armstrong: Yeah, and you know, that usually spells doom.
21:07
Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, the demise is coming.
21:09
Don Armstrong: Uh because uh that area up there, it's easily accessible by the uh Grand Parkway and transit.
21:18
Jeff Dziekan: Well, that's kind of why they built the Grand Parkway to develop all that area out there, and it's happening.
21:22
Jeff Dziekan: It's happening, yeah.
21:23
Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, so it won't be long.
21:24
Don Armstrong: Uh I'd imagine the next couple of years it'll be gone.
21:27
Don Armstrong: Okay.
21:28
Don Armstrong: All right, let's look at the auto history notebook.
21:32
Don Armstrong: Mr.
21:32
Don Armstrong: Mars has that.
21:33
Mike Marrs: Yeah, we've got a couple of things coming up in this week uh in automotive history, such as June the 22nd, 1909.
21:41
Mike Marrs: Now Alice Ramsey arrived in San Francisco after leaving New York 59 days earlier.
21:49
Mike Marrs: She was in a Maxwell.
21:52
Mike Marrs: I bet there weren't no Motel 6s nearby, were there?
21:55
Mike Marrs: Nope, nope, nope.
21:56
Mike Marrs: She was in a Maxwell touring car with three female passengers.
22:00
Jeff Dziekan: There you go.
22:01
Mike Marrs: So she uh, of course, they had to go across primitive roads, 1909, uh, mud, river crossings, and mechanical breakdowns.
22:09
Mike Marrs: They handled it all.
22:10
Mike Marrs: And so this made her the first woman to drive across the United States and demonstrated the uh reliability of automobiles and can take the role of women in the development of our society, and uh is really one of the most remarkable endurance drives in a automotive.
22:26
Don Armstrong: I wonder if she ever got out and changed a tire, too.
22:29
Don Armstrong: That's why she had the other three ladies with her.
22:31
Mike Marrs: In the history, I think they had to change two of them.
22:33
Mike Marrs: But anyway, moving on to June the 23rd, the first Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island's new circuit happened.
22:40
Mike Marrs: Uh this was uh June the 23rd.
22:43
Mike Marrs: So thousands of spectators gathered along island to watch the leading American European manufacturers compete on a newly designed course.
22:52
Mike Marrs: Now, this again, the event was to showcase automotive technology, including more powerful engines, and uh the improved vehicles.
22:59
Mike Marrs: Now, this was because at this time, racing directly influenced production car development.
23:06
Mike Marrs: Things that worked out on the racetrack, and they would go in and build them.
23:08
Mike Marrs: The old uh saying that uh win on Sunday, sell on Monday kind of thing.
23:12
Mike Marrs: This is where all that good stuff started.
23:15
Mike Marrs: Now then moving on to June the 25th, Malcolm Campbell sets a new land speed record.
23:20
Mike Marrs: Now, this is really impressive because the British driver pushed his sunbeam-powered racer to a land speed record at 109 stands in Wales.
23:31
Mike Marrs: He got over 150 miles an hour in 1925.
23:35
Mike Marrs: And and it absolutely caught international attention.
23:39
Mike Marrs: And he continued to set more records as he went on, but this was the first one, and this really highlighted the rapid technology technology advances occurring in the automotive industry during the formative days.
23:53
Mike Marrs: Then on June the 26th, the last Ford Model T rolled out.
23:59
Mike Marrs: Now, this was uh a big deal.
24:01
Mike Marrs: It was the 15 millionth uh Model T that was built.
24:06
Mike Marrs: And in reality, of course, the Model A followed this, but the reality of the Model A was basically a Model T on steroids.
24:13
Mike Marrs: It was a little bit wider, a little bit longer, but it looked almost the same other than the dimensions on it.
24:20
Mike Marrs: Then coming up on June the 27th, 1950, the first production Saab 92 rolls out.
24:27
Mike Marrs: Now, this was important because this was the company's first passenger car.
24:32
Mike Marrs: They've been developing aircraft engines and developing airplanes, and and so the Streamline 92 featured uh some really innovative engineering and aerodynamics.
24:44
Mike Marrs: It was powered by a two-cylinder two-stroke engine, but it got a reputation for reliability and durability because of the engineering that had gone into the aircraft experience that the company had.
24:56
Mike Marrs: Sob reliable?
24:58
Mike Marrs: Well, the two-cylinder two-stroke engine in 1950 is what we're talking about.
25:05
Don Armstrong: Did it sound anything like this?
25:11
Don Armstrong: Whenever it popped.
25:12
Mike Marrs: Yeah.
25:13
Mike Marrs: I don't know.
25:13
Mike Marrs: I'll have to see if we can find a video from that.
25:17
Mike Marrs: Now in June 27, 1963, Lamborghini is officially established.
25:22
Mike Marrs: Now I missed a picture.
25:23
Mike Marrs: This car here, uh, there were several pictures of it, but I love the way this car looks.
25:29
Mike Marrs: Now, this is uh that already Lamborghini, of course, started in the tractor business.
25:33
Mike Marrs: They set out to build grand touring cars to challenge Ferrari.
25:37
Mike Marrs: It's kind of a personal thing between the families.
25:39
Mike Marrs: And uh so they introduced the 350 GT, and it's that's really where what founded Lamborghini and created one of the world's most famous rivalries between them and Ferrari, whether it's in racing, on the show floor, design, they're just they're after each other all the time.
25:56
Mike Marrs: But I love the way this car looks, and uh that's just some of the things we found in automotive history this week.
26:01
Don Armstrong: I like the way that the green sobed.
26:05
Don Armstrong: It's kind of fitting.
26:08
Don Armstrong: It was different.
26:12
Don Armstrong: I don't even know how what would you say about that car?
26:15
Don Armstrong: You know, it kind of looked like a little baby elephant.
26:18
unknown: Uh-oh.
26:20
Mike Marrs: Yeah, you could say it kind of looked like a baby elephant.
26:22
Mike Marrs: It was more to me like uh uh uh like a little beetle or a little ladybug type thing.
26:29
Mike Marrs: It just it was green, you know.
26:31
unknown: Yeah.
26:32
Don Armstrong: Well, green cars that no, they just don't work for me, but whatever.
26:36
Don Armstrong: Different day, different time.
26:38
Don Armstrong: Police in San Francisco have spent five months searching the cities, first known thief to flee the scene in a self-driving car.
26:47
Don Armstrong: In January, someone stole clothing from a yoga studio, loaded the loot into the trunk of a Waymo robotaxi, and rode off, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
26:56
Don Armstrong: Even though Waymo cars are outfitted with more than two dozen cameras, police were unable to obtain any footage that helped point to a suspect.
27:06
Don Armstrong: Waymo already had deleted the interior footage by the time a search warrant came through, and the company blurs faces of privacy for privacy in the exterior views it captures.
27:17
Don Armstrong: The writer's account information also didn't lead to anyone.
27:20
Don Armstrong: Quote, I would think it would be easier to solve in a Waymo, Sergeant Tim Fay, the detective handling the case, told the Chronicle for a story this month, it was disappointing that the internal video was not able to lead to the recognition of a suspect.
27:36
Don Armstrong: Waymo told the publication it couldn't comment on the case because that in general it considers public safety and privacy when responding to requests from law enforcement.
27:46
Don Armstrong: The company doesn't use technology that can identify riders through facial recognition or other biometrics.
27:52
Don Armstrong: That's not to say robotaxis offer a guaranteed getaway.
27:57
Don Armstrong: LA police in January arrested a man they said robbed a supermarket before getting into a Waymo car.
28:03
Don Armstrong: Officers were able to pursue the car and persuade it to pull over by activating their lights and sirens, which Waymo has instructed its vehicles to recognize and obey.
28:13
Don Armstrong: Direct from California, ladies and gentlemen, you just can't make that.
28:19
Jeff Dziekan: So if you're in a regular cab with a driver, because they have cameras, and you do the same thing but don't tip off the driver, well, can they go back and look at that video?
28:28
Jeff Dziekan: Is there some law against that?
28:29
Jeff Dziekan: This is crazy.
28:30
Jeff Dziekan: It is.
28:31
Don Armstrong: Hey, we'd love to hear from you.
28:33
Don Armstrong: Shoot us an email.
28:34
Don Armstrong: The address here is info at nwheeltime.com, and we're back right after this.
28:40
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28:49
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28:55
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29:02
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29:34
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29:40
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29:45
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29:50
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30:00
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30:06
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30:11
Don Armstrong: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
30:15
Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheelTime.com website.
30:25
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30:34
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