32nd-Annual Wilson Bank Oktoberfest Car Show brings the best of the AACA to Lebanon

For 32 years, Wilson County Bank has hosted the big Oktoberfest event at their main branch in Lebanon, Tenn. That tradition continued last weekend, including the big AACA car show on Sunday. The car show season tends to wind down quite a bit after this weekend, but not before 451 entries converged on about four different parking lots to make up this last-ditch blowout. I’ve been to this show before, but this was the first time I entered a car. Not only did my car take home a class award, but I got to spend the day hanging out with my teenaged son, and we were able to take our time studying all the nice cars and trucks on display.

Daytona preserves NASCAR history

Well, the 2017 Daytona 500 is over. Kurt Busch earned his spot in NASCAR history and will be enshrined on the Harley J. Earl trophy. From the early days of racing on the beach, to the iconic two-and-a-half mile tri-oval, Daytona has had its fair share of historic moments. Luckily, there is an effort to preserve some of that history, and you can see quite a bit of it with a Daytona VIP Tour. We were there a few months ago to see this exhibit firsthand, and as usual, I brought back a few pictures to share.

2015 Nashville International Auto Show

November means auto show season in Nashville, so we headed out to the Music City Center last weekend for the 2015 Nashville International Auto Show. This is one of the smallest new car shows I think I’ve ever been to. It also boggles my mind that Elvis’ Solid Gold Cadillac is on display just down the street from here at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and there was not one trace of Cadillac at this show. There were also quite a few more cars than I have pictured, but I made the determination that they were not interesting enough to feature. If you want to see Hyundais and Hondas and stuff like that, you’ll have to hit this show yourself next year. If you like sports cars and American pickups, you’re in the right place.

Chicken sandwiches and custom cars at the Mt. Juliet Chick-fil-A Cruise

I hate to make excuses, but there has been so much going on the past week that I’m behind on my blogging.  Take this coverage of the Chick-fil-A Cruise in Mt. Juliet.  I actually took all these pictures more than a week ago.  But even though it has taken way too long for me to hammer out a story, I think you’ll agree that it was worth the wait.  This was a nice cruise with some nice cars on a nice night.  And who doesn’t enjoy a delicious Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich while they’re surrounded by hot rods?  Let’s take a look.

Highland Rim Speedway. Home of the Caprice coupe

One of the most important parts of going to a new city is checking out the local racetracks. Nashville is in the heart of racing country, so it stands to reason that there would be some great racing here. Highland Rim Speedway in Greenbrier, Tenn., is a perfect example. This is a little bitty track—only a quarter-mile around. But it packs in some big action. This is a textbook example of what grassroots racing is all about. Close quarters, fast cars, and competitive drivers make this a must-see Saturday destination throughout the summer.

Cars of the 1980s

I was born in 1973, but I really started to notice cars in the 1980s.  There are plenty of valid arguments about how bad the cars from this decade were, but I still get excited about them.  Car companies were trying to meet new fuel and safety standards, but still satisfy the demands of enthusiasts.  It was a tough task, but they somehow made it happen.  Sure, the top-of-the-line Camaro Z28 only had 165-hp in 1982, but it looked good, it sounded good, and the advertisements were totally awesome.  The Heartbeat of America?  We Build Excitement?  Pure genius. 

Jimmie Johnson wins 6th Sprint Cup series championship. But is he an athlete?

Sunday, Jimmie Johnson took home a historic sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship down at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  That puts him one away from tying the record of seven, held by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.  And as of right now, there doesn’t seem to be any reason that he can’t beat that record.  Old-school NASCAR fans cringe at the thought, but Johnson’s Chad Knaus-led team is just that strong.

Scratching that late model itch with the K&N Pro Series at Lebanon I-44 Speedway

Kansas City used to be a hotbed for asphalt late model short track stock car racing, with at least two tracks here in the area.  Over the years, those tracks have either closed or been covered with dirt, so now the only asphalt circle track is the big one-and-a-half-mile Kansas Speedway.  But I’ve been jonsein’ to see some good late models on a paved track lately, and the only way to do that is to hit the road.

Missouri's Larry Phillips nominated for 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame

When you think of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, names like Petty, Earnhardt, and Pearson come to mind. Well, there is one driver who competed locally that regularly makes the list for people in-the-know, and you may have never even heard his name.

The 2014 Chevrolet SS recalls the full-sized, rear-wheel-drive Super Sports of the past

Thursday, Chevrolet took the wraps off of the much-anticipated, 2013 SS NASCAR Sprint Cup stock car at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The car will be based on the upcoming, Australian-built, 2014 Chevrolet SS. This is pretty big news for bowtie loyalists, because it marks the return of full-sized, rear-wheel-drive performance to the Chevrolet lineup. But it certainly isn’t their first foray into this market segment. When people think of the SS badge, images of ’69 Camaro 396s and ’70 Chevelles with 454s might come to mind. But the SS badge was born on Chevy’s full-sized offerings.

Kansas City racing bonanza; Sprint Cup, Nationwide, ARCA at Kansas Speedway, Late Models at Lakeside

For car folks, this is a depressing time of year in Kansas City.  Yes, there are some really cool season-ending events, but it also reminds you that soon there will be nothing left until next spring.  And there is no better example of that than the huge racing weekend that just came to an end in Kansas City, Kan., which was punctuated by the Hollywood Casino 400 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  Let’s review some of the action that took place in Wyandotte County.

If you click on the headlines, they’ll take you to the complete race results.

2012 Chevrolet Equinox test drive review. Warm cinnamon rolls and brown sugar

The Chevrolet Equinox. You see them everywhere. My mother-in-law has one. This is definitely not a controversial vehicle choice.

This week I had the opportunity to test out a new 2012 Equinox front-wheel-drive 2LT. And while I wouldn’t say it stirred me to my very soul, I can certainly see why this medium-small crossover has become so popular. The Equinox is not as cumbersome as a full-sized SUV, it’s more practical than a car, and it does it all in a neat little package that has a fit and finish that rivals luxury SUV’s costing much more.

2012 Ford Focus Electric test drive review. Ford sets the pace on electric vehicles

On Monday, Ford announced that the new 2012 Focus Electric would pace the NASCAR Sprint Cup Race in Richmond on April 28. As I was listening to the Ford official talk about this on my Sirius NASCAR Radio, he stated that electric vehicles like the Focus are the cars of the future. And while I have no doubt that he knows what he is talking about, I would also contend that electric vehicles are deeply rooted in the past. This technology has been dealing with the same issues and perceptions since the beginning of the automobile, and simultaneously, electric cars have been ahead of their time for more than 100 years.

Introducing the Thursday Drive-By

I am not even close to being a technophile, but I run into great car stories and pictures on the Internet all the time. Between the various blogs I follow, to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, there is enough material out there to waste hours that I should be doing something else.

I thought it might be fun to do a weekly column called the “Thursday Drive-By” where I pick maybe five stories that I hope you’ll like from various online sources, then providing the link for you to check them out yourselves. Of course, then I discovered that it takes longer to put all of this together than I was expecting. There’s just so much good stuff out there to choose from! Anyway, I’ll give it a try this week, and if you guys like the idea, maybe we’ll make it a regular, or at least semi-regular feature in the future. Check these out and see what you think!

Kenseth survives fire and rain to win 2012 Daytona 500. Coverage, results, photos, and crash video

During the Sunday rain delay coverage of the 2012 Daytona 500, they played the 1979 fight scene (as they always do), and my dad recalled us watching that race live on the TV that my parents had in their bedroom in Omaha. I've watched every Daytona 500 since, and I've seen some pretty strange things over the years. But this year may have been one of the strangest. More on that shortly.

Johnson, Keselowski, and Bowman conquer Kansas Speedway while the crowd takes a siesta

My wife tries to tell me all the time that the races at Kansas Speedway are boring. I always defend them, telling her they were a little dull when the track opened, but now that the track has some age on it, they've become really exciting.

But then, they have a weekend like this one. And suddenly, Craig is proven wrong ... once again.

Chillaxin' during the Friday NASCAR Sprint Cup practice at Kansas Speedway

I used to really love race cars. I loved the way they sounded. I loved the way they smelled. I loved the way their bright paint schemes gleamed in the sun. I just loved watching them.

And then somewhere along the way, I kind of lost track of what I actually loved about them. Once I quit working at the local race tracks, had a son, and found other things to occupy my time, I stopped going to the races nearly as often. 

Like Harry Hogge said, "There's nothing stock about a stock car."

“They ought to do it like the old days—just weld a roll bar in a stock vehicle and let the best car win!”

You hear that from people all the time. “There’s nothing stock about a stock car.” “Why do they even bother to call them Fords and Chevys?” And on. And on.

Back in the early days of NASCAR, stock cars really were just that—stock. Competitors would often drive their race car to the track, participate in the event, and drive it to work the next day. The biggest modification may have been removing the hubcaps.

But it wasn’t all perfect in stock car land. Drivers regularly suffered serious injuries and death. The cars were difficult to handle at speed. And even at that, they weren’t going as fast as the risks may indicate. Sure, those old news reels of the early days of NASCAR are great to watch now, but let’s consider what America’s number-one motorsport would be like if it followed the same formula today.

Assuming NASCAR could even regulate the technical aspects of a modern computer-controlled, technologically-advanced vehicle, it would be hard to imagine the close, fast racing we have today.

Are you kidding me?! Trevor Bayne puts the legendary Wood Brothers Ford in victory lane at the 2011 Daytona 500. Wood Brothers history photos, race results, and victory lane video

If you were watching the 2011 Daytona 500, I think you have to admit, it was a pretty neat finish.

At 20-years-old, Trevor Bayne became the youngest driver to win the biggest race in all of NASCAR. He became the first driver to win the 500 in his first attempt since Lee Petty took the very first one in 1959. And he was driving for one of the oldest, most respected teams in the sport, the Wood Brothers, complete with a throwback paint scheme.

First, a little about Bayne, since no one knows where he came from. He just turned 20 the day before he won the Daytona 500, so his resume isn't going to be too long. He won a bunch of go-cart championships as a younger kid. He went on to race in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, then the NASCAR Camping World East Series in a Dale Earnhardt, Inc., car. He was good enough that he was eventually picked up by Michael Waltrip racing to run their Nationwide Series car. Sponsorship ran out on that deal, and he ran a couple of Nationwide Series shows for Jack Roush's team. And finally, he was hired to share the #21 Ford with Bill Elliott for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season.

More than 100 photos from the legendary I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. The most awesome race track I've ever been to

I've been in the picture scanning mode lately, and I decided to go all-out and share my photo collection from what is easily the most interesting job I had, working in the front office of I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo.

I-70 was a Kansas City racing institution. Opened in 1969 by salvage yard owner Bill Roberts, the track proved to be one of the fastest, toughest, most significant venues in the Midwest. For its time, I-70 Speedway was state-of-the-art, with modern concession stands and restrooms, individual boat-type seats in the grandstands, and a VIP suite/media center. Short tracks didn't get much better than this.