The ECTA Maxton Mile, 10 April 2010 (Updated)

I spent the day at the Maxton Mile.  What's that, you ask.  It's the informal name for the land speed races that the East Coast Timing Association [ECTA] holds at the Laurinburg-Maxton airport, just outside Maxton, North Carolina.  I was there for Drag Racing Online.  It was the first time that I've covered a land speed race, but it won't be the last -- it was a hoot.

(All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010.  Click directly on any of the images to see larger versions.)

There's a lot to like about the race at Maxton.  I don't whether to start with the cars or the people -- both of which are terrific -- so I'll start with the atmosphere -- friendly, relaxed (though with moments of 200 miles per hour intensity), and amateur in the best sense of the word.  "Amateur" comes from the Latin word for love.  And that's what these folks are all about.  There's no prize money to be won.  No trophies and little in the way of sponsorship.  They do because cars are a passion and because they're obsessed with speed.  Besides, it's fun.

Joel Norworthy, from Georgia, was the first person that I talked to.  Even though he's an experienced racer, he's never before been down the track at Maxton.  He was hoping that his '08 Kawasaki 250 Ninja would run 105 mph.

One of the cars that really got my attention was Johnny Johnson's '36 Chevy Modified.  Cars like this were common on short oval tracks from the '40s through the '60s.  It was great to see one that's both restored and being actively raced.

Johnson's Modified begins its run.  The racers drive a measured mile on the airport's runways.  The goal is to reach the highest possible top speed.

Update:  Johnson and his crew went home happy, having set a new class record of 143.643 mile per hour.

That's Talor Burns with her '74 VW Karmann Ghia.  She entered the race holding three ECTA records and hopes to collect a few more this weekend.

Update:  Sadly, Talor failed to set new records this weekend.

Racing this extensively modified Volkswagen is a family affair.  The Burns have raced for years.  Talor's father, Brian, and brother, Zach, are part of her team.

And speaking of records...  Mike Reichen, from Chicago, set a new top speed record for cars today, hitting a speed of 237.63 mph, in his turbocharged, 4 cylinder '94 Mitsubishi Evo II.  That's a staggering speed, especially for a car that has the aerodynamic qualities of a brick.  Reichen does a lot of the work on the car himself, with help from the good folks at Douglas Autoworks.  (And, by the way, the car is licensed and insured -- 100% street legal.)

Update:  Eric Yost reset the track record for cars on Sunday, running at 241.408.  Reichen retains the record for his class.  You can read about Yost's blazingly quick Pontiac Firebird and see photos of his car (and two other record-setting Firebirds), here.

This is a great story.  The owners of this vintage sprint car (the sort that raced on oval dirt tracks in the '30), Mark Radtke and Ron Miller, of Cincinnati, met the driver, Doug Adler, who's from southern California, at the Bonneville land speed races a couple years ago.  They clicked and have been racing together ever since.

It's beautiful car, by the way, with a Model A Ford engine.

Update:  The car set a new record in its class -- one designed for vintage oval track race cars.  It went through the traps at 103.702 mile per hour.

Gary and Pam Beineke's Mopar didn't look like this when it left the factory in '71.  Doesn't matter.  It's still bad to the bone.  And destined to run 200 mph, if everything goes according to plan.

This is an example of what I like most about land speed racing -- the wild and sometimes wacky cars.  How about a '73 Citroen SM, with an engine swap?  Think that it's running a Chevy small block instead of its original Maserati V6?  Think again.  Owner Martin McEntire has dropped a 2 liter Citroen D 4 cylinder motor into his pride and joy.

Instead of vitamins, McEntire feeds his Citroen nitrous oxide (it's a bit like laughing gas for cars).

Ed Brace has been racing since John F. Kennedy was president.  His current ride, this rear-engined blown roadster, was number one in his class, in the ECTA points race last season.

Update:  When I spoke with to him, Brace wasn't particularly happy with the way his roadster was performing, but he did manage to establish a new record in his class:  166.686 mile per hour.

If you're getting the idea that there's a class for everything, at Maxton, you're right.  Allen Patterson was running this ex-Nascar Cup car.

And Bruce Pascal and Tom Macklin, a couple of great guys from New Jersey, showed up with this '72 Cadillac Eldorado.  (Their excuse was that the real racer they're working on wasn't ready to go.)  It's bone stock, except for the roll cage.  Yes, it made it down the track.  No, it wasn't particularly quick.  But it was fun to watch.

I met Ben Herr and Geo Turner before I even made it out to the airport.  They were standing outside my motel, when I checked in, trading war stories with other racers.  Can't remember why they were racing an '86 Merc 560 SEL, but I'm sure they had their reasons.

There were several Bugeye Sprites at the race.

 

And one "bugeye" Crosley -- Gerald Davenport's '51 Super Sport. 

It's a wonderful little car.  Manufactured in Cincinnati (serious baseball fans will remember Crosley Stadium), it's still equipped with its original 44 cubic inch engine.

Update:  Davenport and his Crosley set a new record, in the J/GT class, of 100.946 mile per hour.  Pretty darned stout for 44 cubic inches!

I'll close with a brace of Studebakers.

This is Andrew Nelson's '54.  He races it with his wife, Paula, and son, Calvin.  Together, they're PAC Racing.  And together they had a great day, setting a new class record of 168.561 mph.

Peter Calaguiro drove his '53 to the race from his home -- in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.  Pulling a trailer!  Not bad for a car that runs in the low 160s.

The black '53 coupe in the middle belongs to Roddy Martino, of Richmond, Virginia.  It's a classic gearhead's car.  Fast, homemade, motivated by a '56 Chrysler Hemi block, with '54 heads.  It's best pass was a touch over 160.  (You can click on the photo to get a better look.)

The 2010 ECTA season has only just begun.  You can learn more, here.

Comments

[BoostGear.com]

Awesome Post! Great pics!

Mike "Evo" Reichen, from Chicago is a great guy and we can't believe his evo went that fast! Rumor mills are staying the car wasn't maxed on out boost just yet either!

[John Edwin Mason]

@BoostGear

Thanks for the comment. It's hard to imagine that Evo hasn't reached its potential. Let's hope he'll be back for the May race.

[mjhphoto]

The EVO's record was beat Sunday morning by the white Firebird.

241 mph.