John Edwin Mason: Racing Photography

VWs Gone Wild: Bug Out 73 at Virginia Motorsports Park, Part 1

I made a couple of promises to myself last January.  First, I swore to have more fun hanging out at racetracks making pictures.  Second, I was going to blog on a regular basis.  I'm batting .500.

I'm not complaining.  I haven't been blogging, but I've sure enough been hanging.  Hanging out, that is, at race tracks and other car culture gathering spots with cameras in my hands and around my neck.  Makes me happy.

 

Mike Norris and Michelle Laird's super groovy '65 Westy Dormobile.

What you're seeing here are some photos I made at the end of May at Bug Out 73, which, for the first time, was held at Virginia Motorsports Park [VMP].  Bug Outs are one of the largest gatherings of VW fans, racers, restorers, customizers, and collectors on the east coast.  They've been held twice a year for God-knows-how-long, usually at Old Dominion Speedway, in Manassas, Virginia.

But Old Dominion is no more.  Hence the move to VMP.

 

Stewart Sewell's lovingly restored '56 oval window Beetle.

In any case, VW fanatics are a great bunch of people to spend time with, especially if, like me, 8 out of the 12 cars and trucks you've owned have been Volkswagens.   (Four have been Beetles, and I still have have one of them.)

 

Kenneth Fisher's bad to the bone Pro Mod New Beetle.

The idea of drag racing VWs surprises some people, but, after all, this is America, and we'll race anything.

 

A very good looking drag Bug.

VW fans are a diverse group.  The crowd at Bug Out was a grease-stained United Nations.  As far as I could tell, we weren't missing any races or ethnic groups and only a few languages, creeds, and religions.  Nice thing about it, we all get along.

 

Yes, drag racing Karmann Ghias.  Praise the Lord.

I made the photos that you're looking at on my iPhone.  (Click on any image to see a larger version.)  The iPhone is a hoot to use, and it allowed me to post some of the photos immediately to my Instagram account.  I also tweeted a few.  It's a way of saying to your friends, "having fun, wish you were here" -- immediately, in real time.

 

There's a blown Chevy small block in that Beetle.  It's a beast to drive.

The iPhone is a hoot and connects me to the world of social media, but, of course, it has its limits as a camera.  I was also using a couple of medium format film cameras, a Rollei TLR and a Mamiya 6.  I've finished scanning the film.  With a little luck, I'll post those photos very soon.

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Bug Out 69: Old Dominion Speedway, 29 May 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I dusted off my favorite old cameras and headed up US 29 to Old Dominion Speedway, in Manassas, Virginia, for Bug Out 69.  The "69" in this Bug Out's name simply indicates that it was the 69th semi-annual gathering of the clan.  That's right, this venerable event is over 30 years old!

I figured that the occasion would a lot of fun.  What could be better than spending the day with hundreds of slightly wacky Volkswagen collectors, restorers, and racers from up and down the eastern seaboard and beyond?  Nothing that I could think of.  Well, almost nothing.  (In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I drove up to Manassas in my '08 VW GTI, which lives in my garage next to a '99 New Beetle.)

 

 

It's not a Bug, but it sure is pretty, in a rat rod kind of way.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.  (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2011.  Click on any image to see a much larger version.)

Despite what you're seeing in this photo, the day started with a heavy overcast.  But the Bus in the Trees does capture the "rat rod" vibe that many owners embraced.  "Rat rod" might be too strong a term, but, as you'll see, a bunch of the cars and van had a fine patina.

 

 

Samuel Cox, '56 Oval Window Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Nothing could have been further from the rat rod aesthetic than Samuel Cox's gorgeous '56 Beetle.  It looked like it had just been driven off a dealer's showroom floor.  Better, actually.  I wasn't the only person who liked it.  The judges awarded Cox first place in Bug Sedan Modified ('62 and older) and Best of Show (air-cooled).

 

 
 
 Bill Berry, '61 Beetle Volksrod.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Here's another car that impressed the judges.  Bill Berry's Volksrod took second place in the Radical category.  And, yes, that hot rod is street legal.  Berry drove it to the show.

 

 

Hans Alvarez, '73 Super Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

As far as I can tell, nobody has a bad time at a Bug Out.

 

 

PFC Daniel Harrison, '62 Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Daniel Harrison is the crew chief of a US Army Black Hawk helicopter.  He was on leave for the weekend, showing off his beautiful black Beetle and visiting his family.

 

 

Carol Hoover, '70 Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.

Carol Hoover calls her call "Carol's Lite/N Bug."

 

 

Adrian, Kari, and Gabi Giorgi, '69 Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.  

Adrian has worked on old VWs for over 20 years.  He's always trying to come up with something new.  So he's given this Bug an Afrika Korps feel.

 

 

Hoods for sale.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

The swap meet and the vendors are a big part of any Bug Out.  It takes a lot of work to keep elderly Vans and Beetles running.

 

 

Parts jumble.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

 

 

That's a tiny American flag in the kid's hand.  It was Memorial Day weekend, and this vendor was handing them out for free.  He wanted to remind people what the holiday is all about.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.

 

 

Richard Butcher and Steph Novak, '74 VW Thing.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Like many of the owners at Bug Out (probably most), Richard Butcher works on his car himself.

 

 

Kate Vincent, '67 Double Cab Transporter.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Kate Vincent's Transporter won the third place trophy in the Truck Type 2 class.  She's done a lot of the work on the truck, especially the wiring and interior.  It doesn't stay in the garage -- it's her daily driver!

 

 

Jeremy Vincent, '67 Single Cab Pick Up Truck.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

You guessed right.  Jeremy is Kate's husband.  His truck is also a daily driver.  It's the work vehicle for his landscaping business.  Like Kate, he works on the truck himself.

 

 

Andrew Marquesen, '65 Transporter.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Hard to believe, maybe, but Andrew Marquesen's Transporter is another daily driver -- it's his work truck.  He's had it for about three years and does all the work on it himself.  Marquesen comes from a VW family (like so many of the owners that I met).  His father has owned several vans.

 

 

Bill Wright, '64 Type 2 Pick Up Truck.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

The sun finally came out -- good for the photos, not so great for the body.  It got hot quick.

In any case, Bill Wright's pick up was a gem, taking second place in the Truck Type 2 class.  It's no trailer queen.  He drove it up to Manassas from south of Richmond.

 

 

Drag racing Beetles in the staging lanes.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Here's something that always surprises outsiders -- drag racing Beetles.

 

 

A Beetle in staging.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.  

But, why not?  After all, we're at a race track (the first purpose-built drag strip east the the Mississppi, by the way).

 

 

A burnout, before a trip down the track.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

And it's no joke -- these VWs are fast.  (Remember, you can click on any photo to see a larger version.)

 

 

Bruce Ridgeway, '72 Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Take Bruce Ridgeway's Beetle, for instance.  It won the Super Pro class, covering the 1/8th mile track in less than seven seconds, at a top speed of nearly 100 miles per hour.  Doesn't sound like much?  That quarter-million-dollar Ferrari in your driveway would struggle to keep up.  In fact, it probably couldn't.

 

 
Bruce Ridgeway, '72 Beetle.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.

By the way, if you're wondering how I got photos like these with my funky old cameras...  I didn't.  There are some things that Rolleiflex TLRs and Mamiya 6s just don't like to do.

 

 

Fender rainbow.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011.

But back to the Rollei and the Mamiya.

 

 

Dana Kerrigan, '02 New Beetle Turbo S.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Dana Kerrigan was one of the nicest people I met at Bug Out, which is really saying something, since everyone was in a great mood.  She had a fine day, to say the least, winning both the New Beetle Sedan and Convertible class and Best Display.

 

 

Miss Bug Out, finalist.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

What's a car show without pretty young women?  Well, there's actually no such thing.

 

 

Aurora Fegley, Miss Bug Out 69.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

 

 

Aurora Fegley, Miss Bug Out 69, during the slalom competition.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

And you thought that Aurora was just a pretty face.  The girl can drive.

 

 

A Beetle heads down the drag strip.  Bug Out 69, Manassas, Virginia, 29 May 2011. 

Whenever there's a Bug Out 69, there's sure to be a 70.  So mark your calendars for September 4th.