Spending a day at the Maxton Mile -- that's the nickname of East Coast Timing Association's land speed races -- great way to start the 2010 motorsports season. These land speed racers are driven by passion, not prize money or corporate sponsorships. You can read more about the race (and see many more photos) on my racing blog.
Meanwhile, here's a preview.
One of the joys of attending a land speed race is seeing all sorts of cool cars. Mark Radtke and Ron Miller, of Cincinnati, Ohio, own this beautiful vintage sprint car (just like the ones that raced on oval dirt tracks in the '30s). Doug Adler, from southern California, drives it. (All photos copyright John Edwin Mason, 2010. Click directly on any of the images to see larger versions.)
In this photo, the starter gives Johnny Johnson the signal to head down the track. Drivers race a measured mile a runway at Laurinburg-Maxton airport, just outside Maxton, North Carolina. The goal is to reach the highest possible top speed.
Like the vintage sprint car above, Johnson's '36 Chevy Modified started life racing on oval dirt tracks. The heyday of Modifieds like this one was the period from the end of World War II through the '60s.
When Gary and Pam Beineke's Mopar left the factory in '71, it wasn't orange and didn't have a big old wing on the back. It was rebuilt specially for land speed racing. The couple hopes to run over 200 miles per hour, once the car is fully sorted.
You can see more cars -- everything from Bugeye Sprites to Citroen SMs to contemporary Nascar stock cars -- and meet more of the Maxton racers, here.
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