El Mirage Dry Lakes

All sorts of vehicles with "unique" body styles are raced at the lakes. Doug Alder's Vintage Oval Track entry was running in the XF (production V8 Flathead Ford/Mercury motors from 1932-1953) engine class and he ran a 99.449 on a 133.342 record.

Some of the racecars are pretty sharp looking, such as the Barbee Boys' Gas Roadster entry (with a "C" 306-372 cid engine). The flames must help because Alan Barbee ran 202.166 on a 214.608 record set in June of 1999.

In the unblown Vintage Gas Coupe class, Pat Riley (of the Road Runners club) was driving his Chevy that was equipped with an injected straight six engine. He came oh-so-close to the 1998 record of 139.368 with a run of 137.219 mph.

Meta Kane pilots the Team Greenrose entry to a run of 181.233 mph on a 228.951 record. The '29 roadster is set up to run on fuel, and is quipped with a "C" class engine (306-372 cubic inches).

Go with Moon! You've got to figure the Cunha and Dorsey coupe, sponsored by Mooneyes, would be running Moon discs on the wheels of their Gas Altered entry. Willie Dorsey squeezed 169.102 mph out of the three-window against a 204.978 record.

In the Fuel Modified Roadster class, Mark Johnson points the Frontuto Brothers entry down the course on his way to making a 224.008 pass on a 250.000 mph open record.

With a "D" engine (261-305 cubes) stuffed into a '27, Shane Hill waits to take his Street Roadster down the course. Shane, a member of the Sidewinders, ran 168.063 on a 184.991.

Sometimes you'll find some fairly rare cars out at the lakes. Tyler Staudt's Mercury qualifies for the Production class, though it's all business inside the driver's compartment. The Escargo Racing entry is equipped with a standard '32-53 Ford/Mercury Flathead and recorded a 104.912 pass on a 130.813 record.

The Omega class of engines in reserved for non-thermodynamic cycle designs including battery power. That's the source of energy that powers Zachary Norman's hardtail springer to 69.708 mph (against a 100 mph open record).

Looks fast just sitting there, doesn't it? Don Ferguson in the Ferguson Racing entry prepares for a 155.704 mph pass on a 165.130 record. The roadster uses an XXF engine: a Flathead from '32-56 with an overhead valve conversion running on fuel.

Roadsters used to be the only body style allowed in the earliest days of dry lakes racing, and they're still among the most popular designs out there today. Karen Davis drove the #-D Racing entry (foreground) to 164.180 on a 201.894 record while Eric Eyers (background) will run 206.662 on a 214.350 record before the meet is over.

You should have heard the Bakersfield Boys' entry went it lit that motor! It sounded like a funny car coming at you. The team changed the engine displacement since last August when they set a record (192.295 mph) at Bonneville, but they weren't able to get a run in at this meet.

Looking like something Darth Vader might own, the Tom Thumb Special nearly captured a record in the Fuel Competition Coupe class with an impressive 208.831 run on a 211.085 mph mark.

John Drake, driving the Salty Dogs Racing entry for the Gold Coast Roadsters club, gets under way at El Mirage on his way to running 168.933 mph on a 184.540 record in the Blown Street Roadster division.