We’ve been adjusting to our slightly downsized show schedule this year, but one race that we absolutely could not miss was the first Goodguys Show for the year and though our Spectre Rig was not able to be present, we still were determined to get the Spectre Carbon Camaro back on the autocross track for the Del Mar event.
The best thing about the Del Mar Goodguys Show was that it was three days of intense autocross. The west coast is always fun because it brings some big names to the game including Mike Maier of Maier Racing, Mary Pozzi, Kyle and Stacy Tucker from DSE, Bret Voelkel from Ride Tech, Aaron Ogawa from Hotchkis and many many more.
The showdown in the Street Machine Class was finally determined with a shootout between Aaron Ogawa driving the Hotchkis E-Max Challenge and Mary Pozzi in her Second Gen Camaro. It finally came down to Pozzi finishing with a 7/1000 lead over Aaron, a very close and intense race. Rob Phillips took home the Truck class with his first Goodguys Autocross win ever and Mike Maier went home with the Pro Class award in his ’66 Mustang.
Kyle Newman and Newman Car Creations put on quite a show in the ’55 and the Wagon. The Wagon was a blast because of the mock spoiler and groceries in the back. At one point he even got the Cheerios box to fall out of the wagon and onto the track, and announcer Chad Reynolds swooped it up for a quick snack between runs.
Spectre Intakes also were overwhelmingly present at the Goodguys Car Show. Not only could they be spotted on the Autocross Course, but walking around the show we saw several Spectre Filters and Intakes were being used on cars.
We recently attended the So Cal Challenge out at Adam’s Karting track in Riverside, CA. Since it was right in our backyard, we couldn’t resist.
We had gone out to watch the Tuesday night racing at Adam’s before, but had never competed in an event with one of the Spectre R&D cars. This event seemed like too much fun to miss, so Brandy took the wheel of the Carbon Camaro and headed on-track.
Because it is primarily a go-kart track, the turns at Adams are slightly tighter and the track is slick compared to a car or motorcycle course like Willow Springs. Overall, the Spectre Carbon Camaro did very well.
In the bracket race Brandy did very well and won her first two rounds, but Jon Rasmussen and his ’72 Nova triumphed in in the final race. We can’t be mad, Jon has been getting better and better in the Nova and it showed as he took out the Spectre Camaro in the third bracket race. Mary Pozzi went on to take first overall, Mike Hickman took first in the truck class and Don Chemello won the street rod class. Not a bad showing for Spectre-filtered cars and trucks!
By the end of the day everyone was exhausted and ready to head out to get some rest for the Goodguys Car Show/ Autocross the next day. We all had a great time and can’t wait till we can go back to Adam’s and compete with everyone again.
We were glad to see all our racing buddies from last year in Southern California for Run to the Coast.
There were two full days of intense racing that consisted of three events: Autocross, Road Racing and the Brake Stop Squared Challenge –which was sort of like what you’d get if drag racing and slalom had a baby, really fun!
This was the Spectre Carbon Camaro’s first official race event for the new year. This was our chance to get the Camaro dialed again with the new set of bigger Baer brakes in the rear and though we had a couple of obstacles, including a frayed throttle cable, it was still an excellent chance to work out the details and get back in the swing of things.
By the end of the weekend, the front tires were toast and needed to be replaced, but that was definitely a sign that we went all out. Brian Finch helped get the car dialed in on Saturday as he took the car for a couple laps and offered his advice. Finch has always been very supportive to the Spectre Team and we consider him family. He’s always been very helpful to Brandy as she gets more and more comfortable in the driver’s seat.
For results on this event visit: http://americanstreetcarseries.com/?p=867
For more photos, head over to the Spectre Flickr stream.
The Spectre Carbon Camaro had a great year in 2011 which ended abruptly with a big bang (literally) at the Goodguys Autumn Get Together. Following that slow speed meeting with an unfortunately concrete piece of, well, concrete, the car went immediately to Campbell Automotive and Restoration to start the repairs. Though the damage seemed minor, there were a lot of bolt-on parts which needed to be replaced. After contacting Matt from Anvil for the carbon fiber and Classic Industries for the radiator support and a few other parts, the rebuild of the Carbon Camaro was underway, and it required everything from new paint to a full car inspection in order to get it ready for the 2012 show and race season.
At the end of February, the car made the 400 mile journey south to Spectre headquarters on the back of an open trailer attached to our Dodge Truck. Once again it was a great feeling to be on the road with the car out for the public to see. The fun thing about an open trailer is getting all the thumbs up as other drivers passed us on the road, honking their horns to show their approval slowing down beside us to take pictures of the car. If you or someone you know has a photo of any Spectre vehicle on the road, send it our way or share it on our Facebook page!
It was good to see that the Carbon Camaro still has the power to turn heads and we’re glad to have it running the Spectre name once again in 2012.
With the Camaro back at home, we did not waste any time getting it to the track. We headed to Willow Springs for a test day. Mark and Bobbi Fraizer from CAR met us at the track to help tune the car and get the new Baer brakes dialed in and ready to go for upcoming autocross and track events. We mainly focused on autocross set-ups, dialing in the car under different circumstances and testing out different brake, sway bar and tire settings. We set up mock autocross courses on the skid pad, including a figure 8, the “peanut,” a Chicane, a drag strip and various other configurations.
Most experienced racers you ask will tell you that track improvement is all about seat time. We fully agree with that. We would take the Camaro out for 8-10 laps, then back into the paddock, let the car cool, then change one setting and do it again. We spent from 10am to 5pm doing this over and over. Our yellow note pad was filled with notes about track temp, weather conditions, track surface conditions and much more; all required information in order for us to understand more about our current settings and change them on the fly when necessary. We finished up the day with a much better understanding of the Carbon Camaro, a whole lot of seat time and a yellow note pad filled with different settings that we will work with over the course of the next couple race events.
So where can you see the Carbon Camaro in action this year? Well, Brandy and the Carbon Camaro will be participating in a variety of race events and shows over the next couple months including:
Run To The Coast March 9-10, 2012 El Toro, Irvine, CA,
NASA Practice Day March 3-4, 2012 CA Speedway
Solo2 Autocross Practice/ Race March 17-18, 2012 El Toro, Irvine, CA
Goodguys 30th All American Get-Together March 24-25, 2012 Pleasanton, Ca
So Cal Challenge March 29, 2011 Adam’s Motorsports Park Riverside, CA
Goodguys 12th Meguiar’s Del Mar Nationals March 30- April 1, 2012 Del Mar, Ca
The month of March is going to be a busy one for the Spectre Team! Make sure to keep an eye out for the Carbon Camaro and come by and say hi to the Spectre crew.
We are loving the growing trend of building show cars that can perform on the track, so when Curt and Fritz contacted us to see if we’d like to be a part of the RPM Hot Rod’s ‘62 Chevy II build, we were happy to say yes…well, once we stopped laughing at the build’s nickname. “The Runt”? Poor lil’ Chevy. It’s hard being a compact car.
RPM built the car for one of their longtime customers, Gerry Kerna, who was interested in competing in the autocross, as well as adding to her show car collection.
The Runt may have a funny name, but the car is no joke! With custom fabricated chassis, LS7, Tremec 6-Speed and all kinds of custom body modifications, this cherry beast will definitely have the last laugh at anyone who dares to challenge Kerna on the track.
The Runt not only won Goodguys Muscle Machine of the Year award for 2011, but it also was invited to join the elite at OUSCI this year.
Anyone who takes the time to peek under the hood of the Runt will definitely appreciate the quality and hard work that went into building this car. Of course, we’re especially delighted by the awesome custom Spectre intake. Not only did RPM add their own unique coating to the aluminum tubes, they utilized the inline filter option we have, making a lot of people question where the filter went. Ooh, a mystery!
We will be working closely with RPM in the future and hope they will continue to use Spectre’s parts to build custom intakes for their one off cars. We also will have a special surprise that we are working with RPM which will debut mid March. Stay tuned for sneak peeks.
We spend a lot of time on the track, whether autocrossing at Good Guys shows, skidding to a perfect brake stop or tempting fate on the wicked turns of HWY 341. Basically, we’re constantly surrounded by hot shoe drivers, from our own Brandy Morrow to friends like Brian Finch , John Hotchkis, Kyle and Stacy Tucker, Mary Pozzi or 341 double champion, Lou Gigliotti.
Recently though, we started thinking about all the great rookies we meet. When we go to shows, we meet whole families building cars together, and we really think it’s cool to talk with kids who are just getting their driving permits about their car interests and driving goals. We guess you could call them “new shoe” drivers, but we think of them as SPIs…Spectre People of Interest.
We decided that our new shoe drivers deserve as much attention as the hot shoes, so with no further ado, we’d like to introduce Sam Farrington, our very first “SPI” highlight.
Name: Sam Farrington
Age: 15 1/2
We first met Sam at the Good Guys Nashville show in May, 2011. Sam had been working his way through the passenger seat of all the vendor cars and when he ended up next to Brandy in the Carbon Camaro, she had a chance to chat with him while they prepared to run.
Sam was a pro at these Goodguys Shows. He and his family have been attending car shows and pro-touring races longer than many of us have been in the industry!
Sam’s parents Tom and Debbie are active car people. Tom has a ’66 Chevelle he races and Debbie has a ’64 Chevelle Wagon. Sam told us that both his parents encouraged him to get involved in building and working on the cars. If something on one of the cars needs to be checked, Sam is there alongside his dad looking under the hood of the car.
We ran in to Sam and his family at many more events this summer, including Run to Music City, Midwest Musclecar Challenge and Goodguys Indy. Sam was known as the “professional passenger.” He had more seat time as a passenger at the Goodguys Nashville Show than any one person did as a driver; and Brian Finch drove a lot of cars that weekend!
We spoke with Sam’s parents about his car adventures. They had been working with him on basic skills such as parking and even some autocrossing. Sam had also spent some time one summer with Detroit Speed. Kyle and Stacy had taken him in and he helped them around the shop.
Give or take a year… this kid will be kicking everyone’s butt and by the time he is 18 and allowed on a Goodguys track, all of us old timers won’t be able to keep up with Sam.
Sam impressed us because he quickly saw that you do not need a car to learn to drive and be competitive. Sam already has the experience years beyond his age. His seat time as a passenger has already helped him become a better driver. Even more so, his seat time with multiple drivers has taught him several different driving styles that he can apply to his own when he finally gets to switch seats and get behind the wheel. He’s already giving his mom and dad pointers when they take out their Chevelles. We know he’s eager to challenge his sister Kaytlin on the autocross and the skills that both Farrington kids learn on the race track will make them safer drivers on the street as well.
Keep an eye out for Spectre parts on the Farrington’s wagon and hopefully a custom install on Sam’s car when it is ready.
As the summer winds down, the racing heats up at the Good Guys shows. Spectre’s skilled hot shoe, Brandy Morrow has been on a winning streak, and we decided to let her relive the drama of her victory at Good Guys Chicagoland Nationals:
“Ryan Matthews from DSE brought intense competition to the table while driving the DSE 1963 Nova Friday and Saturday. He and I played a game of cat and mouse for two straight days. As I pulled ahead a tenth of a second, Ryan would catch up and bump me down to second place. Next round I would come back and knock him down pulling ahead another tenth of a second. This game went on for multiples laps- finally resulting in Trent from Goodguys (the coordinator of the autocross) refusing to update the score board until the end of the day for Ryan and my scores.
Phil Gerber from the Roadster Shop was a close third while driving Chris and Linda’s 1966 Chevelle. The chevelle has given everyone quite a run for their money including myself. Chris, who took first in the Street Machine class, is one phenomenal driver and is only getting better each time he comes out to an autocross event. It was also nice to see his wife Linda who was racing her Chevelle out there improving on her own times and having fun.
Saturday afternoon called for big storms. I was able to stay in first throughout the day, though Ryan ran his fastest run Saturday falling just 9/100’s of a second behind my quickest time. We would like to thank Ryan and all of DSE team for all their support for the Spectre team. If Ryan had beaten me it would have been a well deserved win, but luckily I was able to stay ahead of him by that nine-hundredths of a second. Ryan and I both agreed that the next autocross is always a new day with new competition. He is a fantastic role model to watch and learn from. Ryan has been great help throughout the year offering advice and making sure I am doing all right throughout the day. In a way it’s like having a big brother out there. He wants to help me but also wants to kick my butt! Haha.”
Congrats on holding the victory, Brandy! We’re proud of you!
Everyone at the Good Guys shows works pretty hard to make sure the races run smoothly, the show is organized and the participants all have a good time. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t occasionally get silly. Brandy gives us the full report on why you should never buy a fleet car if Bangshift’s Chad Reynolds is on the rental history.
BATTLE OF THE CHEVY AVEO – by Brandy Morrow
Sunday came and the weekend was finally coming to an end at the Goodguys Show at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. The vendors participating in the autocross were pretty tired after two full days of racing, and that often leads to “creative” racing.
Chad Reynolds from Bangshift.com who is also the MC for most Goodguys Autocross Events had rented a Chevy Aveo for the weekend. This car was a bright yellow bare-bones rental car. Now I am not quite sure who had the brilliant idea to take it around the autocross, but next thing I know, that poor car is packed with 5 people and is sitting at the starting line of the autocross waiting for the green light. Sure enough the battle of the Chevy Aveo had begun.
It ended with 5 different drivers battling on who could drive the Chevy Aveo around the autocross course with the quickest time. Chad hopped in around midday on Sunday to prove to everyone that he was the best Chevy Aveo driver of them all. Surprisingly the Aveo held up; though it looked like it wanted to tip over half the time. The other Aveo drivers finally gave up and let Chad have his victory. Besides being badly outgunned by Chad’s amazing Aveo driving skills, I think most of the passengers (especially those in the back seat) were getting pretty car sick.
On one of the final runs, Jason Childress from Gateway Classic Mustangs decided to run the Aveo backwards. After successfully going all the way through to the finish line backwards, the Chevy Aveo was the most popular car in the pits for the rest of the day. This is serious racing, folks.
Brandy has been a killer on the autocross track this summer, taking win after win in the Spectre “Carbon Camaro”.
Spectre may have a “take no prisoners” attitude on the track, but we’re still going to shows to make friends, and Joliet, IL was no exception. Despite a dire weather forecast, we met up with some old friends and made some new ones at the Chicagoland Nationals.
Our show weekend started out with the now traditional Good Guys vendor karting challenge Thursday night before the show. We’d like to congratulate Keith Mac Donald from Detroit Speed for winning the Vendor Karting race Thursday night. This time, Keith took first with Ed Capen from Goodguys taking a close second. Nice Job Keith!!!
Since Joliet is hometown to many vendors including Roadster Shop and Peak Performance, the autocross track was packed. Vendors including RideTech, DSE, Gateway Classic Mustangs, RPM, Roadster Shop, Heidt’s, and many more all showing and competing. Brandy certainly had her work cut out for her on the track!
Keeping the Carbon Camaro company on the autocross course this weekend was RPM’s “Runt,” which is a 1962 Chevy Nova custom build. RPM built the car for Gerry Kerna. Curt and his crew had done some testing with “The Runt” before coming to Chicagoland Speedway, but this would be the car’s first official full weekend on a Goodguys’ autocross track. Curt ran the car Friday and Saturday, working out all the kinks and seeing how it would handle around the tight corners of the autocross. Gerry ran the car Sunday for her first official Goodguys autocross. Gerry was an autocross newbie, but she had a great line on the course and did very well. Gerry will be some great competition in the very near future.
On Sunday, Goodguys opened the car show to all American cars. We had several Camaros, a couple of Mustangs and an 1993 Nissan 240sz with an LS swap and slicks. It was good to see all years allowed into the show.
In the Spectre booth we had one of our customers, Rich Bryant, with his ’65 Chevelle featuring a Spectre Make/ Model Specific Bolt on cold air intake. The car a great addition to our booth and it received a lot of attention. Big thanks to Rich for displaying in the Spectre Booth.
At the end of the weekend came awards. Throughout the weekend Curt Ukasik, owner of RPM Hot Rods, had his daughter out at the show. Ashley rode as passenger while Curt drove the Runt around the autocross track. She also made a great motivational coach, cheering her dad and Gerry on along with all the other autocross competitors. At the end of the weekend, Brandy asked Ashley if she would help present awards. Ashley did a fantastic job, helping carry awards to the participants and even presenting Brandy with the 1st place Vendor at the Autocross. Ashley is a fantastic kid who we all hope to see behind the wheel alongside the rest of us someday. She has 8 more years before she gets her driver’s license and then she has to convince her father to build her a car. The second one shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Spectre Performance won twice at the Goodgduys Rod & Custom Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, on July 9th. The first victory came when Spectre marketing team member and company hot shoe Brandy Morrow drove the 1970 Carbon Camaro to a 1st place finish in the Street Challenge Autocross Vendor class, her second event win and first victory at the nationals.
The large black Speed by Spectre big rig with an x-ray image of the 400+mph Spectre SpeedLiner is a common site at Goodguys shows around the country, where team members show off the latest in high-performance air filters and cold air intake systems, as well as testing new products in a variety of Spectre project cars. The latest is the Carbon Camaro, a 1970 model with IMSA-style fender flares and massive Forgeline wheels. The car made its debut at the 2010 SEMA Show and has since been flogged mercilessly at autocross and road race events around the country. Morrow’s first victory in the car came at the Goodguys Colorado Nationals in early June.
Competition in the Vendor class at the Nationals was fierce, as drivers readied themselves for the sponsor shootout the following day. Morrow competed against Detroit Speed & Engineering’s brutally fast 1970 Camaro, the Optima 1967 “One Lap” Camaro, Ride Tech’s “48 Hour” 1st Gen Camaro and Mary Pozzi’s freshly rebuilt 1972 RS Camaro – all of which also run Spectre cold air intakes.
Wet weather on Friday cut in to practice time and many competitors were struggling on the big rough-asphalt course, but Brandy took the wide-body Camaro on a flawless run, netting a 32.622 and cinching 1st place in Saturday’s eliminations. This was a big win for Morrow and for the Spectre intake-equipped “Carbon Camaro” as the competition was close all weekend long.
Speed by Spectre’s winning weekend didn’t end with Brandy’s Autocross victory. The company was also honored to receive the coveted Good Guys “New Product of the Year” award for their new aluminum Cowl Air Box setup. Spectre would like to congratulate Brandy and all of the Good Guys awards winners in Columbus and the whole team is looking forward to the rest of the show season and additional competition.
