Vegas native Dean Smith gives Spectre Performance the run down on his 1952 Desoto. This is Dean’s rookie appearance at the Spectre 341 Challenge, however he is a veteran road racer, having driven in the La Carrera Panamericana six times. Enjoy the little tour around this gorgeous 1952 Desoto.
Our friends Jim Shipka and David Pozzi just finished driving the 2010 One Lap of America with Jim’s Optima Batteries sponsored 1967 “One Lap” Camaro. The car is a technological tour de force, including a Racepak heads-up display, a killer Katech Gen IV engine, a sophisticated suspension system tuned by Pozzi racing and more. As you can see in the post below, the car also came in for one last-minute addition before the event: a Spectre Pro-Fab Cold Air Intake.
The race itself is a grueling 3500 mile cross country trek, bouncing from track to track and pitting competitors against each other and the clock on some of the fastest road courses in the world. There’s a new track to drive every day, which sounds fun… until you consider that after a long day of driving hard in a race car with a fire suit on, you have to drive 500 miles to the next track! After nine days and races at Road America, Mid America Motorplex, Hallett, Tulsa Raceway Park, Gateway International Raceway, Mid Ohio, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Nelson Ledges, the team finished FIRST in the Vintage American class with 295 class points. We couldn’t be happier for Jim, who built this car chasing a dream, and David – who helped tune and drive what is considered by many one of the finest pro-touring cars in the world. Nice work guys!
Here are some videos from the event:
Jeff Williams has been a dominant force on the Southwest Truck Tour this season, including setting a new track record at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale with his Spectre-sponsored race truck. The JW Racing crew recently sent us some video from the last few races, and it’s impressive stuff! If you live in Southern California and want to watch some gritty, grassroots circle track racing head out to Irwindale for the next Southwest Tour event and cheer Jeff on!
We just got back from the 10th Annual GoodGuys Del Mar Nationals, and had a fantastic time with the Spectre El Camino in the autocross. We’ll kick off our event coverage with a recap video, but stay tuned for a full photo gallery, on-site interviews and more!
When: June 25-26, 2010
Where: Nevada Highway 341, South of Virginia City, NV
Spectre Performance is proud to announce the return of road racing competition to one of the most infamous and challenging mountain roads in America – Nevada Highway 341 – for The 1st annual Speed by Spectre 341 Challenge. The race, scheduled for June 25-26, 2010, will pit the world’s fastest street cars against the clock in a full-throttle blast up a mountain road, which will be closed to the public for the event. The challenge will include Pro-Touring Street Machines, European Exotics, and Highly-Tuned Imports competing for a chance to be crowned King of the Hill.
The Speed by Spectre 341 Challenge is a rare opportunity to drive flat-out on some of the most aggressive and challenging mountain roads in the country, without the worry of oncoming traffic or law enforcement. The course is 5.2 miles long with 22+ turns, a 1,216-foot rise in elevation, steep drop offs and no guardrails! Vehicles must be street-legal and registered; no purpose-built kit or race cars will be allowed. Tires must be DOT legal with at least 3/32″ tread depth and a minimum 100 tread wear rating. Qualifying is scheduled for Friday, June 25th. Racing is set for Saturday the 26th.
“We are always looking for ways to go faster, to prove our parts at maximum velocity,” says Spectre Performance founder Amir Rosenbaum. “We autocross and road race our muscle cars and set a 330mph Land Speed Record at Bonneville last year; but to this day one of the most demanding and exhilarating events I’ve ever participated in was the Virginia City Hill Climb. The Speed by Spectre 341 Challenge will bring that excitement back, but with the addition of muscle, exotic and import cars competing against each other it will be an incredible event. We are also very lucky to have FM3 Marketing onboard to ensure everything runs smoothly.”
The original Virginia City Hill Climb was founded in 1972 and ran through 2002. Rosenbaum holds the all time record for the event, running the course in three minutes, ten seconds in a modified Ferrari F40. The Speed by Spectre 341 Challenge will also include a Media Shootout, pitting magazine editors against bloggers and forum members in a project car challenge. Invites will be issued soon and more information will be posted on the website in the coming weeks.
The Spectre Performance Double Dually has had a very competitive year. First the big pickup pushed the Speedliner at the Bonneville Salt Flats, then it got roped into Autocross duty at the GoodGuys Pleasanton show. Spectre Founder Amir Rosenbaum was a the wheel and he wowed the crowd with a clean, fast run in the extra-long pickup. The truck features twin rear axles, full airbag suspension, billet wheels, custom paint, a 496 big block and a custom Spectre ProFab Cold Air Intake.
Mary Pozzi is an 11-time SCCA National Autocross Champion, a GoodGuys Street Challenge Autocross Champion and a tech moderator on several top forums, including Pro-Touring.com, Lateral-G.net and Camaros.net. She took her ProFab equipped ‘73 Camaro RS to the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational at Spring Mountain Raceway in Pahrump, Nevada, and competed on the track against some of the fastest street machines in the nation. In the end, Mary’s red Camaro was the 2nd fastest car in the Autocross (the only car that was faster was a race-prepped 427 Cobra) and in the Top 10 on the road course.