Hot Rods Preparations for the GREAT MEXICAN RACE!

Bless God! Our Team and I got to Vera Cruz on time! Safety Inspection was passed. Then Came Qualification... Just because you Paid the Entry Fee and were Admitted did NOT assure participation... It was necessary to Place in Qualification!

Here we are... Me a complete DUMMY that has never Road Raced before... My Co-Driver's first Ride in the Racer was only YESTERDAY... We were up against 80 Veteran Drivers who had done the Carrera numerous times in the past... AND we were Driving a Wholly Untested Virgin Racer...

 

The Hand of God was with us! We Qualified in 26th Position!

 

On the Steep Twisting Mountain Roads the "T" dominated. The taught Straight Axle Suspension performed exceptionally well! The Torquey Truck Six Cylinder had gobs of Power! I only used Second Geat the entire Run... Moderating the Speed by the Accelerator Pedal, the "T" went as Fast as needed... When a Sharp Turn or Steep Downhill was encountered, the Engine Braking Effect slowed the Flivver as necessary... At that moment I believed the "T" had flawless Performance...

 

"But, WAIT A MINUTE...! When you opened today's edition you spoke of the THINGS THAT DID NOT GO WELL... " Have I confused you??? Today's Story is not done yet...

The following day, the Race was from Vera Cruz to Oaxaca high atop the Sierra Madre Mountains... About a Three Hundred Mile Run... Much of the way would be in "Transit" Mode... (Non-Racing with every other Traffic Vehicle on the Road) Mexico has Modern High Speed Freeways every bit as good as the U.S.A. The "Auto Pista" is what they are called... Even in Transit Mode the other Carrera Racers Blitzed past me like I was driving a Lawn Mower! Those Carrera Studebakers have NASCAR like Performance under their Hoods! Speeds above 150 mph is nothing to them!

As the "T" got to about the 100 mph mark, the Antique Rigid Suspension and the Non-Compliant Truck Tires seriously lost grip on the Pavement! Most all of us at some point have experienced loosing control Driving on ICE... This is how Driving the "T" was at High Speed. To avoid Crashing and also to assure the Safety of my Co-Driver, I kept our Speed to only 95mph the remainder of the week... I have nothing but RESPECT for Ak Miller that he performed as he did back in the 1950's! Time passing and the Advance in Technology in no way diminishes what Miller did 75 Years ago! Quite the reverse, it Magnifies the Accomplishment of El Caballo's Victory!

The Farther North you go in Mexico, (The Race Course direction for the 2022 Carrera) the more "Arrow" straight the Roads become. Wholly without "Turns" all the way to the Horizon... The Top Competitors will achieve Speeds of 180 mph! With each days passing, our Stats Dropped... Bless God! At least last place is a Low as you can go...

 

Tell us more! We want the Paul Harvey rest of the story!

And what years at Mid Ohio? My wife and I were LEC corner workers there.

 

Bless you for your encouragement Dave G in Gansevoort!

Unfortunately, there are many details I cannot share here... Full disclosure, I am a Christian Missionary in Mexico... My Co-Driver and I primarily did the Carrera as a Christian Outreach. My Co-Driver Preached at the nightly Victory Fiestas, We Distributed 1000 Bibles over the course of the Race Week and Prayed for Salvation for literally Hundreds of People...

The HAMB Rules are very clear... NO RELIGION... NO EXCEPTIONS... As a result ,many details cannot be disclosed... As an alternative suggestion, my Book - Titled "Rattletrap" - is available on Amazon for very little... Every detail is available there... THANK YOU FOR ASKING!

 

This was my Camping Set-Up at Mid-Ohio Dave G... I used to pull this Teardrop behind the "T" Roadster seen in my Icon Photo... This was intermittent between maybe 2010 to 2020...

 

you just needed ray brock to show up...

 

Oh well, that was a decade after we were there. We moved to upstate New York in 98. That track is fun though, especially going into 7, the end of the back straight. Especially China Beach!

 

Mexican "T",
This a great story, carry on. I have you tuned in.

 

To all that have made supportive comments - Thank you and BLESS YOU!

I may be a Looser... But, I am NOT a Sore Looser! Today I want to share some of the Cars and People I participated with.

 

The following photos are a mix from both the 2021 and 2022 Carrera. In '21 I was in Mexico on my first Missions Trip. A Missions Partner and I - The Person that would eventually become my Co-Driver - set off to see the Carrera in person as an "Exploratory View" to see if it was something we should actually be involved with. We went to the Pueblo of Saltillo to catch up with the Event.

Many places in Mexico are rather remote and Internet Connection is unheard of. No details were possible concerning the Carrera over my SmartPhone. Undaunted, my Missions Partner said "No Problema!" The Oxxo Convenience Stores are an unofficial "Town Hub" for many communities. The suggestion was to stop and inquire at the Oxxo... Well after dark and pulling in, guess who we see at the Oxxo Gas Pump???

 

Yes, more is good!

 

Carrera Champion Hilaire Damiron and his 1953 Studebaker "El Commander". An Internationally Famous Racing Champion and he is there Pumping Gas just like us Regula Guys do! Hilaire is a True Gentleman and a Consummate Racing Professional! Quite Friendly, Hilaire tells us, "Follow me back to the Host Hotel! - All the Cars, Racers and Festivities are there!" What a Guy! NO Snobbery or "Better-than-you" pretense!

My memory is fuzzy... I Believe Damiron was 2nd Place this year... The Mexicana at right is my eventual Co-Driver...

 

So... We arrive at the Carrera Host Hotel... It's dark there and no activity... We can see all the entered Racing Cars, but, it's Black so no clear photos are possible... The Racers themselves are exhausted... Tomorrow is the final Day of the Carrera and obviously all the Racers are catching up on their sleep... A new plan is hatched... We will be back at Daylight!

 

At Daybreak we are Back! A chill is in the Air and Support Teams are just now rousing to prepare the Racers... It was the height of Covid at that time and few Racers competed that year...

 

The place where the action is, is the STARTING LINE! We moved there to see each Racer take off. Studebakers seem to be the Vehicle of Choice for the Top Competitors... Their "Aerodynamics" give them an advantage I am told...

The Hombre with the Green Flag in his hand is Carrera President Eduardo Leon. The World Racing Community owes a Huge Debt to Senior Leon! After the initial four years of the Carrera from 1950 to 1954, the Carrera was cancelled due to the numerous DEATHS associated with the Event. (More on that in a later post...) In the '50's the Carrera was widely known as the most DEADLY Racing Event in the World! Leon, a Racer himself, was the Man that brought about the return of the Carrera Event we know today. In the early '90's the Carrera was Re-Born as a Race/Rally... Many "Transit Sections" are done on open Roads along with all the other Public Traffic Vehicles... Actual No Limits/Run as Fast as you Dare/Full Blown Racing is done on Roads Closed & Cleared by the Mexican Federal Police.

A History Note: The Original 50's version of the Carrera was far different... Quite often all the mass of Racing Cars were packed in close formation at high speed... When encountering sharp Mountain Curves or worse yet, Narrow Bridges, TRAGIDIES often occurred with multiple Car Pile-Ups! Today, Racers Start in the Order of their Standings in the Race, on Two Minute Intervals. This Design creates a "Safety Cushion" between Individual Racers and helps prevents High Speed Cars from massing together.

 

This is one of my HEROS! Doug Mockett and his 1954 Olds 88 "La Bufa"!

 

At the End of the Racing Day at the Victory Fiesta, Doug Welcomed us in and encouraged us to participate in the Carrera!
I wish I had a Better Photos of Doug's Car "La Bufa"... It is the most widely recognized Car of all the Carrera Participants! Racing past, the Crowds of Spectators all across Mexico Chant "La Bufa - La Bufa - La Bufa"!

Doug Mockett - A Wealthy and Successful Engineer from California - is a Mexican National HERO! Doug holds the Distinction of not only Winning the Carrera... But, He has done more Carrera Races that any other Competitor and is the OLDEST Racer to ever Compete. I can attest that Doug is a Super Nice Guy to take time to Talk to and to Encourage a complete Nobody like I am.

 

Okay... I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE for the next few Photos.... I know the HAMB Rules say "NO V.W.'S"... But Sorry Guys... This is the Carrera... Only in Mexico could Vintage Volkswagens be considered Racing Cars...