Classic Auto Mall Show #215 - Stewart Howden with Funny Car Driver Ron Capps + Keith Martin
Classic Auto Mall SHOW
Classic Auto Mall Show #215 - Stewart Howden with Funny Car Driver Ron Capps + Keith Martin
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
61:12
Car
Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06
The C5 Z06 is a special version of the Chevrolet Corvette sports car that is known for being faster and more powerful than the regular Corvette. It's a favorite among car enthusiasts for its performance.
Concept
EMSA
EMSA is a group that organizes long-distance car races where teams compete for a long time. It's about testing how well the cars perform over many hours.
Term
Carlsbad
Carlsbad is a city in California that has racetracks and is known for car racing. It's a popular spot for car enthusiasts and events.
Concept
OCIR
OCIR stands for Orange County International Raceway, a famous drag racing track in California that was popular in the past. It was a place where people would race their cars on a straight track.
Concept
Lyons drag strip
The Lyons drag strip was a racing track in Southern California where people would compete in drag races. It was popular for many years before it closed down.
Concept
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Long Beach Grand Prix is a famous car race that takes place in Long Beach, California. It's a fun event where fast cars race on city streets, and many people come to watch and enjoy the excitement.
Car
Domford Home Hot Wheels car
The Domford Home Hot Wheels car is a toy car made by Hot Wheels, which is famous for creating small, collectible cars. Some of these toy cars can be very valuable, especially if they are old or rare.
Car
Big Daddy Don Garlits dragster
Big Daddy Don Garlits is a famous drag racer who created special racing cars called dragsters. He is well-known for his contributions to drag racing and has won many championships.
Concept
drag racing
Drag racing is a race where two cars go straight down a track to see who can get to the finish line the fastest. It's all about speed and quick starts.
Concept
NHRA
The NHRA is a group that organizes drag racing events, where cars race in a straight line to see who is the fastest. It's a big deal in the car community and has been around for a long time.
Concept
NASCAR
NASCAR is a type of car racing that happens on tracks shaped like ovals. It's very popular in the U.S., and the cars used are specially built for racing.
Brand
Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt was a famous race car driver in NASCAR, known for being very skilled and winning many races. He was a big name in the sport.
Car
Ford Coupe
A Ford Coupe is a type of car made by Ford in 1931. It's a classic car that many people love to restore and collect because of its unique style.
Car
BMW 330S
The BMW 3 Series is a small luxury car that people like for how well it drives and its nice features. It's a good choice for someone who wants a mix of comfort and sportiness.
Term
top fuel dragster
A top fuel dragster is a super-fast racing car built for drag races. They are incredibly powerful and can go from zero to very high speeds in just a few seconds.
Term
top fuel funny car
A top fuel funny car is a type of racing car that looks like a regular car but is built for drag racing. They are very fast and can accelerate quickly, just like top fuel dragsters.
Term
0 to 100
'0 to 100' means how fast a car can go from a complete stop to 100 miles per hour. It's a way to show how quickly a car can speed up.
Term
nitromethane
Nitromethane is a special kind of fuel used in some racing cars. It helps the car produce a lot more power than regular gasoline, making it faster.
Term
quarter mile
The quarter mile is a distance of 1,320 feet, often used in racing to see how fast a car can go from a standstill to the finish line. It's a popular way to compare how fast different cars are.
Part
crankshaft
The crankshaft is a part of the engine that helps turn the energy from the fuel into movement. It changes the up-and-down motion of the pistons into a spinning motion that makes the car go.
Part
block
The block is the main part of the engine where everything happens. It holds the cylinders and other important parts that help the engine run.
Part
pistons
Pistons are parts inside the engine that move up and down. They help create power by pushing against the fuel and air mixture when it burns.
Part
rods
Rods are parts that connect the pistons to the crankshaft in the engine. They help move the pistons up and down, which is important for making the car run.
Part
cylinder head
The cylinder head is a part of the engine that sits on top of the cylinders. It helps control the flow of air and fuel into the engine and the exhaust gases out.
Part
supercharger
A supercharger is a machine that helps an engine get more air, which means it can burn more fuel and create more power. It's like giving the engine a boost.
Part
injector
An injector is a part of the engine that sprays fuel into the engine so it can mix with air and burn to create power.
Part
head gasket
The head gasket helps keep the engine parts sealed together so that everything works properly and doesn't leak fluids.
Term
six disc clutch
A six disc clutch is a special part in cars that helps connect and disconnect the engine from the wheels. It has six discs that work together to handle a lot of power, making it useful for very fast cars.
Term
floaters
Floaters are parts in a clutch that help it work smoothly. They make it easier for the clutch to connect and disconnect the engine from the wheels without causing too much wear and tear.
Part
clutch discs
Clutch discs are parts that help control how power from the engine gets to the wheels. They allow you to change gears smoothly when driving.
Part
drive shaft
The drive shaft is a part that helps send power from the engine to the wheels, making the car move. It's important for getting the car going, especially in certain types of vehicles.
Company
Roush
Roush is a company that makes special parts and modifications for cars, especially Ford models. They are famous for making cars faster and look better.
Part
composite
Composite materials are made from different materials combined together to make something strong and light. They are used in cars to help them go faster and use less fuel.
Part
Kevlar
Kevlar is a very strong material often used in cars to make parts that need to be tough and lightweight. It's the same material used in bulletproof vests.
Part
fiberglass
Fiberglass is a material made from tiny glass strands. It's used in cars because it's light and doesn't rust, making it great for body parts.
Car
Toyota Supra
The Toyota Supra is a fast and sporty car that many people love for its speed and cool looks. The newest version, called the GR Supra, is built to be really fun to drive and has a lot of modern features.
Car
Chevrolet Chevelle
The Chevrolet Chevelle is a classic car that many people love because it's fast and looks really cool. The 1968 version is especially popular for its strong engine and classic style.
Car
Ford Mustang
The 1968 Ford Mustang is a classic car that many people admire for its powerful engine and stylish design. The California Special version has some unique features that make it even more special among car enthusiasts.
Car
Ford Shelby Gt500
Car
Shelby GT500
The Shelby GT500 is a super-fast version of the Ford Mustang that many car fans admire. It's known for being really powerful and has a cool racing history.
Car
Buick Grand National
The Buick Grand National is a special version of a Buick car that is known for being fast and having a cool black look. It's popular among car lovers, especially from the 1980s.
Car
Ford Model
The Ford Model T is one of the first cars that regular people could actually afford. It changed how people traveled and is a big part of car history.
Car
Porsche 914
The Porsche 914 is a small sports car that was made a long time ago and is known for being fun to drive. The 1.8 version has a decent engine that gives it a good mix of speed and fuel savings.
Car
Porsche 911S
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people recognize because of its unique shape and fast performance. It's been around for a long time and is loved by car fans for how well it drives.
Car
Jeep Grand
Car
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
The Jeep Grand Wagoneer is a big, fancy SUV that can handle rough roads while also being comfortable inside. It's popular for families who want a vehicle that can do a bit of everything.
Car
Ford Bronco
The Ford Bronco is a tough SUV that people love for its ability to go off-road and explore. It's been brought back recently, and many fans are excited to see it again.
Car
Mercedes-Benz SL
The Mercedes-Benz SL is a fancy sports car that looks great and drives smoothly. The 450 SL version is especially liked for being both powerful and comfortable.
Car
Chevrolet Suburbans
The Chevrolet Suburban is a large SUV that can fit a lot of people and cargo, making it great for families. It's been around for a long time and is known for being very useful.
Car
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a big car that looks really cool and can go fast. It's popular among people who like powerful cars and want something that can also be used every day.
LIVE
This is the Classic Automall Show.
Broadcast from the studios inside the Classic Automall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, just one
hour west of Philadelphia at Pennsylvania Turnpike Exit 298, featuring nearly 1,000 classic
vintage and barred-fine vehicles for sale under one climate-controlled roof.
Now, here's your host, Classic Automall president and the man with all the toys
Stuart Howden.
And welcome, welcome, welcome, show number 215 and the lovely Pat Travers band playing in
the background.
Sorry, I'm a little distracted.
A C5-Z06 just drove by one of my dream cars.
Kind of our problems when we have these blackout these windows, like they did at the dealerships
back in the day.
Yeah.
What was that paper that they used?
Yeah.
That brown wrap steaks in.
Butcher paper.
Butcher paper.
Yeah, that's what they used.
So, all right, quickly before we get to our guests, how many cars in inventory,
JR, you go first.
Well, there's new stuff coming in, but it kind of looks empty in some areas.
I'm going to say 899.
Oh.
That's a really good guess.
I'm going to say, I don't know, I'll say 902.
913.
Oh.
Yeah.
And that's going to be growing because of Hershey and Carlisle going on these past
couple of weeks.
So, we'll see that really exponentially jump up.
Yeah.
So, anyway, enough of that.
Let's get to our guest who's joining us from the West Coast, I believe, this
morning, Ron Kapps, drag racer team owner.
Good morning, Ron.
Good morning.
What it is.
It is West Coast time.
Yeah.
Sorry about that.
I've been on the East Coast.
That's part of my issue, living on the West Coast.
Everybody lives in Indy, pretty much.
Yeah.
I've got to get acclimated to the time, and so I'm up early regardless.
Yeah.
I know a lot of people that I talk to that live on the West Coast, and
they, it's not, we don't, you know, change for them.
They change for us.
So, and I get that.
Yeah.
And you live in Carlsbad area, right?
Born and raised in San Luis Obispo, the small town on the
Central Coast.
Sure.
Great place.
Classic cars and hot rods and all that.
But yeah, when Don Perdome hired me, I moved down here to
Carlsbad, and we had our kids never left in here 35 years.
We always, as kids, when we grow up reading the minibike
magazines, Carlsbad always seemed like the cool place to go if
you could take your minibike on a trip.
Of course, that was never going to happen.
I lived in Tennessee.
That train had sailed, or the ship had sailed.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
No, it's, it's funny how many X racers, and when we
first moved in Snakebilt to shop, the amount of Emsa and
off-road teams right around where the racetrack was, there
at Carlsbad, it's not far from here, but right
near where Snakebilt to shop, I mean, you could go off into
a cul-de-sac and run into five, six, seven teams just in a
little area.
So, it was like a mecca here for a long time.
Was it, I mean, what was the advantage of the track,
obviously, and the weather, huge factor, and, you know,
who doesn't like living in California?
Yeah.
I mean.
I think in the Emsa world, I mean, there was a lot of
rich guys, right?
Right.
They just wanted to go racing on those cars, and so I think
this is, you ran to Santa Fe, and you got, you know, Newport
Beach not far away, and all the races here that they used
to have, so.
It's funny.
I think that was sort of the closest home.
It's funny.
Yeah, funny how so many tracks that no longer
exist in Southern California, or California in general.
I mean, the ones that I remember growing to, even
when I lived out there, I lived out there for about
three years in the 80s, and going to O-C-I-R, and,
and what was the, the Lyons drag strip?
Yeah.
And that's, of course, been gone for longer than I've
been alive, probably, practically.
Yeah.
If you get out here to the West Coast, make sure you
stop.
There's a museum, a Lyons Museum, I don't know if you've
heard of it.
Sure.
They have functions all the time that we go up to, but
it's pretty cool.
They have a recreation of the starting line at
Lyons.
Wow.
All redone.
Kenny Youngblood came in and painted the floor like
the track, and they have a whole area on the Long
Beach Grand Prix, and they've got cars from the
first few years all the way up.
It's an amazing place.
So if you get out on the West Coast again, you've got
to check it out.
Yeah, I'd forgotten about that.
Actually, you know, there's so much to do in
California when you go out there, you'd realize
that you're, you know, we went to Monterey for
the first time this year, and we felt like we
were, you know, every minute of every day was
completely covered.
It was not a freeze moment to do anything.
And there's just so many, the collections out
there.
We missed the Mullen collection, which was
right, you know, close to there, that Peter
Mullen had all French-bodied cars, which,
you know, even if, I tell people, even if
you're not into a certain genre, if you go
to the right museums in the right places,
you're going to love it, whether you like
hot rods or whether you like pre-war European
cars or whatever.
Yeah, and it's funny.
You say that because so many big museums
with, you know, million-dollar cars that
I've been through.
And sure enough, you go into a room and
there is one of the original Domford
Home Hot Wheels cars or a big Daddy Don
garlic dragster.
Sure.
Everybody's, everybody has to have that
in those collections.
So it's all the way, I just, we were
at Rick Hendrick's got a great collection
of cars you've ever been in.
Yeah, I have.
It's incredible.
Many Corbettes.
But he's got the whole drag racing
section over the corner.
He's got snakes cars.
I think Mongoose's cars and he's got
his drag racing section on it.
He talks about how he, drag racing was
his first love.
And so, yeah, it's always cool to
walk into a museum like that and sort
of see a little bit of drag racing.
Well, and Hendrick also bought the
two transporters that were arguably
more famous than the cars at the
time.
Absolutely.
Everybody, when they came in to
the ramp trucks.
Yeah.
Everybody wanted those.
Before there was big prevo buses
and, you know, the big semi-tractor
trailers and guys were just hauling
them in a flatbed, you know, put
together a trailer.
Getting even the, even the guys
who were at the top of the game,
right?
Yeah.
And I know you've talked to Snake
here recently.
Yeah.
It's funny how he was so involved
in them rebuilding those and he
got them and he was very hands
on.
Even found the old original
uniforms and fire suits that they
would hang in the ramp area.
Yeah.
So pretty cool that he redid
both of those.
Of course with Mongoose passed
in a way.
He really took it on himself to
make sure both were done exactly
like you and I would, you know,
we'd buy the hot wheels when
we were kids.
Absolutely.
The hot wheel stats, but they
had the hot wheel ramp truck just
like that.
Yeah.
Very, very cool.
Yeah.
He said when they came into town
it was like, you know, the rolling
stones were rolling in and he
said it was crazy.
It just, it was like rock stars.
People were lining the streets
and watching them roll by.
Yeah.
So, and of course now you have,
you know, a luxury, I mean,
the setups now are unbelievable.
The truck and trailer alone is,
you know, they're a couple of
million bucks now, right?
Oh, yeah.
That's probably light.
And, you know, in our sport,
everybody's got two 18-wheelers
next to each other.
And it sort of started with
John Forrest doing that.
He sort of built a trailer in
his old two-car team back in
the day that had a, you know,
the crew chiefs and sort of a
technology center he called it.
But now all the teams have to
have it for weight.
You know, you've got spare
engines, spare parts, spare
cars, and then to have an area
inside one of them that you
can build the engines.
You can do all the stuff where,
you know, you and I back in the
day, you would watch them build
engines out in the wind blowing
around.
Exactly.
Not good to have that stuff
get inside when you build an
engine, but it's just sort of
the way of the world right now
in our area.
Sure.
Well, and the accessibility for
drag racers has always been
more common to, it's like
country music, you know,
it seems like it's more
accessible to the fans than
any other type of racing.
Yes, you can buy a pit pass.
Most drag strips you go to,
a pit pass is included in
a general admission ticket.
It is.
And that's part of what
NHRA next year I think is the
75th anniversary of NHRA the
whole year.
They got a lot of stuff planned,
but that's what every time
they go on a show, I mean,
every ticket's a pit pass
literally.
And people that are come for
the first time that have been
to a road racer or an
Indy car or an Ascar race are
blown away that you can walk
right into the pit area and
stand three feet away from
them rebuilding these cars,
get an autograph from a driver
that you just watched go
for 130 miles per hour.
And the interaction for us,
you know, for our sponsorships
and our partners like Napa,
hospitality areas is kind of
a big difference.
Sure.
I think our sport, you know,
we have a chef that cooks.
I mean, it's a four star meal
and you are right next to the
pit area.
It's a pitside experience.
Right.
So it's not like as a
sponsor or partner or VIP
that you go to this tent
and you get to meet Chase
Elliott or you name any driver
that that sponsor has.
It's all right there.
So watch the car come back from
a run and in 40 minutes be torn
apart, put back together.
That's crazy.
On live TV and then you go back
in your seat and watch go down
the track.
Yeah.
And you know, when you first
started, did you ever in your
wildest dreams think that you
would be talking about nutrition
and working out and all of
the things that nobody thought
about back in the day?
Right.
No.
I got a brother, John Capps
that's five years younger.
He's a stuntman.
He's been in a bunch of
movies, does all kinds.
It's all car stuff and he
teaches people how to drive
throughout the country at
some of these events.
And we used to dream the dream
and you know, never would you
imagine, you know, our dad
races a hobby on weekends and
he worked on a can amp car.
We were young.
We always had race cars around
our driveway and he lives
through us vicariously now.
But no, I never thought, hey,
I never thought he'd get a
phone call from Dom Prado
and ask him to come drive
for him.
That was as far as it got.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, I'm getting to the
first year working for
Snake.
It was my first NASCAR race
and having Dale Earnhardt
seeing your wave at us to come
into his bus and sat in our
talk fishing.
Right.
You know, I walked out there
and Richard Petty came over
and it was just, that was his
rock star as it could have
got in my world.
Absolutely.
And then you had to sort of
start approaching it like you
said with nutrition and
working out and all the
things that go with it.
Yeah, I don't think that
Don Garlett cared what he
ate.
He probably had a hot dog
and smoked a cigarette
before every run.
Oh yeah?
That's the way it was and
you know, I watched old
NASCAR drivers with a
cigarette dangling out of
the track, you know.
That was just the way things
were back then.
Of course, you know,
listen, everything has
changed.
And you know what?
Being famous or infamous
or whatever you want to call
it is not nearly, can't
nearly be as much fun as
it used to be.
You know, back in the old
days when we didn't know
what everybody had.
We know where you live.
We know what you drive.
We know where you, you
know, where you eat.
I mean, there's no
secrets anymore.
You can't just be, you
know, obscure and out of
the picture.
If you're famous, you're
going to be everywhere.
It's definitely good and bad
to that.
I learned that very quickly,
especially when social
media came on.
I was shooting one of the
Napa commercials when
Michael Walter was my
teammate and shot a bunch
of those national commercials
and Twitter had just started
and they were kind of
cutting edge.
A lot of the NASCAR guys
were verified right away,
right?
And it hadn't really gone
out everywhere else and
his PR girl got me
my first account for
Twitter and I was like,
cares what I'm doing
during the day, right?
Who wants to know
that I'm going to
whatever I'm doing?
Sure.
Man, oh man.
As soon as you got on
that thing, it was like
people just started
following.
Yeah.
Isn't that amazing?
And I was the same way.
I want to know what my
favorite rock star was
doing.
Sure.
You know, you always love
to hear that sort of
what the people that you
you know, your favorite
athletes or quarterbacks
or whatever.
So yeah, it's just,
it's a crazy world
and it definitely changed
in the motorsports world
pretty quickly.
Sure.
Well, and it's fun to
know what people do
in their off time and
a lot of the musicians
are car guys because
they're healthy so they can
afford to have a nice
collection of cars.
So it's always fun to talk
to them about that.
And you know, there's not
many guys that if you don't,
if you start talking cars,
it's going to not just
jump right in with you.
You know, I don't care
how famous they are
or not, right?
Yeah, it always,
that's always the
common denominator.
Right.
You know, I've got
a street rather Roy
Brisio built.
Oh, nice.
The car that my dad
and I started building.
It's an all steel
31 Ford Coupe.
And we worked on
as kids.
I learned how to weld
on it and just never
know.
Of course, going to hang
out with Roy,
you'd have Jeff Beck
or, you know, Reggie Jackson.
Right.
Eric Clapton,
anybody at any given time
that he was building
cars for.
So when I would go to
concerts and run into
people, we'd always get
on this same thing
about cars.
Right.
What muscle car.
Dave, the guys from
Metallica.
I mean, that's how
I got to be friends
with James Hepfield.
We're just around cars
and so it is.
It's cool to go out
in the world,
something that you
love to follow
cars.
Yeah.
It's a common denominator
with so many people.
We see it at auctions
where you're sitting next
to a guy and you're chatting
with him and he's just
seems like a regular guy
and all of a sudden
a Duesenberg rolls up
and he's bidding
four or five million
dollars and you're like
who the heck are you?
Who are you?
Wait a minute.
I'm going to pay
more attention here.
You know, it is
a common denominator
with cars.
We see it every day
at our place here.
I mean, when people
just want to talk cars
and, you know,
unfortunately sometimes
like with the girls
one of those guys over there
will be glad to talk to you
about that.
Yeah.
Yeah, we,
it's funny you mentioned
the Carlisle and it's
obviously Carlisle too.
Right.
Napa.
But gosh, that area
I've done so many events
there near Morgantown
and Hershey
and all that.
And Redding.
A lot of cars people.
Yeah, Redding
that we race at
but car shows
and things that
I've done over the years
that that is
a great area
for classic cars.
It really is.
There's so many hidden
that just come out
good works.
They really do.
They're always fun to talk cars.
Yeah.
And you had some
some pretty good luck racing
in Redding
or actually Maple Grove.
I think you're
you had the fastest
ETA
and also
the fastest speed
right here right here
in Maple Grove.
Little old Maple Grove.
I think it's been six years
we went 339 miles an hour
and nobody else
did that for a long time
and here recently now
there's a couple that
went 340
and right by 330s
but yeah, we did that
at night
on a night qualifying run
and that track is legendary
first of all because it's fast.
It's got good air
it's down in the valley
and it's notorious
for having records set
all the time
and it's
that was a while
that was an e-ticket
one of those
Oh my God runs
and not, you know
will never forget it.
Yeah, it was very cool
to do that
especially that track.
Is it
I mean can you tell
the difference between
300 and 330
is there a difference
can you feel it
it's funny you'd
people ask that
all the time
and really the difference
is you sort of have
it comes in
your internal g-meter
sort of it knows
about when it's
going to start
g-meter raising up
and the clutch coming in
and really throwing you back
in the seat
and kind of pin in your head
you know
the straps we have
holding our head
you can feel that
and if it comes in sooner
than normal
you're like
okay
I can feel it
really picking up
but really it's
when the shoot's hit
and that's when
you feel how hard
because on a pretty decent run
it could be
negative 8
negative 9Gs
when you go
336
337
338
and the shoot's hit
I mean
it throws you
we have 13
straps nowadays
it's not just the old
right
you know
lap and shoulder
and maybe a crotch strap
we've got 13
holding every
part of our body
so it holds us in
pretty good
but you definitely know
that you've made
a pretty high
mile an hour run
when those things pop
because you go from
a positive
what 5 or 6Gs
to a negative
9Gs
and just bam
yeah
it's crazy
what goes on
in 3.8 seconds
yeah
and 12,000 horsepower
and I mean
you know
it's amazing
I mean
I read somewhere
they said
a top fuel dragster
or a top fuel funny car
are faster than
a fighter jet
from 0 to 100
you know
yeah
only one thing
on the planet earth
it's more G-forces
and that's a fighter pilot
we go through more
than the space shuttle
pilots go through
wow
it's a lot
there's a lot going on
and on top of that
I mean the funny car
it's funny
I had this conversation
at a speech
I gave yesterday
in Texas
it's funny how
in certain weekends
the top speed
of the event
will be a funny car
over a top fuel dragster
and you look at him
and you go
there's no way
that
bodied car
aerodynamic or not
will slip through the air
better than that
top fuel skinny dragster
with a big spoiler
on the back
but there's
I think last weekend
a dragster
than dragsters
I mean it's always
very close speed wives
ET wise
a dragster
much quicker
you know
three or four tenths
but yeah
it's a strange thing
to tell somebody that
and have them
which is strange to me
and I drive it
thinking how funny
car but that's just
the nitro methane
loves to be
it loves to be loaded
it's a type of fuel
that builds at 12,000
horsepower
but it also likes
load on it
and the more you load it
the more it wants to
make power
and just hang on
it's amazing
so I know what
Prude Ohm's
thoughts on a thousand feet
what's your take
what's your take
on a thousand feet
versus the quarter mile
oh yeah
I
we especially after
we went to a thousand foot
Scott Kalita got killed
in English town
we had to make
a decision as a sport
what we were going to do
immediately after that
because here's the deal
and you can
you can
I know
is it York
they had the great track
it's not far from you guys
and I think it's
kind of still there
I know that we stopped
in by accident
building by the airport
there and still pictures
of the old drag strip
right
I was
I was near Morgantown
there and driving through there
so many of these drag strips
were built years ago
and they either have houses
or something
in the shut down area
that you can't just
add to a shut down area
a lot of these tracks
and we
we get it right
we love going fast
but it's like
I tell people all the time
the fans are like
why don't you go
quarter mile
I hate the sport
now it's a thousand feet
and I'm like
okay it's like
shooting a
space shuttle
and not having a plan
to get it back down to earth
right
for us
we love going fast
but we have to be able to stop
yeah
so taking away that
last 320 feet
under power
gave us an extra 320 feet
and let me tell you
there is probably
a quarter of the tracks
that we go to now
that are very sketchy
stopping the car
yeah
and you think more about
stopping
and getting stopped
than you do actually
going 330 miles
now on the run
which is bizarre
yeah
so yeah
we just
we needed the safety wise
to be able to stop
and
and now the cars are
now they're back up to
like you said 340
yeah
it didn't take long
and we were faster
than we would have been
I mean people ask all the time
what would you be going
at quarter mile
and gosh
we'd be 350
probably
probably
and then we started
then you'd start
looking at G suits
and other things
because then
you're risking
really hurting the drivers
for the parachutes
come out
I mean this is a
dumb question
is it loud
I mean is it still
you guys must have the best
ear protection
on the planet
but it's still loud right
yeah
I mean we got the ears
you know the radios
and they're made for our ears
and all that
and you have the helmet
then when the body
and the funny car comes down
of course dragster
it's behind them
right
so they don't hear it as much
but the noise
and the flames
like on my social media
I used to wear these glasses
with a high depth camera
in fact the run
that you talked about
right
339 in maple grove
if you type in
and Google my name
and car camera
that run
with me
and you hear the engine
when I shut my visor
get a little quieter
when I stage
it's loud
like you would hear it
on the outside
the grandstand is not as much
right
but as the run goes
it's funny when I get to
watch these videos back
I see the flames go up
and then
as you go faster
they lay back
and so as you get going
faster
and this
I tell people this
all the time
when I try to explain a run
the faster the car goes
the quieter it gets
which is backwards
yeah
I mean normal cars
like the one
behind you on the wall
you get on it
you hear the noise
the speed picks up
the sound picks up
the RPM
it's a backwards thing
and it's like the
Star Wars movies
when you go into hyperspace
right
it's very strange
to have everything
just go like this
and then the car
get quieter
right
so it's
your mind has to get
really used to that
early on
until you get used to
driving
so a lot of people
coming up the ranks
that's the hardest thing
I think for them
and you watch the guy
who stands out there
that's got to be
you know
I don't care how good
protection you have
to hear that day
for that many hours
of a day
that's got to be great
it's like in
good morning Vietnam
the guy
hi I'm Bob
with an artillery
everybody's yelling
at everybody right
yeah
I don't know
how those guys do it
and then you add
the four wides
on top of that
so they're going
over the cars
I can't even imagine
because
when we were
at Maple Grove
a couple of
three weeks
it's like
sucks the energy out of you
I can't imagine
four cars going by
it's got to be just
unbelievable
it's just amazing
so
do you
I was funny
I was reading about
your crew that you have
and the
job titles are crazy
you got one guy
who's just body and tire
guys
heads and left cylinder heads
guys just superchargers
a clutch assistant
that's some crazy jobs
small short blocks
bottom end
I think that'd like that
job
and you've seen it
and many people
watching right now
have been to a race
and watched
the coolest thing
besides the on track
but I still think
it's cooler than watching
the cars on track
is the servicing of the car
the tear down
and all that
and with live TV
my guys have had
a car after run
come back
scorching hot
and these eight kids
attack this car
all with this
a little job
just like you mentioned
and you know
the bottom end guy
goes down
their pant comes off
right away
and they do this
40 minutes sometimes
that's crazy
so literally
they pull the pan
he'll check a main bearing
if there's a problem
with the main bearing
the engine's gonna come out
so right away
they already planned
for one of our short blocks
in the trailer
to come into the car
but otherwise
the crankshaft
and the block
stay in the car
sleeves, pistons, rods
cylinder heads come off
so there's a guy
on each side
cylinder head comes off
before that
the supercharger
injector
come off
and the supercharger
injector guy
tears it apart
in that short amount of time
cylinder head's come off
new set goes on
that set gets refurbished
in the trailer
that just came off
and that kid
on that side
that's responsible for cylinder head
he's responsible
for getting the head gasket on
and the cylinder head
going on
and once the heads are on
in comes the supercharger
guy again
I mean it's just
it's so fun to watch
they don't ever speak
very rarely
and it's like
poetry and motion
like a ballet
almost without
you know I mean it's just
like you said
just in motion
and going and just
you know what the guy's
going to do
you've done it so many times together
yeah
and these clutches nowadays
on these you know
12,000 horsepower cars
are six disc clutch
so it's five floaters
steel floaters
in between six
clutch discs
and these aren't your
normal discs
like you're pulling out of a car
I mean these things are
massive with a lot
of material on them
so
and the drive shaft
and the funny car
is about that big around
so
we try not to look down
between our legs
because it goes right
between our legs
to the rear end
so there's
there's a lot of cool stuff to watch
I think
and that's what makes our
sport so great
I grew up on it
I got pictures
my mom and dad
that I scanned once in a while
for throwback Thursdays
of me
literally standing next
to Don Garlett
or Don Pradham
working on their car
when they didn't have ropes
right
and their fire
suits tied around
their waist
and they're putting plugs
in it and rebuild an engine
and then they pull
their suit up
fire the car up
and go run
go racing
my childhood so
I had 30 minutes
to rebuild an engine
I had a trans-M one time
the guy had my car
for three months
to rebuild my
400 cubic inch V8
I should have called you
so
you can't go
each oil change nowadays
for quicker than that
like literally just
your oil change
yeah
think about it
it takes 30 or 40 minutes
because then they also
all want to come out
with that little
PVC valve on a napkin
and say
you see this sir
it's covered in oil
well it's supposed
to be covered in oil
yeah
that's what it does
so
Toyota Super
right it's the body
of a Super
now
the body's not made
by Toyota
is or is it
do they make the body
pretty much all the bodies
are Roush made
most of them
right
you know
they're all composite
Kevlar
and Barberglass
so
Roush actually makes
the Toyota body
but
Chevy came out
with forces
body a few years ago
Dodge is supposed
to come out with
a new one
Chevy
or a Toyota
worked real hard
years ago
match
and look like
the latest
GR Supra
sure
so they
they are
they are based
they have to go through
a strict
NHA
approval
oh nice
anything beyond
body itself
spoiler height
and all that
has to be
the same
across the board
with all of them
you know
years ago
millions was being
spent
like Kenny Bernstein
would go to the
wind tunnel
pretty cool how
you know
not like the old days
when I was a kid
and I go do this
nostalgia racing a lot
where the cars
really
really look like
right
that body
they do a pretty
good job
considering these things
look like a
Batmobile
all of them
they didn't have any
pain on them
but you can
certainly tell
what is what
yeah
I think any
praise done a good job
of that
well because
you know
they hope that
sponsors are happy
sponsor good
everything good
right you know
yeah
so when you're driving
one of your toys
what would that be
I know you talked about
your hot rod
that you started with your
dad that you had
Brizio do
but what else
you got in the garage
that's about it
man
I haven't
I haven't worked on
that part
of having a
collection
don't have no time
no
I just
yeah time
and now that
I'm a team owner
I definitely don't
for 30 years
so
it was a turbocharged
spider
nice
the ugliest car in the world
but the coolest car to drive
as a kid
and then my first real car
was a 68 Chevelle
with a big block
which
we tore the 396 out
and put a
454 in it
built it all up
so that was my car
and I'd love to buy
one again some day
and have my son
sort of
get that feeling
of stepping on a
muscle car
but yeah
you know
the Brizio street
rod is
still to this day
oh wow yeah
I imagine
you know there's nothing like
a good car like that
to turn a day
that might be
not a so great day
or turn a frown upside down
you just
you get in
and you start driving
you got the radio on
and people are thumbs up
everywhere you go
and you're like
okay it's not such
a bad day
so I love driving
that thing
that music for me
is what
can make a bad day good
and I understand
you're a big
concert fan
and of course
you're friends with
the guys in Metallica
and Van Halen
and a big collection of
cars
and everything you do
is around cars
of course Sammy of course
and now they're up
touring together so
yeah it's fun
it's fun
cars are cool
man
it's fun how
everything's sort of
like you and I
just talked about it
just sort of
comes back to that
always and
everybody's got a
story right
yeah absolutely
so
and
you know
your story
in drag racing
is
I mean
it's
I mean it's amazing
75
top fuel winds
is that right
or is it more now
or
I don't know
my publicist
yeah she comes up
with these little things
of how many round winds
or how many
I forget how many
wins
I know it sounds
dumb
I get it though
I never thought I'd have one
I never thought I'd
get a phone call from
Dom Brown
let alone be a
paid
some day I thought
they were going to
figure out
that I would do this
for nothing
family because of the sport
so
yeah it's
been very blessed
yeah I hear you
and you know what
sometimes you don't
it's not about the numbers
are counting
it's about the fact that
every day you get to do
what you love to do
and that's the same with
us here
you know I look at the
numbers and I think
oh this and that
and then I think you know
what
I got a thousand cars
in a building
this is pretty darn cool
no matter
how bad of a day
I'm having right
yeah I'm with you
100% on that
so
that's
what is four
75 now and see
yeah
I think so
I was close to that
I think
he used to sound so old
you know
I know
I was just having
a conversation
this last weekend
Maddie we're
starting a new team
next year
a fuel team
and it's a
21 year old girl
that I knew her dad
grown up
she's from
Paso Robles
same area
and we're going to
make the announcement
of the sponsor
on the car
I'm like
oh my god
60
I couldn't even say it
I know
I just had the birthday
and I was like
my gosh
but you think of John
Forrest
you know before his accident
we almost lost him
completely
he killed the track
he won't
he won't drive again
but
it's great to have him
back out
but when
when people are like
how about
John Forrest
being 70 something
and I'm like
yeah and he just
whipped my ass
two races before
in fact the day
was going strong
and
you know
things have changed
nowadays
well you think that
reaction time
yeah I mean
yeah
reaction times
I mean
just a lot of things
and so
you have to wake up
every year in off season
and you gotta
you know I've done this
every year
but I was that kid
coming up
like a lot of the kids
now I got a race
and you got to wake up
and think
okay I've got to be better
better than better
it makes you better
right
I've got more experience
over something
just cut a better light
is going to help
in the long run
and our most
drag races
one in the first
when you leave
the line I mean
is that true
that it's pretty much
your reaction time
is going to dictate
your wins and losses
well it happens
period it's not a matter
of how
and you always remember
the ones you lost
right
on the reaction time
so in my brain
I think all the ones
that I lost
although there's not
that many
right
but your brain
just remembers
and grains in you
and you hate it
right
but yeah
nowadays the cars
are so close
like we just talk
about all the bodies
and hot fuel
we compare it to
what pro stock has been
for years
where the cars are
so close
and the ETs
are by
you know
so close
that three or four
thousands of a second
of a reaction time
advantage
whether it's a
driver or the car
reacting better
is the difference
a lot of times
and it's an eyelash
you know
and it's fun to watch
those reaction times
and especially with the way
they have cameras now
and they have the overhead camera
that shows the cars
and you can literally see
which one's going
the old cat and mouse thing
that they're doing
you're doing at the beginning
and I grew up
at Bristol
at Thunder Valley
and that was one of the
greatest race tracks
to ever go to
because the fence line
was practically on the track
I mean it wasn't
there wasn't this nice
big buffer
like when I went to
California
it was like
this big grassy area
and you're not
right on the track
and of course
you know there's a rumor
there's a TBD
on the schedule
for next year's NHRA
I'm not sure
I'm supposed to talk about
nobody's watching
it doesn't matter
there is an open spot
on the schedule next year
and the rumor is
possibly going back
to Rockingham
really
have you been there
at all
I haven't been there
for a drag race
I've seen it
I've been there
just to go visit it
because it was like a mecca
to go just
say that you went there
you know
yeah
my rookie year
we went there
we talked about the old Bristol
I mean it is
I mean if you're front row
you can have your eyebrows
finished off
I mean it's right there
and it just goes straight up
I'll never forget it
so I'm excited
if we do go back there
because that was kind of
a legendary place
that would be fun
a lot of our fans
don't realize now
how cool the tracks were back
in the lion's drag strip
brand stands
right there
and on Saturday nights
when they were
you know
tipping the can
like they used to
you know to get more power
and that thing was
I mean you were feeling it
it was right there
like you had a horseradish
right just like
rice water
yeah it was
the best smell in the world
and then you
and you never took a girl there
because she'd be like
what is this
although surprise
but it's a swimsuit contest
right
what they call those
the
t-shirt
yeah
and those as well
as a kid
it's kind of cool
as a kid
going up watching drag racing
was a lot of fun
and you know
the power and the fury
is something that
television can never convey
about drag racing
and that's why I always tell
my friends
if you've never been
you don't know
you have no idea
what drag racing is
you don't know what you don't know
that's what Tony Stewart
actually said to me
last year
he was trying to explain some
when he came into our sport
and he was telling one of his
other NASCAR guys that
I go that's
that's pretty good
yeah you don't know
what you don't know
until you actually stand there
and you're like
oh my gosh
yeah and it's
you know
and the cost to do
these things nowadays
is just
God it's just gotten
so I mean
you have to fight for
it right
and millions of dollars
it is
and it's crazy
for me
coming in as a team owner
a few years ago
this is
fourth year as a team owner
just
I never imagined the amount
of zeros
that I would watch
go back and forth
in a bank account
or
the actual price
you know I used to walk
around as a
paid driver
and you know
you see zip ties
on the ground
that are unused
or
owls
or just
things laying around
just didn't think
it's got some life left in it
right
yeah
and you know
we used to give away
all kinds of parts to fans
and now we got a little
kiosk by the pit area
and we sell
clutch discs
and use pistons
that are all burnt up
fans love
and so
yeah
once you see how much
things
changes
everything
changes
Darrell Gwynn
sells a lot of stuff
at these races
where he'll sign the
pistons and all that
and it's so cool
and you know
that he's still part
of the industry
no question about it
so
well this has been fantastic
I really enjoyed
having you on the show today
and thanks to our friend
Judy Stropis
for helping arrange it
and
we'll hope to see you
at Maple Grove next year
yeah
wanna come in early
come visit
absolutely love to
absolutely everybody
Ron Cap
thanks again Ron
you got it
see you guys
are you bored
with your commute
listless
in your lane
and you don't even
have the get up
and go on green
9 out of 10 doctors
recommend Classic Auto Mall
to cure the common drive
the Classic Auto Mall
in Morgantown, PA
is a veritable
classic car supermarket
with classics of all
prices, types and years
so if you need a cure
for the common drive
check out
Classic Auto Mall in
Morgantown
or classicautomall.com
side effects
include not wanting
to come home
going to car hop
drive ins
re-sunder your finger
nails
old car smell
and bias play
bias
and we're back with
the Classic Auto Mall
show from the
Classic Auto Mall
studio in Morgantown,
PA
what a great guest
always
fantastic
great story
great story
so what a great
oh man
I tell you what
this is really amazing
this time of year
when we do
Carlisle
and Hershey
the two biggest shows
we do
arguably every year
the amount of consignments
that are rolling in
and of course
last year's critical mass
but it's coming
yeah
that's what they say
they
who day
there's room in a
truck room outside
nice steady flow
right now
yeah so
our YouTube channel
just passed
102,000 subscribers
off the champagne
off the champagne
it's Apple Cider
this time of the year
yeah
so 102,000 subscribers
we passed
100,000
Saturday it was
it's really
it's hard to fathom
that we've got that many people
we were watching the Tennessee
Arkansas football game
and
it's like
you know
Neeland Stadium holds
100,000 people
that's how many people
saw our show
it was like
wow that's a lot of people
yeah
well it's snowballs
not to drop names
but when
I knew Doug DeMiro
back in the day
and he only had
like 400,000 followers
at the time
every week
he would go up 100,000
and I texted him
at that time
I had his phone number
can you believe
what's happening
snowballs
snowballs like that
so we'll see
well and it gets to these
certain levels
and then it seems to just
like the amount of views
that we get on our shows
are you know going up
to 30 and 40
and 50 and 60
and 80
90,000 views
on these shows
and it used to be
we would be
a good show
was a thousand views
right
you know
we were just thrilled with
that
and of course
we've got a lot of
content
1531 videos out there
and the top view
is the Carl Ludwigson
video
over all views
3.3 million
that's amazing
and it was 2.5
not that long ago
maybe like two weeks ago
it's a population
of a small city
that's a big city
that's a lot of stadiums
that's a lot of
New Zealand stadiums
isn't it
it is
well hey
if you're not subscribed
to the YouTube channel
be sure to go
yeah please do
because now our goal
forget 100
hundreds from 100
now we want 200
it's in our rear
view mirror
bye bye
we're looking for
seven figures
and then
we're going to have
a big old party
that's right
so where did we sell cars
last week
did you ask that
where
oh I don't know
how about
Gordonville, Georgia
how about
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
how about
Spring Hill, Florida
Jonestown, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lynchburg, Virginia
Durrier, Pennsylvania
Sanger, Texas
St. Germain, France
Fairfax, Virginia
Ormond Beach, Florida
Brandon, Wisconsin
Frensville, Tennessee
they have
Colbeer
Bayone, New Jersey
Norristown, Pennsylvania
how about that
Durrier is the home
of the Durrier Hill Climb
I think
I think you're right
and the Hill Climb
is around here
we talked about that
with our guest Carrie Hitt
who was here
a couple of weeks ago
they do the one
in Redding still
that goes up to the Pagoda
they don't do the one
in Hershey anymore
I don't know if they do
the one in Durrier
this one in Vermont
or something
Equinox
Hill Climb
those are
a couple around
as we said on the show
they're crazy
oh the old videos
of those old films
Randy, ooh
that sounded good
that hot Rod
oh yeah
Randy had found the footage
that Carrie Hitt
was talking about
when he ran up
and he was doing 151
at the top of the hill
or 161
or whatever it was
and it was great footage
that he had
it's so great
that
YouTube can document
all these things
whether it's what
we're doing
or what other people
are doing
and the ability
to have that
out there forever
I guess
they say that
YouTube adds 500 hours
of content
every hour
that makes sense
ridiculous
it's amazing
and you think about
how much space
a video takes up
on your computer
it's like a gigabyte
and they're adding
that many hours
that's crazy
so
what about some of our
new inventory
yes
new arrivals this week
how about the 1963
Buick Riviera
wide over red
numbers matching
401 cubic inch
four barrel v8
Dynaflow
two speed automatic
loaded with options
this thing
these were the
gentleman's muscle car
of the day
they were really cool
Bill Mitchell designed them
right
they were just
something about that look
that
they were sporty
yet they were elegant
they were
you know fast
but they were comfortable
they were
they were
they were kind of
like a muscle car
in a
in a Cadillac
bumped into each other
really cool
and they have
really cool back seats
because it's got
just like two bucket seats
in the back
right right
yeah where do you see
that
that's why I always call
shotgun first
remember that
in the old days
shotgun
oh I called it first
I just want to drive
yeah the ribs are special
every rib is
seems to be special
you think kids today
still do shotgun
oh no
I don't think so
nobody cares
because the back seats now are cool
kind of cool
if you get back to here
and you can be on your own
do you have their phone
or their screen
sure
texting the guy in the front seat
or the girl in the front
texting the person next to you
or the person next to you
instead of talking
because God forbid
Joe Murray just talked about
and when he was a kid
he had six brothers and sisters
and they had a station wagon
the one that's
sitting there
sitting there
quiet back there
exactly
that's what you
that's for what you're going to do
you just go ahead
smack you across the head
don't make me pull over
don't make me pull this car over
another new arrival
how about the 1968 Ford Mustang
GT California special
one of my favorite cars
that we have here
lime gold over black
you say lime gold
what color is that
well
it's greenish
it's limey
it is a tinge of gold
yeah I don't
I don't get the gold part
no
it's like
carousel red in the GTO
we talked about last week
mm-hmm
this one lime gold over black
one of 4118
AACA winner
it's got the J code 302 in it
which is a great engine
115,000 actual miles
but I mean
about as flawless a restoration
as you'll find
it's very nice
nicely done
very surprised that it's still here
me too
here it is
C4 automatic too
so it's you know
a little easier to drive
and you know what
people are more and more
okay with automatic transmissions
it's even in a Shelby GT500
used to be the automatic
transmission would be like
oh god
I really don't want that
but you know what you realize
it's easier to drive
it doesn't feel like it's
shaking its bones out of it
you know
coming out of its suit
if you will
when you're running down the highway
it's 60 miles an hour
and it's not a bad way to drive
hey
you know
had a grand national for years
didn't complain about it
not having a shifter
how about the
1929 Ford Model A pickup
black over black
3,800 actual miles
stunning restoration
that's not hard to believe
I question that
it's a looking truck
it is a dang good looking truck
red wheels and everything
yeah 201 cubic inch four cylinder
it's got the original wood
three speed manual transmission
these trucks are popular
I tell you
we
our truck room is thin and out
we need trucks
bring us more trucks please
bring your trucks
bring your trucks
because we're running a little
low on inventory
and we can sell them pretty quickly
although there's some new ones
in the back
there are some really cool
so we're
we've got some interesting ones
mm-hmm
as we talked about at our auction
the trucks did really well
uh
trucks are
for some reason
nobody would have thought
the trucks would have been
collectible back in the day
people used a truck
until it was completely used up
that's probably why they're
collectible now
exactly because there's
not many of them left
because you rung every inch
out of them
that's true
so to speak
how about the 1955 Triumph
TR2 Roadster
Cherry red over black
1991 CC four cylinder
a fun and sporty driver
four speed manual
with overdrive
mm-hmm
you can go babe
yeah that's a good one
just I love that
so
and then we got another
Porsche 914
in the 1.8 target
Bahia red over black
74,000 actual miles
a 1.8 liter boxer four cylinder
five speed manual
dual one barrels
and it's got the
slant nose conversion
it does
I didn't really
you don't really see
many of the 914s
with the slant nose
no it was a kit
a lot of 911s have them
it was a kit that was
available this is one of
those cars that I
quoted Lugson
in the introduction
is there an extra
hesitation
make sure I said it right
it's a tricky name
yeah he's now that he's
our big star
he's our big star
95,000
feature guest
yeah I mean it was amazing
and you know I thought
you just never know
who's going to
what which one is
going to break out
which one's going to
be your number one thing
would it be somebody
that would be obvious
like Bobby Ray Hall
or a Mike Joy
or
Wayne Carini
you know they all
got great numbers
when they were here
but for some reason
and then Carrie hit
the week before
and race car driver
raced in Trans Am series
and 60 something
almost 70,000 views
so it's unpredictable
which I guess
maybe is a good thing
in a way
because it makes you
appreciate everyone
that you do
and you figure that
each one can be equally
as important
for the mountain of views
and people watching
and people paying
attention
and last but not
least in 1931
Ford Model A
Victoria
mint green
over dark green
3.8 liter
Ford v6
interesting
hot rod this is
4 speed automatic transmission
a 4.8 inch axle
front disc brakes
this thing's a showstop
it is really
you turn your head twice
when you see that
I'm sure it was not
available color
back in 1931
I can't imagine that
in 1931
the mint green
was on Henry Ford's pallet
what would they have thought
if you drove down the street
and a mint green
I think they would have killed you
he needs to
run you off the road
get out of here
this one is air conditioning
too which is pretty cool
oh yeah that's nice too
and you know
add an air conditioning
to modern cars
it's we're all kind of
speaking of green
is that 49
it's like a 49
pickup control
oh it looks like a new consignment
alright we have enough trucks
yeah
we got enough
we got enough in one fell swoop
right
so
but trucks in general
are very very popular
and of course SUVs
which are a variant
of trucks I guess
they have four wheel drive
most a lot of them
and so they're somewhat
truckish
are very popular as well
to that new blazer
we got in
we'll feature probably next week
really a new
is that the orange one
yes
oh that is so sharp
I love those
those are so cool looking
and we didn't appreciate them
as much back in the day
they were cool but
they were work trucks
they were work trucks too
I mean you just didn't think
much about them
I had a blazer
I had a 78 blazer
it was kind of a burgundy
with a black top
really
yeah
they're cool
it was a great try
I loved it
and that's you know
you watch the auctions
those are the ones
getting the dollars
the big money
you could go just about anywhere
although I
especially with the tires
that's what this one has on
yeah
I mean most of
back in the day
they had bigger tires
than you saw
just about anything
pickup trucks didn't have
tires like that
because pickup trucks
weren't really collectible
in the 70s and 80s
people weren't really
thinking about them
and of course
the trucks from the 70s
and 80s
are the most collectible
ones
and I'm old enough to know
to remember when they were
on the side of the road
for $1500
exactly
any kind of truck
and now you go to an
owner it's a 1998
or something
tons of miles on it
it'll bring $15,000
$18,000
what?
yeah
it's hard to believe
but they're harder
and harder to get
and even buying a new one
I think it's
there's inventory now
yeah
it's not like it was
but for a while
very different
what is that
sounds like it's driving
through the mall
it sounds like
it's going to be coming
through the door
sense around
remember sense around
sense around
surround sound
so there's two pickup
you're going to drive
it's a you know
you don't work with it
you just enjoy driving
a truck
and you like to have
the ability to carry stuff
flexibility
the flexibility with it
to carry something
if you decide you're out and
about and want to buy
something
but it wasn't really
till the mid 80s
they started saying
well let's put some
luxury in them
to comfort them up a
little bit
up until then
they were just pure work
as we were talking about
the Jeep Grand Wagoneer
that was kind of
the first luxury
SUV really
I mean the Bronco
was pretty mundane
by any shot
they didn't have
leather interior
for God's sakes
they didn't have
hardly anything
most of them had
three speed man
transmission
fiberglass headliner
so it was echoey inside
and you could take
that top off
if you had about 30 guys
12 hours
they were not that
easy to take off
they could come off
but
and then they
leaked when you
put them back
oh they always did
you know you do like
the people that had
the Mercedes 450
SLs back in the day
you get the little
pulley in your garage
and you hope that
it doesn't fall
when you're parked in there
that's right
but that was the big thing
in the day
back in the day
you know a 450 SL
Mercedes was the
ultimate status symbol
back in the 70s
I still turn and look
at them too
I still like
who's that guy
who does he think
he is
I want to be his friend
I would like to be
his friend
when we return
we will be joined
by our guest
weekly guest
Keith Martin
from sports car
market magazine
we'll be back in
just a couple of
minutes
here's a special offer
from sports car
market magazine
get a six month
subscription
for just
1995
by going to
sportscarmarket.com
slash test drive
and the number
six
that's
sportscarmarket.com
slash test drive
six
if you're
a buyer
a seller
or just
general
classic car
enthusiast
publisher
Keith Martin says
we've
been around
almost 40 years
sportscarmarket.com
slash test drive
six
that's
sportscarmarket.com
slash test drive
and the number
six
offers for
limited time
be in the
know
with
sports car
market
now
more of the
classic
automobile show
with your host
Stuart
Howden
from our
showcase
studio
just inside
the classic
automobile
Morgantown
weekly
our guest
Keith Martin
publisher
sports car
market magazine
I can't speak today
for some reason
good morning Keith
good morning
now
sports car
market
seller
we just shipped
issue number
12 of our
37th year
wow
that's hard to believe
you know
I can remember
I remember
distinctly
when I first
heard about
what you were doing
and it was
the mimeographed
you know of course
I'm a nostalgia guy
the old
the paintings
for the covers
right
and
they were just wonderful
that must have been fun
to pick those
for every issue
I bet that was a blast
the reason Stuart
we had to go away
from the paintings
is that
we as we grew
we went on to the
newsstands
and on the
newsstands
what's on the
cover
has to relate
to what's inside
the magazine
really
prior to
the newsstand
right
and we had some
fabulous romantic
pictures
and great
but
you can't do that
on the newsstand
because
you've got to have a picture
of something
that you have a story
about inside
well there's very strict
rules about magazines
and period
publications
that you have to follow
an amount of advertising
that you can have
in one
to get the rate
for the
shipping
and all that stuff
but
you know
it's funny
I would imagine
you step off the newsstand
that don't become
I bet your conversion ratio
is huge
I mean
the minute they pick it up
and really did they go
oh I'm subscribing to this
no question
you're right
we do very well on the news
we're one of the few magazines
that's left at the barns
and nobles
and all the airports
and we do
very well there
yeah it's funny
the magazines are now
special editions
of you know
the Beatles
or
Princess Diana
or something
it's
magazines are not the same
in the good old days
you went to the
bar
in order to hamburger
and milkshake
and you got to
read Car and Driver
and Road and Track
and they just let you
read them
and put them back
yeah
wasn't good for the publisher
but
so
it's just a different era
for people just
get their information
in different ways
yeah exactly
and a lot of people
still like
to tactile
feeling of a
newspaper
or a magazine
it's not
the same reading
and online
some people are
okay with it
there's a magazine in my hand
well Stuart
you know the reason
we are so thick
with advertising
is because
advertisers really believe
when people get
a magazine
and you turn the page
you actually
read the ad that's there
exactly
well because it's ads
that are
that you care about
things that you want to see
what's going to be
at the next auction
what does certain dealer
have offered for sale
what's the new
this or the new
kind of exhaust system
for a
Ferrari
Testerosa
it's all stuff
that's geared
that's the guys who
read the magazine
it's not a random ad
for
you know
tied detergent
which you know
would be great
if you had it I'm sure
but it you know
it speaks to me
the advertising does
well we also
we've been very careful
we don't accept
advertising
for armored
suburbans
or garden
bugs
or Korean
brides
you know
we've just decided
it's
that's not
who our clientele is
right and I'd
rather have
or the ads
they're all stuff
that hit your hot button
absolutely
absolutely
so your blog this week
I love this one
this is great
this speaks to me
would you drive
in the rain
and I like that
because a lot of people
don't think about
what driving in the rain
really means
it's not water
coming down on your car
that you're worried about
unless it's acid rain
it's the water
that's on the ground
that comes up
with the salt
and the dirt
and the rocks
and the grass
and all the other stuff
that's the problem
with my cars
because
at my condo
I can't wash a car
right
right
and so I've got
two cars in storage
in a different place
where they'll take care of it
but so
when I drive my car
in the rain
I have to bring it home
and park it
in an unheated condo
and there's no way
for me to dry it
with a leaf blower
or anything else
right
there was going to be
a jaguar tour
last weekend
that I was
a short one
maybe 50 miles
I was going to go on
this is a 50-year-old car
with original paint
right
and you know
those V12 engine bays
are so complicated
and there are so many places
for water
to just sit
and pool
that I just had to
make the decision
I'm just not going to do it
sure
and that's okay
you know it's okay
to say no
every once in a while
you know it's not
you're not obligated
to do everything
in the world
just because it's car
related
and you're a car
magazine publisher
you're not
I'm sorry
I didn't hear you
what did you say
the mic
are we on
you know
the other thing is
Stuart I've got a
like a 91-alpha spider
and I can drive that
in the rain all day long
doesn't bother you
it's modern cars
galvanized
and then
but really
I got a lot of mail
about that
I also
what I do
when my cars are dirty
I'll run them through
a car wash
right
oh right
and the
the horror
and they know
it's probably
twice a year
car wash
yep
and I'm the same way
sometimes a car wash
just needs to be utilized
and be damned
of what everybody says
or doesn't say about it
it's none of their business
I want to run my car
through a car wash
I'm going to do it
and if I suffer any consequences
because of it
that's okay
I would agree with that
it's a tough
judgment call
with these cars
when you don't have
a place
where you can actually
hand wash
them
and blow dry them
with a leaf dryer
and you need a lift
you really need a lift
if you're going to clean
thoroughly as you should
and I like the thing
that you mentioned
about these car washes
is they have the spray
that sprays underneath
then they have the blowers
that blow underneath
so they're not
they're not forgetting
about that
and it's only like
you know
27,000 quarters
or something anymore
it's not a nickel anymore
right
yeah but it's still
I mean again
it's part of
the growing challenge
with owning cars
in an urban environment
is where do you have
a garage
that you can
do something to your car
and my condo
won't allow trickle chargers
right I remember
you had mentioned that
before and that's
they'll allow electric bikes
that set themselves on fire
or cars
that set themselves on fire
right
but you can't have a trickle
charger because
I mean
how many instances
in the world
are there of trickle chargers
catching on fire
do we have statistics
on this
is that what they're
basing this on
or they just
kind of willy-nilly
made it up
well you know
have you ever had an
experience with the condo
association
they make
they make
our current president
seem like a kind
more
friendly guy
which is a group of people
who have power
yeah and
you know we see that
in a lot of different instances
where people that have
a lot of free time
on their hand
and it's
it's interesting to see that
that it sometimes
doesn't end well
you know there's just
people can only take
so much of something
before they say
okay enough is enough
there's too much regulation
you know
it's like gas grills
I bet you can't have a gas grill
at your place right
on the deck I can
you can't on the deck
you have a gas grill
but not a trickle charger
maybe I should find
a gas trickle charger
I think
we're on to something
there you go
for those of you
who live in condos
we're going to invent
a charcoal-driven
trickle charger
exactly
I like it
now we've solved
all the world's problems
once again here
I think that's
a fantastic thing
how's everything else going
are you planning
any more
events coming up
on your calendar?
um
top secret
don't tell anybody
no one's listening
uh and
2028 is our 40th anniversary
right and so
wouldn't that be a reason
to have some sort of
event
absolutely
absolutely
I think you should do that
and I think that
we should all come
and participate
because I think it will be
a monumental day
I think it'd be
I think we can get
50 cars
do an SCM 40
yeah
because SCM 30
and have
the Northwest
and I've even figured out
a place where we can
drive all day
and then take a ski lift
up to a lodge
while the sun's setting
and have dinner
I mean just
so I'm not
I'm not saying we're
going to do it
because I promised my staff
I wouldn't
but I will say
we've got a major
presenting sponsor
already signed up
that's half the battle
right
I mean
it is half the battle
so I just think that
it's our 40th anniversary
and if we're going
to do one more tour
why not
really go out with the
bang
it's a monumental
I mean just 40 years
to do anything
is amazing
in this day and age
it's hard to believe
that things
have the shelf life
that they do
I mean you see companies
that started in the
early 1900s
that are still in existence
but boy it doesn't seem
like as of late
we're seeing
that longevity
they're getting
swallowed up by other
companies
and then it goes away
or something changes
yeah
well the world
changes
the world's
changed fast
yeah it has
but yet
the numbers get it
digitally too
and that's okay
you know
if that's their choice
then so be it
right
we have growing digital
participation
but in general
people want the print
yeah
I like the print
I think
well the print
when it arrives
it commands your
attention
oh yeah
absolutely
it's like a
FedEx
you know
that something's
important in there
you know
the problem with digital
is you're just
it never
unless you got
like I have the big
massive screens and all that
it's got you know
like on your phone
it's hard to read stuff
like that
it's hard to read
an in-depth article
on your phone
I struggle with that
when I try to read
something that maybe
I can't find anywhere else
so I can get it on my phone
and then it's hard to
read and it's hard to
stay focused on it
there's too many other
things going on
and it's too easy
to just slip away
yeah
and forget about it
completely
that's my problem
I have to leave
myself a note to remind
me to read something
that I can't find
I have to leave
my notes at the older
I get
I understand that too
anyway
Keith Martin everybody
thanks so much for joining
us and we'll
catch you again
next week
hopefully we'll do it
on time
it's always fun
Stuart
thank you
take care
I gotta go to the car
wash now
have fun
we'll see you
get those
trickle chargers out of
there
we'll catch you next
week on the
Classic Auto Mall
Show
we'll see you then
back to where we started
with the iconic
car rush
video editor
Randy Lambie
available on
ClassicAutoMall.com
youtube
or wherever
you get
your podcasts
questions
answers
or comments
write us
at
ClassicAutoMall.com
and if you want to
talk about
buying a
classic car
scene on
our website
you're
looking for
a particular
vehicle
or want
to consign
Specialist at 888-227-0914.
That's 888-227-0914.
Music courtesy of the Pat Travers Band
for tour dates, contact, and stuff,
visit pattravers.com.
Produced by CarSmart's Media Copyright All Rights Reserve.
Learn how thousands of smart homeowners
are investing about a dollar
to avoid expensive home repair bills.
John, a former non-customer,
said, my air conditioner broke
and I had to spend $1,900 to fix it.
Jeff, a customer, wrote,
my air conditioner broke
and I got a new one at no out-of-pocket cost.
Mary, a former non-customer, wrote,
my heating system stopped running.
I had to spend $3,000 to get a new one.
Lisa, a customer, wrote,
my heater stopped working.
I got it fixed at no out-of-pocket cost.
800-814-5615.
800-814-5615.
For about $1 a day,
you can have all the major appliances
and systems in your home,
guaranteed fixed or replaced.
Call now.
If the lines are busy, please call back.
Call the home already hotline now
at 800-814-5615.
That's 800-814-5615.
About this episode
Stewart Howden hosts an engaging conversation with drag racer Ron Capps and Keith Martin from Sports Car Market. They discuss the evolution of drag racing, from the accessibility of pit passes to the technical intricacies of modern funny cars. Capps shares insights on the challenges of racing in today's environment, including safety measures and the differences between quarter-mile and thousand-foot races. The episode also touches on the nostalgia of classic cars, the importance of car culture, and the unique experiences that come with owning and racing vintage vehicles.
Original notes
Show #215 airdate 10-15-25 - Stewart welcomes Ron Capps, @NHRA #FunnyCar #Racer driving his @NAPAracing @ToyotaRacing #Supra, discussing his over 75 wins and 3 championships, mobile machine shops, faster cars and shorter tracks. PLUS Keith Martin of #SportsCarMarket blogs about magazine covers and driving a classic in the rain. @CarlyleTools
Ron Capps started his career driving for the legendary Don The Snake Prudhomme and went on to win 75 Funny Car Races (as of October 2025), second only to John Force as well as three NHRA Funny Car Season Titles. Ron Capps talks about being based out of Carlsbad, California, and how when he started racing there were a lot of IMSA and offroad racing teams based in the area. Prudhomme had built his shop in that area and it was a mecca for racing for a while. Ron Capps drives the NAPA Funny Car.
Capps and Stewart discuss race tracks and dragstrips that have closed down over the years like Lions Drag Strip in California. Lions now has a museum and a recreation of the starting line at Lions as well as a display for the Long Beach Grand Prix. They also discuss the Peter Mullin collection. They talk about going to collections and museums and seeing a Big Daddy Don Garlits Dragster, a Don The Snake Prudhomme car or Hot Wheels car or a Tom The Mongoose Mcewen Funny Car. They talk about the amazing Rick Hendricks or Hendricks Motorsports, car collection that includes the Snake and Mongoose cars and ramp truck car haulers.
They talk about how Don Prudhomme found the old ramp trucks and restored them before selling the trucks and cars to Rick Hendrick. Prudhomme even found the old original fire suits that hung in the ramp trucks. Capps talks about the racing set ups with multiple trucks and trailers per car. John Force started the two trailer setup for drag racing with a second trailer that was a technology center.
2026 is the 75th Anniversary of the NHRA. They discuss how fans can stand in the pits and interact with the drivers and crew just feet away from them as they work on the car and rebuild the engine between rounds. You don’t have to go to a VIP Tent to meet the drivers, in drag racing you can talk to them at their trailer as they are preparing to race. They rebuild an engine in 40 minutes between rounds.
Ron Capps set the ET Record and Fastest Speed of 339 MPH at Maple Grove Raceway near Classic Auto Mall. Capps talks about why cars run so fast at Maple Grove. Capps tells Stewart how he can tell the difference between a 300 mile per hour run and a 300 run and the G-For
GET OUR FREE APP: https://ClassicAutoMall.appimize.app When it opens click on the ORANGE button to install on your phone or computer for DIRECT ACCESS to our VIDEO and AUDIO shows and our website.
CONTENT NOTE: Contests, Prizes, Offers, Vehicles & other items may no longer be available or offered after each show's original broadcast or posting date.
Recorded in our Showcase Studio just inside the entrance of the Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, PA, Host Stewart Howden, Classic Auto Mall President and Classic Car Specialist Steve Saffier talk about this unique and amazing place often with amazing guests.
YES...Classic Auto Mall is a REAL former shopping mall that covers almost EIGHT football fields with an average of nearly ONE THOUSAND classic vehicles under one, climate controlled roof and they're all FOR SALE!
Be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to be informed of new episodes and SEE them on the Classic Auto Mall YouTube Channel. We also invite you to VISIT US IN PERSON at Classic Auto Mall, one hour west of Philadelphia at PA Turnpike Exit #298, VISIT us online at ClassicAutoMall.com or talk to real, live people about visiting, buying or selling your classic on consignment at 888-227-0914.
.
Classic Auto Mall SHOW
Stewart Howden
0:00
61:12