Vintage Racing at Laguna Seca, with Jim Huff
About this episode
Jim Huff joins the crew to share his experiences from the recent Monterey Car Week, focusing on vintage racing at Laguna Seca. Both Jim and Randy discuss their participation in the historic races, the cars they drove, and the camaraderie among drivers. They highlight the differences between the pre-reunion and reunion events, the variety of vintage cars, and the thrill of racing in such a prestigious setting. The episode captures the excitement of racing and the connections formed in the paddock, along with anecdotes about memorable cars and moments from the event.
Alex sits down with Randy and friend of BaT Jim Huff, furniture merchant and connoisseur of the Neue Klasse, to talk about racing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion during this year's recent edition of Monterey Car Week. Both Randy and Huff drove in the Pre-Reunion and the main event later in the week; Huff describes mixing it up with Giulias and GTAs in the saloon class in his BMW 1800 Ti, while Randy and his Mustang held their own with more experienced racers amongst a crop of other animals: Cobras, Jags, and Tigers.
Heartfelt recommendations come from all to spend time at the track if you ever find yourself on the Peninsula for Car Week (it's where it's at!). The duo "lightly threaten" to expand their efforts to the Pacific Northwest and (well) beyond, talk about developing camaraderie from on-track observations and paddock interactions, describe "helmet-yelling out of stoke," theorize about the ultimate old-school tow rig, take a brief aside to mention the the wooden boat of our dreams, and wrap up by recounting the recent 50th annual SAAC meeting at Sonoma.
Links for things mentioned in this episode:
07:18 7 generations of IROC race cars you’ll see at Monterey this year Classic Motorsports
08:17 Exclusive Tour: F1’s 75-Year Display at Rolex Monterey with Zak Brown YouTube
09:15 IROC Race Cars BaT
09:24 Pontiac Firebird IROC Race Car BaT
14:39 Presenting the 2025 Mohr Imports Car Week Collection: Postcards from Monterey BaT
29:02 User cfujgo BaT
32:05 1968 BMW 1600-2 Race Car BaT
34:12 Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance Best-In-Class-Winning 1955 Chris-Craft 21’ Cobra BaT
36:40 SVO Mustangs BaT
Got suggestions for our next guest from the BaT community or One Year Garage episode? Let us know at [email protected]!
Toyota Supra
"interesting mix of sedans, uh, Julia Supras, quite a few, uh, Alfa Romeo GTA this year, uh, a..."
Alfa Romeo Gta
"...mix of sedans, uh, Julia Supras, quite a few, uh, Alfa Romeo GTA this year, uh, a few minis were tossed"
Ford Anglia
"...r, uh, a few minis were tossed into the mix, Ford Anglia, and a couple of other random cars to get us to a"
Ford Mustang
"...ld at Laguna on the fence like watching guys race Mustangs. So, I got to race Yeah. 65 Shelby GT 350 and run..."
Shelby GT350
"guys race Mustangs. So, I got to race Yeah. 65 Shelby GT 350 and run in a group with Corvettes and some Cobras,"
Chevrolet Corvette
"Yeah. 65 Shelby GT 350 and run in a group with Corvettes and some Cobras, real Cobras. Um Jim Farley was t..."
Shelby Cobra
"...GT 350 and run in a group with Corvettes and some Cobras, real Cobras. Um Jim Farley was the"
Chevrolet Camaro
"...ight? Like the Fox Bonnet, the Motorcraft Pre and Camaros and stuff from that era are super cool."
Porsche 911
"...> And I was pitted with a really cool 68 is it 67 911s I think Trans Am car. you know, the the Pacific N..."
Mclaren F1
"...s wanted a picture next to, you know, the current McLaren F1 car that was there and the current Mercedes and"
Jeep Renegade
"talk you know rampant trouts and fancy trucks and renegade Vista cruiser stuff. But if you can Yeah. If you ..."
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser
"...know rampant trouts and fancy trucks and renegade Vista cruiser stuff. But if you can Yeah. If you can set up"
Datsun 510
"big bore cars." But really, I see, you know, 510s with like rebell like that's the car to actually ..."
Honda S2000
"...ve. Fastest car I've ever driven on track with my S2000. All my race cars have like 120 horsepower. So, i..."
American Motors Corporation (Amc) Javelin
"...so did the Penske Camaro race program and the AMC Javelin stuff. He's the dude who did all that."
Ford Got Ford
"those guys. That was a fun event. >> I've got Ford hot rods on the brace. I have a another illness g..."
Mustang Svo Mustang
"...recently had one from Alaska. Am I going to buy a SVO Mustang out of Anchorage? I was thinking about"
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