DeTomaso Mailing List: August 97, Message #87
     



From: Dennis Antenucci <itbewild@gte.net>

Subject: Tustin thunder update

Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 00:08:47 -0700



Yo People,

So when Mike Drew and some you other young bucks were still pooping 

yellow some exciting things were "going down". . .in the 60's!



Ya remember the happening 60's? Fast cars, fast times? Jimi Hendrix, Jim 

Morrison? LBJ? Nam? Attica? 4-track tapes? Well if ya don't. . .that's 

your problem. . . 



Trans Am racing actually dates back to March 25, 1966. Debuting in 

Sebring, Florida, (do ya remember DM?) Trans Am was started by SCCA and 

originally looked down upon by purist road racing fans, who were up in 

arms at the idea of what they called poky old "grocery getters" plowing 

around race tracks, Trans Am was basically an instant success in spite 

of its critics. 



A true manufactures-based series, Trans Am found all the factories - 

Ford, Chevy, American Motors, Pontiac, Jaguar, Porsche, BMW, and Alfa 

Romeo - participating. And each was managed by stars like Carroll Shelby, 

Roger Penske, Bud Moore, etc. And the driving talent. Yea, guys like Dan 

Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Mark Donohue, Jerry Tituus, George Folmer, Peter 

Revson, AJ. Foyt, etc. It was the battleground of legends - cars, teams 

and drivers.  



So this week end brought alot of great memories back. At a practice race 

today (Saturday), someone decided they weren't gonna play follow round 

the VARA mulberry bush and decided to actually go out and race some of 

these original Trans Am war horses. A 1968 AMC Javelin driven by Paul 

James, a 69 Camero Z28 driven by Fred Galloway and a 69 Boss 302 Mustang 

driven by Jim Hague traded 1st, 2nd and 3rd several times before the last 

lap when the Z28 and Boss 302 took the lead, changed positions three 

times and on the last corner the Boss 302 took the lead to win in the 

closing seconds of the practice race. Man, it was like 1969 all over 

again. People were going nuts screaming and jumping up and down and this 

is the frigging PRACTICE race?! It was great, great racing.  



In other VARA racing the Iron Lady (Linda Adler) not only survived two 

tough hot days of practice racing in her Gruppe 5 Pantera against other 

Can Am and formula cars weighing 1000-2000 pounds lighter she and Dave 

also ran their MGB and their Falcon again as well this year.



They also got a new sponsor. The Motul Oil people came by an saw the 

Pantera running and were so impressed they offered product and support! 

Interestingly, Motul was a early sponsor of this car in Europe when it 

raced there and now it's racing again with Motul oil!



Linda thank you for indulging my daughter, Isabella between races. She 

now has a little "Linda Adler" shrine in her bedroom! :-]. She likes the 

fact that you quote, "kick-butt", unquote! 



Charlie Falcone also survived both days of practice but not driving his 

Pantera. This week-end he has been driving a liter McNamera formula car 

thats fast as snot. He'll also be back for the final race Sunday 

(tomorrow). Charlie is as mean as a junk yard dog and I expect him to do 

well.



Having less luck (so far) is Bob Estes driving a 67 Mercury Cougar in the 

Trans Am Series. He missed the driver's meeting Friday and had to sit out 

practice and on saturday (today) when he finally got on the track he 

DNF'd. Hopefully, he'll be back tomorrow. Good Luck Bob!



I was happy to see a ton of De Tomaso owner's and rooting members of POCA 

and PI waving the flag at this week end event. It was great hanging with 

everyone that was there. One of the things I enjoy most about these 

events is visiting the many vendors (300+). I visited Steve Stillen 

Motorsports and they had the "G-Tech" Accelerometer that their selling 

for $ 139 + tax. Looks like a bargain to me. . .



This unit measures 0-60, 60-0 braking, 1/4 mile ET, 1/4 speed, rear wheel 

horsepower,continuous or instantaneous Gs. The real life accuracy of this 

unit is impressive. If your interested in this cool gadget call 

714/540-9154 or 714/540-5566 or Fax 714/540-5784 or the Web Site address 

is www.stillen.com.



Anyway, there's the latest and greatest. Having a great time and looking 

forward to seeing many of you in a couple weeks in Monterey. 

Later,

Mad Dog



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