The Protouring Network

Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car Presented by Advance Auto Parts

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Wake Up!! The alarm clock went off at 4 a.m. Still half asleep, I knew that meant it was time to get up and hit the road to Thunderhill Raceway Park for the opening Optima qualifier for 2015. My wife has always been supportive of my hobby, but had never attended a track event with me, so this was going to be a first for both of us. The weather was calling for a chance of … [Read more...]

February ’15 Feature of the Month: Dave Smiths ’67 Chevelle “Couples Therapy”

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  You know how you're at a car show, and you're walking down the aisles and a car just grabs you? That pretty much describes my first view of Dave's beautiful '67 Chevelle. I had just arrived at Sema last year, and my buddies and I are making our way straight to Hot Rod Alley like we always do. As we wound our way through the cars in front of the buildings a bright … [Read more...]

Tmcp #228 Jeremy Miranda With Miranda Built’s Amazing And Awe Inspiring ’67 Nova!

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  This weeks interview is with Riddler Award AND Good Guys Ultimate Street Machine winning custom car builder Jeremy Miranda. Miranda Built is the business formed from Jeremy’s passion for customizing vehicles. Over the years he has built custom trucks, worked for a motorcycle fabrication shop, and then started his own business so he could control his destiny. The cars … [Read more...]

Tmcp #226 Wes Drelleshak’s ’59 Apache “Muscle Truck”: Racing With The Big Boys

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  This weeks interview is with Wes Drelleshak, the creator and racer of his 1959 Apache muscle-truck appropriately named “Project Long Shot.” He will be campaigning against some of the best drivers and cars ever at the 2014 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational! As he’s essentially taking a butter knife to a gun fight I thought it might be fun to have Wes come onto … [Read more...]

January ’15 Feature of the Month: 1969 Firebird “Wild Turkey” built by Josh Baker

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Story by Josh Baker This project has been a long and “wild” journey that has filled me with moments of great satisfaction, subdued by annoying frustration, feelings of euphoria and great loss. To explain the longevity of the build, it wasn’t that I worked at it slow, but that I started a shop and did many complete restorations and only worked on this on the side. It all … [Read more...]

Lateral-G Vendor Feature: BMR Suspension

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This months Lateral-G vendor feature is on BMR Suspension. I've personally used their parts, and can vouch for the quality and performance of what they manufacture. Let's take a look behind the scenes and see what they do and how they do it. When BMR Suspension began in 1998, it was difficult for performance automotive enthusiasts to find suspension components with an … [Read more...]

Goodguys 2014 AutoCross Finals Shootout: Duel in the Desert

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Nicknamed The Duel in the Desert – the Goodguys 2014 AutoCross Finals Shootout presented by BF Goodrich, K & N Filters and Tremec Transmissions featured a bigger field, better racing and a thrilling finish today at Westworld of Scottsdale. Thirty-two of the country’s top AutoCross racers passed the start beams in an attempt to win the 2nd annual ‘Shootout and walk away with … [Read more...]

Sema 2014: Big Crowds, Great Cars, and Good Friends

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While walking the aisles of Hot Rod Alley this year it seemed I couldn't get more than a few feet without running into someone I knew. I guess after 12 years of attending Sema plus my involvement with Lateral-G and car boards in general, I've met a lot of great people. This years show did not disappoint. Looked to be a good crowd and no shortage of great cars and products on … [Read more...]

USCA Optima Recap Day Two: Road Course

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I got to the track around 8:30, and they were getting ready to make the final runs for a handful of cars who did not complete the autocross on Saturday. But all eyes were on the road course today, for me this is my favorite event. After the tractor made its final pass with the large broom to remove the last of the debris on the track, they started letting cars out by group to … [Read more...]