Finally! After two stifling pandemic years, we finally had what seemed like a coming out party in the Arizona Auction Week 2022. Venues were packed, people were smiling, records were set.
Arizona Auction Week 2022
Reply
Category Archives: Car Shows
SoCal Speed!
Spring brings racing to Southern California, and several of the season’s best events happen over the next couple of weekends.
First of all, this weekend we have the Porsche Club of America (PCA) 13th Annual California Festival of Speed at Auto Club Speedway. The Festival of Speed is the largest Porsche event in the Southwest, and it really does have something for everyone: Cup Races, Time Trials, Autocross, Concours, Vendors, & a Swap Meet. More info including schedule and map on the calendar here: California Festival of Speed.
Next weekend the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship (TUSC) and IndyCar come to SoCal for the 40th Grand Prix of Long Beach – a massive weekend celebration of SoCal speed. Long Beach is really a can’t miss event for motorsports fans. Check out what SoCal’s Bill Auberlen of BMW Team RLL has to say about the party that is Long Beach here on the TUSC site. Information, tickets, schedule, map, fan guide and much more can be found here: Grand Prix of Long Beach.
So far, aside from some really horrible officiating calls that have directly effected the race results, the unification of ALMS and Grand-Am under the TUSC banner has worked out quite well. In particular, the series seems to have gotten the balance of power between the former ALMS LMP2 cars and the former Grand-Am DP cars just about right. No surprise, the racing the in the GT classes has been particularly exciting and competitive.
IndyCar welcomes fan favorite Juan Pablo Montoya back to open wheel racing with Team Penske with teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves. The competition between the Penske guys, Team Ganassi (Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe, & Charlie Kimball), and Andretti Autosport (Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, and Carlos Munoz) should be particularly close this year. Sadly, we’ll be missing the 2009 Grand Prix of Long Beach winner, Dario Franchitti, who retired in the offseason due to injuries sustained in the Houston race last year.
Also next weekend, the Porsche Owners Cup will be running a Cup Race and Time Attack weekend at Willow Springs.
Coronado Speed Festival 2013
Once again I was reminded why this is one of my favorite SoCal motorsports events: the Coronado Speed Festival 2013 featured fabulous weather (no surprise), friendly & fun paddock, cool car show, good food court & beer garden, and of course the racing. Hats off to the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) for another super weekend!
This year’s Coronado Speed Festival celebrated 50 years of the Porsche 911, with Tony Adamowicz, winner of the 1968 Trans-Am Championship in a 911, serving as Honorary Grand Marshall. Other notable features of the ‘Race at the Base’ included honoring the 40th Anniversary of the release of Vietnam POWs, tours of the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), and an autograph signing event with Scott Pruett.
Coronado Speed Festival – Car Show & Corral
Classic, awesome, or just plain odd, in the area behind the main grandstands you see all sorts of interesting cars in the Car Show and Corral area.
Parked next to the Ferrari Club area was this perfect example of a F360 Challenge Stradale:
As usual, there were lots of Shelby Cobras around:
An excellent example of a low mileage 1976 BMW 2002:
A rare bird indeed:
Coronado Speed Festival 2013 – The Races
From the Group 4 Race – 1962 to 1972 Sports Racing and Formula Cars Under 2000 cc:
1967 Porsche 910
1966 Elva Mk8
From the Group 6 Race – 1962 to 1966 Production Cars Over 2500 cc:
1964 Cobra
1968 Chevrolet Camaro
From Group 7 Race – 1965 to 1988 FIA Manufacturer Championship Cars:
1973 Porsche 911 RSR
1972 Porsche 911 RSR
1968 McLaren M6B
Many more pics here: Coronado Speed Festival 2013
California Festival of Speed
California Festival of Speed
The 12th Annual California Festival of Speed, the largest Porsche event in the Southwest, comes to Auto Club Speedway April 5th thru 7th. With participation from Porsche Club of America (PCA), who is also the event host, the Porsche Owners Club (POC), and Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA West, this Festival of Speed promises to be one of the biggest and most exciting in recent years.
In addition to the PCA Cup Race and Time Trial, this year’s California Festival of Speed will also include POC Cup Racers and Time Trialers, a PCA Enduro, a PCA Zone 8 Concours, a Taste of Autocross, a celebration of 50 years of the 911, a Porsche Corral, swap meet, and of course, a Vendor Row.
On Friday, the California Festival of Speed features practice session for all groups, track tours, and a Pirelli GT3 Cup Race. Saturday’s schedule includes more practice and qualifying, PCA/POC Sprint Races, another Pirelli GT3 Cup Race, and a 60 minute Enduro to close out the day. Sunday brings three more sprint races, Pirelli GT3 Cup Race, and a Time Trial to close the weekend.
Check the calendar for detailed information, the event schedule for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and a free parking coupon.
Here is the track map for the Auto Club Speedway configuration used for the California Festival of Speed.
A handy web page for Schedule, Track Map, Time Trial entrants by PCA Class, & Results
Coronado Speed Festival
Not having attended in a coupe of years, I forgot how much I enjoy the Coronado Speed Festival. For people in the San Diego area, it’s easy to reach, parking and getting in is a breeze, and there is a lot to see and do in a fairly compact area. I really like that the grandstand, car show, paddock, vendor row, and food & drink areas are so close together. And of course, the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) puts on a great show. Some really interesting cars showed up at this year’s festivities. With the passing of the great Carroll Shelby, there were many Cobras and GT 350s in attendance.
Car Show & Paddock
Lamborghini Espada
1971 AMC Javelin Trans-Am
Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Group 5 Race
Group 5 includes 1959 to 1966 Production Cars equipped with disc brakes. This is a large and diverse class ranging from a 1540cc Lotus S7 to a 5770cc Chevrolet Corvette. The race pictures are taken looking back into the last turn onto the front straight & start/finish.
1969 BMW 2002 & 1971 Alfa Romeo GTV
1958 Corvette, 1971 Alfa Romea GTV, & 1967 Porsche 912
Coronado Speed Festival Group 6 Race
Group 6 includes 1962 to 1966 Production Cars over 2500cc. This race had quite a few Shelby GT 350s as well as unusual cars such as the ISO Rivolta and a very fast Ginetta G4.
1965 Ford Mustang (#151) battles with 1966 Shelby GT 350 (#6)
1964 Cobra
1966 Shelby GT 350
Group 7 Race
Group 7 includes 1965 to 1988 FIA Manufacturer Championship Cars such as Ferraris, Lolas, and Porsches.
A couple of Porsche RSRs battle
1972 Ferrari 312PSPL
Coronado Speed Festival Group 8 Race
Group 8 is historic NASCAR.
Group 8 Race – Historic NASCAR
Historic NASCAR – 2004 Ford Taurus
Many more pics here.
Coronado Speed Festival – Fleet Week San Diego
Coronado Speed Festival
Fleet Week San Diego brings the 15th Annual Coronado Speed Festival and 250 historic race cars to a 1.7 mile course on Naval Air Station North Island this weekend. In addition to benefitting a great cause, the Coronado Speed Festival, sanctioned by the Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA), is a well run, very fan-friendly, genuine racing event – the only one in San Diego since IMSA left Del Mar after 1992.
Carroll Shelby Tribute
At this year’s Coronado Speed Festival, HMSA, the same organization that sanctions the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, celebrates the great cars of Carroll Shelby. Expect to see quite a few Cobras and Shelby GT350s out there.
Mazda MX-5 Cup
For the first time, the Mazda MX-5 Cup sponsored by Playboy will be part of the Coronado Speed Festival Weekend. The MX-5 Cup is the entry level of production car based competition in SCCA Pro Racing. The series runs on the premier road courses of North America, and many of their events are part of ALMS weekends.
Test Drives
BMW, VW, Mazda, and Chevrolet will be offering test drives on road courses laid out in areas adjacent to the race track and paddock.
Open, Friendly Paddock
The Coronado Speed Festival is know for an open and friendly paddock area where fans can get up close to some great cars and the competitors racing them. More cars can be found at a car show benefitting the Navy’s Morale Welfare & Recreation fund. Visitors will also find a vendor village, good food and drink, and a military static display. This year, Fleet Week San Diego is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Navy SEALS in San Diego.
More information, including directions, maps, schedules, and ticket information can be found in the calendar and the following links:
Coronado Speed Festival, Saturday, September 22
Coronado Speed Festival, Sunday, September 23
Monterey Motorsports Reunion
This week begins the annual pilgrimage of motorsports fans to the Monterey Peninsula for the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The week’s festivities have grown and grown over the years, and now there are multiple fabulous events on each day – from marque specific shows to auctions – really intensifying beginning with the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance on Wednesday the 16th and building throughout the rest of the week and weekend. What started as historic car races at Laguna Seca now includes marque specific events, car club gatherings, multiple auctions at various venues and times, and food, drink, & aircraft events. Although you easily could, you don’t need to spend a mint to have a great time. Just walking around Monterey and Carmel at the right times will treat you to some very cool sights and sounds.
Here are a few shots from the 2011 Monterey Motorsports Reunion week:
Monterey Motorsports Reunion Races At Laguna Seca
See the full gallery here.
Weekend Speed Scene – HSR West & Barrett-Jackson OC
Lots of cool action in SoCal this weekend! Two of the best are Barrett-Jackson coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds and HSR West races at Auto Club Speedway.
Weather for both events should be great. Stories and pix to follow…
Irvine Cars & Coffee
Gallery
This gallery contains 9 photos.
Cars & Coffee at Irvine A few more Shelby Cobras and Mustangs along several other interesting cars from Cars & Coffee at Irvine this past weekend…
Bimmerfest 2012 at the Rose Bowl!
The biggest West Coast gathering of Ultimate Driving Machines is tomorrow at Bimmerfest 2012 at the Rose Bowl. Bimmerfest, sponsored by HorsepowerFreaks, is a must attend event for BMW fans, and this 13th Annual celebration of the BMW community promises to be among the best yet.
Details posted in the calendar.