This was my first racecar. It was a 1976 VW Rabbit that I raced in
Improved Touring B (ITB). I shared the car with Donald Barber.
Several years later Don sold the car to Andy Banta who is still racing it.
OK, Andy has changed the body, engine, suspension and drivers seat, but
since it's the same rollcage, the SCCA considers it the same car.
This is Foocar. It was a 1968 Ford Cortina GT. It was bought new
by the parents of my friend Matt Harper, who's nickname is Mr. Foo
(for reasons too complicated to explain here). When the car had
225,000 miles on it Matt got a new, reliable car and eventually
gave the Cortina to me. Since Formula Fords run Cortina motors,
I wanted to eventually race a FF, I had the Cortina sitting around,
and I wasn't entirely happy sharing a race car, it seemed logical
to me to turn it into a racecar. The first two pictures are
during it's first race, the 1989 Illgen Enduro. It's first race
was supposed to be a few weeks earlier, but a few days before the
race something came up, namely the ground. I had just barely
enough time to get the car ready for the race, but the Loma Prieta
Earthquake closed roads, and more importantly all of the local
parts stores.
This is a picture of Foocar after it was repainted. I had
demonstrated that while it is possible to perform aerobatic
maneuevers in a 20 year old car, the bodywork comes out of the
process somewhat the worse for wear. The stripe on the side is
the same shape as the stripe on the side of Lotus Cortinas.
However, rather than painting it green I painted it "Fizzball Pink",
the team color of Fizzball Racing.
After the Cortina met it's demise I ended up trading it and
some money for a G Production Spitfire. Not having the financial
resources to field such a car, I ended up sharing it with
Marek Sawczuk. This picture was taken the first time that I
drove the car. The National Auto Sport Association had a track
day at Altamont Raceway and had set up a chicane on the back
straight. In this picture, I am failing to negotiate the chicane.
This picture was taken during the 1995 Illgen Enduro. The Orange
Rabbit in the background is Andy Banta's car.
This is the car that a friend of mine bought from "A little old lady
who only drove it on weekends". Before Ixanian Nichols bought
it from Jeff Zurschmeide's parents, I had the chance to drive it
in a race at Sears Point. I was driving in the same class (ITB) as my
friend, and fellow Team Fizzball driver, Sam Sjogren in the red MGB.
My friend Jeff Zurschmeide briefly owned this Formula Vee. Since
it is tough to test out a formula car on public roads without upsetting
the local constbulary, and since Jeff didn't yet have a racing license,
I kindly offered to drive the car in a race for him to shake out any
bugs.
This Rx7 belongs to my high school friend Charlie Gullings. I co-drove
the car in a 3-hour day/night enduro, which was the first time that I
ever raced at night.
Last Updated 1/10/98