The Cal-look Lounge

I was lucky enough to be in the very first DRKC in Phoenix.  It was a great time!  I remember the DKP crew rolling in and I was shitting my pants.  I ended up racing DKP cars all day, figured why not go for the big dogs (I got beat up all day - even tried red lighting but still no good).  I made some great friends that day though.  DKP guys were very cool.  20 plus cars total in class!  I don't think DRKC ever came close to that number again.  Hopefully the Holes will put something out there for the lost boys.

Wayne Elam

red 67 up front is now mines!

Glad you still have it!  Have fun with it I know I did.  Damn I miss that car!

Those were the days! Real street cars!!

Wayne, I just noticed it was you who  posted first! I wasn't trying to rub it in!

It always suprises me how often this car shows up on the net or in print...

I am enjoying it, cruised it around a little today.

Anthony

Here's a photo of the first ( I believe) and the largest at Bug-O-Rama.  There are about 22 cars lined up on the drag strip for photos at the end of the day and at least one poser.  My car is in there somewhere way down near the end.

DRKC was a concept Jim Kaforski and I came up with together on the phone one day.
I called the club engineer Doug Mische and a half hour later he had a spread sheet that scored the cars.
The fields ET spread would dictate the car show point spread, it seemed to make sense.
So I pitched it to Rich Kimball and he got Steve and the Hole family to help and we had a fantastic time.

Racing Art at Sac was wild, his angel was in the right seat to survive that without serious harm.
Couple weeks later some guy stopped me at the Classic DQ meet and showed me a perfect video of the accident run, he offered to sell me the tape for $3,000. He wanted to meet Art so I introduced them and walked away.
shezzer trying to make big bucks off a guy after a huge loss?

Later at Vegas Pep's black oval welded the field by several tenths with an 11:40 but did not win overall?
At that point the bias of the car show points on the final results started to feel not quite right.
I wanted to see the fastest shiney car win.

Luke hi dude like your car, gonna make someone real happy!
PHX was the biggest field, it was great all the street cars and friends in the pits.
Racing Damon that day was good fun.
PHX line up, something close to 20 cars.

Viva, Mike Gagen.  Viva, Mike Gagen.  (sung to Viva Las Vegas by ZZ Top).  Nice to see you here.  Sure do miss our hanging out at Red Lobster, and goofing off down by the coast.  Tell everybody about our trip to Carlsbad, with Pep, Damon, KCR, The Nitrous Bandit, the Lauffers and others I can't remember.  My Flying Tomato shirts are worn out.  Got any in a box?

It would be nice to see a revival of this series with an emphasis more on street cars than race cars that look like street cars.

--louis

Easy: DOT-approved radials, pump gas, belt, muffler, all steel, 30-mile drive during which all cars have to fill up at a regular gas station. Now I'm getting out of here before it turns into Cal-Look.com all over again!

ROFL!


--louis

I suggested something like that on the CLF a while ago and damn near got my ass caned. The first DRKC was awesome!

Hi Mike, how are you going? Have not seen you for a while. Glad to see you here. I will be in town early January. Bernie

Nice photo....not sure but 2nd car down looks like the oval I now own...built by Bill Frost in Vegas,I know back then the Fuchs weren,t detailed and the 2276 I was told it had,shrunk to 2007 by the time I got it,am I right ?great foto anyway :)

Nah, the difference is here most if not all of us are adults.  I don't get the feel too much of the "My dick is bigger than yours" syndrome.  I'd like to see a "Real Street" DRKC type class too.

I agree. Most folks here can have an adult conversation without it degenerating into a flame fest. (At least I hope so.) Though I would have to quibble on the no fiberglass comment. Then you could not run those EMPI style decklids. Plus some of the nicer fiberglass panels out there weigh more than the crap metal stuff coming out of South America. The rest of it I could go with though maybe requiring a legal registration and tag to drive it on the street. (So it would have to pass MOT or equivalent I guess.) That would take care of issues like lights, wipers, etc. Anyway, bit of a non-issue on this board unless they plan to run something like it at EBII.

--louis

  Hi Mike, how are you going? Have not seen you for a while. Glad to see you here. I will be in town early January. Bernie
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Bernie good to hear from you, your new race car looks great, must have big POWER!
Sent you a pm please do call me for a pint is So Cal!

Luke and Donny you guys too, when you are in SD let's have cold one(s).

The rules were minimal, we joked during the first season about who would be first to plug in a Pro Stock motor?
I saw the  photo of the Gears car hanging the front wheels, it did look awesome.
Agree with KS, his rules would encourage guys to build dual purpose engines, good for the street and drags.
Maybe more could enter if you only needed one reliable street engine?
Maybe no slicks would be easier on transaxle parts too?

Show time in the pits, I was not a fan of having my car judged. :)
 

Bernie good to hear from you, your new race car looks great, must have big POWER!
Sent you a pm please do call me for a pint is So Cal!

Luke and Donny you guys too, when you are in SD let's have cold one(s).

The rules were minimal, we joked during the first season about who would be first to plug in a Pro Stock motor?
I saw the  photo of the Gears car hanging the front wheels, it did look awesome.
Agree with KS, his rules would encourage guys to build dual purpose engines, good for the street and drags.
Maybe more could enter if you only needed one reliable street engine?
Maybe no slicks would be easier on transaxle parts too?

Show time in the pits, I was not a fan of having my car judged. :)
 


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12 posts for someone not into VWs anymore. Your going to get sucked back in. Now that you have the Porsche for going really fast, don't you need a cruiser. Say a type 1 with some 48s and a throaty exhaust?  ;) :D

--louis

Yeah Mike remember the rides in Colorado?  Down the hill with me then the 100 mph run back to the Denver area?  You need a driver!

Just a kick, does anybody have more pics or info/specs on the cars?

This was one of the great FIRSTS that took place at some of the earlier Phoenix Events. I miss these days once in a while.

Rick M

Was looking through my pics....some of my favorites.

Some more...The ragtop on grey BRMs is my ATF...badass!

[attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3]

Couple more.....shitty pic quality

[attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3][attachment=4]

[attachment=1]

Your ATF was the car Buddy Hale built.

Man, those were the days. They may not have been running deep 11's or 10's, but they were true blue street cars. I remember everyone was excited about building a car for DRKC!

Perfect looking car !!!!  :o :-*

(http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3306.0;attach=52472;image)

I would love to see this class once again but with some of the rules listed above. As far as the use of fiberglass parts, maybe just put a minimum weight limit on the cars.  In the beginning of this class the cars were IMO true street cars.  Even though my car is no where near as nice as the DRKC cars, these cars inspired me to finish my car and drive it.  If ever this class, or one like it appears again, someone build and race a LATE MODEL!  Ha-Ha ;D

I have the first VCR tape of VW speed scene. It's a great video! It has a whole part of the video just on the DRKC class. Frenchy describes the DRKC class, shows and discusses his car etc. Also Alan Weiss talks about his car as he was running in this class at that time.  It's incredible to see and hear all of these cars run and race.

I don't know how I stumbled across this topic, but I did. There were a lot of good times during our involvement from 2000 through 2003. There were also some sour times

It's kinda funny reading back through some of the comments on this subject, since we involved almost from the very beginning. In response to Jeff68's comment that in the beginning the cars were true street cars is not accurate. As Mike G said, it was his and Jim Kaforski, and Doug Mische's brainchild, and at the very first races, Mike and Art came packing over 12-1 compression and running on race gas gas. As such, the die was cast and the rest of us were merely playing catch-up.

Being from Central California, and considered an outsider from the So Cal "street car" scene, we faired pretty well the first few times, placing third or fourth against the DKP boys. We quickly figured out how to win without being the fastest, playing within the rules set forth by the Founding Fathers.

You can't imagine how much it stung when upon winning Vegas in 2001, the founders criticized our win because we weren't the fastest. Water under the bridge.

We went on to win 12 events and were the season champs twice, in 2002 and in 2003, competing against the best in the heyday of the class. Interestingly, our 2002 championship year was run on BFG drag radial tires, until the Vegas event that year, when it became obvious we were fighting a losing battle trying to compete at such a disadvantage.

Some of the things that to this day leave a sour taste was the constant criticism from those on the outside as to what they thought the class should be. Also that our accomplishments as the winningest team to ever compete in DRKC have gone largely ignored, mostly because of our outsider status, not being from Southern California.

All things considered, it was a fun time, and we met many of our current day friends through DRKC. Allen & Sue Wiess, Scott and Betty Bakken, Troy and John Palmer...all of us still active in various race categories.
(http://home.comcast.net/~mlawless29/BOR51.jpg)

Not all, but many were. Those were good times, even for a spectator like myself.

It sucks the class went away, but I've often thought people have unfairly put the blame on Shawn Geers and his beautiful example of the extreme end of what the DRKC could be. The reality is, unless a class is set up with hard-lined rules outlining elements that demand streetability the envelope will always be pushed... especially where heads up racing is concerned.  I think the participation will always ebb and flo irregardless of the rules, at least from my observation. 

But let's face it, VW racing is not exactly a sport with much potential for radical growth, overall, for lots of racing.  This isn't a pessimistic view, but just my honest opinion.  I feel like the golden era has passed, but the sport will always be preserved simply out of the love of the car itself. 

When we first got involved, our car WAS streetable. 10-1 compression, running mid 13s. But, like everyone, we wanted to do as well as we possibly could, so we upped our game to the level that the top players were at. I'd say that first year, you are correct in that a lot of the cars were streetable. Allen's, Scott's, Troy's, Jiimy's and Larry Mck's among others were street cars. That soon changed. Some stayed streetable, and tried to do as well as they could, eventually becoming discouraged. After the first couple of years, it got to the point to where there was one, maybe two dominant cars.

I always thought it could be revived with a good set of rules. The CLC goes a long way but still allows barely streetable combos in. DOT tires and a 30 mile cruise  would go a long way toward making it so a larger cross section of cars could be competitive.

The major complaint that was most often heard was that a person didn't stand a chance at winning or even placing, so why bother. Unfortunately, strict rules also keeps some away. When rules discussions come about, most want rules that favor their own particular combo. Strict rules also puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the class organizers who need to enforce them. No easy answers for sure.

DRKC was doomed long before Shawn built his "bench mark" car.  

Basically, you had race cars, and show cars, and some nice street cars that all competed in the early days.  I define the early days as when the 21 cars showed up for Phoenix BOR.  The thing Mike quickly figured out was it was the best "combined car" that would come out as the winner.  There might have been a nicer show car, or a quicker race car, but The Lawless's car was always at or near the top in points in BOTH show and go and therefore scored the most points.

I don't look at DRKC as a bad thing.  It got a lot of people off their butts and building cars.  We had a lot of fun, and made a lot of friends.  If you look at the names today in P/M, S/C, S/G, P/E, many started, or like The Palmer's did "re-started" because of DRKC.

I don't think it's the promoter's that built the class, it was the grass roots interest of a group of guys with a like interest.    

The rules can remain simple. Supplied pump fuel for all racers.

Discuss :)

Zach!
That'd work right up until the first guy pulled in with 1 quart reservoirs mounted as fuel bowl extensions.
 ;)

I can relate a bit ... I found myself with a soured mood when people started changing out their street tires for slicks at the Unlimited Street South race.
My view was it should be street legal and remain that way until someone wins the last race.
It's fine though, I ran a clean race and that's all that mattered to me.
Would've liked having a chance to someday run with the DRKC though.
Over n Out
TxT

Just a little update on Bill Frost's oval second in line in the photo at Phoenix.... still doing the renn kaafer job in the U.K. gone through a lot of changes,fresh 2276,pro comp box,saw axles,new interior,now running mid 13's(would be a lot quicker without the pussy launches,but I can't afford to break it :o driven on the street all the time,I love this car,couple pics for whoever might remember it.

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/015-3.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/055-1.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/011-1.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/013-1.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/008-1.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/021-1.jpg)

(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/toooldforthis/025-2.jpg)

 

car looks great.  8)
way back...at PHX Frost's car was a stunning surprise to me, it looked NEW.
Damon won, he drove his equally detailed car harder, at that time everyone was gunning for Damon.  ;)
PHX pit area, Flying Tomato surrounded by 20 something race/show bugs.  8)
I like to race more than detail, so I had better be fast.  ;D
PHX shots by ?...  8)
at least no one was eliminated.  ;)

Another DRKC FIRST in the photo of Mike and Troy racing at Phoenix, is that these two cars had the first two DRKC "Bolt-in" roll bars built at RLR.

Troy's was the first , built, but in mild steel, and Mike "upgraded" his to chrome moly.  Ron built Troy's exactly like my sample, but tweaked (improved) the original bar shape to make it easier to bend the hoop with less angles.  It seems like I see this bar design in every serious street bug in So. Cal now. 

Maybe in the new year a cross between the DRKC and the CLC will emerge. Great idea, the morph from the original intentions and what it became led to it's end.  I would love to see a class similar thrive in 2012.

I really like the seats, door panels on the greenheart oval car. breather reservoir cool too. Green heart cars are cool...bill

-86mm limit-crank size
-94mm limit-cylinder bore
-normal aspiration only
-no turbos
-no fuel injection
-no nos
-48mm limit-carb bore:single barrel per cylinder
-44mm limit-carb venturi per barrel

-stock case stud pattern
-44mm intake valve limit

-30 mile cruise-up/back
-no slicks-race or dot
-treaded conventional street tires only
-pump gas purchased on cruise day-tank sealed
-front/rear bumpers-full-as factory installed
-front license plate
-current state registration and proof of insurance for current year

-3 ET brackets: 12.00-12.99/13.00-13.99/14.00-up
-1 overall top eliminator

-steel fenders
-steel hood/decklid
-bumpers optional-race day only
-passenger seat optional-race day only
-stinger optional-race day only
-fan belt optional-race day only

real vintage street racing 1969
pick your street track: Nabiscos or Kimberly-Clark

appreciate that,both for the car....and the club :)

exactly. Zach, you hit it on the head

No Rules, No Judges, it's too hard to find somebody that wants to run it!  Street tires would save the transmissions. 

Just run a "dial-In" elimination, and then a "Spectator vote", and call the "top points" car for the day the Top Eliminator Winner!

Seems to me that if there really was any interest in this type of class then there would be 10 to 15 cars still running the BOR class now, but I don't see it.

Both good points, John. Peoples choice judging during set period of time on race day morning.  Bracket racing/dial in time like the days of old at old Irwindale, Lions, Ontario, and OCIR.

agree ;D

   Simplicity = More fun = More participation .....

Perfect! ~ I said it then.

DRKC ain't shit without super squishy pistons......stir'n the pot.   :o

thats funny...another class that would be cool to see again

havent been on for several days. Played with a set of simple rules that reflects just my opinion of what the class would look like for us old timer enthusiasts. The bottom line is to keep it simple. For those of us who remember, it will bring great memories of saturday night street racing behind kimberly-clark and cruising whittier blvd. will post next week.
happy new year

DRKC my favorite racing series was so great ...but off

Mike,

I remember those days! Love your Ghia. In fact, I went to Eric Vaughn on your recommendation to have my late FUCHS narrowed from 6" to 4 1/2" for my chop top street car.  I enjoyed the simplicity of the class and all that participated in the first one we held at Phoenix. Miss seeing everyone for so long!  The good thing is I got my Diabetes under control and take no insulin anymore...after 10 years.

Rick Mortensen

I loved the DRKC.  It and DKP inspired MANY cars to be built, and kept hot rodded VW enthusiasm alive.   ;D

DRKC was a great concept but unfortunately, when you get egos on the line... things get competitive.

The cars became something that was too much race car to drive everyday and too much show car to be drag raced.

It would be neat to see something similar but more limited so the cars would be more all-around street cars.

I know DRKC participants that either quit because they didn't want to make their car into a race car or because they took their car to that next level, no longer could enjoy them and wound up selling them.

First DRKC was at LA County Race Way in 1999!

since i live in las vegas and was showing up on race day how would you enforce the 30 mile cruise rule ? just asking  :)

Thanks for sharing the good old times. There was at the time a official rulebook ?

quite simple. you do the cruise from the dragstrip back to the dragstrip with the whole group. some unanounced checkpoints will make shure nobody cheats.

I dunno if I was at the first one or not but I know I was at an early one at LACR. I drove out with Bill Schwimmer & Mark Herbert. Bill ran DRKC and had a trans failure. I can't remember... maybe R&P or a gear.
I remember your Dad being there as I had not seen him in a few years. I knew him from the OC Mustang Club. He had towed your car out behind a Suzuki Grand Viagra (Vitara)  ;D
I don't think you were there but I'm not positive.

see this is where you start to have have problems and just playing devils advocate lol what if i am only able to travel on day of race? if your gonna try and make it open but have rules then why couldnt my car just pass a tech inspection?

Here you guys go --- something for you to do on Oct 20th

http://ultimateaircooled.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php/topic,14438.0.html

Fastest cars don't always win!!!

stupid site wwoulddnt let me use my first choice for a user name then when i chose a second screen name kicked me off cause im a bot spammer lameeeeeee

http://www.cal-look.com/forum/vw-drag-racing/unliimited-street-west-vegas!-october-20th/msg358219/?topicseen#msg358219

thank you sir ! i live in henderson nevada my car is close but might not make it keep on trying though just ironing out jetting issues