Slow Car Fast Coming to Monterey Historics!
Here's where to find us when the book on Millennial car culture comes to Car Week!
A weekly newsletter by Ryan K. ZumMallen | @zoomy575m
Happy Race Day, especially to Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who bought my book yesterday:
Just one week after our first live reading and book signing, here’s the second.
I will be at the hallowed Monterey Historics next weekend, Aug. 17-18, signing and selling copies of Slow Car Fast on the grounds of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. If you’re in town for the festivities, please swing by and say hello! We will have paperback copies for sale, and the times for signing are as follows:
Saturday: 10:00-11:00 a.m. and 2:30-3:15 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
This is an enormous honor. I’m thrilled to share space with a hall of fame list of other writers and racers. I’m also excited to bring Slow Car Fast to the premier event for historic sports car racing in the country, particularly with this year’s tribute to IMSA. Nothing could be more appropriate. I can’t wait and hope to see you there!
If you can’t make it to Car Week but would still like a paperback copy, email me at ryan@carrarabooks.com to reserve a copy when they are next available. Price is $19.99 plus shipping.
Looking for a discount? The eBook is available for preorder. Use the coupon code “RACEDAY” at checkout to bring the price to $11.99. It releases on August 19.
Culture
The fake editor of the fake car website Gas Dandy is the best car site satire in, maybe ever. If you’re an autojournalist you know at least three of these guys.
I just recently heard of “Larger Than Life,” the L.A. Times serialized podcast of street racer Willie Robinson. It follows the tale of the Brotherhood of Street Racers who ruled San Pedro in the 1970s and ‘80s. It’s nice to see so much attention paid to a story that shouldn’t be forgotten.
The Hoonigan Burnyard Bash offered a $5,000 prize to whoever came off the street and did the sickest burnout. The winning burnout was, indeed, sick. The vehicle that did it will surprise you.
Wekfest is the celebration of all things extreme. It did not disappoint. This year’s edition at the L.A. Convention Center featured no shortage of tuned cars. Bagged Benzes. Sweet wheels on this 996 Slantnose. Also, Veilside RX-7? Yes please.
Video Reel
I was not prepared for the insane cars, trucks and buses that emerged from their lairs for the Hot Wheels Legends stop in Arkansas.
A couple of college kids desecrated a BMW E30 M3, the car I called “The Patron Saint of Slow Car Fast” in the book. Turns out, the build is pretty kick-ass.
Manual transmissions have basically been phased out of race cars. Except in Australia, of course! Here’s a camera view showing the (very busy) feet of racer Cameron Waters dancing across the pedals.
Race Results
Take the most exciting race you can remember and throw it out the window. Rally Finland 2019 brought some of the most incredible footage I’ve ever seen:
Things were no less wild in WRC 2.
Formula One has put together a nice string of competition the last few races, and it continued with the Hungarian Grand Prix. Tight battles for the lead, risky strategy and all-out racing all on display. Here are the highlights:
If you’re pressed for time, here’s the condensed battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Max has been mixed up in all the drama this year — gotta love it.
In Formula 2, the Hungarian course again put on a great show. Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time world champ Michael Schumacher, took his first F2 victory. This video also includes the only champagne-bottle-related injury I’ve ever seen.
Mazda took its third straight win in IMSA, after years of failing to field a competitive team. They even had restrictions to give others a chance—and still won! This tweet from Mazda spokesman (and friend of Race Day) Efrain Olivares says it all:
This Weekend
Another busy weekend in car culture. Orange County Overland hosts its annual Truckflix & Chill school drive, and Super Street has a meet of modified cars at the LeMay car museum in Washington—including a live build of a custom RWB Porsche.
Across the pond, Radwood heads to the UK and Caffeine & Machine promises an extreme collection of ’80s and ‘90s cars as well.
What’s more, Car Week officially kicks off this Saturday with the Monterey Pre-Reunion at Laguna Seca, which sounds like an absolutely insane time.
And Finally…
One of the themes of current car culture is that nothing is sacred. Here’s a perfect example: this company takes classic cars and converts them to electric power. Really interesting video below, and the article is here. What’s your take?
Drive hard and be safe.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.