Peter Koning in USA Peter is a long time hot rodder and supporter of Let's Go Cruisin. He's left his business, Hoppers Stoppers in the capable hands of his staff to travel the US for 12 months. Sure makes some interesting reading!

Follow Peter's Trip

Bakersfield

Hey , howdy to everyone back home and also couple of new friends in USA.
As previously discussed after Phoenix  I drove back to Pomona then out of LA and over the Grapevine to Bakersfield, a couple of hundred miles north. We in Melbourne don't appreciate what hills are until you do the Grapevine, maybe 50 miles of hill climbing up to about 5000 feet before a long decent down the other side. Not hard in a car with a V8 but real hard slug for trucks and RV's down to maybe 40 MPH on the steeper bits. Then out onto the flat plains around Bakersfield and Famosa . Reminds me very much of the Shepparton area , similar weather, great farming land all irrigated, lots of different nuts, fruits and grapes, oranges, they grow everything here, a real fruit bowl for California. The RV park I stayed at is in the middle of an orange orchard, with a few hundred Rv sites in amongst the orange trees. All nice new and clean, interesting to see about 200 retirees pull in late afternoon, set up for the night then all gone next morning. It seems nearly every grey hair couple gets a motorhome and goes south for the winter, a lot of Canadians here.
The standard formulae is either a motorhome flat towing a small car or a big dually pickup with a big centre pull caravan.

The Bakersfield Nostalgia Nats are essentially for 70 's style drag racers, dozens of older type front engined Nitro rails and Funny Cars, these are sometimes recreated to the design of the 70's but many the real thing. Also lots of sedans and hot rods racing, again they have to be 70's style and not allowed to run modern delay boxes or electronics to get to the indexes. Around 400 race cars entered, the pits would be 100 acres alone.
Quite a few oil downs, a few crashes too. The track and grandstands are quite old so its like going back 30 years.

Lots to see for everyone here, they run a small swap meet with lots of old race parts for sale, a car show everyday behind the grandstands with a couple of hundred rods and customs, plenty of rat rods in that lot. Plus of course a Manufacturers Midway with lots of new stuff, performance parts, tee shirts and memorabilia. A few old personalities there signing autographs etc,  Shirley Muldowney, (fighting cancer of late)  Linda Vaughn (Miss Hurst still going strong, all blonde hair and big boobs, she must be 70 by now), Roland Leong, the old Wild Willie Borsch AA Fuel altered there on show and did a smokey 1/4 mile run like the old days. (Willie has passed away but was well remembered for his wild 1/4 mile runs, like the time he crossed the finish line at 200MPH sideways with both front wheels and one rear wheel off the ground.)

I seem to be meeting a few old acquaintance's in my travels, back at Pomona NHRA Nats I was sat next to a couple Dave and his wife plus their big mate called "Hat". Seems he only answers to his nickname so I don't know his real name. Anyhow just as I was arriving at the gates there was Hat in his Toyota Tundra, so he made sure I would find them with their friend Pat up in the grandstands and out in the RV area near the track. Pat was filming and photographing most everything that was happening and was particularly interested in my travels, seems I'm doing what a lot of Americans dream of doing too. They all want to know what I've seen and where I've been, plus the challenges of driving the country in a 75 year old RHD car.
There are a few Aussies and Kiwis here, some racing and some watching, and a few are expatriates who saw the Chevy at the show. I was driving out to go home at the end of the Saturday night around 5.30 and this guy is waiting for me to drive out on the road through the pits, he pulls me over and introduces himself as Bill, don't ask me for surnames, I never remember them. Anyway Bill is an Ex Aussie who has spent 30 years in Vancouver Canada, (still has his accent) and he is there with a whole bunch of Canadians to help with a race car. He was over the moon to meet another Aussie actually here with his car, Had to take me back to meet all the crew, so I sent him and a friend out for a drive in the Chevy. And of course we spend hours talking about our respective homes, drinks and dinner in the pits well into the night. Bill has married a Canadian Girl and had been home travelling all over Australia around Xmas, so we had a lot to talk about, I reckon I made his day.

The Club scene is interesting here, in the show area a couple of "Rat Rod" type clubs, EVERY guy with tattoos and greased back 50's hair. all with a Betty Boop girlfriend, again all tattoos, red lipstick and big 50's hair and clothes. Some with matching kids. No cars allowed with shiny paint, all rough and usually unsafe, don't know how they get away with it. Gotta give it to one guy with a Ratty chopped 50 Mercury sedan though, he went past me at 80MPH going home on the freeway and I had to go 100MPH to get back in front of him, nice high speed cruise for about 10 miles back to Bakersfield, lucky no Cops around.

Anyhow, Sunday got really windy and I drove 1/2 way out to the track before rain set in, saw a lot of race cars coming back so they only got two days of racing, still better than none.
As usual photos follow. Next up a drive to San Fran, set up in Pleasanton at the Alameda grounds for Goodguys Show, Pat O'Connor and Dennis Bradley fly in on Wednesday. Should be fun.

Take Care
Peter