Mustang Does Grass Valley

2011-06-29 07:26:47

The Fast Guys Rich Guys and Idiots Mustang had a wonderful weekend at Oregon Raceway Park in Grass Valley. We spent too much time in the pits to have a high finishing position, but in the 15-hour Lemons endurance race, Ronnie Swyers set the second-fastest lap. The twisty and technical track rewards handling over horsepower, so our V8 Mustang had no advantage over the smaller cars, but our BF Goodrich T/A Radial tires made up for that.

Ronnie, Ben Ochs, Charlie Burrows and I all drove well. I blew out some cobwebs before the big Portland Historics coming up on July 10, which I'll be running in the Skoal Bandit Oldsmobile and will post here on www.bandit44.com. When the Mustang wasn't starving for fuel on account of an old gas tank (next race: new fuel cell), it ran strong, thanks to hard work by Ronnie and Ben.

ORP is a special place with spectacular scenery, sunrise and sunset over rolling wheat fields with snow-capped mountains miles beyond. Got these quick snapshots one morning at sunrise, that give a feel for the place.

Sam Moses

Previous Blogs:

Our Private Test Track

2011-05-30 20:06:00

Since our last race, in which we finished 2nd out of 54 entries, Ronnie Swyers and Ben Ochs have been working hard to make the Fast Guys Rich Guys and Idiots Mustang even better. We've installed bigger brakes, rebuilt the...

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Ronnie's Just Too Good

2011-05-13 07:45:22

Teaming with Ronnie Swyers is about the best move I've ever made in racing. He knows how to race, and knows how to work. He began racing in high school, doing it all himself. He was a showroom stock champion in his Camaro, has managed a...

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Gettin' Ready to Rub

2011-05-11 08:55:31

Team Fast Guys Rich Guys and Idiots We had a tweaked front end to fix, after the Portland race. Somebody got in my way, going into Turn 7 that leads onto the backstraight. Our Mustang 302 did not like to be held up, at the entrance to the...

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Craigslist ChumpCar Mustang

2011-05-05 14:38:55

Team Fast Guys Rich Guys and Idiots Birth of a Racecar It was a fast round trip to Battleground, on a dark Saturday evening, carrying hundred-dollar bills to my friend and partner Ronnie Swyers the fast...

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Shootout at the Mazda Grand Prix

2008-08-05 08:17:01

Author Sam Moses, whose memoir Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots was recently named one of the five best books ever written about motorsports by the Wall Street Journal Book...

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Playboy MX-5 Cup Photo Gallery

2008-07-31 19:05:32

(L) Eric Foss, Team MER driving coach, started 10th, finished 3rd, and leads the series. (R) The three MER shoes, signing autographs and looking cool in shades: Rob Huffmaster, Eric Foss and Ryan Schimsk. ...

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Fact 1, Fiction 0

2008-07-28 18:45:17

I’ll be doing a couple more blogs from the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland, including a photo gallery as soon as I get the pics, but I should get this blog out of the way first. The Dueling Authors thing, with Garth Stein. I won....

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Pre-race thoughts, Playboy MX-5 Cup

2008-07-27 06:57:28

I’m writing this at 6 a.m. on the Sunday morning of the race, I think in order to clear my mind. In the grand scheme of things, whatever happens today will be insignificant. People will be entertained for a...

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Day One: The Crash

2008-07-24 09:20:49

Thursday, July 24. Mazda Grand Prix of Portland. Playboy MX-5 Cup. MAZDASPEED Motorsports ride, with Team MER out of Fort Worth, Texas, the MX-5 Cup...

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Fast Guys, Rich Guys, and Idiots: The Underdog

2008-07-17 04:21:34

If you haven't read the previous blog, here's the setup: Garth Stein, author of the bestselling "The Art of Racing in the Rain," is shooting off his fertile imagination, saying he'll blow me into the weeds at the upcoming race on...

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