Coronado Speed Festival Part 2: Race Cars in the Paddocks

The Camaro and Ford Fairlane are just a few of the cars which participated in the historic Trans-Am series race.

In part 1 of our coverage of the Coronado Speed Festival, we showed you some of the many different cars which showed up for the car show on Saturday. 

You can view part 1 here:  Coronado Speed Festival Part 1

For part 2 of our coverage, we will show you the various race cars we saw as we browsed the paddocks.
Walking down the each isle of the paddocks at the Coronado Speed Festival is like taking a time warp.  Carburetors are the dominant method of fuel delivery, drum brakes are abundant, and conversations of setting the points or changing jets are the norm.  It's easy to get lost in the nostalgia.  Unlike the paddocks of a professional racing series, you won't see a large team of technicians and mechanics working on a vehicle.  Many of the drivers are the mechanics, and often you can catch them lying on their backs servicing a car on jack stands in between their group's track sessions.  The whirring of ratchets adds to the soundtrack of roaring engines and squealing tires.  The scent of race gas and burnt rubber wafts from the track to the paddocks, and on occasion hints of coolant or oil enter the mix too.  Enthusiastic fans and some children squeal with delight as they are allowed the rare opportunity to sit in the driver's seat to pose for pictures.  The only section where the trip down memory lane ends, is the Mazda MX-5 Cup area.  These cars are the very few contemporary machines which compete at the Coronado Speed Festival.

It's easy to say that an avid car enthusiast could spend the better of a day looking at race car up close and speaking with the owners! 

Here are the photos of some of the vehicles which competed.

We've posted this photo of the 1917 Chevrolet Speedster before, but it was one of the most popular cars on track.

Many former NASCAR vehicles get a second chance at racing.  Fans of the series got a real treat this year with cars from the 1960s all the way to 2000s were racing together.

This Datsun 710 was a rare sight as the platform wasn't as popular as the 510 or Z cars. 

Comedian Adam Carolla drove this SR311 Datsun Roadster.  Carolla has also driven a Datsun 610 at Coronado.

Alfa Romeos were a main staple during the small bore 2.5 Trans-Am racing series.

This 240SX doesn't look much like the street car it's based from.  The power plant is a VG30.

Datsun Z cars are synonymous with the words track and racing.

Porsches are a common sight on the track at vintage events. 

Inline 3 cylinder!

AMC may not be around anymore, but their Javelin was quite competitive in the Trans-Am series.

It's hard to miss this lime green Dodge Challenger on the track. 

This Ford Torino Talladega was the oldest NASCAR competing at Coronado.  It was also Ford's response to improve the aerodynamics of the car to battle with Dodge's Charger. 

BMW's 2002 was the main rivals for Alfa Romeo GTVs and Datsun 510s. 

This Nissan Bluebird Coupe is the Japan only version of a 2 door 510.

The lucky owner even has the dashboard signed by Yukata Katayama, or Mr. K, former president of Nissan North America and father of the Z car here in the States.

The Playboy/Mazda MX-5 Cup race was very intense with the winner of the race taking the lead on the very last lap.

Although many people are familiar with the DeLorean's gull wing doors, the Mercedes 300SL had them back in the 1950s!

This concludes part 2 of our coverage.  We'll wrap things up shortly with a look at the 2nd day of the car show.  Happy motoring and keep on driving!

Part 3 can be viewed here!  Coronado Speed Festival Part 3