WE LOVE RACING! On October 14-16 we attended the Velocity Invitational at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting several client’s Datsuns in Group 5 (IMSA GT) and Group 8 (Under 2-liter Trans-Am, B-Sedan). This vintage racing event was just as fun for spectators with a friendly, immersive vibe and guest appearances from racing legends Pete Brock and John Morton. Enjoy our report from the weekend with photos and in-car video of the action.

 

Celebrating the Trans Am 2.5 Challenge

Below, our friend and fellow racer Glenn Chiou describes the significance of having a dedicated race group for Trans Am sedans at the event. Enjoy the walk-through video!

The 2022 Velocity Invitational was the first time since the 2010 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, over twelve long years, where historic B-sedans had the opportunity to compete in a large spectator event to celebrate the Two Five Challenge. 2022 marks the 50 year anniversary of the end of the Two Five Challenge, and coincidentally, one of the final races was held at Laguna Seca Raceway where John Morton took the top podium spot. What better way to celebrate the 50 year anniversary than with many of the original cars on the track?

 

Velocity Invitational, in partnership with Historic B and C Sedan, formed the event’s dedicated run group of cars, a majority of which had in-period racing history. Historic B & C Sedan was formed by Dave Stone and Glenn Chiou in 2018 with the purpose of partnering with renowned US-based vintage racing organizations to field a racing exhibition of historic small bore sedans. While many events across the country celebrate B sedan, gathering an entire group of the actual sedans that raced in-period is very uncommon. Historic B & C Sedan hopes to change that!

The “Celebration of the Two Five Challenge” display was organized by Historic B & C Sedan and Velocity Invitational. Special thank you to Rob Fuller, Jonathan Buhler, Dan Passe, and Bill Ockerlund for helping arrange for the two most iconic cars to be present: the ex Morton #46 BRE Datsun 510 and ex Kwech #3 Wetson’s Alfa! Outside of having these two historically significant race cars at the track, many of the original Two Five Challenge cars that raced in period were reunited: Ed Matsuishi’s ex-Maas #96 Porsche 911, Rial Barnett’s ex-Kline #34 BMW 2002, Tim Brecht’s ex- Fredricks #35 BMW 2002, Glenn Chiou’s ex Finn/Harris #33 Datsun 510. The cherry on top was having original drivers like John Morton, Jon Norman and Corky Bell present to witness this spectacular weekend!

 

Above all else, to be on track with these legendary cars and drivers was truly a sensational and life changing experience. The wonderful part of vintage racing is not the racing, it’s spending time with these racing legends, family and friends, sharing the passion and making more history!

Thanks Glenn! Enjoy this video we made highlighting the 2.5 Challenge display and paddock action from the Velocity Invitational:

 

The BRE Datsun 510 at Z Car Garage

 

The Datsun 510 is very close to our heart and we prepared the actual Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) Datsun 510 #46 race car at Z Car Garage for the VI event. Despite being  against all odds, our hero John Morton drove this 510 to SCCA Trans-Am series championship victories in 1971 and 1972, putting Nissan on the map and fueling every Datsun enthusiast’s passion for hot-rodding the humble economy car. Rob Fuller comments on this remarkable occasion:

“It was super cool to display these impactful Japanese vintage race cars at the VI event. Huge shoutout to Dave Stone and Glenn Chiou for organizing the Trans Am group. We spoke to our friends at Nissan to bring the most important (to me) car in racing, the  1971 #46 BRE Datsun 510. Nissan allowed us to prep the car and dyno it. It was just unreal to watch that tachometer go up to 7500 rpm and imagine that I was following John Morton in those races decades ago. I took it a step further and called John Morton asking for him and Sylvia to join us at the event. The BRE 510 is my hero car. This is the car everyone wanted their 510 to be like when they were young. Thanks to Jeff O’Neill, Ryan Turri and Ardelle Lind for accommodating our guest’s needs. The Velocity event was a homerun, we loved it.

 

The 2023 Nissan Z

The new Nissan Z was still at Z Car Garage for the CSRG event(report coming) and once again Nissan allowed us to display it at the Velocity event. We had the Z staged in a great spot and it event made in appearance in the Group 8 starting grid next to the BRE 510. It was so cool to see photos of the new z re-posted on social media. Enthusiasts are excited for this next generation sports car.

 

Z Car Garage Racers

Z Car Garage provided trackside support for several client cars. We were excited to be running in Group 5 (1972 – 1977 IMSA GT Cars) and Group 8 (1966 – 1979 Under 2-liter Trans-Am, SCCA B-Sedan, C-Sedan cars). As mentioned above, Historic B and C Sedan arranged for a spectacular field of cars including notable Datsun 510s. Let’s take a look at our clients and hear about their racing experience from the Velocity event…

 

#66 Gordon McCall

Gordon joined Z Car Garage for the first time at the Velocity Invitational with his vintage Datsun 510. He is the co-founder of The Quail- A Motorsports Gathering and “McCall’s Motorworks Revival” at the Monterey Jet Center, the “Kick-Off” party (which we attended) for the iconic August automotive week in Monterey, California. This 1972 Datsun 510 was first ordered from the Nissan Motor Corporation by Garrison Datsun of Florida and subsequently converted into a race car, and it was sponsored by the dealer and raced in SCCA competition through 1977. After 20 years it was returned to its original livery.

“After spending a few months getting my old race car back to its original livery, and prepping it for the Velocity Invitational, I was hoping to get a little shake-down time leading up to it. Sadly, time ran out…….and my sorting out time turned out to be on track at the event. What were my initial apprehensions in doing so, were soon calmed, as Nick, Josh and Rob could not have been more helpful with their trackside support. I improved my times with each session, and most importantly, ran all weekend with no issues. At least no issues that the Z Car Garage can’t take care of off-season with some further sorting, and hopefully, some more horsepower!

A real weekend highlight was the support from not only Rob & Co., but also that of my wife Molly, along with dear friend Wayne Rainey (3x MotoGP World Champion), and of course Datsun Legends Peter & Gayle Brock, and of course John Morton. Seeing the BRE 46 car, along with Horst Kwech’s Alfa was amazing as well, along with Adam Carolla and his ex-Greg Sorrentino 510. Getting to know the other B Sedan competitors was a real highlight too….it is such a great group of wonderful people, for which I am grateful to be associated with. Dave Stone and Glenn Chiou, along with Rob and Troy, really deserve a big shout out for pulling the group together. None of this existed 20 years ago, which is one of the reasons why I sold my 510 back in the early 2000’s. So happy that it has all changed now!”

#64 Kelvin Tse

Kelvin is a steady ZCG trackside support client, running his Ex-Ted Gruner 510. His brother Kenny has also raced with us and it was great to see the family having fun at the VI.

“The velocity race is a festival for car nuts. Jeff O’Neill once again has hosted an unbelievable event with McLaren Formula One cars present on the track, the Petersen Museum’s Formula One cars, first class vintage race cars and of course the B sedan group! It was awesome to see John Morton and Corky Bell at the track. With only has four sessions on the track each session had to be used carefully. This year we brought out the number 64 Dragonetti car driven by Jim Miller and Ted Gruner.”

“We struggled through the whole weekend with brake issues. The Z Car crew was certainly busy adjusting brakes, changing master cylinders and race prep all weekend. The car was running in the rear of the pack all weekend long because of a brake pedal that needed to be pumped up, but that still did not distract from me having the time of my life. It definitely was one of the hardest races I’ve been in working the car. I struggled and wanted to give up, but I somehow survived til the end. And that to me was a win. What a way to end my season, thank you ZCG for all the love and support! You make racing FUN!”

#72 Tom Dockery

We have helped Tom build and prepare his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510 for several years. Unfortunately the car was wrecked at Sonoma Raceway back in March from oil on the track. Z Car Garage rebuilt the 510, making a triumphant return to this year’s Velocity event.

While preparing Tom’s 510 we found the front hubs had failed so we actually used parts from the Corky Bell Datsun 510 restoration. Our client cars come first so this meant the Bell car stayed back. Corky’s 510 will be restored, and he still happily attended the VI event.

 

At the last minute Tom Dockery was not feeling well and asked Rob Fuller to drive his 510 in Group 8. It wasn’t hard for Rob to say “yes”, while offering to take care of the car and make him proud:

“In practice and qualifying we were the fastest car out there. It needs a few things but this is exactly how it was raced back in the day…just a brilliant, brilliant vintage race car. So much fun to drive!”

 

The Group 8 feature race was fun to watch. Rob Fuller and John Murray (BMW 2002) had a great battle and we have in-car video of the duel below. You can also see John Morton leading pace laps in the BRE Datsun 510 along with the Kwech Alfa. Enjoy!

 

Privateer Spirit

 

Our friend and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou raced his Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am ’68 510. It’s worth noting that not unlike privateers of the period, Glenn builds his race cars, maintains and manages racing efforts himself. Not an easy task so we applaud his work ethic. Glenn builds some beautiful Datsuns and we will highlight this 510 soon!

 

Podium Finish!

 

After a heated battle in the Group 8 feature race John Murray placed P1 (BMW 2002), Rob Fuller placed P2 (Datsun 510) and Alan Benjamin placed P3 (Porsche 911). John Morton and Pete Brock joined in the celebration and there hugs all-around. Rob was ecstatic:

“Our hero John Morton was in the BRE car leading Group 8. I was able to drive the BRE car onto the front straight for the photo shoot and it was just unreal. We qualified pole in Tom’s car and won Saturday. John Murray and I battled it out on Sunday. Love his car and passion. Loved being in a field of sedans and hearing how much the fans loved the event. To be so close to the cars, personalities, legends and action was just epic. Can’t wait to do it next year.”

 

Racing With Group 5 IMSA

 

#49 IMSA Joel Anderson GTU Z

Group 5’s IMSA GT and FIA race cars (1966 and 1977) was dominated by big-power Porsche 911 RSRs with a few BMS CSLs and 3 S30 Datsuns. Rob Fuller ran the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z joining Dave Stone’s 260Z and Bob Clucas’ 240Z:

 

The field was filled cool cars including Mclaren CEO Zak Brown piloting a mean-looking Capri. Rob battled with Brad Briscoe’s Corvette and fought to stay in the top 4-5 positions, making chassis changes throughout the weekend:

 

“The IMSA Z car…we’ve run it the way Joel ran it back in the day but now it’s our turn to make some adjustments. With changes to suspension, rear gear and transmission we were struggling a bit to be on pace. More tuning time needed, but we still placed well in the top 5. Huge shoutout to Rebello for making sure our engines are always performing the best. The engine in #49 car is the same since 2014…every race weekend it we demand 100% and it performs consistently with no issues.”

 

We have in-car video from Rob in the Joel Anderson IMSA GTU 240Z and Group 5 racing action in the video below, enjoy!

 

Living Legends at the Velocity Invitational

 

Fans were treated to an autograph session with racing legends like John Morton, Pete Brock, Mario Andretti and Mika Hakinnen:

 

Cruising through the paddock even more greats could be found enjoying the race weekend. Here is Wayne Rainey with Pete Brock and John Morton:

  

Famed race car driver and engineer Corky Bell made our day by showing up in his 1972 Datsun jacket with his name on it. We really enjoyed chatting with him and look forward to putting him behind the wheel of his Trans Am 510.

 

John Morton bestowed his LeMans race suit to Rob after the Group 8 feature race:

Exotic cars

 

There was no shortage of rare and exotic cars from well-known and upcoming supercar marques. Ferrari had “generations” display and McLaren showed off an incredible display of F1s mixed with newer models:

 

Ragtime Racers

The Special Exhibition Group “1907 – 1920 Pre War Ragtime Racers” entertaining to watch in the paddock and out on the track!

 

A Fan-Friendly Race Event

 

Formerly known as the Sonoma Speed Festival (2019), the Velocity Invitational re-imagined the vintage race experience with a Goodwood-inspired vibe debuting last year. One of the best experiences for spectators is the paddock and organizers made access to drivers and their machines seamless. Fans could get up close and personal with race cars without the typical ropes or 45-foot RVs in the way. A play area for kids and families was also welcome.

 

The hot pit area where all run groups stage before heading out to the track is an amazing place to be. Typically, access is only granted to pit crews and media. At the Velocity Invitational however, organizers staged a “false grid” where any spectator could walk amongst the race cars. Our family loved the artificial turf and hay bale seating lining the grid:

   

If you want to see action from the event in its entirety, check out Goodwood’s live streaming coverage Day one and Day Two.

Paddock Finds

 

At each corner there was something special in the paddock to see like exotics, Muscle Cars and personal sports cars. Here’s a few of my favorites, with more in the gallery. Where else can you see a brace of McLaren F1s, Ferrari F40, Mercedes Benz 300 SLR and CTS-V Speedvision Challenge car in one place!

     

Just a McLaren P1 and Ferrari Enzo casually fueling up:

  

Incredible race cars mixed with street cars:

  

We have more photos in the gallery below. ZCG would like to thank the following photographers for sending us photos from the event: Alex Trang, Kristina Cilia, Christopher Hauf, Kris and Paul and Ann Devor, enjoy!

ZCG Race Crew

 

Huge shoutout to the Z Car Garage race crew including the Corwins, Meghan, Nick and Josh. We are grateful for your support, keeping us safe and on the track!

 

People

 

We enjoyed spending time with friends and meeting new folks. The Velocity Invitational really helped create such a friendly atmosphere. Above, Sylvia Wilkinson with Meghan Fuller, Jim Froula of RacecraftNW with Rob and Brad Briscoe with Rob. Below: Glenn Chiou with Lloyd and Erich, Alvin with Bruce Canepa, Pete Brock with Nick Filip and Jon Norman with John Morton:

 

Good times with the B-Sedan folks in Group 8, below: Dave Stone with Ed Matsuishi, Alvin with Kyle Von Hoften of B-Sedan B-Sedan Racing.

   

Racing into 2023!

 

Thank you Velocity Invitational for an incredible event. We look forward to running with you again! LONG LIVE THE Z!