Filed under: 240z,510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on August 27, 2024
WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 21st Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, September 13-15. Z Car Garage is participating and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group. This vintage racing event is totally FREE to spectators so please join us! Bring the family, enjoy cool cars and charity rides around the track. Attention DRIVERS: there is still time to register to race! Sign up HERE.
See our 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!
Z Car Garage is happy to announce our 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track, race cars and drivers. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock. You can see our report from the 2023 Charity Challenge HERE
Z Car Garage Supports Five Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno:
#88 Todd Rueppel
Todd enjoyed his Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the Laps For Laguna event!
#7 Kelvin Tse
Kelvin and his brother Kenny are regular ZCG trackside support clients…
#64 Kenny Tse
#98 Kelly M
#68 and #30 Noah’s 510 and BMW 2002
We will also be supporting Lora’s Spec Miata!
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car
Photo by Jim Rose
Join us for the 2024 Vintage Racing Season!
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Please check the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for upcoming race events. Do not miss the next event: CSRG’s Charity Challenge at Sonoma September 13-15.
The ZONC Annual Car Show will be held Sunday September 8 in Brisbane, CA. This a fun event in a great location so bring out your Z, G, Datsun or GT-R! Pictures from previous shows can be seen HERE with more details below. Z you at the show!
Enjoy these photos from previous ZONC annual Car Shows:
Z Car Garage is excited to participate in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 14-17 at Laguna Seca. We will be racing and supporting the following 5 cars below. Mark those calendars!
BRE Datsun 2000 Roadster (Group 3)
We are stoked to prepare and provide trackside support the #44 BRE Datsun 2000 Roadster, owned by Adam Carolla. This 1968 SRL has a rich history, highlighted by the 1969 SCCA racing season with drivers Frank Monise and John Morton battling with privateer Jack Scoville. This roadster will join 3 others in the highly-competitive John Morton Cup, Group 3. Full story with dyno tuning and sorting coming to zcarblog.com soon!
Hakosuka Skyline (Group 8)
Alex McDowell returns to Laguna Seca in this C10 Skyline built by our friend Jim Froula of Racecraft. Z Car Garage has prepared and supported Alex’s race efforts with the Hako and it has been an awesome experience. Two very memorable racing events were the The Mitty and RMMR
Enjoy some video of the the Hako in action with Alex behind the wheel!
#49 IMSA Joel Anderson GTU Z (Group 8)
Rob Fuller will pilot the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z. You might recall the story behind this special, 1972 IMSA GTU 240z as it was owned, built and raced in the 70’s by none other than Joel Anderson. ZCG restored #49 back to its former glory and it debuted at RMMR 2014. John Morton would drive #49 at RMMR 2015.
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup (Group 7)
This very special Porsche is the 2006 FIA European GT3 Championship winning car that was driven by Sean Edwards. It is a 997 GT3 Cup S Prototype and our client Kenny Tse will race it in the Legends of Endurance group. Listen to this car on the Z Car Garage dyno below!
#960 Mini (Group 13)
Rob Fuller will also race this Mini Cooper in the Dan Gurney Saloon Enduro group
Join us for the 2024 race season! See the full race schedule below and LONG LIVE THE Z! The next event will be Laps For Laguna on May 31 at Laguna Seca Raceway:
The third annual Laps for Laguna vintage racing event was held on May 31-June 2. This event is created by the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation and Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) to raise money for charity. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 3. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report!
Z Car Garage Racers
We raced and provided trackside support for 9 cars including B-Sedan Datsun 510s and Kenny’s 997 GT3 Cup car:
Gabe’s father Jeff is racing his B-Sedan Datsun 510:
#98 Kelly M
#68 and #30 Noah’s 510 and BMW 2002
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car (driven by Tom Dockery, see below)
Photo by Jim Rose
Let’s Race!
Laps for Laguna is a vintage racing event created by the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation and California Sports Racing Group (CSRG) to raise money for charity. It is an open sound event with multiple races for each race group, charity rides and more. We hope Laps for Laguna continues to be an annual affair.
Rob recaps the weekend:
“This was the 3rd time CSRG and Laguna Seca Foundation co-hosted L4L. Spectators got to do charity rides in race cars and street cars…speaking of street cars, Kurt W’s R32 Skyline GT-R is still in the break-in stage so he did not get to attend the R’s Day. I invited him for a little Laguna Seca redemption and he came down to run the R32. Everyone loved seeing it at the track, a great way to start the weekend. Friday afternoon began with practice and one qualifier. ZCG provided race support for 9 cars with crew of Cooper, Josh and Meghan….
“All cars ran flawlessly in the B-Sedan group with Jeff Rothman, the Tse brothers with Kenny running double duty in his cup car in G9, Noah and his friend Danny co-own a BMW 2002 that we prepare, and Lora Baggot’s Miata for VSP (I drove it). I was able to make my way up to the top 10 in Group 3 with the Miata, only a second off lap times with my own Miata. Another highlight was watching Kenny really come alive in the Porsche Cup car, earning a PB and podium amongst heavy-hitters like the 935 turbo and Flying Lizard Cup car. Kelly M did his PB and Tom Dockery also had fun. Josh M was struggling a bit with his 510 out of the PNW, so ZCG teamed up with Rebello racing to refresh his engine and he had a smooth weekend winning races.”
Tom Dockery
Tom shares his experience racing in Rob’s Datsun 510:
“Rob’s generous offer to run his Bay Area Datsun 510 at Laps for Laguna was incredible. It gave me a chance to get back on track after over a year of downtime, with people I know and trust. It also allowed me to experience racing a highly developed B-Sedan. From the first lap in Rob’s car, I fell in love with how it handled the course. With each session, I reduced my lap times until I was consistently running laps in race traffic that were better than my previous personal record. Despite some missed shifts with the Dog Box, I managed to qualify and finish in the top half of the field. I’m looking forward to this fall and the Velocity Invitational, where I’ll be back in the Balzer 510, hopefully set up as well as Rob’s Bay Area Datsun 510.”
Enjoy this in-car video of Tom in Group 3 with paddock footage as well:
The Z Car Garage Nissan Z as Pace Car
Z Car Garage was happy to have our 2023 Nissan Z as Official Pace Car at Laps For Laguna. You might notice the new Z’s livery, it’s a nod to our #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z, and we will dedicate a separate blog post to it:
Glenn’s FAR Performance Datsun 240Z
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou raced his FAR Performance 240Z. This Z has a very rich racing history, driven in the 70’s by Loren St. Lawrence in VIPS Restaurant livery. It was fun to watch him race this beautifully-restored 240Z, going as fast as he’s ever been too, earning a class win!
Enjoy this in-car video of Glenn in the BADD Z:
Paddock Highlights
Big thanks to Meghan and Ning for taking photos and video around the paddock. Enjoy this VIDEO highlighting paddock and race action
A weekend of great racing and good times
There was such a great vibe in our pit and it was an absolute pleasure seeing our clients all from different walks of life enjoying the company. Amazing weekend. Special shoutout to ZCG crew for keeping all of the cars running so we can race! More photos in the gallery below.
Join us for the 2024 Vintage Racing Season!
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Please check the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for upcoming race events. Do not miss the next event: CSRG’s Charity Challenge at Sonoma September 13-15. We had a blast at last year’s Laps for Laguna, see our race report HERE.
