Smokey Stories: Bobby Johns and George Hurst
Smokey explains his colorful relationships with Bobby Johns and George Hurst I was fortunate to have known George Hurst, having met him in the mid-60s while on the staff of Hot Rod magazine. He was...
View ArticleSmokey Stories: Big Changes at Indy
Smokey tries to adjust after rule changes prior to the ’65 Indy 500 put the capsule car into retirement. Not long after his disastrous experience with the capsule car, Smokey managed to find time to...
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Simulate Your Way to Optimized Power and Performance
Using software technology to better understand where and how to make gains. For more than 20 years, I’ve explored the methods and benefits derived from PC-based computer software. It is providing an...
View ArticleSmokey Stories: Teaming with Goodyear
You may recall that in last month’s episode about Smokey’s ongoing plights that he’d just been offered a crew chief’s job for the ’67 Indy 500. However, he was heavily involved with Chevrolet and his...
View ArticleSmokey Stories: A Pep Talk Pays Off
Smokey gives a pep talk to Dennis Hulme before the Indy 500 When we left Smokey last month, he was engaged in a somewhat heated discussion with Dennis Hulme, one of three Indy rookie drivers (although...
View ArticleEnginology: Optimizing Power
At best, it is generally accepted that a multi-cylinder engine involves a number of compromises when it comes to optimizing the power for each cylinder. If we were dealing with a single-cylinder...
View ArticleCircle Track Magazine – How it all Began
The following are recollections provided by this magazine’s first Editor, C.J. Baker. From them, you will get a sense for how Circle Track came into being and set a course not far removed from where it...
View ArticleEnginology: Mixture Motion
What can be done to improve the charge mixture quality. While the combustion process in an internal combustion engine is both complex and difficult to control, there are certain fundamental elements...
View ArticleTuning Exhaust and Intake Systems – Part 1
Laying out the relationships between the engine’s exhaust and intake and how you can use them to your advantage There are specific functional relationships between an engine’s exhaust and intake...
View ArticleSmokey Stories: Finding a Driver for the ’69 Indy 500
You may recall in our last installment of these Smokey tribulations that he’d just gone to work for Mr. Bunkie Knudsen, then president of Ford Motor Company. And that commitment brought with it some...
View ArticleSmokey Stories: Skipping the ’70 Indy 500 to Regroup
After the 1969 Indy 500, Smokey returns to Daytona to regroup and reassess engine programs. When we left Smokey last month, he’d just experienced the 1969 event. “might have been the sorriest Indy race...
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Enginology: More Thoughts on Engine Airflow
Discussing port volumes as a measure of evaluating potential engine performance. Over time, we’ve used this column as a forum to discuss various aspects of engine air flow. One topic we’ve not included...
View ArticleSmokey Stories: An Ideal Indy Setting
As he was approaching the 1972 Indy 500, Smokey was contemplating his experiences at the Brickyard to date and trying to map out the best possible strategies. He was also in the throes of changes and...
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Behind-the-Scenes Photos Document Aug. 1967 Hot Rod Magazine Cover Shoot
Mike Snively’s Top Fuel Eliminator win at the fourth annual Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drags earned Roland Leong’s Hawaiian dragster a cover feature in the Aug. 1967 HRM. The...
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How a Blind Auto Shop Teacher Saw His First Camaro
While combing through the Petersen Publishing photo archives looking for other things, we have often come across this photo and wondered what the heck was going on. Some things we knew off the bat: The...
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