Road trips can be fun, as long as you're traveling with some cool people. By the time you read this I will either be on or getting ready for the Trek to Sonoma. If you missed the story from last year's Trek to Texas then you missed out on some good reading material and if you didn't travel on the 2002 Trek then you missed a good drive. This year we are on another mission but rather than going across the country, we're sticking to a shorter West Coast trip. This doesn't necessarily mean because it's shorter it won't be as fun, it just means we have to pack more fun into half the travel time. The starting point will be Huntington Beach, Calif., working our way up to the NHRA Sport Compact Race in Sonoma. When I first heard this I decided to prep the 2NR wagon to do battle on the street and end the game at the NHRA event. After further viewing the itinerary I found that the Trek stops at numerous places.
If you thought this Trek was to be primarily automotive related then you were wrong. This year, hosting the Trek with the International Performance Group, are some of Primedia's action sports magazines , including Surfing, Surfer and Skateboader. So along with the many track stops during the Trek, we are also stopping at a few surf spots. From the start of the Trek in Huntington Beach, all participants have the option to paddle out and catch some waves or hit the various skate ramps up the coast. Three stops along the way will consist of surf/skate sessions.
Like in this month's Skunk2 Media day story, it's back to go-karts where editors will once again battle it out on a kart track. Added to the mix will be a battle of straight-line race drivers against professionals in the surf and skate industry. It seems like a good way to bridge the gap between action sports and motorsports.
Besides the NHRA event, one of the major stops I am looking forward to is running laps around Laguna Seca. To start with, it's not often that you get to race a normal streetcar around the same track that CART open-wheel cars and AMA Super bikes race around. Not only is this track one of the top in the country, it also has one of the scariest downhill corkscrews in the industry. You might remember in last month's issue, Jason Mulroney and I ran this same course at the Skip Barber School in an open-wheel car. Honestly, this would be a car nut's dream! The big question is, will they trust us to go around the track or will they have a pace car the whole time?
The second to last stop is downtown San Francisco for an import party like no other. OK, technically the party is for all the Primedia import magazines, but since 2NR hooked up the party with the promoter, we are officially calling it the Bay Area Import Tuner Party. We're not going to lie, last years Trek to Texas party was a joke, but we assure you, this years Trek to Sonoma will have more of a 2NR flavor to it. This party will also be a time to relax before the big show. Joining in the relaxation will also be some of the racers competing in the NHRA import series. This would be a time to meet and greet some of the racers competing in the events.
Last stop will be Sonoma, Calif., for some action that started the whole import craze. Import drag racing is still king in the industry, so what better way to end the Trek than watching action-packed drag racing? With all the remodeling done to the once-titled Sears Point Raceway now complete, we feel that this track is going to be the next big import drag race venue on the West Coast. Who can complain with stadium seating and a track that is known to hook up? Not only will we see the stars in import racing try and break old records, but some of the dopest show cars in Northern California. This will also be the last stop to see some of the pro skaters on the Trek do a skate demo.
So let's explain this again. We start in Huntington Beach for an early surf session, take off up PCH and stop at Jim Hall Kart School for a battle of the editors followed by a battle of the stars. This includes some NHRA racers against some pro surfers and skaters. Then it's on to another skate/surf session, then to Laguna Seca for some hot laps. This day ends at downtown San Francisco for a night of partying with the NHRA racers. Last but not least, it's off to Infineon raceway for some NHRA drag racing. This year's Trek will easily top last year's, so instead of reading about it, why not join in the fun and be a part of it? For more info go to www.importtuner.com.