November brings cooler weather to the Valley of the Sun, something that most locals look forward to. I myself was looking forward to November not only for this, but November meant that the mecca of aftermarket shows was around the corner. Last year I was not able to attend SEMA. I am not going to lie, I was a little bummed out that I was not able to partake in the event. It didn’t help that friends kept messaging photos and tagging on social media mediums.
Category: Honda
Our coverage of the Eibach Meet continued, as I slowly made my way through the vendors section, I tried to take my time and look around before the gates were opened to the public and the flood began. If you missed our first part, make sure you head over to it and get caught up.
It is rather scary how quickly time passes. It has been exactly a year since the last major event that I attended, which was the Eibach Meet. I have attended a few small local track events but work has kept me at bay for most of the year. I was looking forward to the Eibach Meet because I knew a year meant new projects were to be revealed, and some would have new looks. However, I have to say that it snuck up on us and caught us off guard. Between work and an unexpected photo shoot the day before, I was scrambling to get ready. Matt was equally thrown off guard when a big shipment arrived just as we were loading the van with the gear for the ICB booth set up. Once we tackled both tasks, we were on the road. I don’t know if I somehow got stuck driving or if I volunteered but it was actually a welcomed change of pace from the madness that work throws my way.
This story began 6 years ago. I drove to the then Firebird International Raceway to see the Modified Tuner Shootout/NASAAZ event. I had just finished a shoot and had a tele-lens, so I decided to take some photos just for the hell of it. In-between sessions, Paul came over and asked if I would take some photos of Phil. My response was along the lines of “Who the hell is Phil?” So he told me to just take a few photos of a black Civic EG with RegaMaster Evos’ wheels. “Ok sure Paul.” I don’t think that at that point Phil even fathomed the transformations his EG would experience through the upcoming years.
Last weekend I got the opportunity to go to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway for a NASAAZ track event. Initially I had no plans of attending, however Phil was running on Sunday and I decided to tag along. I had to work that Saturday so the plan was to leave after work. As fate would have it, I woke up super late and this prevented me from getting all my stuff ready before I left for work. This meant that I would have to return home after work before heading out to the Robles’ residence, therefore – late (Again! Damn it!). Luckily when I got to the house, Phil was still getting some last minute things ready. Since Chuckwalla was not around the corner, he wanted to make sure he had all the essentials and more. Paul and Nolan were supposed to join us but at the last minute something came up and they were not able to go.
Fall is one of my favorite seasons; the weather starts to give you a break, at night you can turn off the A/C and open the windows to let the breeze in, football is on full force (both college and professional), Formula 1 is going strong and there is probably some drama going on, the U.S. Grand Prix is around the corner, basketball season begins (at both levels), there is some leftover candy from Halloween and of course there is the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) that takes place in Las Vegas.
Of all of the events that I have been too, one of the events I’ve enjoyed the most was WEKFEST SF. Last year was my very first time attending the event and right away I knew there was something very different about WEKFEST SF than any of the other events I have attended. I am not able to pin point exactly what made it special, all I knew is that I was looking forward to go back there again this year. I told a few peeps that this was the event to go see! I mean it’s no wonder why people line up so early to get into this show.
Two weeks ago was a huge weekend for us (i.e. the motor sport world) here in the valley of the sun. Firstly, the Modified magazine Tuner Shootout was running an event with NASA AZ and secondly, our good friend Phil Robles (Woohoo!!!) was making a much anticipated return; which surprised quite a few people, including yours truly – moi.
Arizona summers are a challenge to endure. There are constant extreme temperatures throughout the day – hot, hotter and hell! The break we get at night is minimal. So how does one deal with this factor when pushing mechanical parts and humans to the limit? Well, you set the time of the event to start after sunset and then – hope for the best!
When 12:45 p.m. rolled around, I got ready and finished some last minute things at work in true-frantic style. The plan was to meet at Matt’s shop at 2:00 p.m. to commence our long and mundane drive to L.A . From what I heard, we were supposed to leave a couple hours before but since I had to work, they decided to wait for me. My drive to Matt’s shop occurred rather quickly but to my surprise, there was nobody there. Hmmm. After some waiting and some bumper re-taping everyone arrived and our small convoy was ready to take off to attend Nisei Showoff 2012.