Porsche 944 GTR 003 / Time with...Vic Ofner

With a previous post on the Porsche 944 GTR 003 generating so much interest, here is an interview with the Alan Johnson Motorsports team crew chief, Vic Ofner.

Looking back to 1986-1987, a little background. The Porsche 944 GTR was a made in the USA race car designed to do battle in SCCA club events, IMSA, and Trans-Am. It's probably one of the rarest of Porsche race cars made. Al Holbert, Porsches racing boss in the U.S. at the time, came up with the idea, and Dave Klym of FABCAR designed and built seven cars to represent Porsche's newest model, the 944 Turbo.

Read on to hear what Vic Ofner had this to say...

Vic Ofner with the Alan Johnson Motorsport 944 GTR 003 at a SCCA race held at Carlsbad Raceway, 1987.
 Image © Vic Ofner

"Magicar" / Time with... Bill Pitts

Imagine you are fourteen or fifteen, sitting on a wooden boarded grandstand with your dad, watching a golden colored dragster called "Magicar" blast down the local strip...now imagine forty-five years later you had rescued the outdated rail, restored it and had the opportunity to show it to a new generation. That is just what Bill Pitts is doing.

It goes along with the increasing popularity of survivor and historic cars. People are no longer looking at old race cars as outdated relics. They get excited about what they are seeing, hearing and the history of those cars. It's also about past owners, drivers and builders brought back to the surface, and we all get a glimpse of how it really was.

At many of the drag meets and local car shows there is a spectacle called "Cacklefest" where nitro-methane dragsters are started to wow the crowds. I had the opportunity to sit down at a Goodguys show, and do an interview with Bill to find out more about his "Magicar."