No, this isn't a casting call for Mel Brooks' Space Balls 2. It's an enthusiastic crowd of participants and spectators waiting their turn in line for some spirited laps around the famed Road Atlanta track in one of YearOne's project cars. | 
Speaking of project cars, YearOne put pedal to the metal all weekend with its Dynacorn-based turn-key '67 Mustang track car project-giving untold dozens of thrilling laps around the track without a single hiccup. |
Besides being able to ride shotgun in a YearOne vehicle, participants could also take their own laps in designated parade lap sessions with instructors from the Skip Barber Racing School leading the parade laps. This Roush 427R was certainly enjoying its track time. | 
Another parade lap participant we spotted was this Panoz AIV owner. The AIV (Aluminum Intensive Vehicle) was the first series vehicle from Danny Panoz and his company. Utilizing a Mustang Cobra DOHC 32-valve modular V-8, the two-seater is a modern-day version of that classic sports car from the '60s we all love. The AIV is a collectible since it's out of production. Today, Panoz is concentrating its efforts on this car's successor, the Esperante. |
Part of the YearOne Experience was track time at Atlanta's other famous track, Atlanta Dragway. Participants were welcome to invade the dragstrip Friday night for the YearOne Test and Tune session. This New Edge seemed ready to make a tear, but instead broke something in the drivetrain on the launch. I hope the owner had a trailer. | 
A vendor area was also part of the YearOne Experience. Walking the row of merchandise and vendors, you could see everything from hat pins and metal signs to crate engines and performance transmissions, such as the ones here from Performance Automatic. |
As we've stated in the past, the YearOne folks wanted the whole family to enjoy their time at the YearOne Experience. The kids were well taken care of with a huge play area including bounce houses, clowns, games, and a rock climbing wall. | 
BFGoodrich not only sponsored the burnout contest, but also brought its full rig out for display, handed out posters, and answered spectator's tire questions. This year, BFG had a custom tire on display with the logos of various print and television outlets printed on it. The editors/hosts were invited to sign the tire, which was then custom-cut on-site to be displayed at YearOne. Shown here is Rick Bacon of MuscleCar TV (from Spike's Powerblock) signing his section of the tire. We were honored with the opportunity to do the same shortly afterward. |
All the action doesn't happen on the main Road Atlanta track surface, either. Besides the Stainless Steel Brakes Corp-sponsored 0-60-0 challenge, there was a wet and dry autocross available. The wet autocross used Skip Barber-supplied school cars, but participants could run the dry autocross, managed by Air Ride Technologies, in their own ride. Tom Dingham of Atlanta had some fun in his '67 fastback trying to better his own time. | 
Professional Products had just finished up the details on this '69 Mustang project shortly before the show. We didn't get all the goodies on it, but the car runs not one, but two different EFI systems from Professional Products. The company's Powerjection I system (which bolts in place of a carb) and Powerjection II system (port-style injection) were on the engine and were used interchangeably at the flick of a switch during testing. |
While walking the far end of the show field, we stopped at the Starr Performance display. A Superformance dealer, its display included Cobra, Daytona Coupe, and GT-40 replicas, but the Marauder at the end of the display caught our attention. It turns out it's owned by our old friend Mark Ray (some Super Ford readers might remember that name). A big fan of Ford's Panther platform, Ray has been modifying Crown Vics for years. This Marauder featured a brake upgrade package and a cold-air kit. The modular was stroked to 5.0 liters; we saw it holding its own on the track all weekend. | |