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Year One Experience Car Show - A Family AffairThe Annual Year One Experience has Something for Everyone From the August, 2006 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords All contributors: Mark Houlahan
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Panoz Driving School instructors... Panoz Driving School instructors in Audi A4s led the parade laps. Participants followed to see where the instructors braked and accelerated around the course while following the proper racing line. Each car in the group had a chance to be behind the instructors for a few laps by rotating the cars through the group. You can see this black '67 fastback moving over to let the AMX and the rest of the group get in front. Once the '67 fell into the last spot, the group ran a few more laps and rotated again, giving everyone an opportunity to follow the instructors' lead. Year One is a business-there's no denying that. But if you've ever met a Year One employee, they'll tell you working there is like working for a big family. And if you've ever purchased parts from the company, you can be sure you've felt this family feeling from the phone reps as well, all of whom are true car nuts. So it comes as no surprise that when Year One puts on its annual Year One Experience show at Road Atlanta (and Atlanta Dragway, too) that the event would have something for everyone. From straight up drag racing to autocross and hot laps around the famous Road Atlanta, to vendor midways, a car show, kids' play areas and more, there's plenty to see and do over the course of the event's three-day weekend. Because Year One puts its efforts into many facets of the performance and restoration aftermarket, you never know whom you might spot at the show. Over the years, we've seen recording stars, movie stars, and famous people within our hobby, like Chip Foose and Linda Vaughn, at this event. You just never know who's going to be attending with their own special ride, and because they're car people just like you and me, it's not uncommon for them to spend time talking with bystanders about their favorite cars and their latest projects. Of course, there are the cars, too-we can't forget about them. Sure, a field full of Mustangs and other classic Fords would put a smile on our faces, but in the long list of catalogs that Year One publishes, we Blue Oval types are the young pups. Year One has been specializing in GM and Chrysler products for over 20 years, but the company's Ford catalogs have been around only five years or so. All weekend long, participants... All weekend long, participants had the opportunity to stretch their car's tach to the top of the scale in spirited parade laps on Road Atlanta's full course. For a small fee, Year One offered rides in many of its now-famous company-built hot rods, including its Boss Hoss Mustang, powered by a supercharged Four-Valve modular. If you appreciate any well-built machine, you've got to come to the Experience and see some of these great looking cars yourself. We hitched a ride with Randy Bolig, editor of our sister magazine Mopar Muscle, and his Gear Vendor overdriven '67 Valiant. Hopefully next year we'll be able to bring project Snake Charmer for some autocrossing fun! See you there. For more information about next year's Year One Experience, be sure to watch our Ford News column for event dates. You can also visit www.yearone.com for the latest news.
 The guys from Unique Performance...  The guys from Unique Performance had their GT-350SR prototype as well as this early GT-500E burning up the course all weekend. Last year, they had fun at the dragstrip, but this time they seemed to be enjoying the challenge of Road Atlanta.  Year One has been involved...  Year One has been involved with the TV show Overhaulin' for some time, and Bud Brutsman, the show's producer, attended the Year One Experience with his own custom-built '69 SportsRoof called "Blackened" that was built by Year One last year and debuted at the '05 SEMA show. Bud wasn't afraid to put the slick, black SportsRoof on "kill," and it showed. We were lucky to catch this Mustang on film for an upcoming feature in Mustang & Fords, and Bud even tossed us the keys for an ear-to-ear, grin-inducing drive.  Stainless Steel Brakes had...  Stainless Steel Brakes had its 0-60-0 Challenge in full swing again this year. Many people gave it their best (a new Corvette took the top honors), but Steve Schlinger did take the top 0-60 spot in his '03 Mercury Marauder with a 3.86-second elapsed time; netting him a $250 gift certificate. We caught up with the black '67 from the parade laps earlier trying his best at the 60-0 portion.  As usual, the crew at Year...  As usual, the crew at Year One made sure there was plenty to do for the younger ones of all ages...  ...From slides and bounce...  ...From slides and bounce houses to climbing walls and slot cars, there was lots of fun to be had.  The vendor areas of the Year...  The vendor areas of the Year One Experience ranged from event sponsors to product partners and even local businesses.  Pennzoil Platinum's synthetic-oil...  Pennzoil Platinum's synthetic-oil display aimed for both ends of the hobbyist ruler with a '66 convertible and a Roush Mustang.  Unique Performance brought...  Unique Performance brought out a trailer full of exotic muscle, including the aforementioned Mustangs and its new Chip Foose Camaro.  McMichael Motorsports, whose...  McMichael Motorsports, whose shop is literally across the street from the Road Atlanta property, is a Superformance dealer, and brought out samples of Superformance's replicas, including its Mk III, GT-40, and Coupe models.  Every year, a panel of industry...  Every year, a panel of industry types, including magazine editors, TV show hosts, and drag-racing legends are invited to vote for their favorite cars at the show. These votes are tabulated by Year One's accounting firm, and the winner gets to take home the coveted Year One Cup and a $5,000 Year One gift certificate...  ...Two additional finalists...  ...Two additional finalists also take home smaller versions of the Cup and $1,000 gift certificates. Wayne and Bob Julian of Illinois have been building their "SN65" Mustang, a marriage of an SN-95 Mustang (an '03 Cobra, at that) and a '65 fastback, for several years. We'd planned to do a photo shoot with them later in the month, and had no idea Wayne had decided to bring the yellow monster to the Year One show...  ...The car had a crowd three...  ...The car had a crowd three people deep around it most of the weekend, and we weren't surprised it made it into the finalist phase of the Cup presentation. Look for that feature later this year, but if you can't wait to see more, then check out www.sn65.com for the skinny.  Mustang & Fords had the pleasure...  Mustang & Fords had the pleasure of selecting the winner for an Editor's Choice award. When we came across this '55 F-100 owned by John Maffucci of Dawsonville, Georgia, we knew we didn't have to look any further. John's '55 is powered by a Ford Racing Performance Parts 5.0 Cammer mod motor and features a complete '03 Cobra drivetrain (T56 six speed and IRS). He then wrapped the entire package in Ford's new Tungsten Gray and had a local trim shop douse the interior in bright red leather. We felt bad that John and his wife missed hearing their names being called for their show award since we were in the back-40 taking pictures for a future feature article. Yup, you'll see this one on these pages soon as well.  We bumped into Carlos Caraza...  We bumped into Carlos Caraza and his sweet '65 coupe (again) at the Year One Experience. We're beginning to think Carlos is stalking us since so far he's showed up at every event we've been to this year. He even took his Mustang out on Road Atlanta for some spirited laps while his father took video from the passenger seat.  Road Atlanta is home to the...  Road Atlanta is home to the Panoz Racing School and the Audi Driving Experience. You can take your turn behind the wheel of a Panoz GT-RA race car in one of its school programs or get in the passenger seat for thrilling hot-laps. You can even earn your SCCA license if you are looking to race competitively. The Audi Driving Experience has similar programs, including advanced handling and teen programs. Panoz also owns the historic Sebring race course in Florida, where these programs are available there as well.  When we spotted Whitesburg,...  When we spotted Whitesburg, Georgia, resident Mike Pate idling through the parking lot to his final display location, we knew he had something hot under the hood. What we didn't know was that the hood-well, the whole front end for that matter-flips forward. And what did we find under that cool nose but a 410-cube Windsor with enough go-fast parts on it to make sure people know Mike means business when the hammer drops.  While the Year One Experience...  While the Year One Experience is far from an all-Ford event, there was a great showing of support from the Ford owners in Georgia and the surrounding states. Terry Laughlin brought out this nice little 289-powered '64 Falcon for all to see. Not over the top, but not completely stock either; we're sure it made the trip from Hodges, South Carolina, a more pleasurable one.  While we never got a chance...  While we never got a chance to talk to David Echols of Hoschton, Georgia, about his '74 Cougar XR-7 and its 351 power underhood, we were amazed at how clean the car was. It also brought back many memories of my mom's '73 Mercury Montego MX, in the same brown metallic at that!  The '64 1/2 Mustang of Stephanie...  The '64 1/2 Mustang of Stephanie Akins certainly made us stop and take a second look. The Jacksonville, Florida, resident certainly knows a good combination that makes people stop in their tracks-mile-deep silver paint with over-body stripes and big, polished Torq Thrust II wheels.  Last year Michael Hyde of...  Last year Michael Hyde of Cumming, Georgia, became the first Ford owner to become a finalist in the Year One Cup competition. He returned again this year with his beautifully restored '70 Boss 302 for another chance. With two classic Mustangs in the finalist contention for the last two years, can a classic Ford be far from taking home the big prize in the next year or two? Busy, Busy, Busy
We knew the Year One folks and the Road Atlanta and Atlanta Dragway people were busy all weekend, but these numbers, provided by Year One, really tell ya what you missed! Panoz Driving School Track Day Sessions
There were 40 openings Friday morning and 40 openings Sunday afternoon. Both sessions sold out prior to the event. Hot Laps in Panoz Race Cars
Sold out all three days. Over 180 Hot Laps over the three days. Autocross Laps
Full the entire event. There were well over 2,000 laps put down over three days (and it was shut down a couple times for scattered showers). Parade Laps around Road Atlanta
There were too many to count. The 40-car staging lane for parade laps was full from the time the event opened until it closed. There were 11 hours scheduled over three days, and extra time had to be added to accommodate all the parade lap participants.
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