Final Post for the Spring Semester
I have reached the end of another semester and it has been a ride. I have grown closer to some friends and drifted away from others. In the end I am content with how I am growing as a person. Enough about me, let’s dive into how I could improve the site.
I would take some more time getting more familiar with the website builder so that I can create a more tasteful looking site. Another thing that might improve the amount of people that are brought to the site would be using a different social platform to promote the site. I mainly use my Instagram over other forms of media, especially when it comes down to staying up to date on automotive news or events to go to in my area.
In one of my previous posts I talked about the RADwood automotive show being pushed to Circuit of the Americas on April 23rd. I was able to go and the group of friends that went with me enjoyed every minute. Those are the moments I live for, the times when I am able to introduce people who want to learn more about my passion and the automotive scene and I am able to educate them. I also think I benefit from making these weekly blogs to give myself a challenge to put my thoughts down somewhere.
I think I’ll benefit from this experience in my career path because I plan on graduating with a major in Advertising with a minor in Business. This course made it enjoyable to document the events that I was already going to and get a feeling for how each event is hosted. Looking into the analytics of the site was really neat too.
January 31st to February 6th was my most viewed week, topping out at 24 views and 9 visitors. The main page that was visited was my home page for the site, which makes sense. Other than that nothing really surprised me about the project. I had a blast creating every post. Thanks for making this semester great.
Video Interview with Braden
My Toyota Tacoma Top 5
This is my 2021 Toyota Tacoma SR5 with the Blackout package. I got this truck after selling my 2013 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon due to reliability issues and high mileage. I have now put just over 10,000 miles on it and would like to share some of the special features
Simple appearance things first, the color is Magnetic Grey paired with the Blackout package which gives the truck a few goodies. Badging, wheels, and an exhaust tip are all colored black. To wrap around those black wheels are the all-terrain tires option to give it a more aggressive road presence. If we take a walk to the back of the truck you can see the retractable bed cover that I’ve added. The best part of the cover is that it has a lock integrated into it. For a little extra flare I added a sticker from Hoonigan, a garage in Compton and a Student Driver license plate frame, a company founded by Daniel Wu and Sung Kang to bring the car community together.
A big upgrade from the Jeep is the amount of storage space that can be found underneath and behind the back seats. I have utilized it moving from Dallas back down to San Marcos and it saved me big time. Some more interior items that I enjoy are the integrated Apple CarPlay and a TRD selector knob. The selector is special because TRD is Toyota’s racing development team and being a motorsports nerd makes this small detail very cool for me.
I hope you enjoyed the small walk around of my Tacoma, and if you ever see me around give me a wave. I am sure to wave back!
2nd Annual Texas Grand Prix at COTA
I know I have already talked about the ground-breaking season opener for the NASCAR season, but if you were not able to attend the race at Circuit of the Americas you are going to want to be on the lookout for next years tickets. This race is special because it is not a typical oval circuit, it is one of the many road racing courses in the NASCAR season. It is raced along with the Indianapolis road course and Road America to name a few.
Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas is a 20 turn road course located right off of the Loop 130 tollway. This course is most well known for hosting the Formula 1 circuit race. 2021 saw the most attended race in F1 history at Circuit of the Americas. But do not discount the NASCAR road race. There was plenty of exciting racing this weekend. Sundays race came down to the last lap in the battle for first. The order changing between AJ Allmendinger, Ross Chastain, and Alex Bowman. There was contact between Allmendinger and Chastain leading Allmendinger to spin before the final turn and leading to Chastain’s first cup series victory.
RADwood, An Ode to the 80’s and 90’s Fashion and Motorsports
So this post was reserved for the 2022 RADwood show that was taking place at the Circuit of the Americas. Due to unforeseen weather circumstances the show has been pushed to April 23, 2022. I decided I could still talk about the show and everything in involves since I have been to the two previous shows hosted in Austin.
Whether you are a fan of movie replicas or rarities lost to the junkyards RADwood is going to have it. Some of my favorites from the past years were the Jurassic Park Ford Explorer, Ferrari F40, Toyota Sera and not to mention the BMX stunts over a few cars too. Everyone there is down to have the best time and look their best too. A little history on the show, it was originally a California show based out of Los Angeles in 2017 and the Northern California 2018. At the start of 2019 they branched out to a new state, introducing RADwood to Austin, TX. I luckily got to experience this show and even got a commemorative poster.
I like the way this show is presented because it gives the younger generation of car enthusiast. It lets kids experience the same joy of seeing a Delorean for the first time after seeing the Back to the Future franchise or witnessing an ECTO-1 replica from Ghostbusters. At the end of the show some of the best vehicles are awarded with trophies. These range from Raddest Import vehicle to Raddest Truck. Since the show is also about the fashion from the era, guests are eligible to win a Raddest outfit trophy.
Super Lap Battle and Lone Star Drift at Circuit of the Americas
This weekend I got the chance to help at a merchandise stand for Fielding Shredder at the Lone Star Drift paddock during the Super Lap Battle event. Super Lap Battle is a Time Attack event hosted yearly at Austin’s F1 track. I was helping the driver run his stand during a demonstration in the parking lot inside the track where you get to ride along. We were able to give people an experience they will never forget.
A little history on the driver, he is most well-known for his driving on the Netflix series Hyperdrive. He went on to claim second on the show, and continues to do various drift events across the United States. One way you can keep up with all of these events is his YouTube channel, adequately named Fielding Shredder, he vlogs the many things he does. Just to name a few he has been, on multiple Drift Week events across the United States, competing in the Lone Star Drift competition, Hyperfest, and many more in the future.
I had an amazing times with my friends who came out to the event. Some of them even got the chance to get a ride in Fielding’s car. These are the weekends I can only dream up in my head, the times where I can just surround myself with good people for good times. I used to travel around the country to see automotive shows with my grandparents and I am beginning to get to experience that same feeling even as a get older. I have another exciting event coming up next weekend that is also being held at the Circuit of the Americas. I plan on doing a post about the event on here, so stay tuned to hear about RADwood. A commemorative event for everything eighties and nineties surrounding car culture and style.
The Clash at L.A. Coliseum and the Future of NASCAR
To kick off the 2022 season of NASCAR the racing series has moved to a new chassis nicknamed the Next Gen or 7th generation NASCAR. Some of the major changes made to the chassis include single center lug 18″ wheels opposed to the traditional 5 lug wheels. An all new 5-speed sequential transmission is now in place of the traditional H-pattern manual and various body change to not only make racing more affordable, but it is also making the driving style different than previous years. The debut for the 7th generation chassis on broadcast was at a newly paved Los Angeles Coliseum. The Coliseum is better known for hosting multiple Super Bowls, the Olympics, and X Games.
Only a quarter-mile track, drivers not only had to get adjusted to the new chassis, but also had to maneuver one of the tightest paved tracks since the 70’s. This meant it was super important to be the top qualifier for the best position on the grid. Kyle Busch and the famous M&M car found themselves as top qualifiers. Busch was able to hold for a good amount of the race and then lost it to Joey Logano, who had qualified fourth was able to take the win away from Busch.
I am excited to watch the first super speedway way race this upcoming Thursday at Daytona. We are going to get to really see how strong the new chassis is with there being 500 laps versus the 150 quarter-mile laps at the Clash. I have never followed a NASCAR season before, but I figured if there was a time to get to know the motorsport it would be during this refresh. I have mostly followed Formula Drift and Nitro Rallycross and would love to get a better understanding of what it takes to compete in NASCAR.
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