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| Not the first NASCAR trophy |
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| The ARDUN cylinder head |
I've got some work stuff in Denver on Friday, so we had to make it there by tonight. There wasn't much time for meandering, but we decided the Kansas Racing Museum in Chapman, KS would be an interesting stop around lunch time. It's a neat place with several cars and a lot of memorabilia from the local racing scene. As usual, I learned something. Turns out that Zora Arkus-Duntov, before he went to work for GM and became known as the father of the Corvette, designed cylinder heads under contract to Ford. They weren't very popular for their original purpose of adding power to mine trucks, but became popular later on among builders of flathead-based hot rods. This place also has the very first trophy ever handed out in a NASCAR race, but as the owner Doug Thompson told us "I can't just leave it out here. It would disappear. That's a replica." I'm not sure why it couldn't be in a locked case, but maybe security at night is an issue for the building. The replica was a bit of a letdown. We did ask Doug where to eat lunch. His first suggestion was the deli in the supermarket outside the museum, but then he offered Southern Comfort "If you want a sit-down place."
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Possibly the crime of the century
in Chapman. |
The cheeseburger was passable but ordinary. Jon reported that the grilled cheese was grilled cheese. However, while we were in the Southern Comfort Restaurant, a cop stopped by to ask our waitress if she knew anything about the truck parked on the median across the street. It had been there over night with the engine running. He may be the only cop in Chapman, and this was apparently a lot of excitement. As we left, we realized he had found the driver, who it seems was just asleep in the back. It isn't clear whether this actually constituted a crime. I also enjoyed the fact that the owner of the restaurant communicates with both customers and employees via signs. These were two I have never seen before:
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| By the register. |
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This one was over the
toilet in the men's room. |
On the way out of town, we passed a very large banner informing us that Chapman is also the home of astronaut Joe Engle. So it has that.
Here's a 3 shot sequence of a fairly new Ferrari being driven by someone who doesn't appear to deserve it. I have to assume if you can afford the car, you can afford the tickets. The speed limit on I-70 through Kansas is 75, and the road is flat and clear. We passed him in the Ranger, which I as driving at a safe 85. Ferrari guy was wearing driving gloves. I have no idea why. Modern Ferraris are pretty well climate controlled, so the likelihood of his hands getting sweaty, or the wheel getting very cold, is very small. Jon took the pictures.
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| Look - A Ferrari. |
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| Why are you taking my picture? |
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| Gone in the rearview. |
After leaving Chapman, we just kept driving. Turns out Kansas takes a while to get through, even with 75 MPH speed limits. It just keeps going, and going, and was pretty boring. We did about 625 miles today, but got to the hotel in time to see the Yankees clinch a playoff spot.
That was as exciting for Chapman as was the unmarked white van I found parked with its engine running and no driver.
ReplyDeleteOutside our synagogue.
On Rosh Hashana.
As I was on the phone with 911 dispatch, I flagged down a passing police SUV. The very helpful and understanding SDPD officer ran the tags and determined that the van was registered to an address across the street. It turned out to belong to a (very tired and/or absent-minded, apparently) painter who was working in the building across the street, so all was well. But I had quite the adrenaline rush to start my year.