Dozens of musclecars descended on the rolling hills of Tennessee for the second annual Run Through the Hills event. Unlike a static car show, this deal was geared toward those who actually want to drive their rides, hard. Friday featured a cruise through the Smokey Mountains, followed by some Southern-style BBQ and hanging out. Saturday was spent at the 411 Dragway where street and strip cars battled on the 1/8-mile dragstrip, many for the first time. On Sunday, the cars moved next door to the auto-X course for more motoring madness. The course was actually a modified banked high-speed oval racetrack with an X in the infield. This made for a wild auto-X track that actually incorporated the high-speed banks into the course. Over 75 cars participated in the activities, and the event promises to be even larger next year.
To find out more about next year's event, visit either www.musclerides.com or www.pro-touring.com.
Scroll Down for Exciting Auto-X Video Action.
Bret Voelkel's '70 Buick GSX...
Bret Voelkel's '70 Buick GSX hazes the tires through a banked turn. The air-spring-equipped ride turned in one of the fastest times of the day, proving that the Air Ride stuff isn't just for show.
The Super-Cuda owned by Bob...
The Super-Cuda owned by Bob Johnson (PHR - April '06) even came down to play. Nice to see that the '06 Street Machine Of The Year winner gets beaten on just like a regular ride. Unfortunately, a broken transaxle ended Bob's day and kept him off the auto-X course.
We featured Stacy Tucker's...
We featured Stacy Tucker's Detroit Speed and Engineering '69 Camaro in our October issue and told you how hard they push this ride in order to test their wares. Here you can see that wasn't us just being nice to an advertiser. The Camaro tore up the track and posted some of the best lap times.
Frank Serafine's '69 Camaro...
Frank Serafine's '69 Camaro can usually be found prowling the streets and racetracks near his home in Orlando, FL. This day, he was lighting them up at 411 Dragway. The street-legal Camaro sports a 400ci small-block and is capable of mid 9-second quarter-mile times on the juice.
Unable to find bailing wire...
Unable to find bailing wire Jim Grayson of Grayson, GA, works on securing his battery down with a technique he picked up from the TV show McGuyver. The finished result wasn't very pretty, but it was secure.
Andrew Borodin takes out his...
Andrew Borodin takes out his anger on several cones in his LS1 powered Mazda RX7. This rocket was built on a shoestring budget and, except for the raucous exhaust note, is quite the sleeper.
Bill Howell's Malibu is caught...
Bill Howell's Malibu is caught slicing through the cones. The low-buck Chevy did surprising well on the auto-x course when put in the capable hands of the events official "wheelman" Tony Bolton.
Jim Grayson and Jeff Tate...
Jim Grayson and Jeff Tate stage up to battle it out in their respective '69 Camaros down the 1/8-mile 411 drag strip. Having the track rented for this private event meant that drivers got as many passes as they wanted and by the end of the day "hot lapping" was commonplace.
Run Through the Hills Auto-X Video Library