Very few events offer the range of activity that the Year One Experience offers. Probably the thing that comes closest to The Experience is the Hot Rod Power Tour, but it still lacks the drag racing and road racing elements. Truly, the Year One Experience, held every spring at venues surrounding Year One's Braselton, Georgia, facility, is a one-of-a-kind deal.
Like the company that puts on the show, the Year One Experience (held May 18-20 this year) touches on virtually every aspect of the hobby. An extensive car show brings in some of the sharpest musclecars ever restored, and that's perhaps Year One's most obvious claim to fame. But equally impressive is the emphasis on handling, as the bulk of festivities is held at the Road Atlanta road course. It's a golden opportunity to explore the limits of your car on the 2.54-mile high-speed road course through the Panoz Driving School, or take a more exploratory stroll on the Air Ride Street Challenge autocross. Either way, many folks get their first taste of the twisties at a Year One Experience. Attendees can even take a ride in one of the Panoz Driving School cars at full speed-naturally, with a qualified instructor behind the wheel.
But there's another element, one that's really important to the DIY guy who's elbow-deep in a project. This event presents the unprecedented opportunity to meet face-to-face with top vendors in a pressure-free environment. (Vendors aren't allowed to sell at the event.) Ask all the questions you want, check out the hardware in person, or just put a face to the voice on the phone-you can't do this anywhere short of a trade-only show.
Drag racing is also a favorite here, with the Year One Experience being a top sponsor of the Outlaw Racing Street Car Association (ORSCA), which runs in conjunction with The Experience at nearby Atlanta Dragway (about 20 miles north on I-85). During the three-day event, we spent an entire day at Atlanta Dragway, so there's plenty of time to do everything. There's everything from Outlaw 10.5 racing, featuring Pro-style cars, to Modified Street, a newer class for affordable street cars with small-blocks, carbs, and plate nitrous systems. Most of the racing is done on the eighth-mile-to better accommodate what most ORSCA racers are set up for-so the action is fast paced.
One thing's sure: There's no time to get bored here, and that's the key if you've got the family in tow. At Road Atlanta, there's plenty of stuff for the kids to do, and there's even a shopping shuttle to the Mall of Georgia for mom. Year One also keeps a captive stable of celebrities at the Experience, thanks to Year One's accomplished car-building operation, which keeps the Hollywood crowd flush with the best steel. Take a side trip to Year One's facility in Braselton to buy needed parts, try your luck at the 0-60-0 Challenge sponsored by Stainless Steel Brakes, or let your DynoMax-equipped street car rip on the chassis dyno for the DynoMax Power To The Wheels Tour.
If you hang out on the Internet at places like Pro-Touring.com or Lateral-g.net, you'll also find lots of after-hours parties and impromptu get-togethers. Wherever your automotive interest lies, you'll want to put the Year One Experience on your calendar for next year. Just get there!
Free Bird
The beautiful Lisa Serafine is part of Prodigy Customs (www.prodigycustoms.com) in Orlando, FL. She's standing next to Kevin Newcomer's '69 Firebird, which almost didn't happen. Not long ago, Kevin's 'bird was in "paint jail" at another shop, where it was being held ransom for body work at nearly four times the original quoted price. Lisa and company rescued the Pontiac for Kevin not a moment too soon, bringing much-needed fiscal sanity to the project. The pro tourer has a Wayne Due C4 front clip, Chris Alston 9-inch Ford rear, a 4L80E automatic with a Twist Machine paddle shifter, and a 455ci Pontiac mill. Rear-wheel hp tallies 532, thanks to a Procharger D1SC blower, Edelbrock aluminum heads, and EFI from FAST. Big Michelin baloneys sit at all four corners (255/40R18, front; 335/30R18, rear), thanks in part to a DSE mini-tub kit in the rear. Kevin's '69 Firebird wasn't free, but at least it's out of jail.
Dynomax Power To The Wheels Tour
The contest to discover the street car with the highest rear-wheel horsepower (and with DynoMax mufflers) continues. At stake is $40,000 in prize money, and Johnny Akines (40) of Sophia, NC, was there to try and take some of it with his '84 Cutlass. With a 200hp shot of NOS, the 406 small-block Chevy laid down 732 hp. That's a lot of snot under the hood, but it wasn't good enough for the top spot in Atlanta. That distinction went to Darren Tedder of Social Circle, GA, who busted up the party with his '71 'Cuda (second photo). Packing a 572-inch Hemi with a 175hp shot on top, Darren's E-body cranked out 987 hp to the wheels, and is the overall power leader as of this writing. The DynoMax Power To The Wheels Tour will move on to Hot August Nights (Reno, NV; August 7-11), Woodward Dream Cruise (Detroit, August 16-18), Hot Rod Super Nationals (Springfield, Il, August 24-26), and finally the Street Machine Nationals (Springfield, MO, September 15-17). The top cars will then face off for the $25,000 grand prize at the SEMA show in Las Vegas on October 30.
Mustang Sally
We leave you this month with Savannah Stanley (19) of Lilburn, GA, and her '66 Mustang. Savannah is a criminal justice major at Gwinnett Tech, and plans on becoming a police officer some day. But until then, she enjoys working on her Mustang with help from Mark Bowen of Bowen's Collision. "The hardest part of the restoration was stripping it down and putting it together," says Savannah, who has done much of the work herself with parts from Year One.
 The Year One Experience happens...  The Year One Experience happens simultaneously at two venues, the Road Atlanta road course, and Atlanta Dragway, just a few miles north off Interstate 85. |  |  Tommy Parker (42) takes his...  Tommy Parker (42) takes his '73 Camaro through the final corners of Road Atlanta's winding road course. |
 Jeff Gunther knows a thing...  Jeff Gunther knows a thing or two about engines because he's an engine assembler for Joe Gibbs Racing in Kannapolis, NC. |  |  Putting the screws to his...  Putting the screws to his dad's '68 Camaro is Ryan Padgett (29) of Jacksonville, FL. |
 Jeff Tate (41) of Canton,...  Jeff Tate (41) of Canton, GA, rips up the Road Atlanta autocross with his '69 SS Camaro. |  Spurgeon Adkins and his purple...  Spurgeon Adkins and his purple '89 LX Mustang are well known on the Ford circuit, and he was up to his old tricks, running a 5.52/132 in the eighth-mile to set the ORSCA Modified Street class record. |  This '69 AMC Javelin belongs...  This '69 AMC Javelin belongs to Tom Lodge (no, not the mean one on TV) of Deland, FL. |
 We heard lots of noise, and...  We heard lots of noise, and went to check out the commotion. Incredibly, all eight of these people piled out of this '72 Nova. |  Little girl: "Hey mister,...  Little girl: "Hey mister, do you know how to play that song, 'Itsy, Bitsy Spider?'" Kenny Wayne Shepherd: "Uh, that's kinda below me kid, but Hunkins would probably do it for a dollar. Wouldn't ya Hunky?" |  We found Ashlay Sargent at...  We found Ashlay Sargent at the Air Ride Technologies-sponsored autocross with her boyfriend, Travis Shaw, who is a welder and fabricator. Travis brought this sweet '69 Camaro, which features a 327 small-block and a three-speed manual. |
 Third-gen F-bodies are excellent...  Third-gen F-bodies are excellent candidates for road racing, and Russell Clemmer, an accountant from Gadsden, AL, found out just how fun they can be when he brought his '89 Trans Am GTA to Road Atlanta. |  Bob LaBrecque (Dallas, GA)...  Bob LaBrecque (Dallas, GA) walks a fine line between entertaining people and winning, and lately those two goals are in conflict. |  The author hanging out with...  The author hanging out with Horsepower TV host Joe Elmore on Atlanta's starting line. |