The Presidential Range is a mountain range within the White Mountains in which the highest peaks are named after various presidents. At 6,288.2 feet above sea level, Mount Washington is the highest of them, and is also the highest mountain in the northeast. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s just some hill because you’ve seen the Rockies. It’s a place known for constant weather changes and extreme winds.
Of all those mountains, only the peak of Mt. Washington is easily accessible. There is a cog railroad going up one side and a road going the other. Of course someone, may years ago, had the brilliant and insane idea of racing up that twist 7.4-mile road. For over a hundred years people have been racing up this mountain on foot, on bicycles, and in cars. This year is no different.
In September 2010, Travis Pastrana set an unofficial record of 6:20.47 seconds to drive up this mountain. His Subaru Rally Team teammate broke that record in 2011 with 6:11.54 and again in 2014 with 6:09.09. On July 9, 2017 Travis Pastrana shattered that record in his 600-hp Subaru WRX STI by racing up that mountain in 5:44.72. And this time the record is official.
Watch the above video from that run. Watch for the changes in weather, the climb over the tree line, and change in road surfaces from dry to wet asphalt to dirt. Look how narrow the road is and how even a small mistake can turn disastrous.
If you live in the area, the New England Forest Rally is this weekend, July 21/22 Newry, Maine. The Subaru Rally Team will be there with David Higgins and Travis Pastrana driving their Vermont SportsCar-prepped WRX STIs. Ryan Millen wil also be there in his Toyota RAV4, probably clinching the series’ 2WD Class championship.
Watch Travis Pastrana's Record Breaking Run up Mt. Washington
By Kamil Kaluski
Jul 19, 2017
By Kamil Kaluski
East Coast Editor. Races crappy cars and has an unhealthy obsession with Eastern Bloc cars. Current fleet: Ford Bronco, Lexus GX 470, and a Buick Regal crapcan racecar.
Ross Ballot 
Jeff Glucker
Obligitary Damon and Naomi reference (who used to be in a band called Galaxie 500) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUg3cBIBMas
WHO DID HE WAVE TO!??!?!?! Yeah.. on the record run he WAVED TO SOMEONE!!! #199
Would it be possible to keep the site updated so that every time there’s a new story, clicking on the ‘Hooniverse’ banner headline takes you to the latest, new story, and not another, older story?
As I write this, clicking on the Hooniverse banner takes me to the story on Nascar drivers.
Is it possible that with the recent invention of computers, that this operation could be automated?
It’s actually supposed to bring up the latest articles on the home page when you click the banner. There seems to be an odd issue with that not working properly for a few of us. Typing in the current date after the url (hooniverse.info/2017/07/19/ for today’s date for example) will bring you the latest articles.
I’m running Firefox and Google, I can’t imagine I’m the only one. Shouldn’t it be seamless for all?
This issue crops up every few months and typically resolves itself within a few days. As I recall, the technical explanation offered at one point was “Something something server caches something something.”
I may be paraphrasing that.
It’s always good to hear a properly described technically correct explanation.
Thanks! That’s why I went into teaching.
Your students must consider themselves lucky.
Yes, I take care to inform them up front that they are required to consider themselves lucky.
Lest they don’t, obviously?
Crackpipe
I hadn’t seen that. The minimum bid ($17,500) strikes me as optimistic. I think this is the same one recently listed elsewhere for $12,500, which was still optimistic. Presumably the seller is hoping these can be urged on their way to commanding Messerschmitt money. I remain skeptical.
Optimistic isn’t quite enough word for it. I’m thinking more along the line of synonyms for ‘insane’.
Alff has it right.
In this case the difference between me saying “optimistic” and you saying “insane” is that I’m currently in possession of an HMV Freeway gold mine if they start going for real money.
My assessment of the chances of this actually happening are reflected in the fact that I did, however, vote in favor of Alff.
Until now I would have put the words HMV, Freeway, and goldmine appearing in a coherent sentence together up there with my warehouse full of chimpanzees with typewriters producing Hamlet.
They are quite good with ‘reality’ TV though.
This is a far, far better way to spend $17,000, if for no other reason than the amount of fiberglass involved:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0045320c5ae057153f75b8a8aee5f31a109e9c0b1973bc3b569492c7de300321.jpg
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/rvs/d/ultravan-are-you-funky/6224572973.html
And cylinders.
If that’s too much fibreglass there is this on Barn Finds. http://barnfinds.com/funky-farmer-1950-crosley-farm-o-road/?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_source=Newsletter+(Daily)&utm_medium=email&utm_content=titlelink
http://cdn.barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/071817-1950-Crosley-Farm-o-Road-1-630×473.jpg
The photo leads me to ask when you will be getting a Metropolitan? For the Austin connection.
Actually, only the corners are fiberglass. The rest is (aircraft grade?) aluminum. For maximum sun baking!
Yeah, the fiberglass is just to handle the compound curves, but it’s still more than an entire Freeway’s body.