When you start driving on the El Mirage Dry Lakebed, you realize there is something special about this place. The soft layer of dirt blown across the lakebed makes the drive surreal. Also, the history of racing on the dry lakebed makes El Mirage a little different.

Many vehicles race at El Mirage; to name a few, there are Motorcycles, Trucks, Roadsters, and Lakesters. All of the vehicles that race out at El Mirage are cool. However, because of their look and history, I look forward to seeing the Lakesters more than any other vehicle.

I'm also a big fan of old trucks, and when arriving, I saw a 1946 GMC truck that blew me away. The GMC truck was a gorgeous blue color. The pickup also had a GMC 302 straight-six that came out of a 1958 GMC, similar to Marsh Runyon's 1928 Ford Roadster, with the same GMC engine featured on Old Custom Cars.

Mark Isaac, the owner of the truck, said they have been working on it for nine years, but it was last year when they started getting serious about getting the pickup done. Their goal was to bring it out and race it at El Mirage. They finished the truck just in time to make it to El Mirage. The first run was great, and on their 2nd run, they got a 109.337, just shy of the class record 110.114 set last year by Theresa Bates in a Ford Pickup.

The 1946 GMC truck not only looked fantastic, but it was fast. The crew did a great job on this truck, and missing the record of less than one mph on their first weekend out with this truck is a great accomplishment for the crew that put it together.

Click on photo to open full screen

A few vintage motorcycles were at El Mirage over the weekend. Two motorcycles caught my attention; a 1936 Harley Davidson and a red 1937 Harley Davidson. The '37 was racing at the event, and seeing such an old motorcycle racing was a blast. The '36 Harley didn't run on the course, but seeing it ridden on the dry lake bed was fun. 

Another interesting bike was a 2000 1650cc Harley Davidson M-PG; the bike was built and raced by a father and son team. Mark Fullner said that he and his son Branden race the bike. Branden has the race class record of 153.679 on this bike. They did some work on the bike, and Mark said it slowed it down a bit. Branden ran 143 and 144 on two runs on Saturday and ended up with a top run of 147.139. I'm sure they will be tweaking the bike when they get home. The bike was cool, but the best part was seeing that a father and son team built and raced the bike. Out of eighteen records broken over the weekend, eleven of them were on motorcycles.

Keep up to date on what’s new on Old Custom Cars hit the subscribe button below

There was a beautiful 1939 Ford coupe out here for the season opener; they recently put in a new flathead engine. They worked on it late Saturday, trying to get some bugs out. The car looked great; glad it was out here for the El Mirage Land Speed season opener.

If you were wondering if you should go to the El Mirage Land Speed Races, I'd say do it. You will have a great time. El Mirage Land Speed Races are held on the El Mirage dry lakebed, about 100mi south/east of Los Angeles. There are six land speed race events during the year. The race season starts in May, and the last race at El Mirage is in November. SCTA, a volunteer group, organizes the Land Speed Races. Check the SCTA-BIN website as the scheduled race date can get canceled due to weather.

Click on photo to open in full screen

Similar or related post on Old Custom Cars

Marsh Runyon’s 1928 Ford Roadster - El Mirage Land Speed Races It’s All About Speed