South Mountain Raceway – The Vintage Eliminator gang was in the house that day at South Mountain Raceway doing their thing; having a good time and wowing the fans with their old-school hot rods. As anyone who has seen them can say, these cars (and drivers) just drip with an infectious personality that just drags you right in. While walking through the pits, I happened to notice on one car there was a slight paint run coming from the car’s number on the windshield. The owner was intent on removing that run so the number was just right. At that moment, I knew I just had to find out more about this car and the driver who was so focused on detail.

I soon learned this driver was Brian Ketterer. His car, a gorgeous 1929 Ford Roadster on a ‘32 frame, stands out from the rest of the Vintage Racers. There was a beauty there that wasn’t focused on the track like the others. I asked about this and Ketterer told me it was because this was his street car that he was just racing until he had his race car finished. This beauty is powered by a ‘59A V8 Ford Flathead. Ketterer started building this car in 2000 and he built it all himself. It took him about 12 years to complete and it’s been on the road ever since. Curious, I had to ask about the race-car-in-progress that he’s building. That upcoming car is a ‘27 Ford Model T Roadster that he’s building to simulate the cars built in the late 40s in California. If the street car is any indication, this will be a car to keep an eye out for when complete.

This whole conversation made me wonder how Ketterer caught the vintage car bug, and that story is a good one! According to Ketterer, “E.J. Kowalski had asked me to go to Bonneville with him in 2000. While we were there, an acquaintance of E.J.’s had one of his roadsters out on the salt. In talking to him, he threw me the keys and said ‘Here, take it for a ride.’ So there I was, in a 40s style roadster, out in Bonneville on the salt just driving around. It can easily hook you. After I drove that, I said I’ve got to build one myself, so that’s what I did. I said I’m going to build a car and take it to Bonneville, but I never did take it to Bonneville for the obvious reasons, for what the salt does to them, but I did build the car.”

What a way to get introduced to vintage racing! I’m sure the new build will be worth the wait. Be sure to check out the Vintage Eliminator gang if you get the chance and see a bunch of awesome cars and drivers like this one!

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