STREET/RACE Issue 1, Winter 2016 | Page 34

BANDIMERE BACKED UP With more than 300 cars teched in at Bandimere Raceway, racing was non-stop all day for one of the biggest turnouts to date for an SCT event. And despite the track sitting more than 5,000 feet above sea level, cars in several classes were running fast times all day long. STREET CAR TAKEOVER’S HOT START STORY & PHOTOS BY KEVIN COX Almost every hardcore car guy or girl lives for race season. They spend the long winter months repairing, building and upgrading their rides so that when spring weather returns they are ready to race and show off the fruits of their hard labor. And while there are many car events held annually across the nation, the only traveling true street car series is Street Car Takeover. The history of Street Car Takeover originates back to 2013 in Blue Springs, Missouri, where Kyle Loftis and 1320Video traveled to cover a massive car show organized by Justin Keith that was originally called KC2K13. The event’s turnout was so impressive that Loftis and Chase Lautenbach contacted Keith soon after the event with the idea of instead of holding just one show 34 STREETRACE per year in one city, why not make it a traveling event across the nation with a car show on Friday and a full day of racing on Saturday? It led to Keith and Lautenbach becoming the owners and promoters of what is known today as Street Car Takeover, with Loftis and his 1320Video crew committing to SCT as its primary media outlet. In 2014, the first season of Street Car Takeover featured five events, but now in its third full season there are 12 different cities on the schedule and SCT is recognized as one of the premier motorsport tours in the country. In addition to Friday’s car show, the opening night of each SCT event typically includes a dyno meet. After everyone proves their horsepower numbers on the dyno, it’s time to put down the power on the track all day Saturday with 14 different classes of drag racing and roll racing. While SCT does have classes for purpose-built race cars, it is open to all makes of exotics, imports, domestics, bikes and trucks. The variety of different classes gives anyone a chance to race what they have ranging from family sedans to 8-second street cars. SCT’s vision is to get racing off the streets and provide a chance for everyone to race their cars without having to be hundreds of thousands of dollars into a fully built race car.