CLUB HANDZ x LSD 2020 Coverage… Part 2…

CLUB HANDZ x LSD 2020 Coverage… Part 2…

Hopefully you guys enjoyed the newest Vlog episode. If you haven’t please try to give it a watch, I think you guys will enjoy it. It’s one of those episodes that may feel foreign to some, because they’re so used to me covering mostly Honda-related content on here, but I think people forget that I’m just a car guy that enjoys all different makes and models. Even though The Chronicles was built on the foundation of great Honda builds, I’ve always dabbled with other styles and makes of vehicles. Hell, coming to you as a ‘Honda guy’, I currently own a Nissan, Toyota, and a Honda—and my Honda is the only car that isn’t heavily modified. I just love cars and through my many journeys all over the world documenting car culture, I’ve come to appreciate so many different sub-genres…
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A Double-Feature Packed With RARE JDM Goodness!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #30

A Double-Feature Packed With RARE JDM Goodness!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #30

It’s been a while since we’ve had the time to do one of our “Drive-By” episodes but boy is this a good one! If you like rare Japanese parts, wheels, and car guys that love all things “JDM” to an absolutely obsessive level, this one is the one to watch. Jaime has been wanting to bring his JZX100 Mark II over for a while now but after driving at AVS, he ended up destroying his front lip! He got it repaired, blew-up a pair of TEs, and finally made it presentable after driving the car all the way to Norcal and back. Since our friend Derek was in-town for Formula Drift, it was the perfect time for Jaime to come by since Derek loves hanging out with us (we have no idea why) and he surprised us with a car that we never even knew he had. This is one of those longer episodes you guys have been asking for so sit back and watch us talk our shit!!…
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CLUB HANDZ x LSD 2020 Coverage… Part 1…

CLUB HANDZ x LSD 2020 Coverage… Part 1…

We’ve read and heard so many negatives about the year that has been 2020 worldwide. There has been a pandemic, so much loss, a contentious feeling throughout our country, and there doesn’t seem to be light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Everyone is having a rough year, and I can’t think of another time in my entire life where that has been so true. How is that even possible, right? It’s crazy to think that it has been such a rough time but what’s even crazier is believing that everything will change the moment we flip that calendar over to January 1st. There remains to be so many unknowns heading into 2021 and it is just a little over 30 days from now. To think that everything will change in 2021 is, frankly, unrealistic. Time, and more importantly life, just doesn’t work that way. I feel like the best way we can approach the future is to put a positive twist on it—and that’s coming from someone who hasn’t necessarily been the most positive of people. I’ll admit, I’ve gotten better with age. I’ve always been fairly ‘aware’ of who I was as a person. Most of my 20s were spent kind of in a fog, taking life as it came but always approaching it with a bit of cynicism. As I’ve grown-up, both physically and mentally, I have found myself to become a much more positive human being. I’m still incredibly sarcastic and very much a cynic, but I think I’ve figured life out. I’ve had enough experiences that have paved my way to a much more positive approach towards life and all of its many hurdles…
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From Broken NSX To Breaking Records, The Road To 1:44.768… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #29

From Broken NSX To Breaking Records, The Road To 1:44.768… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #29

Well, it finally happened…The Koyorad x RS Future K-turbo NSX is fast—REALLY fast. And after nearly three years of development, it’s also the NEW Super Lap Battle “Street Class” overall champion and record-holder. It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that. I’ve had the pleasure of watching this car come to form from the very beginning as a stripped-down bare shell. People didn’t understand the concept of utilizing a turbocharged K-series engine in an NSX at first. To most, it just seemed like a ‘cool idea’ but the C30/C32 engine was Honda’s flagship 6-cylinder powerplant. To some, it was automotive sacrilege to put a modern Honda 4-cylinder engine in an NSX. The doubters were only proved right when the car continued through its development stages and repeatedly ran into issues. It was a bit disheartening to see the car not reach the level of success that we had hoped for but everyone involved knew that it would be a long process. Things started to turn around at the start of 2020 when the gearbox issues that had halted development were relieved thanks to a Samsonas Motorsport dogbox. The NSX really started to move after that. As Amir Bentatou got more comfortable, and even more confident, behind the wheel, we knew that there was a strong possibility it would finally see the success we had envisioned for it at Buttonwillow Raceway. Sit back, take a trip down memory lane with us as we venture back to the beginning, and relive all the emotions that came when the clock hit 1:44.768…
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A Wild Weekend At Club Handz With The Boys!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #28

A Wild Weekend At Club Handz With The Boys!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #28

What a weekend! Originally I had only planned on going to the Super Lap Battle event hosted by Global Time Attack but being that it was a two-day event, I decided to make the trek back to Apple Valley Speedway once again to support my friend Kemritte’s “Club Handz” event. For those that aren’t aware, Club Handz is a grassroots drifting event put together by a group of friends that just want to go out and drive without points or politics. It’s just a great time and a real vibe (as Kemritte told me). I always wanted to go support but our schedules just never aligned. I was either out of the country or something else was going on. The stars finally aligned during this crazy year so Der and I decided to go to Club Handz on Saturday, and then head to Buttonwillow the next day for Super Lap Battle. It was a lot of driving since both tracks are in such different parts of California but well worth it to support friends!
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GReddy GPP Live 2020 Event Coverage…

GReddy GPP Live 2020 Event Coverage…

There’s no SEMA event this year due to the ongoing “situation” we’re all going through, but I don’t know if I really miss it or not. On one hand, I do enjoy being in Las Vegas. Meeting up with industry friends is always nice and eating/drinking an insane amount throughout the week always makes things interesting. On the flip side, I don’t miss the crowds, the transportation to and from the show is always a bit of a headache, and to put it simply, I kind of enjoy saving money for other stuff. It’s funny because most of us who have been in the industry for some time now always bitch about not wanting to go to SEMA, but then we always end-up going and kinda having a good time. It’s a lot of work but it has its quirks that make life interesting enough where we do look forward to heading back to Vegas annually…
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Phil’s B-Day Drift Party, A Random Car Meet, And More!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #27

Phil’s B-Day Drift Party, A Random Car Meet, And More!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #27

Don’t think we’ve ever done anything like this before but we actually had a birthday party at the track! Talk about a ‘themed party’! Haha. Phil wanted to drive his S2000 on his birthday so he decided to rent out the entire Apple Valley Speedway track to have some drifting fun with some friends! Most of us just went out to drink, hang-out and watch the boys drive but the guys that did drive were not messing around. Cars get thrashed in this episode and we didn’t even have cake at the end! Before the party however, Der and I head down to Orange County to check out a car meet with some of the most random assortment of cars that we’ve ever seen!
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John Tran’s S2000 From Club Racer Reunion Weekend…

John Tran’s S2000 From Club Racer Reunion Weekend…

After getting some photos of Jose Mejia’s FK8 CTR on the track, I noticed we had some sunlight left which allowed us to bring one more car onto the scenic Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. There were some pretty nice builds at the Club Racer Reunion event so I had plenty of cars to choose from, but I wanted a car that really ‘popped’ against the orange glow of the setting sun. I had already shot a white car with Jose’s FK8 so it seemed only fitting to add some color to this photo set. Throughout the day, one of the cars that immediately caught my eye was John Tran’s S2000. Like Jose’s Civic, it had also once been white but he recently had the entire car wrapped in a very vibrant red/orange vinyl. I normally am not a huge fan of vinyl-wrappped cars but I do appreciate them a great deal when they are done right. Sometimes the wrap can just look a little flat where you can tell its obviously not paint but John Tran’s S2000 looked fantastic. At a glance you couldn’t even really tell. Add to that a good collection of aero and a wheel/tire combo that helped the car sit just right. John pointed-out that his front splitter had been damaged from racing throughout the day which caused it to sag a bit. I told him it was okay because it is a race car after all and nobody expects it to be perfect. Some battle damage would actually add to the aesthetic of the car anyway and people wouldn’t be credible to say that it was just a ‘show car’ on the track merely for photos…
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Jose Mejia’s FK8 Civic Type R From Club Racer Reunion Weekend…

Jose Mejia’s FK8 Civic Type R From Club Racer Reunion Weekend…

Originally I had planned to just include this in the Club Racer Reunion Weekend coverage being that it was all shot on the same day at the same time but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that these photos should get their own separate post. I know many of you who have followed me through the years may be a bit surprised to see Jose’s FK8 CTR on my site because of his association, but I already let bygones be bygones so long ago that its hardly even an issue. For those who know what I’m talking about—it’s old news. I’m just here to enjoy cars. Even if there were an issue, it wouldn’t really be Jose’s fault because he wasn’t necessarily involved in any perceived ‘drama’ that had happened in the past…
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Club Racer Reunion Weekend 2020 Coverage…

Club Racer Reunion Weekend 2020 Coverage…

Y’all wanna hear some gossip??? Boy do I got some info for you… Lol. I’m kidding of course but you’ll certainly find some of this interesting if you’re not familiar with what “Club Racer” is and have heard of the “VTEC Club” series before. Most Honda enthusiasts will have heard of the racing series either through friends or through various media online but Club Racer, or Club Racer Events, may be new to many of you. VTEC Club USA was originally an all-Honda time trial series operated within a larger racing event host, Extreme Speed Track Events. The Honda-dedicated racing series worked in unison with Extreme Speed over the years and grew to great success until 2020, when the managing party responsible for VTEC Club USA’s continued growth decided it was time to forge a new path. I don’t want to get into all the little nuanced details of it all but let’s just say that it was a relationship where one partner had outgrown the other and someone wanted to spread their wings, if you know what I mean. I’m just on the outside looking in so it isn’t my story to tell in detail but all you really need to know is that VTEC Club USA is operating on its own and under the umbrella of a new entity known as—you guessed it, Club Racer Events…
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