Since this race is a ultimate demonstration of handling and car control, this year is the 100th running of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. The race has certainly evolved over the years as it changed from dirt to asphalt, run what ya brung to purpose built cars and the constant evolution of classes from a few dozen to the current format of 5 classes plus exhibition and the need to be invited to participate.

This year's event has Jess Neal and his '71 Cuda returning for the century mark run. Kevin Wesley is in town with a '21 Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye widebody both in the exhibition class. Other mopars are limited to Ray Guerrero in an '08 Viper.

Other vintage rides are Aaron Kaufman in a '49 Ford F1, Ken Block in what is claimed as a '66 BBI Porsche 911 Hoonipigesus (I've seen conflicting entries saying '66 and '96. IMO, this is late model, 1500 hp, radical car), Tommy Boileau in his '67 Camaro (there is always a Camaro in there) Chris Strauch in a '70 Porsche 914, and a few early '80s Audi Quattros, if you want to call them vintage.

This year's roster is set with 73 entries in 6 classes. Gone are the motorcycles classes after multiple deaths over the last few years. Details on teh event along with driver profiles can be found at the event website: https://ppihc.org/

I missed the tech inspection today at the World Arena, so didn't get to see any of them in person and have no photos to share. I've seen some videos of Ken Block testing the Hoonipigesus at a local road track with its teething problems. Jess Neal was invited to display at the PPIHCA Museum here in town a couple of weeks ago. Videos of his first races back when the road was dirt are easily found on the net. The rest of this week will consist of practice on various sections. I hope to catch Fan Fest downtown this Friday night, which is a fun time, but the top runners probably won' have their cars out for display.

With that, I'll leave you all with a link to a compilation of some guys who overestimated road conditions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgbbGUwzy2c&t=76s
...and a non-timed, display run of Ken Block's Hoonicorn a few year back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg6L_7qLIEQ