9 Favorite Adventures From 2015

Saying “sayonara” to 2015 has made me realize how many adventures I’ve had that I’ve been too busy to share here on GreaseGirl.com! Looking at a snapshot of my 9 most liked posts on Instagram for the year gave me warm fuzzies all over again (follow me @greasegirl), so I thought I’d wave a final farewell to the year by sharing them with you here.

1. The Race of Gentlemen

I jumped at the opportunity to finally attend The Race of Gentlemen (TROG) when Craftsmen asked me to be a part of their “Made to Race” team with Jessie Combs behind the wheel of a super cool dual-4 banger engine railer. As luck would have it, Jessie’s focused determination at the starting line pulled the wooden steering wheel right off of its brass spindles! Finding myself just in the right spot, I captured this epic shot. Read and see more of my coverage of The Race of Gentlemen over at DrivingLine.com.

2. Ultra4

A couple of years ago I was introduced to Ultra4 racing due to my “day job” as Editor of Driving Line. This past year I attended six of the eight national championship races across the country and I have to admit I’ve kinda fallen in love with this sport. These cars are capable of 100+ mph desert speeds as well as crawling up enormous boulders at an unbelievable pace… something my Studebaker just isn’t built for (or many other vehicles for that matter)! Getting to know the genuinely fantastic racers that make up the Nitto racing team has been amazing as well, such as Shannon Campbell seen here. See more of my Ultra4 adventures.

3. Hot Rod Hill Climb

Finding myself in Denver this summer enabled me to attend the Women’s Car Care Board conference as well as the Hot Rod Hill Climb (HRHC). HRHC is an event with a heart based in everything that’s awesome about hot rodding (it was originally started over 60 years ago by some hot rodders who thought they could beat the sports cars of their day up the steep mountain pass). Beginning at the start line and climbing myself up the mountain pass while these nostalgic rods zoomed pass one-by-one was the funnest workout I’ll ever have! Check out more of my Hill Climb coverage at DrivingLine.com.

4. More from Hot Rod Hill Climb

This is actually one of my absolute favorite photos of the year. The eagerness in the passenger’s pose and everything about it just makes me smile. Plus, the driver was this kid’s Grandma… how cool is that!?!

5. Noir Stude

While I’d originally posted this photo here in 2013, its coolness deserved another share on Instagram. Photographer buddy Bo Struye did an awesome job of capturing my Studebaker in motion with a decidedly film noir style about it. My original post with this photo actually has an amazing short story in the comments… you’ve gotta click over and read it!

6. More from The Race of Gentlemen

My fellow Gasoline Girl Car Club member, Pati, and I were the official pit crew for the Craftsmen railer and also lent tools from the Craftsmen pit to other racers who needed them.

7. Even MORE from The Race of Gentlemen

Yeah, this event is kind of a photographers dream! Fully nostalgic hot rods, canvas tents, painted signs, carnival games, white picket fences, media in white coveralls, drag racing on the beach, the whole nine yards. Walking around on the second day of the event, Pati and I were excited to spot a gal with one of the “Fast Women Finish First” t-shirts we’d been handing out at the Craftsmen pits.

8. MORE TROG!!!

A scene from the pits where some improvisation and perseverance paid off for this vintage Indian racer… it was interesting communicating about what tools were needed with a Japanese/English language barrier!

9. More Hot Rod Hill Climb

I couldn’t be luckier to get the opportunity to attend so many cool events! My hopes are that this coming year there will be even more DRIVING!!! If you noticed that these 9 favorites aren’t actually 9 different adventures… I rounded them out to a full 9 in my follow-up post 😉

Leave a comment with your favorite adventure of 2015!