Hot Rod Heaven
Vintage cars stream down the beach to be put on display against the backdrop of one of the most famous boardwalks in America.
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Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone -
Period Piece
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Onlookers stand on artificial dunes to keep out of the way of cars as Trevor DeWill rolls by in his 1917 Dodge Brothers, which is built on a Ford Model A chassis.
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Night of the Trogladites
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone On the Friday before the races, hundreds of attendees gather in a parking lot of a nearby motel to ogle each other’s choppers; hand-built bikes that can go for tens of thousands of dollars.
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A Model A Goes to the Races
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Jame Stormes’ 1930 Ford Model A Coupe, which he brought in from California, rides out to the beach to queue up for the “grudge races” — one-on-one matchups between friends, rivals, brothers, or even spouses.
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Loving Tribute
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Brooke Dolan in her 1932 Ford 3 Window coupe. She and her husband completed the car last year, but couldn’t bring it to TROG — her grandmother died a week before the race and they attended the funeral in Texas instead. They named the car Beverley in her grandmother’s honor.
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Cooling Off
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Between races, drivers pull their cars around to a makeshift parking lot away from the salty surf spray, which can damage engines.
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Winner Takes All
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Travis Steagall, who would go on to win the 45 cubic-inch division motorcycle race the following day, leaning against his friend’s bike, a 1947 knucklehead Harley.
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The Man Behind the Curtain
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Mel Stultz says holding the event in October means the weather could go in any direction — and given their location on the beach, they are beholden to the wind, moon, and tides. But he doesn’t check the weather until a few days before the event. Why plan for something when you can’t control it? “It’s completely unpredictable,” he says.
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Crisp White Suit
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Big Rich — wearing custom coveralls made by “Sushi” Atsushi Yasui, the only Oilers member in Japan — covers his face as a car and motorcycle take off.
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Ready to Ride
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Tim Vanderbas of Brooklyn, New York, atop his 1947 Harley Davidson 45 flathead.
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The Face of TROG
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Sara Francello, TROG’s flag girl since the beginning and a producer of the show, has become one of the most recognizable faces of the event. It’s a physical job, so this year, for the first time, she decided to share the duties — but she still got out there to whip the flag around when she could.
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Work of Art
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Randy “Detroit” Hayward alongside his 1929 Harley-Davidson DL, which contains “a few rare firsts,” including the first 45 cubic-inch flathead motor and the first dual bullet headlights. When it’s not on the race circuit, he keeps the bike — which he’s named Picasso — in his living room.
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Firestarters
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone On Saturday night, at the end of a long day of racing, attendees streamed back onto the beach to gather around a bonfire. But in a reminder that it’s no longer the 1940s, the fire department was on hand to keep it under control.
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All Hands on Deck
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone A makeshift crew works on a bike in the race pit. As the riders often joke, the best part of riding motorcycles is fixing them.
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Memorial to a Great
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Joseph J. Ossichak, Jr. — better known as Joe Oz — was the longtime boss of the staging lanes at TROG. After his death earlier this year at the age of 58, organizers gave him a memorial near the starting line, mounting the shirt, coat, and top hat he wore as the unofficial master of ceremonies.
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On the Road
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Ryan Zinck’s Ford Model A is a hair ahead of Jerry Laboranti Jr., who’s behind the wheel of his 1932 Ford Roadster, which he races with a 1954 Oldsmobile engine.
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Life on the Edge
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone James Dartori, Jake McCall, and Charlie McCall prepare to race on the beach. Though they’re in full helmets, as required, motorcycle riders at TROG often ditch the safety of a leather jacket for a simple shirt or sweater.
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Man With a Mission
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Greg Campetella of Staten Island, New York, behind the wheel of his 1929 RPU.
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Rocket Man
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Jim Mundell in his bellytank custom car. These models, made out of airplane fuel tanks, became popular in the years immediately following World War II when there was a surplus of parts.
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Victory Lap
Image Credit: Victor Llorente for Rolling Stone Kevin Carlson, better known at the race as Crazy Uncle Harry, won the Rail Job class with his early dragster. Mel Stultz popped some champagne in his honor.