Local Cruise Nights - Let The Cruising Begin

Thursday--Irwindale Raceway
We're fudging the rules again to accommodate a night of drag racing. And really, your local test 'n' tune is just cruising taken to the next level to include such gross displays of horsepower as burnouts, full-throttle acceleration, and plenty of trash talking. With the CC/Rambler fresh off a clutch change, we caravanned with Editor Glad to the track for a night of eighth-mile drag racing.

Irwindale is one of only two...        read full caption Irwindale is one of only two dragstrips left in Los Angeles County, and it fills up quickly on test 'n' tune night. We cut out of work early to get there before the throngs of import guys clogged up the staging lanes.	We saw lots of great cars...        read full caption We saw lots of great cars that night, including Paul Adams' deceptively quick '03 Mustang SVT Cobra. Look for more of it in an upcoming issue.	Gates open at 4 p.m., and...        read full caption Gates open at 4 p.m., and racing starts at 5. By 4:30, the staging lanes were almost full.

Friday
Friday is Bob's night, as in Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. This is a legendary cruise spot in Los Angeles County, and Bob's has been hosting a Friday night cruise for decades. The restaurant itself opened in 1949 and is the oldest remaining Bob's Big Boy in the U.S. Architect Wayne McAllister penned its swoopy, space-age design that is so distinctive-looking today among the surrounding office buildings and generic shopping centers. Because of its popularity, you'll see a little of everything at Bob's--from million-dollar Shelby Cobras to rat rods that look like they were built for less than the cost of a Big Boy burger, there's always something cool to look at and interesting people to talk to.