The DRO staff will be taking our usual vacation between Christmas and New Year’s Day. We will return to duty on Jan. 2, 2019. We wish you all a happy and peaceful holiday season.

Sadly, we must make note of the passing in August of one of editor Jeff Burk’s neighbors, Dennis Sutton. It is Sutton’s old truck decorated with Christmas lights that we have used as our holiday cover for many years.

Dennis Sutton (seated) with son Thomas (left) and brother Bill.  (Jeff Burk photo)

Burk said he knew he was moving into the right neighborhood over 20 years ago when he saw a bunch of 1955 Chevys in the garage and driveway across the street. Over the years, drag racer and car and parts buyer and seller Sutton established an annual Christmas party and a Tuesday night group of gearheads to work on cars, do a little bench racing and a few burnouts on the street in front of his house. As part of Sutton’s memorial service, members of his Legion Post, family and friends did burnouts in the Legion parking lot. A fitting salute!   [12/20/18]

Longtime partner NAPA AUTO PARTS has extended their marketing relationship with Don Schumacher Racing through a multi-year agreement, beginning in 2019. NAPA AUTO PARTS joined the DSR family as an associate sponsor in 2007 and became the primary sponsor of the Dodge Funny Car driven by Ron Capps in 2008.

Making its debut at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, CA, on Feb. 8-10 will be the 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. The team will continue to be led by crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant crew chief Dustin Heim.   [12/20/18]

Garage 77, the world’s first social classic car garage is now open in Redondo Beach, a beach community south of Los Angeles. The unique concept offers members on-demand, flexible use of a fleet of eight classic cars and access to a vintage shared recreational space. The startup provides all the perks of owning a rotating fleet of rare classic cars, without any of the upkeep, know-how or hassle, at a fraction of the cost of traditional ownership.

“We wanted to create a space where our members can experience the exhilaration and nostalgia of driving the most popular vehicles of decades past as if it were their own garage, without the huge cost of ownership or mechanical know-how,” said Garage 77 cofounder Brian Waldman. “We’re not your typical ‘car guys’ or gearheads that have the time or knowledge to work on these classic cars, but for a date night, important business meeting, picking your kids up from school or a weekend road trip, we realized our unique shared model made the most sense for others with similarly busy and exciting lifestyles.”

Currently, the Garage 77 fleet includes a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette C1, 1975 Ford Bronco, 1987 Ferrari 328 GTS, 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster Tribute, 1981 DMC DeLorean, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, 1961 Lincoln Continental and a 1977 Jeep CJ-5. The Garage is continuously expanding and searching for the most exciting and rare classic cars, so the line-up will change often. The Garage utilizes several expert mechanics who maintain the rare fleet.

Gee, the Agent has to wonder if Jay Leno knows about this potential income stream?    [12/20/18]