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With March being nearly over, I figured I'd get to posting up our spotlight! March’s member feature is our very own “Fearless Leader”, Jade Rasdan. What prompted you to start Iron Range Area Car Enthusiasts? About 10 years ago, I met some individuals in Virginia, MN who were passionate about cars like I was. We all just became friends due to our interests. All of us were young, in college, working part-time jobs and modifying cars wasn’t on the forefront of our finances. But the passion still grows! We were like a “club” from the start but not necessarily projecting ourselves in such a way. I started iRace in 2016 because I had this idea about getting other car enthusiasts on the Iron Range involved in something. We’re all passionate about the same thing. Why not make a community? There are plenty of people out there who want to share their projects. What better way to do that than to start a club? There are some other clubs up here in Northern Minnesota, but they are exclusive to an era or group and most of us don’t fit the criteria. I wanted to make something that was friendly, and open to all car makes and models. Anyone who has a car they are passionate about can find their place in iRace. Everyone has their own preferences, but I think everyone has more fun when there is variety. Everyone is welcome to an iRace meet – don’t feel pressured to show up with something spectacular. Most of the time I show up in my work beater. If your projects are up and running, bring them out! How old were you when you started being interested in cars? I think that I was about 14 or 15 before I realized that I had a love for cars. On long trips I would count each sports car that I would see. Suddenly, I was taking pictures of all the cool cars I would find “out in the wild”. My dad really enjoyed cars when he was younger and I think his passion for cars influenced me. “Chip off the ‘ole block” as he says. What cars have you owned? What kind of car(s) do you own now? 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse. I’ve also owned a 2009 BMW 335xi which was a glorious piece of machinery. I’m almost being sarcastic, but that car was amazing to drive. I currently own a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI with a modification list a mile long. Which do you prefer: Imports or Domestic? Why? I don’t have a preference when it comes to either. I have only owned imports, but I have this soft spot for C6 Corvettes. I’ve nearly bought a C6 Corvette but, the deals have fallen through every time. It’s not my time yet! What is your most current project? How long have you been working on it? I wouldn’t say it’s “my” current project, but a project I’ve picked up from my friend Dave Rasmussen which is the 2004 STI I currently own. I purchased the car right after Powercruise in 2018. What was your very first car? My first car was a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS. There is a story behind it. Besides having a major soft sport for Corvettes, I absolutely love 2G Mitsubishi Eclipses. I was 17 years old and I was out of town for the weekend. It was a Friday. My dad was out of town for work so my poor mother was by herself. She decided to go up to Fortune Bay. She was playing a slot machine and ended up winning a fair sum of money. The next day she was volunteering at the Lion’s Club Food Wagon for the Babbitt Peter Mitchell Days. While she was walking up to the wagon, she noticed a young man pulling up in a car at the gas station. He proceeded to park the car in the grass. He got out and placed some “For Sale” signs on the windows of the car. My mom was looking at the car, but she wasn’t completely sure if it was the Mitsubishi Eclipse I always talked about. When she approached the car to check it out, it ended up being a Mitsubishi Eclipse. The young man was still at the car, so she had asked him what he wanted for the car. The amount of money my mom had won at the casino was exactly the amount he was asking. How ironic! My dad arrived the next day to check things over and it was a solid car. 109k miles. 5 speed. Silver. Unfortunate hail damage, but it wasn’t bad. Suddenly, I got a picture message of a car on my tiny flip phone with a message that said, “I bought a toy!” from my mother. I couldn’t tell what the car was because the picture was so small. When I arrived home on Sunday, I noticed there was a Mitsubishi Eclipse parked in the driveway. I was over the moon when I realized that’s what my mom bought. My mom bought me a car?! She says “NO, I DIDN’T BUY YOU A CAR – IT’S MINE!” – but then she let me drive it anyways. It was gifted to me as a graduation present and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to own one of my favorite cars at such a young age. I called this car “‘Sino”, short for “Casino” due to that being the only reason I ended up with it. It wasn’t anything special for sure being that it was only a GS, but it pushed me into having a passion for cars. What are your other hobbies besides cars? I enjoy playing video games. I have plenty of consoles and I Twitch stream my gameplay. I have about $750 into my setup so far. You can find my Twitch page at www.twitch.tv/rahze. I don’t have a set schedule right now, so I just stream when I have time and when I feel well enough. I like riding motorcycles! I started on dirt bikes at 11 years old. I own a 2017 Yamaha FZ-07 that I bought brand new. Previously, I owned a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600 that I regret selling. I’m looking to sell the FZ-07 to get back on a sportbike. I truly miss my GSX-R and wouldn’t mind picking up another GSX-R600 or an R6. I pole dance for fun and for exercise. It’s a pretty strenuous workout and it’s fun. I started in 2011 and I’ve been on and off with it ever since. I own a professional grade 45MM Gold Titanium XPERT X-Pole with a pile of extensions to fit any height of ceiling. Probably the best $500 I’ve ever spent back in 2014. You’d be surprised how difficult pole dancing is. I have an immense respect for women who do this on a competition level. They make it look effortless and I hope to one day progress to that level! I have a grey Lionhead rabbit named Tucker. He’s proven to be one of the best pets I’ve ever owned. They’re like cats where they can be litter box trained and they can free roam around your house like a dog, or a cat! They’re incredibly smart and full of personality. I couldn’t be happier with my little bunny. February 2019 Member Feature: Brett Anderson
What a better way to celebrate these frigid temptures by interviewing the FLAMETHROWER himself? Brett(ski) "The Flame(ski)" Anderson(ski) How old were you when you started being interested in cars? I was about 10 when when I would help my dad fix his cars by getting him the tools that he needed. Then when I got in high school I helped build a late model stock car to race at the Hibbing Raceway. What cars have you owned? I have owned 1991 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis, 1990 Mercury Cougar, 1992 Mercury Cougar, 1996 Chrysler Concord, 3 1999 dodge Durangos, 1990 Ford Probe, 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse, 1990 Mustang GT, 1997 Subaru Legacy GT. What kind of cars do you own now? I currently own 2005 Mustang gt, 2006 Subaru Legacy gGT spec. b 339/500, 1989 Mazda RX7, 2016 Toyota 4Runner. Which do you prefer: Imports or Domestics? Why? I prefer American Muscle cars because I like the power and sound of a cammed V8! What is your most current project? How long have you been working on it? My current project is my 2005 Mustang GT. I been working on it for 3 years. I stared with putting racing cams, valve lash adjusters, and followers. Then in August 2017 I looked in to building it in to a 2014, after a couple weeks of reaching I bought a totaled 2014 mustang 5.0 track pack as my donor car. On April 2nd 2018 I started taking my car apart to the body. 16 days later I built it to a complete 2014 mustang in a 2005 body. I also had a couple friends from our car group that would stop by and give me a hand a few times with my car project. What was your very first car? My first car was a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis. January 2019 Member Spotlight: Brian Johnson
We are kickin’ off the New Year strong! iRace has turned 3 years old and what a better way to celebrate than to brag about the awesome members we have! January’s member feature is our one and only, Brian B. Johnson. The “B” stands for badass, no joke. Brian resides in Virginia, MN and this guy brings the fire.. bird. How old were you when you started being interested in cars? I was probably 10 years old. My grandfather on my mom's side bought me a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST as a project car. We ended up putting a clutch in it and selling it shortly thereafter. What cars have you owned? What kind of cars do you own now? For the most part I have owned GM products as "toys", with the exception of one fox body that was a lot of fun. That being said, I'm really open to different makes and models. I've stuck with the F-Body platform because it's what I'm the most familiar with. Which do you prefer: Imports or Domestic? Why? I don't necessarily prefer one over the other. They each have their pros and cons. That being said my current car is a domestic, and the next one will be too lol. What is your most current project? How long have you been working on it? My current project car is a 2000 Pontiac Trans Am WS6. It's a total dream car for me haha. I grew up owning third gen camaros and firebirds, so this was always the "unobtainable" car you'd always aspire to on the forums. I still have to pinch myself when I look at it lol. It's really strange to think that I own one. What was your very first car? My very first car was a DSM like I said earlier in the interview. That really sent me down a path of 1g DSM's early on. Since then I've had something like 4-5 1g's alone. Love those cars to death because there's a certain sentimental value to them for me I'm sure. What are your other hobbies besides cars? As far as other hobbies goes, I do have an interest in film and video. I can see making a full length documentary someday. There's not something specific I have in mind yet, but the idea really resonates with me. That and dogs. Dogs are the shit so I would say they are a hobby. Ron Popesh is a BAMF, plain and simple. He's also in the February Member Spotlight. Check out our Q&A with one of iRace's most hardcore members! If anyone knows "de way", it's this guy.
I present to you, in all his glory, Ronald "Poppy" Popesh. How old were you when you started being interested in cars? I've been interested in cars pretty much my whole life. Most of my toys as a little kid were car related. Matchbox cars, Stompers, and later on R/C cars. I was really into racing those for several years. What cars do you own? I currently have a 2011 5.0 Mustang, 1963 Ford Falcon Wagon, and a 1973 Mach 1 Mustang. I also have a few daily drivers and several donor/parts cars. Which do you prefer: Imports or Domestic? Why? I prefer Domestic, because it's what I grew up knowing. I do have a few imports on my list of cars to own, though. What is your most current project? How long have you been working on it? My most current project is building my new shop/house, I started on that last fall. Previous to that I finished up the 73 Mach 1. It was a 6 year project, that I went halves on with my dad. It got stripped down to nothing and spent 3 years on a rotisserie. We did everything ourselves from replacing A LOT of sheet metal, all the body and paint work, building the engine, all new interior, etc. What was your very first car? My very first car was nothing cool, just a 1984 Mercury Topaz. It was a decent car at the time, though. Do you have any end goals you'd like to mention? End goal....so many. To start with, I have to get going on my building once the weather warns up. My goal is to have my shop to where I can get a project in there by fall to work on next winter. The hard part will be deciding what to start on. I want to put some better internal parts in my 5.0 so I can turn up the boost (only at 10psi now). I'd like to be able to make a good number on the dyno and run a decent quarter mile with it. I also want to do Drag Week and run the Texas Mile at some point. I want to get the Falcon Wagon built and driving, still unsure what direction that's going to go. Small block/5 speed I'm thinking. My dream car is a Royal Maroon 1969 BOSS 429. I currently have collected the parts to put a complete engine together, so that and the TKO600 I have from a previous car might be going in the Falcon until I find a suitable '69 Fastback and get it built. I bought one a few years ago, but sold it because it was just too far gone, rust wise. |
AuthorJade is the administrator for iRaceMN.com. Archives
July 2020
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