Throwback Thursday, Sept 25, 2014

  If the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions, then one hell of a road it must be.  Case in point is this behemoth:

TLP was at Laguna Seca for the 2002 ALMS race when we came across this beautiful monstrosity.  This is a purpose built 1200+ hp racing semi that was to be part of a new North American series called the Sports Truck Racing Association of North America or (STRANA).  One of TLPs favorite drivers, the incomparable Boris Said, took the truck out for some demonstration laps and amazed us all.  The truck was fast...very fast.  Not truck fast...fast, fast!  He gave an interview on the PA system after the laps and apparently it was a hoot to drive (and something he'd like to try again).  All I can remember is the sound of nothing....and then GIGANTIC TURBO SPOOL and the sound of tires being massacred.

Apparently time and fate were not kind to this series.  There were some sanctioned races and demos for 8 such trucks in the early 2000s and then apparently things fell apart for STRANA and the internet is short on details.  We can only hope someone tries to revive semi racing in the states in the future.  It has been successful in other parts of the world and TLP can only hope to see the second coming of this kind of greatness.

If we had to drive the road to hell, this is what TLP would take (and we'd let Boris drive).

http://fleetowner.com/news/fleet_truckrace_demo_boasts