A Rambling American Leads a Former Drag Racer into the Drag-and-Drive Game for Redwood Rally
For an ex-drag racer that still incorporates car stuff in his life, Jay Willoughby had thought the drag racing chapter of his life had been closed, until he discovered drag-and-drive style events.
“I've liked the idea of the drag-and-drive as it is really a test of the car and the driver in many ways,” said Jay. “Kind of like what me and the guys I hung out with back in the 80's did. We took our cars, and either street raced or track raced them, then drove them to work and/or school.”
“If you broke it, you had to fix it to get to work to pay for it and be able to do terror on the streets the next Friday and Saturday nights,” Jay continued. “Drag-and-drive just takes this concept/past experiences to a different level. I think survival of the car, driver and co-pilot are the biggest challenge.”
Reflecting on that challenge brought Jay to the point of pursuing his first drag-and-drive event.
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“Back in the fall/winter (of 2022) when I was sitting at our dining room table penciling this all out and trying to figure out if doing one of these events was really even feasible,” Jay said. “My wife watched me for a while, asked why I was obviously struggling with something.
I told her about Death Week and the Redwood Rally (in 2023), and that I wanted to do one of these. She said ‘it's about time you actually decided to get back into drag racing in some way.’ She then bought me a helmet and jacket.”
So, with the support of his wife checked off, Jay now needed a car.
“I was looking at two different cars,” said Jay. “First was a ‘59 Opel Rekord sedan that was an old gasser race car in NorCal from the 70's. I have a pro street ‘59 Opel wagon, so this car kind of fit that as a garage partner.
Then Death Week was announced, which moved my time line up to fall of 2023. I sent in my interest form, then shortly after that the Redwood Rally was announced.”
He started buying stuff for the Opel, before he had even acquired the car. “I made the decision to go buy it, left with trailer on the three-hour trip, only to be smacked with a snow storm that caused us to turn around. Two days later, this AMC Rambler American came up for sale.”
A clean, all original 130,000-mile car packing the stock 232 cubic inch 6-cylinder engine, Jay was ready to buy the AMC and drive as is to enjoy and finish both events. “As I drove the car, the little issues led me to the decision to do a V8 swap,” he admitted. “I had built a small-block Chevrolet 327 with the intention of adding a roots 6-71 supercharger.”
So now Jay is in the process of installing that powerplant, with a Turbo 350 automatic transmission behind it, and mini-tubbing the car as well. “Basically, butchering a great original AMC to do these events.”
The Redwood Rally will be more than just Jay’s first drag-and-drive event, it will be a celebration of 30 years of marriage with his wife. “She is my co-pilot,” said Jay. “We do not do much in the way of vacations, but since we made Hot August Nights 1993 part of our honeymoon, it only makes sense to have Redwood Rally part of our 30th anniversary.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Jay Willoughby.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com