TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Garage PASS: It's A Car No, It's A Grill

Tribune photo by ROBERT BURKE

John Bolser fashioned a 1/2 scale model NASCAR with a charcoal grill under the hood at his business, Bolser Iron and Metal Works in Ybor City. Number 36 chosen for the year he was born and it all rides on a custom trailer.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

How hard is to cut, bend and form a few pieces of sheet metal into the body of a NASCAR race car? It isn't easy, but John Bolser, a local fabricator with no racing background, did it at his Bolser Iron & Metal Works shop near Ybor City.

Bolser's half-scale car - painted to look like Kevin Harvick's Shell-sponsored Chevrolet, but numbered 36 after the year Bolser was born - will never race. There's a charcoal grill where the engine goes, and a cooler in the trunk, and the grooved tires came off a riding lawn mower.

Why make a race car? For the challenge of it, Bolser says. He made a template out of cardboard, formed the frame with one-inch and three-quarter-inch tubing and wrapped the body around the tubing.

Sorenson Moving On, Joins Gillett Evernham

Reed Sorenson, once spoken of in the same breath as Kyle Busch as one of NASCAR's most promising young drivers, is winless through more than 21/2 seasons and will drive for a new team in 2009.

Sorenson is leaving troubled Chip Ganassi Racing to drive for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Not determined is if he will replace Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10 Dodge or drive for a new fourth team.

"Reed is a highly talented driver with a wealth of experience and accomplishments for a 22-year-old," GEM vice president Mark McArdle said. "We believe he has a great future."

Felix Sabates, part-owner of the Ganassi team, offered a different assessment, recently telling NASCAR Scene that Sorenson "is today as good as he's ever going to be."

The Ganassi organization has serious problems. Lack of sponsorship forced the closing of Dario Franchitti's team in July, and Texaco/Havoline announced last week it won't back Juan Pablo Montoya's car next year.

Sorenson has three Nationwide Series wins but only five top-fives and 13 top-10s in Sprint Cup.

He Said It

"The next thing I am waiting for is for him to remember who helped him get to this point and give some of that information my way." - struggling Kurt Busch, joking that brother Kyle should be tipping him off on some of his winning secrets.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT