I get as excited as anyone when I have car parts on the way. I check the tracking number 10 times a day, watch the front door like a hound dog, and sprint to the door faster than a K04 Turbo can spool when I hear a doorbell.
“Here! Finally here!” I triumphantly yell as the UPS, USPS, Fedex or other friendly mail courier hands me my package.
I don’t care if it’s a new turbo, a FMIC, or simply some new windshield wipers for safety, I can hardly contain my excitement. When that delivery man knocks on my door, if any friends are around, I practically bowl them over as they dive for cover.
“What is wrong with you man? It’s just car parts! You are WAY to excited.” They say.
I have become known as the “excited!” one, around my friends.
Then I found this.
No way. If you thought I was excited before, just wait till this bad boy pulls up to my driveway. What car parts do you have for me today delivery man? ……. maybe just…… AN ENTIRE CAR….. or every single CorkSport Part known to man, maybe it’s a new built engine, 4 sets of wheels and tires, a twin turbo setup, a front mount intercooler, coilovers, swaybars, and a small pet elephant.
That box is HUGE.
Honestly I have no idea what is inside, or even if it’s car parts, but I can tell you one thing. I want it, and if that box showed up outside my house, I might have a heart attack from excitement.
The Most Exciting Car Parts Order Ever? May 28th, 2024CorkSport
This weekend Derrick and I left the eerily sunny northwest on a red-eye flight and touched down to a sunny Newark (seriously, what are the odds?)
After collecting our Dodge Avenger from Enterprise we set off for Newburgh New York. A short 70 miles and many conversations about how Chrysler is still in business we arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn which thankfully is within stumbling distance of OCC.
A quick shower and a change of clothes later, we crossed the parking lot only to be met by some of the finest Mazdas in the area along with some of the finest tuners and tuning companies for the Mazda community. We met up with a few of our sponsored drivers (Steve Kritzberg and Matt Kellogg) and then touched base with the leader of the event, Storm Sasaki and set out to talk to some fine folks.
As you can see by the pictures, OCC featured almost every kind of Mazda you could imagine and really brought out a lot of cars. Obviously with the popularity of the Mazdaspeed 3 in recent years, that car was VERY well represented. The atmosphere at OCC is very laid back, with everyone anxious to see what the next trends are and hoping to meet some of the people they have befriended on the forums in real life. I personally was able to finally put some faces to names of some very incredible people and felt very lucky to encounter a few other that I didn’t know but now am proud to have spoken with.
After a short lunch at the OCC cafe (which has a surprisingly good Rueben sandwich) we were back out into the sun. With over 200 cars on hand, there was quite a bit to keep any Mazda fan busy.
After the raffle (where lucky contestants won everything from CorkSport gift certificates to a new set of tires from Continental) with the sun sinking low into the sky we headed to a restaurant and spent a good few hours having a great time with many other Mazdaheads. The rest of the night went very quickly with a parking lot roundtable discussion and somehow ended with us partying with a group of newlyweds at the Hilton.
The next day we hit the road to head to the famous Long Island (pronounced Lon Guyland) to hang out with Steve and Matt. Steve showed us the amazing repairs he had done to his house after hurricane Sandy and then showed us the destruction to the famous boardwalk that has yet to be repaired. It was truly amazing what that storm did to the town, but even more amazing was the way the town pulled itself back up and seemed to be just as New York as it had ever been!
Finally, before we headed back to the airport, no trip to New York is complete without a visit to a Kosher deli. Luckily, Steve knew just the place. The Lido Kosher Deli left Derrick and me speechless. The pickles, the slaw, the hot pastrami on rye… If you’re ever looking for a discount on CorkSport gear, you can get both of us to do just about anything to taste that food again.
It was with heavy hearts (and bloated stomachs) we got on our plane knowing that this was the last OCC meet and that we had to leave New York behind, but Storm is already planning the next meet and you can bet your short ram intake that we will be there! Thanks again to everyone who made this possible and everyone who came out… and anyone who wants to overnight us some Pastrami…
Cheers,
Joel
CorkSport invades Orange County Choppers!!! May 9th, 2013CorkSport
Last weekend CorkSport headed to the second SCCA majors event of the season held at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California. A “short” 15 hour drive and we arrived in sunny California with a full crew and a driver hopped up on Red Bull ready to go.
The competition for the weekend was stiff as Honda brought out a few factory backed B-Spec Fits to be driven by workers in the racing program, along with some T4 Civics to see how well they would do in the heat of battle. Our driver and fearless race leader Derrick had never driven at Buttonwillow and the track configuration did not favor the Mazda 2 which is down almost 15hp to the Fit’s; with that in mind, practice was of the utmost importance.
As you can see from the map, there are a few long straights that are an advantage for the Fit’s and the fastest portion of the track is Riverside which is taken flat out (if you have the guts).
On Saturday there was a practice session which Derrick took advantage of to learn the track and prepare for qualifying just a few short hours later. Right off the bat Derrick was laughing like a madman through the radio after spinning the car coming over Phil hill, which he seemed to think was hilarious. I suppose the thought of being able to actually spin a 100hp car on racing slicks is pretty impressive. After settling down he managed to set one of the fastest practice laps of the day.
After a quick inspection of the car we were back out on the track for qualifying. B-Spec cars are usually the slowest group of cars on the track and Derrick usually stays towards the back of the pack in qualifying so he can get a clean lap without traffic. Derrick used this approach to get a decent lap and was able to qualify in 2nd between two Fit’s.
After the green flag waved, Derrick was able to hold his position despite the power of the Fit behind him and challenged the faster Fit for the lead. With just one lap to go the CorkSport Mazda 2 B-spec car was reeling in the more powerful Fit and got within 3-4 car lengths before traffic got in the way. In the end, Derrick had to settle for 2nd place but learned Buttonwillow and a little bit more about the CorkSport Mazda 2 B-Spec car. Derrick is currently 4th in the standings for the entire west coast and we look forward to more quality finishes and more trophies in his office for us to shoot spitballs at.
CorkSport B-Spec World Domination!!! May 6th, 2013CorkSport
If you have been keeping up with our newsletter or blog posts, you probably already know that we will be hosting a track day in Texas this November, but you didn’t know all the details. Well, today the suspense ends! CorkSport, with the help of Texas Mazda Speed Demons and Roger Beasley Mazda, will be hosting a track day on November 3, 2012 at Harris Hill Raceway from 9am-6pm.
Harris Hill Raceway (H2R) is located in the hills of northeastern San Marcos, Texas, just 26 miles from downtown Austin and about 55 miles from downtown San Antonio. The track is a 1.82-mile, 11-turn asphalt road course. The course is 36-feet wide with over 150 feet of elevation changes and within the 11 turns there are increasing radius turns, decreasing radius turns, positive camber, negative camber (and one turn that has both within the same turn!), one long sweeper, several blind corners, and an 80-foot rise-and-fall in one turn.
CorkSport will be offering lead/follow track time between 9am-6pm that includes 5 laps on the track for just $25.00 pre-paid and $35.00 the day of the event. In addition, our co-sponsor, Roger Beasley Mazda will have some expert drifters attending to provide a drift demonstration and EMS Powered will be on hand with their dyno chassis to provide dyno runs (three pulls for $50).
If your not that interested in all that stuff (are you crazy?!) then you can always just come park your car, enjoy the show, and hang with other like minded Mazda enthusiasts!
Now that the warm weather is upon us, event season is in full swing and CorkSport has plans for some big events in the coming months that we would like share with you.
It will be taking place from 9am-3pm on August 11, 2012 at the CorkSport Mazda Performance headquarters located in Vancouver, WA and will include a dyno day, show & shine and raffle and will also feature an appearance and dyno run from arguably the highest horsepower Mazdaspeed 3 to be dyno’d to date.
Over one hundred Mazda owners from as far north as British Columbia to as far south as California attended last year’s event making it the largest all Mazda event held in the Northwest and we expect this year’s event to be even bigger and better than last year!
The cost to attend will be just $5.00 per vehicle which includes one entry in the show & shine and a swag bag. Additional entries into show & shine categories will go for $5.00 per entry. Food and drink will be available for purchase and raffle tickets can be purchased for $1.00. For attendees interested in dynoing their vehicle, three pulls will be just $35.00 in advance and $50.00 the day of the event.
Please pre-register today and let us know if you will be participating in the show and shine, plan to dyno, or are just coming to hang out with the crew. Anyone who pre-registers will also recieve a CorkSport swag bag and it will help us plan for parking for the event. We are currently accepting registions at CorkSport’s website at https://corksport.com/corksport-sizzlin-summer-event.html.
CorkSport Invades Texas
The next event we are excited to announce will be held at Harris Hill Raceway in San Marcos, TX. In collaboration with CorkSport customer and sponsored drivers, Matt Kellogg and his new Mazda club, the Texas Speed Demons, CorkSport will be hosting a track day and car show on November 3, 2012 from 9am-6pm.
Details on this event are being finalized and more information will be made available in the coming months, but mark this date on your calendar if you are in Texas, around Texas or can make it to Texas, because this one is going to be a biggie!
If you want updates on our Texas event, please click here to get added to our info list and details will be emailed to you as they become available.
Gwynne-
CorkSport Upcoming Events! September 13th, 2018CorkSport
