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CAUCUS CONNECTION
Wyoming Representative Stan Blake Is on the Right Track
Wyoming Representative Stan Blake is lawmaker who understands the pure passion of the automotive enthusiast. Now serving his fifth term in the Wyoming State Legislature, Blake is the proud owner of a ’49 Willys Jeepster, ’46 Ford truck, ’68 Oldsmobile Toronado and ’74 International Scout II. He’s also an original member of the SEMA-supported State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus and a regular attendee at the association’s annual gathering in Las Vegas, the SEMA Show. Oh yeah, his real job...well, he’s a railroad conductor with Union Pacific.
After being elected to serve House District 39, Representative Blake quickly became a reliable ally for the automotive hobbyist community. In 2009, when SEMA’s model Street Rod and Custom Vehicle titling and registration bill was introduced and enacted into law in Wyoming, Blake joined with other car crazy legislators and signed on as a co-sponsor. This year, he introduced a SEMA-drafted bill to provide for the issuance of a single license plate for motor vehicles that were not originally equipped with a display bracket on the front of the vehicle. He is shown above (pictured at right) with Wyoming Governor Matt Mead as the proposal was recently signed into law.
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SEMA SAN Strike Force
This slick 1980 Chevy El Camino belongs to Wilmington, North Carolina’s Roger Rigg. His wife Susan and pet beagle Batinha are posed here with the four-wheeled beauty. Together, the group forms the horsepower behind Radical Street Cars by RJR Racing—a truly fitting name if this “pro street” car is any indication. It runs in the IHRA’s 10.90 index class!
Some live a quarter mile at a time. Others stretch the quarter mile to fit all aspects of their lifestyle. Movie clichés aside, the notion seems to fit Roger Rigg nicely. He’s been a gearhead since childhood. He’s owned a slew of desirable cars from the musclecar era. And it’s all lead to realizing his ultimate dream: a dual-purpose 1980 Chevy El Camino (see above). It was a ground-up build that began with a 6-cylinder car. By integrating late-model and aftermarket parts with the older technology, it’s evolved into a ground-up build packed with 396 c.i. of fuel injected, small block power. So what’s the best part? It’s an IHRA-approved drag car on the track in addition to being a registered, street-legal driver.
With this machine now complete, Roger is expanding his passion into the professional realm with Radical Street Cars by RJR Racing. The Wilmington, North Carolina resident had worked in the kitchen and bath industry for 38 years. “The transition to building one-off street cars is a new venture that I hope will make people happy,” he explains. The business owner is also a responsible racer. He emphasizes that competition belongs on the track and not on public streets. In fact, Rigg actually discovered the SEMA Action Network (SAN) through the SAN-supported Racers Against Street Racing (RASR) initiative.
We’ll eagerly await to see what you and your shop will create next, Roger!
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