My involvement with hot rods and racing started at age 16, when I was living in Colorado. My first hot rod was a 1939 Ford Coupe powered by a 322 cubic inch Buick. This was 1963 and the coupe would run with the 300hp, 4-speed Super Sport Chevys that were roaming the streets in those days. By age 17 I had started competing in organized drag racing with a C/Stock 1958 Chevy Delray. My '58 was a very rare 348 cubic inch, 315hp model equipped from the factory with solid lifters, 11:1 pistons and 3-2's. In race trim it carried 5:13 gears and of course a 4-speed transmission. I campaigned this car from late 1963 through 1967. Building quite a reputation with the car, not only at the track but in many $25 per run match races. This car was a real sleeper at these match races because Chevy built an identical engine with hydraulic lifters and only 8.5:1 pistons rated at 280hp. Most opponents would kind of laugh at the car thinking they had a real sucker on the line, since they thought my engine was the 280hp model, which didn't really run that hard. I took $25 away from many unsuspecting 427 Fords, 413 Mopars, '66 and '67 396 Chevelles, etc.

1968 rolls around and by this time I am now living in south Florida, married, my wife is pregnant, and hot rods and racing starts to take a back seat to my family. I sold the '58 Chevy and purchased a new VW Bug. Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to the other! But I still kept mentally involved in the sport of drag racing through friends and going to the track as a spectator. And I attended many car shows along the way.1980 comes along and after having just moved back to Colorado a good friend of mine offered me a full time ride on a Kawasaki drag bike. With my love of speed and excitement I eagerly accepted the offer. What a rocket these machines are! Letting the clutch fly at 8,000 RPM's, and shifting at 10,000 RPM's. So for the next 13 years I drag raced motorcycles, plus I served for 4 years on the Racer Advisory Board at Bandimere Speedway (home of the Mile High Nationals). Meanwhile my son Michael is hanging out with me at the track helping me crew the bike, observing, learning, and in general having fun. At 17 years old he starts riding in competition himself, and in the next 4 years he wins two track championships and is consistently in the money rounds.1994 brought changes to both our lives, which included a move from Colorado to Orlando, Florida. Together we teamed up to start The Cruise News, with the first issue coming in August of 1994. While concentrating on the magazine the racing has once again taken a back seat. I bought a 1957 Chevy Sedan Delivery (nicknamed the "Bad Banana"), and my son owns a 1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible (which he bought a few years before moving to Florida).

These days you can see us at as many car shows and cruise-ins as we can get to around the state, loving every minute of it. Hopefully we have brought a sense of fun and valuable information to all of you through Mike Kelly's Cruise News. And thanks to all of our readers we are going strong!

-Mike R. Kelly