This week is the practice week for the 2014 Race to the Clouds at Pikes Peak, Colorado. I have always been fascinated with the mountain…I grew up in it’s shadow as a kid in the Springs, and for a miserable two months, actually worked on the tourist trap on the summit making donuts and doing the kind of cleanups that would offend Mike Rowe. Even with that memory, I love the place. While I admit I wish I had been able to race it with the road still a gravel trail, going up and down the mountain in a clapped-out ’90s Dodge Van with someone else driving scared enough out of me.

This collection is made up of some of the random cars that appear on the Peak. While the absolutely psychotic Unlimited class is always a riot to watch, some of the best runners come from the lower classes. A lot of creativity shows up as racers try to find the balance between grip and necessary rotation in the corners, power versus weight, and enough metal to save their ass in case things quite literally go downhill.

Check out the videos below to see some footage of the more unlikely vehicles to run the mountain!

1. Pontiac Sunfire:

2. Late ’90s Monte Carlo:

3. ’71 ‘Cuda:

4. V6 Mustang: