Go to a race pretty much anywhere, any time and you’ll see them. Diesel trucks hauling flatbed trailers. Toterhomes with stacker trailers. It’s kind of nuts what many deem necessary for a weekend at a strip. Now, do not get me wrong for a second…after spending a night in Keith Haney’s motorcoach at Tulsa, I fully understand why those that can afford them get them. I slept perfectly fine and felt refreshed and ready for the day. But if you are a minimalist, maybe that doesn’t all appeal to you. Then again, does paying for a hotel and the fuel to travel to and from the track bother you? The word of the day is “compromise”…be comfortable or be ready to spin wrenches at a moment’s notice…it’s your call.

So let’s compromise. You want a place to sleep, but you don’t want a big-dollar RV. You want a way to haul a car to the track but you don’t want or need a monster trailer. You want to be comfy enough to stay at the track but don’t want the monster rig? Then how about this gem: a 1976 Ford that’s a strange but useable cross between a sleeper-cab semi tractor and ramp truck in one. There’s a decent amount of car room on the ramp, the most basic needs from the 1970s-era camper shell, and the rest is 460-motivated Ford truck. All that’s missing from this picture is the Tijuana Taxi Maverick hooked to the back. It’s unorthodox but we can’t find fault. How hard would it be to swap a 7.3L PowerStroke into this rig?

Mecum Auctions’ Portland 2019: Lot F63: 1976 Ford F-series ramp truck with camper/sleeper unit