It’s been a long tough road, but Bangshift.com is here, and we are so excited. The name change has been quite an endeavor. Dealing with lawyers and trademarks and all the crap that goes along with it was worth it and we are super excited about this new chapter in our Internet lives. While the current site is a relabeled version of FreiburgersJunkyard.com, there will be more features and changes in coming weeks that we are also stoked about. Brian and I have both worked very hard to get to this point on the information superhighway, but it’s a strange road that leads us here. One that, when looked back upon, makes me want to cry and smile. If you had asked me 4 years ago, I would never have expected this.

A lot of people ask me how I got where I am, because most only know a small part of the story. We meet people all around the country at events and races, and their part of this puzzle starts wherever that may be. For me, it’s like a roller coaster with a lot of stops. People just keep climbing on board, and the ride gets more and more fun.  

I started out, like most of us, with a wrench in my hand at my grandpa’s shop or in dad’s garage. I went to the drag races at Fremont, helped dad work on the Camaro, and pretty much grew up as a drag racing kid. I played soccer, then raced bicycles, and finally ended up with a car. It was all over from there.

Camaros, mini-trucks, lifted trucks, drag cars, and station wagons are just some of the cars I’ve owned. And every single running car I’ve owned has been down a dragstrip. No matter how slow or fast, it’s always fun.

I went to college, got a job in the real world, enjoyed the corporate high-tech world, and made a lot of money. We went on Power Tours, traveled the world, partied, and played with cars. Spending $6000 for a couple days behind the wheel of a Pro Stock Car seemed like a great plan, and I could afford it, so off I went to Houston for a trip to Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School. He said I’d never make it since I had only been in the 12s at that point, but I had as much drive as money and told him I’d pay for another class if I couldn’t make the grade. Three days later, with the rain moving in, I ran 7.005 at 195 mph to get my Pro Stock license. I made the grade.

Dreams of racing Pro Stock or Pro Stock Truck just wouldn’t come to fruition despite several attempts to make things happen, but I wouldn’t be deterred. I got my Super Comp license, raced some dragsters, did some testing, and ultimately got tired of working in the high-tech world at about the same time the money was drying up and companies were laying off. I had $25,000 in savings that wouldn’t last forever, but with some contract work along the way I was able to cruise along without really “working” for about a year. Then someone asked if I would do some work on their car, and that turned into another job, and before you knew it, I was opening a hot rod shop. Dad and I had already built a big shop at his house, and I could run it right out of there. It was genius.

A genius way to make no money. But it did say Hot Rod Builder on my business card. That was cool. I fixed cars, built cars, played with cars, and generally had a good time. Then I got a call from my buddies saying they couldn’t come on Power Tour as planned. Work schedules had changed, and they weren’t going to be able to make the drive from California to Dallas so that we could make the trip. If I provided the vehicle they could fly in and make the long haul, but that was a big if. It was 61 days before the start of the Power Tour in Milwaukee. Then, 59 days later, after putting only 2 miles on the car, we left Dallas in Trusty Rusty my ’56 Chevy Bel Air Wagon. The car had been transformed, including a complete chassis and floor swap, Air Ride, stereo, and some seats we had lying around. We drove 981 miles straight through without stopping.

Freiburger and the other guys at Hot Rod loved the car, decided to have it lead Power Tour one day, and ultimately featured it in the October 2005 issue of the magazine. I met Keith Turk, Freiburger, Rob Kinnan, Wes Allison, and many more on that fateful trip. They became friends, business partners, and much more and along the way I became the announcer for Power Tour and other Source Interlink events. I made great friends at the magazine, made a family with Daphne, moved to California, started CarJunkieTV and had some adventures along the way.

Now I find myself here at BangShift.com, where Brian and I hope to build a site that becomes the Internet mecca for car junkies. We’ve had some great times, and have met great people already. Will BangShift be the end of the road?

God I hope not. The rollercoaster is just getting to the good part.