Sometimes things happen around you and you may not realize the significance and the long-term effects. I think about things more now that I have a five year old daughter.

Take some of the changes apparent in the world of racing. I remember my Dad telling me that my Mom was not allowed in the pits when they went racing – she had to wait outside the pit gate — now women are winning races!

As an early teenager I remember racing AMA district 37 TT motorcycles at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. The track was yards from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I lined up for the qualifying heat and next to me was a young (girl) women with long blonde hair hanging out of her helmet — she had bitchen’ white riding leathers with purple lettering “T&O Yamaha” which was her sponsor — I remember thinking to myself, What is she doing here?

My dad told me, “You better pay attention. I watched her practice and she is fast”

Dad was right. I ran second that day. I don’t remember who came in first, but she came in a very respectable fourth.

Here are some facts on some women pioneers in racing:

Shirley Muldowney broke the glass ceiling in the NHRA in the 70′s and now Ashley Force and Hillary Will are winners….

First World of Outlaws Sprint Car Race winner — 2004 Erin Crocker

Indy 500 Firsts: 1977 first women in the Indy 500 Janet Guthrie — 1992, First Rookie of the Year Lyn St. James and 2005, first women race leader Danica Patrick.

Though it is still very early in the season, 2008 is quickly becoming the year of the woman. Following historic wins by Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel, Hillary Will added her name to the short list of female Professional winners when she defeated Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka. Will is the 11th woman to win in the Pro categories. 2008 we had the first major open wheel race win by a woman– Danica Patrick.

And as I watch my five-year-old daughter tearin’ it up around the neighborhood on her bicycle– without training wheels, I might add– I wonder what the world of racing will be like when she grows up.

This is a nice looking bike, and best of all proceeds support the Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The raffle winner will be chosen in a random drawing during AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, in July of 2008.

Proceeds from the drawing benefit the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio.
Full details on the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum website–>

The Lincoln Electric® Welding School — an industry leader in welding education– offers courses on the various types of arc welding methods to educate and train students in arc welding safety, processes, techniques and Lincoln® products as well as qualification and certification programs.

Courses cover basics in: plate and sheet metal, pipe welding, plasma, TIG, MIG and Flux Cored Arc Welding…. and advanced courses are offered as well. Check out the full line up of welding classes at the Lincoln Electric website.

They even offer a special Motorsports Welding School, a five day technical program focusing on basic motorsports materials (aluminum and stainless steel) and applications (GMAW, GTAW, Oxy fuel, and plasma cutting). A basic and an advanced course is offered.

The newest addition to the welding school is a welding and safety maintenance course for repair welding applications.

Designed to instruct welders in the automotive repair, construction and maintenance fields, the course demonstrates and instructs students in various welding processes including stick (SMAW), MIG (GMAW) and TIG (GTAW) welding, as well as oxyfuel cutting.
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If the upcoming American Welding Society conference isn’t your cup of Joe, maybe the Ink-N-Iron Festival is for you:

June 6-8 aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif.

The best tattoo artists in the world and a series of additional events will make this 2008 edition a hit. There will be 280 artists from 30 States and 25 Countries representing all the tattoo styles pricking away with their machines in an exciting atmosphere, where a car show and music become an integral part of the event, mingling with the artistic expressions of the artists at work. This convention will be both a sort of art gallery and community festival.

Jim Watson, aka Joe Welder will be heading up to check out the Car Show.

The car show is for Pre-63 hot rods, kustoms, classics and vintage motorcycles– vehicles that are nostalgic in appearance. ABSOLUTELY NO high tech street rods, tubbed rear ends, fiberglass, billet aluminum, mini or monster trucks, muscle cars,or foreign cars allowed.

Check out last year’s show online –>

You may have read previous posts about my “early” motorcycle racing days (more posts coming with some really neat bikes and personalities). I grew up in SO Cal riding motorcycles most every day and racing at least 2 days a week when I was in my teens. If you have ever heard of or seen the movie “On Any Sunday” you know what I’m talking about — if not rent it — it’s awesome!

I bring that up because there is a terrific motorcycle event coming up on the first weekend in May. Here’s the 411:

Legend Of The Motorcycle International Concours D’Elegance is a celebration of the art of motorcycling, past, present and future.

The event takes place Saturday May 3rd at the Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, CA (just south of San Francisco). It’s the 3rd edition and this year MV Agusta & Norton are the featured brands. Over 30 MV’s of various models will be presented, including an Agostini TT winner and a 2004 Bonneville speed record holder. Special Norton models featured to include a JPN, a Cosworth Challenge, a Ron Wood, a Monocoque, a Rotary, etc. More than 200 vintage bikes will be exhibited including the only known 1914 Ixion, U-frame Merkel racer, and oldest production 1902 Indian in existence. Among other attractions, there will be a special photo exhibit of Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman’s “Long Way Down” trek curated by celeb photographer Timothy White exclusively for Legend of the Motorcycle. Also an exhibit of artwork by renowned graphic artist Conrad Leach.

Info and tickets ($50) at Legend Of The Motorcycle.

We here at JoeWelder.com wanted to take a minute to make note of the passing of a pioneer in the So Cal hot rod lifestyle, Boyd Coddington. I first heard about Boyd when my good friend Randy Haberman was building his ’32 Ford 3 window coupe… that was back in the ’70s. Before T.V. when Boyd had more of a cult following, based on his ’32 track roadsters. He and L’il John would come out to the races where they’d watch master sheet metal fabricator Steve Davis’ beautiful CRA Sprint Car run at Ascot Park.

Boyd Coddington was at the forefront of the whole “SoCal lifestyle” of fabricating and customizing hot rods, and he will be missed in the hot rod and metalworking communities.

Anaheim, CA (PRWEB) February 28, 2008 — Boyd Coddington, the creative visionary who took hot rodding to an art form and custom wheels to a new level dies at 63. Coddington who was a long-time diabetic died from complications that were brought on from a recent surgery. It was Coddington’s ever forward-looking view at the design of the hot rod and his unconditional desire to create the finest quality cars that became the “Boyd Look”.

“It is a major loss for the automotive enthusiasts and hot rod aficionados around the world. Boyd Coddington did so much more than create automotive trends, he also built the finest hot rods. He was entertaining on his TV Show (TLC’s- American Hot Rod) and an ambassador who educated,” said Harry Hibler, former publisher of Hot Rod Magazine.

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I got a call the other day from a prospect who was researching the benefits of using a tungsten grinder verses a wheel grinder. He came across our site, read our tech articles and then called.

He said “We’re a couple of farmers that have been trying to do TIG welding for a couple years and have never gotten good at it.”

A friend told them about Arc-Zone.com and the Sharpie Tungsten Grinder.

He told me they had a little fabshop and a small dirt track in southern Indiana.

“What’s the name of the track?” I asked.

“You probably never heard of it– TriState Speedway,” he said.

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My competition origins are an important part of Arc-Zone.com’s history because the business of racing, amateur and professional, is a demanding and exacting one. Success in racing is forged from hard work and dedication. Racing does not tolerate the imprecise nor does it reward those who place style ahead of function. Innovation, thorough preparation and attention to detail are the foundations of a successful racing team.

The work ethic of racing is woven into everything we do at Arc-Zone.com. It’s not enough for a part to look good; it must also work well, and serve a useful function. We apply a “racing quality standard” to every product and service we sell. Whether it’s MIG, TIG, Plasma Arc Welding or cutting, Oxy fuel, parts or related welding and metal fabricating accessories — you can be sure you’re getting the best product available at a fair price.

I got into racing thanks to my Dad, Jim Watson Sr. who was raised in the rich farm lands of the central valley in California my Dad was introduced to Midget racing by my great Uncle Ben Humke. Known across the country as “Farmer Ben.” As a car owner In the 1950′s and early sixties he was a multi time URA champion, and winner in USAC, AAA and BCRA and other sanctioned events.

Farmer Ben was a modest cotton/dairy farmer with a keen sense of numbers. He had a policy “if the race car didn’t pay for itself we don’t race.”

He had many famous hot shoes that drove for him– Billy Garrett (pictured above), Marty Mazman, were the most noteable champions. They primarily raced Midgets in the central valley at tracks like Visalia Speedway, Hanford Speedway, Lemoore Jetbowl, Contra Costa Fairgrounds, Clovis Speedway, Tulare Speedway, Watsonville Speedway, and many more.

Midget racing was big then, and each car was hand built and car owners used a variety of power plants, from the high-end “Offy” or Offenhauser engine and the Ford V8 60 to Ferguson tractor and marine engines. The Solar Midget (now Solar Turbines) even used a Drake which was a highly modified Harley-Davidson VTwin.

A true innovator, Farmer Ben solved the overheating problem common with Ford V8 60 racing engines. Ben engineered a remote water-cooling system that was run by a custom fabricated water pump, he reworked the engine block with a series of baffles and diverters in the cooling passages.

He did all the work in his barn in Tulare Ca. I loved that place, a big barn with a little Midget race car and all the tools it takes to build one inside! I still have my Uncle Ben’s 1929 Atlas lathe (photo coming soon) and the chucks and tools that he used to make his own pistons and other engine parts.

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I did while they happened and now looking back. I know there are many people that have similar interests and hopefully these stories will put a smile on your face.

Please feel free to comment (Click on the “Leave A Comment” link at the bottom of this post)

My first “real” motorcycle was a Yamaha 80, I got from a girlfriend – her Dad backed over it with his wagon.

My Dad and I straightened the frame, hand cut then “bobbed” the rear fender, took the emblems off, painted it orange and went racing.

I will never forget that Tuesday night — a school night. We went to Trojan Speedway in South Gate CA, a sticky little clay oval next to the LA river, behind the rock quarry, east of downtown LA.

My Dad stopped at Kmart to get a helmet. For $14.95. I remember thinking, “is that all my head’s worth?” Dad checked the specs and said “It’s Snell approved.” It was a cool looking orange metal flake Grant helmet.

Off to the races! “I got so excited I let the clutch out early and jumped the start.”

That race was an eye opener — the other bikes were fast and highly modified so we bought Floyd Clymer’s book “How To Tune A Two Stroke Engine.” I learned early on to research what others have done, it’s your quickest way to the top.

We first went to work on the engine, a rotary valve design which was easy to hop up, new valve, over-bored 7 port barrel, single-ring cut-skirt piston, machined radial head and total loss ignition system. Finished it off with a tuned exhaust custom fabricated and artfully oxy acetylene welded by Dick Haycock. A beautifully rolled and formed expansion chamber complete with a 7” X 1/2” stinger tip – that thing screamed!

My first motorcycle was a Mini Bike, a Taco 44 kit that my neighbor and his dad couldn’t figure out/or didn’t want to hassle with building. I traded my electric guitar for it.

My Dad and I collected all the needed parts, centrifugal chain drive clutches were popular but, unreliable, so we engineered a bitchen belt drive system with a double pulley jack shaft connected to a variable speed clutch installed on a polished and chromed Briggs & Stratton 5HP engine complete with a Tecumseh down draft carburetor and a straight pipe exhaust! We designed a friction rear brake and custom foot pegs, which we had HeliArc welded at Foothill Welding in Claremont California. We dropped the parts off to be welded along with the drawings, and when we picked them up a few days later, I was turned on by the cool looking Heliarc welds the dude laid down—I asked a couple of questions and he showed me how it worked. My friends thought it was so cool– and before long they started calling me “Joe Welder.” I had a lot of fun on that bike and that’s were I learned about engine modifications. We turned the flywheel all the way down to the magnets, milled the head and made our own copper gasket as the OE one was a thick layered sandwich design. One night my Dad came home and I was doing a trophy run down the alley behind the workshop– he said there was a long white flame streaming from the exhaust and it smelled like it was burning up. When I told him I added some nitro to high-octane av gas, he knew I was ready to move up to a motorcycle.