Tuesday we shared video of Travis Pastrana’s record breaking run Sunday at the Mount Washington Climb to the Clouds event in New Hampshire.
In the realm of short track racing in Southern New England, Modifieds reign supreme.
What few may know is that some daring individuals have converted Modifieds to run in competitive hill climbing.
Just after Pastrana set a new Mount Washington Hill Climb record, driver Ian Cook set forth on the climb Sunday in a converted SK Modified that had run previously at Stafford Speedway.
Cook, of Bedford, N.H., said he purchased the car in 2019. It had previously been converted to a hill climbing car by Roy Spaulding.
Cook has been involved in competitive hill climbing since 2014, mostly competing in a 1999 Mazda Miata. When the opportunity to purchase the Modified was presented he jumped at the chance.
“My father ran a Limited Late Model at Stafford Speedway,” Cook said. “He started that in about 2008. Going there and watching the SK Modifieds at the track, those were the coolest things. Then the [Tour Type] Modifieds would show up and go even faster. You know the butterfly feeling when they go by. Those have always just been the coolest cars for me. When I saw one was available I knew that was a direction I wanted to go.”
Cook said he was helped in preparing the car by the late Rusty Ball Jr., who was a longtime competitor at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. and Claremont (N.H.) Speedway.
Cook said it’s not uncommon to see converted Modifieds doing hill climbs.
“I’m not the first one to do it that’s for sure,” Cook said. “I think there was three at the Climb to the Clouds.
“There’s a photo out there of Kevin Gale going over a jump at Mount Ascutney. It’s kind of an iconic photo amongst Hill Climbers. It’s a 1990 Modified going over a jump with all four wheels off the ground. Once you see that you go ‘This is pretty insane.’”
Check out the video below of Cook’s run up Mount Washington on Sunday.
you have to be nutz
Really cool video i was on that road in a car and it scared me Imagine driving it with racing tires and you have a blow out ,over the edge you go. Brave souls there!
If we gave every current SK driver from Stafford and Waterford one run up the mountain in their own SK who would be fastest? I was thinking Andrew Molleur and Mike Christopher.
Wow! Very exciting! I climbed Mt. Washington in a 1984 Honda Accord. It wasn’t quite that fast but I did get a bumper sticker.