047 | NASCAR San Diego at Coronado: Project Cars & a Jimmie Johnson Connection

NASCAR came to San Diego, and Courage was there to experience the action at Naval Base Coronado.

In this episode of Cool Cars with Chris, Chris and Courage recap the NASCAR San Diego race weekend, including the Coronado road course, ferry transportation, base security, packed crowds, loud V8 engines and the challenges drivers faced on a rough temporary track. They also compare NASCAR road-course racing with traditional oval racing and discuss brakes, tires, crashes, barrier repairs and the intense sound of stock cars in person.

Chris also shares his unexpected Jimmie Johnson connection, revealing that he attended the same high school as the NASCAR champion.

Later, the conversation shifts to project cars, including Courage’s Nissan 300ZX and his search for an affordable fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro Z28. They discuss LT1 and LS engines, the “catfish” Camaro, buying damaged vehicles, setting a realistic project-car budget and searching Craigslist, OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace for cheap cars.

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00:00 AI smart highways and Southern California traffic
03:32 Driving through Temecula and Murrieta
08:03 I-15 traffic and the San Diego commute
10:23 Are cheaper homes worth a longer commute?
12:20 Commuter car spotting and Hyundai headquarters
15:23 NASCAR comes to San Diego and Coronado
16:15 Base security, parking and taking the ferry
17:37 Victory Lane and the race-day experience
20:08 Watching NASCAR on the Coronado road course
23:50 NASCAR noise, AirPods and hearing protection
27:23 V8 engines, turbo V6s and electric NASCAR
30:27 Brakes, bumps and road-course racing
33:33 Crashes, barrier repairs and track problems
35:12 Chris’s Jimmie Johnson connection
38:03 Could NASCAR return to San Diego?
38:38 Coronado traffic, housing and Silver Strand
45:14 Road-course NASCAR versus oval racing
47:28 What makes a car a project car?
49:00 Courage’s Nissan 300ZX project-car story
50:30 Searching for a Chevrolet Camaro Z28
56:00 Evaluating damage and negotiating a project car
1:00:14 Barn finds and cheap-car dreams
1:05:20 Craigslist, OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace
1:06:33 Google+, YouTube and abandoned technology
1:08:46 What if YouTube charged creators to upload?
1:10:37 Creator milestones and trillion-dollar wealth
1:13:42 Where to follow The Driven Dad 22
1:14:08 Final thoughts: Be safe and drive legal

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