244 MPH With A Hurst
How fast would a NASCAR Nextel/Sprint Cup car go if unhindered by restrictor plates or corners? Russ Wicks found out on October 9 when he piloted an '07 Charger Cup car to 244.9 mph, reportedly a new record top end for a Stock Car, beating his previous record of 222 mph. We have no clue what the gearing was or if it had a cheater motor, but he claims it was "built to NASCAR specs," so there ya go. We learned about the feat from Hurst Performance Products since the car had a Hurst Competition/Plus shifter in it. Cool. -Rob Kinnan
How They Make It: The Wheel Smith Steel Wheels
A hot rodder himself, starting at the age of 14 with a '32 three-window coupe, Bob Sage saw the need for guys to have access to steel wheels they could configure for their cars, rather than have to plan the cars around the wheels available. He began working for Western Wheel cutting those eight-spoke wagon wheels that were the thing for 4x4s back in the '70s and stayed in the wheel business continuously for the next couple of decades until he decided it was time to branch out on his own and create The Wheel Smith back in 1992.
From ralleys to smoothies to artillery wheels, The Wheel Smith can put together a steelie configured with custom offsets and backspacing for pretty much any hot rod. | 
Raw steel hoops are ordered from a supplier to The Wheel Smith's specs depending on the wheels to be made. The pyramid of thin 15s are being made for stock early Corvettes. Currently, 15s from 411/42 to 14 inches wide are available, as well as 14s in 5, 6, and 7 inches and 16s in 6, 7, 8, and 10 inches wide. | 
The Wheel Smith orders the centers for its wheels 0.050 oversize, then cuts them down in-house to ensure perfect consistency. The back sides of the centers are also sanded down on a large rotary wheel to create a perfectly level mounting surface. Each step is checked on master fixtures before proceeding. |
It's more than just a business to Bob and the boys though, as all the guys in the shop are involved in the hobby and they like to say that they're "hot rodders building wheels for hot rodders." We could definitely see that was the case when we visited The Wheel Smith in Santa Ana, California. Everyone in the shop has something brewing, and we spent as much time bench racing about projects, like Bob's latest LS7-powered roadster, as crafting wheels.
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