Five minutes to go. Each stab of the throttle produces a barking roar as the racers grid up pre-race. Grid control points at you – it’s time to put your Javelin in gear. You’e down in the grid with Hooniverse. The images below were taken minutes before the hammers went down and the Trans-Am cars disappeared into turn 1 and up the hill. Look closely at the body language of the racers about to unleash some of the lairiest racecars ever made onto a difficult, technical course in serious competition. Both Vic Edelbrock and Craig Jackson were entered in the race but gridded up away from where these shots were taken.

If you’ve never stood next to an idling historic Trans-Am car, let me give you some advice – wear really good earplugs. The unmuffled 5 liter V8s will vibrate every cell in your body. A friendly grid control worker (Thanks Wayne!) shepherded me through the pit lane to grab some shots of group 6B lining up for the second-to-last race of the festival, as the drivers eased their 500+ HP pony cars into position. Several AMC Javelin factory racers were on hand, as well as a gorgeous blue ’70 Plymouth ‘Cuda, but first and second generation Mustangs and Camaros made up most of the field. Look for more 2010 Sonoma Historics coverage all this week! All images copyright 2010 Alex Kierstein.