Siempre Joven takes off for Mexico

Jake Shuttlesworth, Lee Kirby and Les Garland discuss a much needed alignment for Siempre Joven as Shuttlesworth prepares for an upcoming road rally in Mexico.

If the streets of Troup are a little quieter this week it's because Jake Shuttlesworth and his car are off to the races again.

He is running his car "Siempre Joven" (Forever Young in English) in the Chihuahua Express this weekend, along with his co-pilot Brad Lederer.

The road rally begins Friday from central Chihuahua City heading north to the city of Madera, through woods and small ravines. The three-day event will take the cars and drivers approximately 350 miles.

Since Shuttlesworth's last trip to Mexico to drive in the La Carrera Panamericana, he has made some adjustments to the car.

He has reduced the weight of the car by removing the old Galaxy seats and replaced them with simple aluminum seats with cushioning designed and built locally by Chip McClain.

Also, Lee Kirby at Garland Brothers has worked on the alignment of the car to make cornering easier and less stressful on the tires.

Shuttlesworth and Lederer will be racing the 1963 ½ Ford Galaxy against other vintage cars, as well as newer cars including an '07 Subaru STI and an '06 Mitsubishi Evo 9.

As he prepared to leave Troup, Shuttlesworth said he was in the shop where his car has been quietly resting for a year.

"I could imagine the car was saying to me, 'Hey, I've been here long enough. It's time to go again,'" Shuttlesworth said.

"She's ready to rock and roll and so am I."