SP Rides: The Asphalt Animal
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Make, Model: Don Davis Brogie Roadster
Owner: Russell Odegaard
Age: 55
Occupation: Service manager
Hobbies: Drag racing
Color: Candy burgundy, two-tone, with additional painting done by The Undertaker Designs Shop
The usual route most hot rod enthusiasts take is to turn perfectly good street cars into race cars. In Russell Odegaard’s case, however, he took a perfectly good race car and turned it into a street car — to be exact, a Don Davis Brogie Roadster, one of two known examples in the world.
This story goes way back. As a young kid growing up and going to Hawaii Raceway Park in the late 1980s, the first one Odegaard had ever seen was with drag racer Ben Antoine, who showed up with a brand new candy apple red Brogie Roadster that blew everyone’s minds. At that moment, Odegaard promised himself that if he ever had the opportunity, he would own one someday.
Fast forward to 2005, and Odegaard encountered this Brogie Roadster at the K&N booth at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. After speaking to the representatives, they said the K&N owner had purchased this street-legal version of the famous race car. Seven years later, Odegaard tracked down this vehicle and worked out a deal — practically a swap for a transmission. Soon after, the car was in a container on its way to Hawaii.
Upon its arrival, Odegaard couldn’t believe what he had bought. It looked like there had been animals living in it. And although he was shocked, Odegaard sucked it up and got to work. The first thing was taking it over to Tom Brown at Sportcraft Racing for a complete teardown.
“Tom said that to make this how a Don Davis racecar should be — this is what we have to do,” Odegaard said.
Don Davis is a legendary race car builder who has created some of the best Super Gas roadsters on the planet. His reputation is legendary and so are his cars — known for launching straight fast off the light.
So, they went to work putting the car back together with the best parts money could buy — the type of parts, like Jesel, that make people who know them whistle when they see them. The goal was to build the same car that Antoine ran in the 1980s at 8.90 seconds in the quarter-mile on a drag strip, so that if a drag strip were to be built here, they could swap it out for slicks, throw in a cage and destroy asphalt.
The high-compression engine in this car could be yanked out and installed in a dragster and run 8.50s all night long. It is a straight race motor with some additional amenities included to make it more street-able. Well, about as close as you can get. This thing is a beast.
Beyond the stunning engine, the paint is glorious, with additional details added by Kamaile of The Undertaker Designs Shop. The suspension is chromed and polished to match every detail and the interior is leather-upholstered goodness.
When it comes to this ride, there’s a huge list of people who helped Odegaard build this Asphalt Animal — the car of his dreams. Wherever he goes, with this car, he’s ready to roll no matter what.
