ECTA Ohio Mile Coverage: More Cars, More Records, More Cool Photos!


ECTA Ohio Mile Coverage: More Cars, More Records, More Cool Photos!

(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) – Part 4 of our photo collection from the last ECTA Ohio Mile.  One of the things we will miss most is Wilmington and the surrounding communities.  They have been very supportive and hospitable towards land speed folks.  Weather plays a big role in how many come out to watch and some events such as the HotRod Top Speed Challenge are an added draw.  We know it’s a big event when spectator vehicles line the taxiway from the Generations food wagon to the starting line.  The Silvis Racing streamliner looks somewhat like a knife and has been running here for a few years.  Its performance has steadily increased over that time and on this outing bested 175mph.  This is one slick ride.  Drag Week veterans, Noshnoj  Racing was back with their street-legal and driven twin-turbo Mustang.  It was still sporting the ‘small’ SBF it ran in the Spring.  This time they turned up the wick and blasted to 236mph.  There’s still more in it with this particular combination and they have a bigger motor that will eventually get its turn.  Now an inspiring story.  Stewart Woollard had already endured a bout with cancer and had gone into remission.  The quest to complete items on the bucket list ensued.  The Effin Special is one of those items.  Powered by a twin-cam Suzuki 4cyl and backed by a wide-ratio transmission this contraption was entirely home-built and still had the sharpie marks showing it was still unfinished when they arrived in Wilmington.  The goal was to hit 100mph and set a record.

The first runs were a bit awkward to synchronize the shifts to best utilize the power.  Steadily speeds increased and the last pass of the weekend was over 102mph.  Stewart, his wife, and the whole crew were overwhelmed with emotion.  See, Stewart did all this while on a stiff chemo regimen as his cancer has returned and it was considered terminal.  Truly an honor to witness.  David Meyer had tried at two previous events to get his Northern Bel, twin-turbo Hemi Belvedere into the 200 club.  Third time is his charm as it first eclipsed that mark using the tires it had on during Drag Week then went out and did it again on its street shoes.  Another ‘mission accomplished’.  We’ll close out this gallery mentioning Panhead Pat’s ’59 Harley eclipsing 145mph while trailing a small flag of header wrap.  Good run.  Enjoy.

9297      A/CGC    John M. Kochel 1950 Studebaker Champion         157.8394

9223      A/CGALT                 William B. Thomas   1977 Pontiac Firebird              175.9187

3211      H/FS                          Gary Silvis             2012 Streamliner               176.2632

8797B   B/BFCT                    Gary Miller           2001 Ford Taurus               221.4567

9160      B/BGT                      Randy Poole        202 Chevrolet Corvette Z06          197.455

9320      AA/BFSS                  “C. Douglas Johnson, Jr” 2006 Ford Mustang Coupe           236.8421

617         H/FMR   G. Stewart Woollard        1925 Ford Roadster          102.2263

867         AA/FMR                  Dave Kixmiller    1929 Ford Model A Roadster        216.0346

7847      M/PBG-500/4     Sean Miller 1978 Honda CX500                    123.8987

1526      AA/BFCT                 David J. Meyer    1966 Plymouth Belvedere              205.1048

9335      MPS/TBF-1000/4  David Aurand 2005 Honda RC51                              163.8747

9701      A/PG-1350/4   Panhead Pat Settersten     1959 Harley Davidson     145.7254

4321      C/FRS                       David Matyjasik 1971 Chev Camaro                             214.5923


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