It was a weird weather day in Tulsa on Thursday as the road weary Drag Week crew attacked the strip during the fourth day of competition. There was sun, rain, more sun, a little more rain, oil, anti-freeze, and a gasser in the wall. Oh, there were also plenty of great runs made by competitors and a sticky drag strip. In news that will not shock you Larry Larson maintains a stranglehold over the Unlimited and overall title. Unless something truly catastropic happens, he’ll put another notch in the roll cage tomorrow.
In other news…
Joe Barry’s wild turbocharged ’56 Chevy ran a 7.68 on a measly 10lbs of boost. When Joe and the boys went to crank that mother up, it ate a turbo at about half track on the next lap. Replacement turbos are being overnight shipped to them in Topeka (we’re guessing), so they will be able to run tomorrow. That’s important because if something happes to Larson, Barry would vault to the top of the leaderboard in Unlimited.
Larry Larson has not had an operational shift light for the whole week. His tach is in the RacePak dash, and looking around for it, while grabbing levers and running 200mph would be instant wreckage. Instead he has been shifting it by ear. He told Chad that he was going to run a 7.50 today while getting into his car. About one minute later, he ran a 7.49. Wild!
The LS-powered Pinto has been desperately trying to run a seven second lap this week and on Thursday, with help from some aero-tape weilding competitors, it ran 8.02….twice! That car is bad fast!
Michael Roy’s beautiful barge of a Monte Carlo ran into the 7-second zone again on Thursday after cracking into it for the first time in Great Bend. That turbo engine is making some big umph to move the Monte down course that quick!
Hit the link below to see a big gallery of 2011 Drag Week Thursday Photos!
DRAG GALLERY: 2011 HOT ROD DRAG WEEK PRESENTED BY GEAR VENDORS
SEVENS if it ran a turbo CHI-Head SBF “Clevor” (think Jon Kaase Engine Masters) instead of that “GOVERNMENT MOTORS” JUNK “LESS” V8 . . . .
Gapp & Roush, Glidden, and Dyno were almost as quick and fast on “all motor” Iron Cleveland Ford power in their Pintos back in the ’70s.
On the other hand, running a modern aftermarket SBF instead of a dodgy LSx wouldn’t prompt the same orgy of sycophantic media adulation, would it?
…^^^and those vintage competitors would’ve made it exactly 4 miles before catastrophic engine failure ended their travel plans. Plenty of opportunity for your Fox-body Mustang brethren to install said CHI-headed bullet into a car of their choosing. And? Nothing within a 1/2 second of the little Pinto that could. That car’ll be in the 7’s next year for sure, at least once (hell, it’ll probably be there in a month.) Preach on, brotha!!