ECTA Spring Fling

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Whatta crowd. I got in one run today and packed up. When I left the track Dan and Andy were both in line hoping to get their second runs for the day. Big true headwind today. The guessers are guessing rain tomorrow, so that might be it for the racing if they guessed right.

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Here's Dan "rolling coal" in Mutt.

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Everybody safe and had a good time, right?

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Everybody safe and had a good time, right?

Well, safe as far as I know included a guy who fell off of a motorcycle around the half mile mark. Dan saw it happen, said the front wheel was up and then he went rolling and tumbling for quite a while. He's said to be "alright," a young and flexible guy. "Somebody" said his bike went through the lights in the half mile trap at 38 mph but he wasn't on it.

Good time? Gosh, I know some guys who loved it. Dan and Andy and Dan's Bro Dave and I had a wonderful time socializing, it was a blast hanging out with those guys as always. There was a whole lot of networking going on from my perspective because there was a lot of waiting, and that's all a part of the sport. There was a huge number of rookies and a couple I heard from maybe didn't understand it. I'll bet they pictured going round and round like Andy did one time but with that number of competitors to go, it's wait your turn.

My run yesterday, my third and final one of the meet, the guy who went before me went down there and puked his transmission at about a quarter mile. I saw him pull off the track so I turned Red's motor off. A service truck went scooting in that direction and the starter came to Red's window and said, "Track Hold." I said, "It's because he went ahead of me." The starter grinned. I said, "Seriously, it's happened 40 times." The starter chuckled, "Forty?" I said, "Well, this is my third pass of the meet...one in three, that's just about right." The starter laughed. I said, "No really, I feel bad about it. I pull up to the line and I look over at the other guy and just know ahead of time that poor sumbitch is gonna break." Then the starter REALLY laughed.

Yes a good time, absolutely.

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This car is just WOW. I was standing there taking photos of it and a guy walked past me and greeted the owner. He said, "I've been a Chevy guy all of my life but I have to tell you, this car is just gorgeous. I was watching you go down the track and I just kept saying out loud that car is gorgeous to see it going by."






I had a great conversation with the owner yesterday. He takes the thing all over to shows, etc. He said his overwhelming goal was to get the car up to 130 mph and he'd come close before. We agreed that this was our last run of the meet given the time of day and the length of the line. I wished him luck.

He went off in our line ahead of Dan so I was sitting there beside the tent and could see the speed readout. He went 129.98.

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Looks terrific!

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Ya wanna go 160 mph? I like the view from the dash cam in the corner of the windshield better than I do this one. This view, the runway is so dadgum big there's no sensation of speed at all in the playback. So I run through the gears. 5th gear as far as I can tell is about 117 mph. Then watch at :23, that big square PVC marker on the left side of the pavement is the half mile marker. 3/4 of a mile left to go in 5th gear. Go fast faster Red, hurry up. I drove all the way home from Arkansas today definitely buying a 6 speed transmission for Red, that's what he needs. I got home and Superman completely talked me out of it. Nope, I'm not doing that. Red is what he is as he is.

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Twin turbochargers?

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Twin turbochargers?

Nope, different car, and that just doesn't make me feel good. There's no endorphin rush to go with thinking that. Without realizing it over time I think I like the "How fast can I make THIS heap go" thing. Looking back at it, hell, I screwed with Bluebelle the Fusion trying to maker her go faster until I had to take her back to the dealership and get her computer re-flashed to the factory tune.

And like Dan saying this weekend it might be time to get Mutt back on the dyno to get some more out of him. And like Lon pitted next to us with the $500 Neon. They showed up Saturday morning with a length of plastic pipe like Red has for brake cooling hoses. I don't know where they found such a thing in Blytheville. They made a hole in the front fender for a makeshift scoop and ran the hose through the fender and straight through the box where the air filter should be and attached it directly to the throttle body. That's racin' what you brung. They've been able to get 120s out of the hamster wheel powered Neon.

On the raw unedited version of the above video the definition is good enough to clearly see the tach. Red is turning about 5200 RPM in 5th gear going through through the 2K lights. That's just about as fast as that car can go, Just about. In three miles or five he could go some more but not a whole lot pushing the brick through the air. Superman said he told his mechanic friend I had gone off racing. His friend couldn't believe it. SM said his reaction was, "He drove all the way to Arkansas to race a car with 120,000 miles on it?!?!? Wow, I hope he gets back in it."

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Okay, HEMI.

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Okay, HEMI.

I'm thinking 2022 Shelby with DOT seals on the hood pins so I'll have to take it to the dealership to have the windshield washer fluid level checked. Man there were tons of mighty fast expensive fine showroom cars there this weekend and they didn't at all enjoy having to make a rookie pass, every last one of them had to. Nossir, I could tell they didn't like it. Hhmph, they shoulda been at Ohio 9 years ago and they woulda had that outta the way already.

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Why stop there? Sell off Red and get yourself a used Ford GT......

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Why stop there? Sell off Red and get yourself a used Ford GT......

You mean like this one? I don't think it's for sale.

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Ford GT For Sale - Hemmings Motor News

24 of 'em listed here. Shop well, P. Not only will they kick ass at Blythvllle, but on any nearby roadcourse... Go back to Atlanta!

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24 of 'em listed here. Shop well, P. Not only will they kick ass at Blythvllle, but on any nearby roadcourse... Go back to Atlanta!

Ok, I shopped. Now, Red IS going back, to Daytona at the end of this month. After this weekend's exercise I hope Red doesn't get run over at Daytona while his 5th gear is growing hair. He used to pull a lot longer in 4th with the stock setup and then 5th was nearly useless, too high to pull like on a race track. Maybe the overall outcome is the same or better but it sure does feel like he's stuck needing a gear between 4th and 5th. One of Superman's suggestions was to get somebody to bust open the tranny and exchange the .6 5th gear cog for a .8, but then he wouldn't cruise as calmly on the interstate. So it is what it is.

RE shopping I saw a piece on TV where Tim Allen toured us through his car collection. He got to the Ford GT and said he wanted one badly because the challenge was getting considered "qualified" to buy one. Forget the fortune they cost, you have to be a special someone to even buy a new one, even a used one if I paid attention correctly.