To Begin~
We had a GREAT Outing this past weekend! I’m attaching a video taken from the Stands by a fan. Not the best view, as it doesn’t show the Driving Job I had to do! (but, you can see AND hear what happened in that Run and I’ll explain more about this below.) THAT poor vista is a HUGE regret, as it was the most remarkable Driving Job I’ve had to do since I’ve owned the Car! I received more complements after that lap than from any other pass in the Car- EVER!
Three Laps in the 5.40’s- 2 over 260 MPH -1 @ 264.39- 2 MPH off our Career Best!!
We’d come “Out of the Box” on Thursday with a 5.46 @ 259 MPH, putting a Cylinder out at 4.4 seconds- a VERY good start to our Weekend. Nothing hurt and a TON left in it. We fixed the Cylinder dropping problem- we hoped- and tried another test pass- The Car did something I didn’t believe possible- it went out 300’ and BLEW THE TIRES OFF! Smoking the Tires THAT far Down Track takes a HUGE amount of Power, which we seemed to have now. We were going from there into Round 1 of Eliminations of the Make-Up Race that had rained out back in July- BUT that last Test Pass had shook HARD, damaging our Reverser, the device that allows me to go from Forward to Reverse so I can back up from a Burnout. We THRASHED, attempting to repair the Reverser which made us quite late to the lanes for our first Round of Eliminations, not really sure if we’d even have Reverse to be able to back up from the Burnout! I did a VERY short burnout, just in case the guys would have to push me back! I know that everyone there was startled, as I’m known for doing “John Force-esk, Long-Non-A/Fuel Traditional Burnouts”, but not knowing if you can even get it into Reverse will cure you of that RIGHT NOW!! OMG!! So, a short Burnout it was!! But, the Reverser worked, so I backed up and had to wait for the other guy, as we were then early!! I then Staged the Car- (This is the pass I’ve attached the video of)- and away we went, side by side, BUT, then the Car began to Shake HARD, again, moving around, left and right and CLOSE to the left wall- it was VERY close to the wall. When it does that, it essentially quits pulling. You’ll see in the Video above, he pulls away as I’m shaking, but he then Blows a Burst Panel (a safety device protecting the supercharger from too much pressure in the Manifold) and I get my Car to settle down and it HAULS ASS 🙂 all the way to the finish line, running 5.420 @ 264.39 MPH! We whooped up on him! This is our Best ET in a LONG time and our best MPH in a VERY long time!! When he blows his Burst Panel, you can hear a very distinct whining sound from his Supercharger (aka- Blower) as it is spinning in excess of 20,000 RPM!
Getting Whopped –On The Track & By The Weather~
We got whooped in R2- I ran 5.49 and lost to a 5.46. CLOSE, but no cigar! This all happened before the Weekend even began, as our Testing and Eliminations occurred on Thursday and Friday. By Saturday, the Weather had turned Colder, making the Corrected (or “Density”) Altitude VERY low. This is the Altitude the Motor THINKS it’s running at. VERY good air = VERY Good Power! We were already making a TON of Power- and then it got Colder. The Sun didn’t even peak out from the Clouds, meaning that the Track never saw the Sun, so the Track Temperature never got over 71 Degrees. In our world, a Track Temperature of 90 Degrees is considered to be optimal. A Track Temperature that varies in either direction by much begins to affect the available Traction. Add to that the fact that the Cool Air was adding a ton of Power, and – well, we knew we were in trouble! We tried on two attempts to get our Hot Rod down the Track, but went up in smoke both times, in spite of attempts to pull Power from the Tune-Up. Sunday arrived with a similar forecast and I was making an even more drastic change to the Car- Changing Cam Timing. This is one that I have done before to get the Car down the Track when we had great air and the more “normal” Tune-Up moves were ineffective. As I was preparing to Move the Cam Sunday morning, the call was made- the Race was called for Rain. DOH!!! One more time- Woulda’, Coulda’, Shoulda’!
Managing Expectations
We really wanted to come away with a 5.3 Time Slip from the Weekend and we were SO Close on several tries this weekend. Racing with Jerry is SUCH a GREAT time! He was a tremendous help and we all had a TON of FUN! When I brought him up for the Woodburn Divisional back in July, the Car was running 5.60’s and 5.70’s in the mid 240 MPH range– and hurting itself on most every Pass! Now, we made 3 Runs all in the 5.40’s, the slowest of which was 258.91 MPH and up to 264.39 MPH- all with no carnage! We also had some Tire Smokers where we overpowered the Race Track for the available conditions, but our performance has picked up so much that we are now competitive again, and we again have the respect of our competitors. It’s been a while! This is VERY rewarding!
Where We Go From Here
We’ve been invited back for one more outing before putting our Hot Rod away for the Winter. It’ll be Friday the 30th of September where we’ve been invited by NAPA Auto Parts back to Woodburn Dragstrip, our Home Track, one more time. They have rented the Track for the day. They were looking for a “Big Car” and Keith McCurdy- a long time friend, Crew Dude and NAPA staffer invited us to come out for the day. So, please come out on Friday the 30th and spend the day with us! We’ll have a great time, hearing the sound of Nitro Cackling in the Pipes, smelling that distinct smell of Nitro and feeling the awesome Power of that “Bomb” going off at the Starting Line when, before we put Her away for the Winter, we say a couple more times – “God Bless it! Send it!!” Please Come Join Us!!
Thanks to all who make this happen!! 🙂
Fondly~
Nitro Gregg
Gregg Racing 