Hey guys!

Borrowed some Hoosier Quick Time Pro DOT slicks on
Friday from my buddy Ronnie, and went to the 1/8 mile
track, Ohio Valley, last night to race. It was cloudy
and humid with a chance of rain. We never really got
any rain :-} I did not make any changes to the car
since my last outing. It may have had LESS gas in the
tank at race time.

I put the slicks on, adjusted the tire pressures and
went through tech. It's all bracket racing on
Saturday night, so I got into the Trophy class; again.

I made two qualifying passes at 8.44 and 8.53 @ 84 mph
each. Sixty footers of 1.91 and 1.94 with some minor
tire spin for each run. No burn outs!! Not allowed!!
Dialed in at an 8.42 and got set for eliminations.

Lowered tire pressure to 15 psi since the slicks were
spinning a bit at the line and I was not allowed to do
a burnout in the water box. Since there was an odd
number of cars, I got a 'buy' for then the 1st round,
or is it 'BY'?

I then raced a Dodge mini truck who dialed a 10.46. I
was asked about a helmet at the line. A 8.48 dial or
lower requires a helmet. OOpps!! He let me go with a
warning. I have to have one for my next outing they
said. I could finish the nights racing w/o one!! No
problem beating this truck. Ran an 8.43 @ 76 mph with
a 1.90. I had to let off big time to avoid breaking
out. As you know, letting off from WOT in 3rd gear
on a T-5 produces a tremendous amount of compression
breaking!! I slowed way down. It felt like a brick
wall.

That left just me and an old guy in a Nova for the
final. At this point, I was assured of at least a
runner's up trophy!! I checked my FP and tires and
since it was cooling down I lowered my dial to 8.36
since the last run had me puzzled. The left lane was
really hooking for me too. I got it for the final!!
The only thing I was doing different this time around
was revving the motor to 5,800 rpm at the two shift
points. It really improved my ETs.

Well, me and the old guy!! I had my best ever 60' with a 1.82 and
my best ET with a 8.39 and like earlier, I had to let
off around 2/3 track, after I caught him, and feather
the throttle to just beat him across the line. I
truly believe I'd have run in the 8.20s if I had left
my foot in it!!! To date, I have yet to lose a
bracket race at this track!!! :-}

Praise God!! Smiled all the way to the Tower to get
my Trophy!! I'll get some pics later and share them!! This makes up for the last time that I raced Trophy against a field of 14 cars and made it to the semis and got DQ'd for slicks!!

Check out this URL during the week:

http://www.ohiovalleydragway.com/results.html

I also believe the results will be posted in the local
newspaper on Monday!!

The car ran great. My buddy Mike Little check the
Air/Density reading and got an equivalent altitude
reading of 1,900 ft. Last week he measured a -200 ft altitude density.
It simply varies at this track in the Valley near the
Ohio River.


Just thought I'd share my 1st Bracket Division Win!! Hopefully, not my last!!

Phil >>

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Phil87IROC
Blue '87 IROC, 383 Crate Motor, KB hyper pistons, AFR 190 heads, TPIS ZZ-9 Cam, Edelbrock RPM intake and Edelbrock 750 cfm Carb, T-5 and 3.42 rear GM gears w/new Auburn posi.
Red '89 IROC L98, 700R4, T-Tops, K&Ns, 160 T-stat, Hyper Chip.

[This message has been edited by Phil87IROC (edited September 24, 2000).]

 

Feels good doesn't it. Wait until you have higher car counts and have to go 6-8 rounds to win. People watching the race think it's easy but I tell them to get behind the wheel and try it.

The first professional race I entered, cash and trophy to win, I was still racing my 454SS truck. I won the event and have been drag racing ever since. This year ends my fourth year of drag racing.

Even with the loss of an engine, I'll still be back racing in the spring.

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Stephen's racing page

87 IROC-Z Pro ET Bracket Race Car and knocking on the SuperPro ET class
383 stroker (carbed) with double hump cast iron heads and pump gas

Best results before the engine blew up
Best ET on a time slip: 11.857
Best corrected ET: 11.163
Best MPH on a time slip: 117.87
Best corrected MPH: 126.10
Best 60 foot: 1.662

Racing at 3500 feet elevation but most race days it's over 5000 feet density altitude!

Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

 

It sure does feel good! Helps to balance out all the hours of work putting the car together and to get it setup and tuned.

Good Luck with the new motor Steve!! You'll be faster, I know it!

You'll make it back to the Winner's circle too!! Just a matter of TIME! No pun intended!


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Phil87IROC
Blue '87 IROC, 383 Crate Motor, KB hyper pistons, AFR 190 heads, TPIS ZZ-9 Cam, Edelbrock RPM intake and Edelbrock 750 cfm Carb, T-5 and 3.42 rear GM gears w/new Auburn posi.
Red '89 IROC L98, 700R4, T-Tops, K&Ns, 160 T-stat, Hyper Chip.