Best fun at the track yet!

[mrfarmdog]

It is not often that someone will post about a kill story where they are on the loosing end but it was the fun factor that I feel makes this story worth while...

 

Let me start off with the preface that I am no star runner. In fact until I bought this car I have not been to a drag strip since I was a teenager. My first runs sucked so bad that I would not share them with anyone. However, I have made quite a bit of improvement and no longer consider myself a newbie. Since I got my car in March I have made about 50 runs at the strip. Many of you also know my mods so it is without surprise that an average driver like myself can easily beat most street cars running 12s and 13s. I seem to be in this no-mans-land between 12 second street cars and 10 second dedicated drag cars, and as a result I almost never end up against someone that provides decent competition (I either blow them away or get blown away).

 

Last night there was a group of guys from Little Rock in Chevys making it to Memphis (looking for some new blood I guess). I had seen most of these guys run and they were in mid to low 12s I believe. I ran against some of them early on and easily left them behind. One run however, I was matched up against a C5 Vet. I really didn't pay him too much attention until the greenlight when I noticed out of the right corner of my eye that the nose of his car was not dissapearing from view. In fact he was actually inching out in front of me. Knowing that the top end of the track is my strong end, I pressed hard to keep our pace and it was a dead heat given about 1/8th car length either way. I would shift and loose a bit but would inch up on him as I moved through the RPMs. It was litterally neck and neck the entire track.

 

Words can not describe the rush of being matched up so evenly and hearing the roar of both cars pushing down the track. When I passed the finish line I did not know who had won. I had to get the time slip to see the results. Sadly it was not me. Final times were my 11.646 to his 11.338. My top speed was 125.71 to his 123.54.

 

After the run I pulled in next to the group and went up to shake his hand and tell him how much fun I had. I responded with the exact same response and we both sat there reliving the run for about 5 minutes. It turned out that he was running a 150 shot on what he said was an otherwise stock platform. Playing with the HP numbers and weight of the two cars I figure he must have been running somewhere about 530 RWHP.

 

That one run helped me to understand that there are good days racing and there are great races. And you can loose a great race and still come home with a huge smile on your face.

 

It also helped me put in perspective what 3 tenths of a second means. Quite literally in this case it was about an 1/8 of a car length.

 

What is amazing to me is that my desire to have a 10 second time slip really equates to moving my car a half car length (or less) further down the track than it I can right now (my best time of the night was 11.559 and my all time best thus far was 11.444).

 

I will keep working towards my 10 second goal but now I believe I will think more in terms of a half car length. It seems so much closer that way!

[phr3121]

Nice story!

 

Yep, the 2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06 is a fast car.

 

The LS6 engine is a high-output version of the venerable LS1 small-block engine. Delivering almost 12% more power than the early version of the LS1, it produces 405 hp at 6000 rpm, and 400 ft-lb of torque at 4800 rpm. The engine redlines at 6500 rpm, and its torque curve is slightly biased toward the upper end to favor race-track driving applications. The LS6 power output is achieved as the result of dozens of refinements to increase volumetric efficiency and maximum rpm.

 

0-60 mph: 3.9 sec

1/4 mile: 11.7 sec

Top speed: 186 mph

Curb weight: 3115 lb

Weight-to-power ratio: 7.33 lb/hp

[Fastbackman]

Great story! Sounds like a fun time!

[lambbo]

:beerchug: too Good times at the track.