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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312903
11/14/12 04:10 PM
11/14/12 04:10 PM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,260
Las Vegas NV
moparmanjames
pro stock
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pro stock
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,260
Las Vegas NV
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Quote:
Finally, I pulled up beside a Red '93 Trans Am, that was in the SS/PA class and had been struggling all week running 12's at anything from 89 mph to 127 mph! The small block idled fine, nice burnout, stage...whack! The Valiant left hard, and I treed the Trans Am by a mile, smooth to 6400, 2nd gear, 6400, drive, felt great but when I looked in the mirror, the Trans Am was charging down on me like the Valiant must have stopped pulling! My 11.337-116.94 reached the finish line a fraction before his 10.804-130.38, apparently he had finally figured out the problem!
Back in the pits, Dale was ready to tear into the carb, "I promised you a .20 before this week was over, now we are going to get it!"
"Nope, I'm done, I've never driven the Valiant on the streets of Phoenix yet, and I'm loading it while it's in one piece". I shook my head.
He looked dissapointed, "I understand, if you're happy with that, that's good enough I guess."
Speaking of the streets of Phoenix, you'll have to bring that thing down to Central Ave one Saturday night, my buddy Bill Grant is trying to revive the saturday night cruise down there and theyr'e parking at the Micky D's.
Last edited by moparmanjames; 11/14/12 04:11 PM.
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312904
11/15/12 02:10 AM
11/15/12 02:10 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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Phoenix, AZ
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So, in a little over an hour after racing had started on Saturday, Darryl and I had wrapped up our Drag Week 2012! I went to the tower to get time slip 5 and 6 from Tonya Turk, to complete my full set! Looking at the 11.448-115.90 final average, after 3 runs in the .40's and one in the .30's made me wish I hadn't accepted that opening .62, but it often doesn't pay to get greedy early on DW, and it's over a second better than 2011, so I'm very satisfied with the outcome!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312905
11/15/12 02:27 AM
11/15/12 02:27 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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The observation that niether of these vehicles is a Toyota is probably the only reason BBR avoided being questioned by the Border Patrol multiple times on his trip home to Amarillo! That and the fact that the White Durango is well known throughout the great state of Texas and beyond.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: ksj]
#1312907
11/15/12 09:38 AM
11/15/12 09:38 AM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,325
Truckville, the capital of NY
85_Ram_4speed
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master
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Posts: 3,325
Truckville, the capital of NY
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Awesome Billy. The story is great! Thank you for sharing with us, especially us that can only dream of even trying this adventure once, let alone multiple times. Come on Drag Week 2013!
Outcast Dodge guy.
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: 85_Ram_4speed]
#1312908
11/15/12 10:21 AM
11/15/12 10:21 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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We knew that the first class cars session was going to go long, with 4 classes very tight, all those still in contention were going to flood the lanes at the last second. That meant for Rachael and the rest of the Daily Driver cars, it was going to be a long, and somewhat frustrating wait for thier shot at the track. So she headed the Belvedere to the lanes to wait with everyone else.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: BBR]
#1312911
11/20/12 10:43 PM
11/20/12 10:43 PM
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,978
Hilltown Pa
1967dartgt
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Hilltown Pa
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That must be a really long line to wait in...
Brett Miller W9 cnc'd heads
STR Chassis fabraction
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: 1967dartgt]
#1312912
11/21/12 01:59 AM
11/21/12 01:59 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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Sorry guys,
Spent last weekend at the Street Car Super Nationals, watching all the crazy action, so didn't get the opportunity to add to the story. Now my head is swimming from watching pass after pass of Doorslammers in the 5's, and 10.5 cars in the 6's, so it's a little difficult to concentrate on where I was in my version of Drag Week 2012. Already seems so long ago at this point!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312913
11/21/12 02:21 AM
11/21/12 02:21 AM
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Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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Rachael rolled up into the right lane at 3:31 pm, a whopping 2 hours and eleven minutes after the Valiant and I had completed our Drag Week. She got on the bottle early, and managed a 1.728 60ft. time. There was a small pop at the top of 1st, but I never heard her lift off the nitrous all the way through. 11.582-116.28, best ET and MPH of Drag Week 2012 for her and the Belvedere.
She wasted no time in taking that slip to the tower, and getting her final average, so she could be placed on the Daily Driver ladder for eliminations.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312915
11/21/12 03:07 AM
11/21/12 03:07 AM
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Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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The weather continued to look as though the clouds could open at any minute, and the same 15 cars kept hotlapping as the Hot Rod Drag Week staff begged for final timeslips so they could finish the ladder. I turned to Boone and laughed, "They aren't going to be happy until they wait long enough for the bracket race to rain out!"
Finally, one of the crazy Aussies, (much more on this later, I promise) who had bought a chevy p/u on ebay, came over and was flogging it un-mercifully, managed to kick a rod out of the small-block and oil the track from 700Ft to the first turn-off. Now we were really getting worried!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312916
11/21/12 03:27 AM
11/21/12 03:27 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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ksj,
I told Dale on Sunday, "Mike Crow isn't bringing the Cuda this year, going to be running a Dart that'll be knocking on the door of the 9's!"
Monday, after we left the track, (remember, he hadn't slept), "Hey...Crow didn't make it, I never saw a fast Dart today", he questioned me.
"The White one, yeah, you didn't see it?"
"You mean the nice little white 69 Dart with the flat hood, steel wheels, and hubcaps? Geez, figured that for a 14 second Daily Driver!"
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312917
11/21/12 03:38 AM
11/21/12 03:38 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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As we sat around and waited for the clean-up, Dale and Scott managed to get a quality bench racing session in. Dale's son, however, was not engaged in the conversation!
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312918
11/21/12 11:52 AM
11/21/12 11:52 AM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,589
Topeka Kansas
ksj
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Topeka Kansas
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Quote:
ksj,
I told Dale on Sunday, "Mike Crow isn't bringing the Cuda this year, going to be running a Dart that'll be knocking on the door of the 9's!"
Monday, after we left the track, (remember, he hadn't slept), "Hey...Crow didn't make it, I never saw a fast Dart today", he questioned me.
"The White one, yeah, you didn't see it?"
"You mean the nice little white 69 Dart with the flat hood, steel wheels, and hubcaps? Geez, figured that for a 14 second Daily Driver!"
Best we were able to get it to run after DW was multiple 10.03s.  Wrenches are being turned.
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: ksj]
#1312919
11/22/12 10:17 AM
11/22/12 10:17 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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Darren brought the Charger out again Saturday, but didn't try to make any passes. Dale ran it at the Mopar race several weeks later, and bugs are still being worked out, so maybe ready for 2013?
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312920
11/22/12 10:53 AM
11/22/12 10:53 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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Finally, the call was made for the Daily Driver bracket race to report to the lanes for pairing. Rachael and Dale headed up to the staging area while Boone and I began loading the Valiant on the trailer and getting all my junk sorted and loaded in the truck. As I was under the Valiant, attaching the rachet straps my phone rang; it was Dale.
"The Belvedere is puffing a little steam out of the driver's side now...think she got the other head gasket on that 11.58."
"Great! Bring it back and we'll load it", I paused, and thought about it. We knew she probably didn't have a chance to go 5 rounds in a bracket race, given her experience, but Dale had been working with her on the tree everday, they had been standing in the staging lanes watching pair after pair with him counting the tree down with her, giving her tips on how to hit the bottom bulb.
"How bad is it?"
"I'd try it if it was me", he confirmed.
"Alright, tell her to go easy on the burnout and stage quickly, she's come this far, we have to give her the opportunity to finish this thing!"
She ended up paired up with Michael Broadbook's '64 Tempest, which was dialed 11.90 to her 11.86 (1 tenth subtracted from thier final average).
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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Re: HOT ROD Drag Week 2012 : The Experience
[Re: MoparBilly]
#1312921
11/22/12 11:43 AM
11/22/12 11:43 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,448
Phoenix, AZ
MoparBilly
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Phoenix, AZ
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She idled towards the right lane water box, with Scott's RoadRunner directly behind her in the next pairing. She finished a small burnout, and the steam really was quite noticable as she made her way towards the beams.
Standing on the fence at about 700ft., I looked at Boone, "It's going to be close, the burnout box guy sees it, but lucklily the starter has his back turned!"
Scott was motioning at Dale, and pointing at the exhaust, but Dale was in full "run interference" mode at this time, just trying to keep everyone from pulling the plug before she got staged.
Staged, locked in, switch flipped, time to race, she came up on the rpms, and the steam worsened. Yellow, yellow, She flat footed the gas pedal, and grabbed the button, well over half the contents of the radiator spewed out of the drivers side exhaust pipe like a fire hose, dousing the starting line and first 30ft. of the track. Scott, sitting in the water box, pointed at Dale, and threw his hands up in the air as if to say, "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!"
Both cars lifted shortly after 60ft., Rachael had caught the redlight on the tree in her lane, and since the Pontiac's reaction time began with .3, he had plenty of time to see it as well! Her time slip, -.001 for the RT.
"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks"
4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
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.Talk about a field car.20 bucks in quarters before she even made it home.The Dart of Mike Crow.Mikes wife Vicky had a baby name book and was searching for a name.I mentinoned that it reminded me of my Grandma Blanche.She looked up the name up and Blanche = plain and bland. 
