Sitting in rush hour traffic is killer and hard on everything.

My cooling system was amazing as it never got past 183 in Chicago rush hour. This is also where heavy oil comes in as it doesn't quite turn into water.

Outlawd is 110% correct.. drive the car as much as you can before drag week as it will help show your weaknesses in a hurry.

One thing with any Mopar it seems is bring spare rocker arm adjusters as they take quite the beating. In 2015 I helped out a fellow Mopar guy who broke a T&D one and happened upon me at a hotel parking lot looking. I keep a bunch with me so when you check the valves you can catch one going away or chunking. Same goes for pushrods, nobody stocks anything for Chrysler pushrods really or get a make your own set as spares.

Only thing I had troubles with was exhaust hangers after so many hours of vibration, a starter that was getting weak which I had a spare and having intercooler pipe inside the car making it too damn warm.

Still needs exhaust but seems rich at partial throttle, great at wot.
Track opens in a few weeks after the base numbers the changes will start.

Will get spare rocker arms and push rods, extra electronics. Check the cooling system out this summer works great when 40 degrees out lol

Have considers lot of options like budget aluminum heads. Seems like the port work on the stock ones must be decent. The wallace calculator puts it close to 500 hp for the 1/8 mile et and mph.
Not sure what the mopar 590 cams potential is.

Hi guys. I also got into Drag Week this year for the first time, and I have a few questions. My car is a 1975 Coronet station wagon with a 489ci stroker making 630hp, and 645TQ, 10.9 compression, Indy EZ heads w/ max wedge ports, Indy single plain intake, and I am going with FiTech fuel Injection mean street, and it has a Bullet roller cam with 610 lift. It's followed by a PTC converter and a Cope built 727 with low 1st gear set up, gear vendors, 8 3/4 with 4.30 gears and a spoll on 31" tires. Im using an MSD 6AL box, and distributor, also an Aeromotive dual 340 stealth pumps in an aluminium 20gal cell.

Questions:
I thought I read some where that we had to run slicks this year. Is this true, or can we still run drag radials?

If we need slicks, my class is allowed 11.2" wide at tread, can anybody tell me a tire size that will fit within that while mounted on a 10" or 12" rim? looking for first hand experience instead of calculating and guessing.

I have friends coming just to watch, and share motel rooms, what can they or cant they do for me to not get DQ'ed? I know they cant work on the car, but he will be following just because he knows us. If we break down and stop, and he also stops, can he run us to a parts store if needed, or nothing at all, just don't want to break the rules?

I know drive, Drive, Drive, but what type of parts does everyone bring? Not planning on doing trans swap on the side of the road if something like that happened, I'd be out, but where do you draw the line?

Thanks for any and all input.

Are you planning to run both fuel pumps at the same time, or is the 2nd a backup? A 340 is the max flow the FITech regulator can handle.

You have to run drag tires. Drag radials or slicks are OK. Just no regular street radials. Every tire will sit differently on the rim, but the tread should measure the same, no?

I brought:
Oil/filter
cap/rotor
plugs
coil
MSD
alternator
air filter

I drew the line at major component failure, but a guy had his car burn down essentially and put in serious work to get it running again...so it all depends on how determined you are.

I am planning to run 1 pump, having the other as a backup pump.

I have drag radials, I just thought I saw somewhere that we had to run slicks. If we dont need slicks, that saves me some money on not having to buy new tires.

You are right, I was just curious what peoples actually measured.

Thats a good list, I had not thought of a few of those.

Yeah, my navigator and I have drawn the line at major catastrophic repairs as well.

Just no street tires

The 31X14.5 M/T ET Street was our go to tall bias tire that fit within the 11.2 rule, but it is no longer available.

We used the Hoosier QTP 29X13.50 on two cars last year. I'll probably try the Hoosier QTP 31X13.50 to replace the ET Streets on the BarnYard Viper.

The best tool is a loaded smart phone. Network and collect phone numbers during Sunday's all day registration process.

There is a secret group page on face book called "Drag Weekers". You have to be invited in. During the event it is an awesome real time live resource for help, news, route corrections, road problems etc. Roadkill's Elana Scherr, Announcer Brian Lohnes, Race Director Lonnie Grimm, Hot Rod's Phillip Thomas, and Tech Director Keith Turk are all members of that page, so it's like the nerve center of everything Drag Week.

From reading other post you can not have a chase car following you. You got a wagon plenty of room for passengers lol
I would email Hot Rod and get official answer.

It would be in your best interest to not have your buddies take a different route and meet you at the hotel. Most every competitor will try and stop to help someone that is down. I had to replace an MSD box on the road in 2014 and one of the guys in our group stood at the side of the road to wave guys on because everyone was trying to stop.

People can go buy parts for you but are not
suppose to work on the car unless they are in
DW(fellow DWers are allowed).. if you break down
you can have a wrecker pick you up but has to drop
you off in the same place

MoparBilly, what size rims were you guys running, 10" or 12"? Thanks.

Dart451, he is not to be a chase vehicle, he is just a friend that wants to watch the event, and will be taking his own vehicle as I have no back seat, and as a friend if I had to stop, so would he. But you always here how so and so got a ride to where ever to get something fixed, or to pick up parts. Im just wondering what the difference would be? Thanks.

think you would get in trouble just my guess but i'm a newbie also
Cut and paste from the rules

WORKING ON COMPETITION VEHICLES
•Drag Week competitors may borrow or buy parts, tools, supplies, or fuel from each other and may help each
other with manpower only on an impromptu basis.
•Vehicles entered with the obvious intent of supporting another competitor with parts, tools, supplies, fuel, or
manpower subject both entries to disqualification at the race director’s discretion. It is not our intent to keep
friends from helping friends but to prevent entries from acting as support vehicles for other competitors.
•If an entry receives regular, daily assistance from any person who is not a registered passenger in that entry’s
car, that person is considered illegal support.
•If an entry uses parts, tools, supplies, or fuel from another competitor or another non-competition vehicle on a
daily basis, that is considered illegal support.
•Helpers may not lead or follow in separate vehicles.
•Ordering parts and having them delivered during Drag Week to fix unforeseen problems is allowed.


NO TRAILERS, NO SUPPORT VEHICLES
•Vehicles in competition may not be led or followed at any distance by support vehicles of any kind. A support
vehicle is one used to supply, or with the intent of supplying, any rescue efforts or to carry anything for a
competitor, including luggage, tools, fuel, repair parts or spares, and helpers or crew. Support vehicles towing
just-in-case trailers are not allowed.
•Racers may not be followed by motorhomes for overnight accommodations.
•All vehicles must be driven under their own power during the entire Drag Week competition and may not be
towed, trailered, pushed, or hauled at any time. The exception is in the event of an emergency in which a
vehicle needs to be removed from the roadway or other dangerous situation, in which case assistance may be
used to move the car a short distance to a safe area, for example, to the next highway exit.
•A Drag Week phone number will be supplied to participants. If an entrant wishes to forfeit the competition by
loading the vehicle on a trailer or otherwise enlisting an illegal support vehicle, the number must be called to
immediately notify the staff of the forfeiture.
•Violation of the support-vehicle and crew rules is cause for immediate disqualification at the race director’s

Dart451, I saw that, and thats why Im trying to figure out what not to do, because I really wanna just finish, and dont want to be DQ for something dumb that I did.

I agree with you, all I want to do is finish and that will be a win

crazytrain, Dart451.
Those are in place to try and keep the big time players from having a professional crew. Drag Week is about an adventure and having fun.

As Drag Week as grown, so has the entourage of people who want to follow along, so unless your buddy is four foot off your bumper the entire trip, no one will pay him any mind. Last year one guy followed his brother in a 359 Peterbuilt! As Clark suggested, have him run ahead of you, or behind you, and meet up at food stops, checkpoints and motels.

The caveat is, don't let him carry parts, fuel, or tools.

We have 12" rims on most of our cars.

Thank you all, this has been very helpful. I have done a little racing with some friends at test and tunes, but never anything to this exstent.

MrPbody, that is a good suggestion, and nice to know about the tow truck.

So, this being the first big event for me, should the drag radials be screwed to the rims, or just mounted normally, considering 630hp/tq and a 4200lb car?

If it would be suggested, what is the best method to do this?

You wont need to screw them on.. they will stay
put with the pressure you will put in them

Ok, thank you Mr_P_Body.

Hope you make it this year, I really like the looks of your car and would love to check it out.

Be careful about this advice, I don't think you are allowed to have a wrecker pick you up and drop you off for repair, even in the same spot.

From the rules:

"•All vehicles must be driven under their own power during the entire Drag Week competition and may not be
towed, trailered, pushed, or hauled at any time. The exception is in the event of an emergency in which a
vehicle needs to be removed from the roadway or other dangerous situation, in which case assistance may be
used to move the car a short distance to a safe area, for example, to the next highway exit."

Pretty sure if they catch you on a tow or haul (other than the noted exception) you are out!

I seen it in person a few times.. they picked
up the car and they dropped it off in the same
place.. hot rod didnt have a issue