I apologize for the lack of communication.
The vintage car class at PP has been gutted starting in 2013. This year was the 100th anniversary event and in my opinion the only participants should have been previous competitors/vehicles with a heavy emphasis on vintage cars and bikes. Kevin, no offense intended toward you.
We were very fortunate this year, we were the only vintage car to finish. The Porch (Porsche) overheated and the engine quit within site of the summit at Devil's Playground. The Camaro crashed when the driver accidentally hit both the brake and gas at the end of the third leg of the W and crashed hard. Thankfully, he was uninjured but his race car is a total.
Our goal was to beat our 2012 time of 12:03. In an effort to make the Cuda handle better we increased the front spring rate and decreased the rear rate. Thank you Dan Weishaar for the spring rate help! We re-installed the factory rear anti-sway bar and used Hoosier autocross radials, 275-17 front/295-17 rear. The car was great. I had new found confidence in the car and drove it much harder through the corners.
On race day we actually left the starting line twice. The course was red flagged as we came out of Gilley's heading up the hill to the Ski Parking Area. On my way back to the starting line I realized I had warm tires and an opportunity to "fix" two corners I didn't do correctly. I arrived at the starting line and the starter asked if I wanted 20 minutes to refuel and I replied, "NO, I WANT TO GO NOW" which I think surprised him so he told me to get the car turned around. The starting line area is a very narrow two lane so in an effort to keep the front tires clean I did a three point turn around and backed the car off the road knowing I would be able to clean the rear tires on the start.
After getting the second green flag I drove harder and "fixed" the two corners and came through Halfway Picnic grounds two mph faster than the first time at 104 mph. The rear suspension improvements dictated a wider line through the switchbacks in the W because the inside rear tire would come off the pavement. I saw the Porch parked at Devil's Playground as I came by and the thought flashed through my head that we had a chance to win.
Thankfully, I arrived on the summit and felt we should have a sub 12 minute lap, maybe in the 11:45 range. The number on the door of the car is the amount of time we were better than 2012, 42 seconds @ 11:21.
Below is a link to our raw dash cam video. We had 6 cameras mounted on the car which is going to take a while for our videographer to compile and I will provide a link to that once it is completed.
Kevin Wesley, it was great to meet up with you once again and I hope we get to race at a future event. I know a guy with a Duster lemons car that is a lot of fun.
#42 Cuda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=521yP6Ajgqo&feature=youtu.be
