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Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2583020
11/25/18 10:00 PM
11/25/18 10:00 PM
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The 7.09-199 pass from Joe and the 56 was within a couple hundredths of what he had been running all week, and Michelle looked pretty happy when she thanked Steve and headed off towards the pits.

Magnus Frost and the Swedish Opel Ascona were up next in the left lane, and the short wheel base, nitrous breathing monster made a good move to the wall about 150 feet out, but Magnus is used to racing on the unprepped highways and byways of Sweden, so wrestling the little compact back to the groove was no problem for him. The 7.91-173.8 would extend their streak to four straight days of seven second passes, and the entourage on the starting line showed their approval.

Chesler's 7 second nitroused BBC powered 93 Mustang struck the tires in the left lane, pedaled, blazed them again, and gave up on the run, cruising through the lights.
"He can't blame that on the track", Dad shook his head, "after some of the runs we've seen in that lane!"
"Yeah, that's the second time for him today, so he needs to figure something out", I agreed.

506-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg21740806_10155789246197112_5103219782729785846_o.jpg507-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg21740999_10155789254507112_1542856859345360026_o.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2583311
11/26/18 06:07 PM
11/26/18 06:07 PM
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So. Burlington, Vt.
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The best Drag Week blow-by-blow on the net. up


68 Satellite, 383 with stock 906’s, 3550lbs, 11.18@123
Dealer for Comp Cams/Indy Heads
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: fast68plymouth] #2583315
11/26/18 06:13 PM
11/26/18 06:13 PM
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Between a rock & a hard place
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Between a rock & a hard place
Originally Posted By fast68plymouth
The best Drag Week blow-by-blow on the net. up


Yep. I'd rather read this report, than Hot Rod's own coverage.

Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2583589
11/27/18 09:57 AM
11/27/18 09:57 AM
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Steve Morris' customer Les Smith was next in the left lane with his stunning orange Nova. The 540 was Pro-Charged in 2016, and had averaged 7.79-182 on the way to third place in Pro Street Power Adder. The numbers he put down in 2016 would have won in past years, but Drag Week is always getting quicker, so Les went back to Morris, and traded in the Pro-Charger for twin turbos! The combo made 600 hp more on Steve's dyno, but so far they had been unable to put it to the track, bogging out of the hole and running mid-to low eights despite going over 180mph.

The Nova left hard and hiked the front end, it was clearly on a pass.
"Well, crud that's not good", I shook my head.
"What do you mean?" Dad questioned
"They've got it figured out!"
"That's a bad thing?" Dad shrugged as 7.79-187 flashed on the scoreboard.
"It is for Matt, he's in danger of slipping from third to fourth in that class if he doesn't get his back where it was!"
"Matt who?" Dad gave me a funny look.
"Matt. Matt Blasco. The Dirty Drag Week Dart!"
"Oh! yeah...you know I'm no good with names...cars, I can remember!"

21741223_10155788238682112_6382807021763606614_o.jpg591-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg592-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg593-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2583596
11/27/18 10:21 AM
11/27/18 10:21 AM
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Our buddy Rick Hardee brought his green 71 Dart up in the left lane a pair later and ran an 11.75-115.
"Is Rick going to be happy with that?" Dad shrugged as the number came up.
"No", I shook my head, "That's a few tenths off, so he'll be back.

Marty Gorman's purple Scamp ran 13.14 at 102 a few pairs after that.
"He's been twelves every day so far, so we'll see how bad he wants to chase the number", I explained to Dad.

Richie-17-Hot-Rod-Drag-Week-102.jpgRichie-17-Hot-Rod-Drag-Week-31.jpgScampcanadians.jpgMarty-Gorman-1972-Plymouth-Valiant-Dragweek-2017-GLD_241.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2583980
11/28/18 12:32 AM
11/28/18 12:32 AM
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Manitoba Canada
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We averaged a 12 something for dragweek... which was the goal along with finishing of course. Next time we take the beater back we will shoot for 10’s small block N/A

My driving partner Mike sure looks a lot taller than me in that second picture!


A new iron curtain drawn across the 49th parallel
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2584021
11/28/18 02:22 AM
11/28/18 02:22 AM
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Addie Ross' 62 Falcon Wagon was up next, beside Jay Grabiak's primered 55 Chevy Gasser.
"Are you and Addie battling it out again this year, Son?"
"No, she jumped out of Modified and into Ultimate Iron! Although if we were in the same class again, we'd be close in average, as usual."
"How did she move to that class, I thought it was for tube chassis cars?" Dad gave me a stern look.
"Yeah, well her car has the stance, but then she wouldn't have been legal in Modified before, it's probably going to pay off for her too, because she is in third right now with all the breakage in that class, while I'm 6th in Modified PA with pretty much the same numbers!"
"So why didn't you try to move?"
I laughed out loud and shook my head, "Dad, my Valiant looks nothing like a chassis car...I have to show them my ladder bars just to be let into Modified or Pro Street!"
"Doesn't seem fair to me", Dad shrugged.
"It's not designed to be fair Dad...the classes are just to divide the cars up, if Gary and Addie can take advantage of the situation and place in a class, great, live and let live, I'm still having a blast!"
"Yeah, I suppose", He shook his head.
"Are you enjoying today?" I looked him straight in the eye.
He sighed, "Heck yeah I am", and then smiled.
"When was the first time you visited here, again?"
" Sixty-three, to see Art Arfons and the Green Monster".
"Now you're back here again with all your kids, hanging out, on a perfect day watching the races, fifty-four years later..."
"As good as it gets?"
"It is in my book", I gave him a fist bump. "That 55 is Squirrel's competition for second in A-Gas, so we'll have to see how close he can get to that 10.08!"

Addie ran a 9.68-137 to Jay Grabiak's 10.15-129.92.
"Squirrel's safe for now", I smiled at Dad

21752933_10155788233682112_1170630577158901253_o.jpgross-grabiak.jpg132-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpgRichie-17-Hot-Rod-Drag-Week-48.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2588963
12/08/18 08:22 AM
12/08/18 08:22 AM
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The Street Race Big Block Normally Aspirated class featured twenty-four cars in 2017. Paul Castiglione's Challenger and Mark Hill's Barracuda were seventh and eighth respectively. The Top Banana 72 Dodge ran 10.76-123 at Great Lakes Dragaway, while the early A-body went 11.21-125.

21731650_10155788233217112_5150596268102873654_o.jpg21728891_10155789272182112_3648892591122034825_o.jpg170-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg451-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2588969
12/08/18 09:40 AM
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#35 Thomas Cumbey Black 09 Dodge Challenger R/T
Day 1: 14.28-100.3
Day 2: 13.80-100.7
Day 3: 13.72-101.8
Day 4: 13.61-101.8
Day 5: 13.47-102.2
Final Average 13.780-101.39

When I went to search through all the pictures I've curated from Drag Week 2017, I couldn't find any of the eight year old R/T. Indicative of how well these 5.7 Hemi cars fold into everyday life these days, they truly are the 318 A-body of the late seventies and early eighties, except they are fast! I suspect Thomas had a tuner on his or something as the Challenger improved every single day. Of the 139 Mopars that have completed Drag Week all time, Thomas' Challenger stands at 106th in five day average.

#34 Brad Morris Flat Black 89 Dodge Caravan
Day 1: 15.07-102.9
Day 2: 13.76-104.9
Day 3: 13.22-107.6
Day 4: 13.09-108.0
Day 5: 12.73-108.6
Final Average: 13.578-106.45

In the late nineties, Brad's Mini-Van would have been as ubiquitous as the 318 Duster before it, or the LX Challenger now, but this is 2017 and twelve second, beat up, angry turbo 2.5 powered Caravans are a rare sight indeed! DW17 was nearly over before it began for Brad, when the Caravan threw a half shaft out just four feet into his first run. The Mopar Turbo Mafia remedied that soon enough, but a busy Monday schedule forced him to take a safe pass and half throttle the thing for the first sixty feet to get a time slip. From then on though, the gloves were off and the little Dodge improved every day.

Thomas Cumbey.jpgIMG_0245.JPGIMG_0244.JPGFB_IMG_1505756797319.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2590736
12/12/18 08:19 AM
12/12/18 08:19 AM
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Mike Chenoweth's 70 Hemi Road Runner was basically in the same camp with Abbott's 67 Belvedere. More than enough stroker elephant power to go nines, but battling a small tire, stock suspension b-body chassis and a 10.0 mandate, so both produced some odd time slips that might baffle the uninformed. Mike accepted a 10.49-130 at Union Grove but he was just cruising the last 300 feet, clearly scrubbing some ET and speed.

Rachael had called us, and asked for Dad to come help her carry food back to our pits, as her order was coming up from one of the vendors, but I hung around to watch the remaining class car first session.

I was surprised when The Dirty Drag Week Dart came back around, not thirty-five minutes after Matt's first attempt. You could tell in the first hundred feet that the A-body and the big Predator motor were both in their happy place on the second run. The only thing that surprised me when the 7.78-184 flashed on the board was that the ET wasn't a little better, the pass looked that good. That pretty much meant Smith wouldn't be catching him for third in PSPA, but he really couldn't make up the ground to those two battling in the 7.50's for the class win.

21731318_751920664999570_5929803891676514199_n.jpg226-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg21731667_10155788233852112_5942708044667417535_o.jpgMike-Chenoweth-1970-Plymouth-Roadrunner-Dragweek-2017-GLD_237.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2590759
12/12/18 10:37 AM
12/12/18 10:37 AM
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By that time, the fog had pretty much burned off and the sun began beating down on the track in earnest, but I've still got a ton of gratuitous "Fogged In" pictures, and I intend to use them!

Radar brought the big Plymouth around, and went 12.34-111, pretty much the same numbers he's ran with the C-body since it showed up on Drag Week in '06, but the Fury always garners plenty of attention!

Terry's second pass in the "Fire Amber" Barracuda was good for a 10.60-131, which they would accept, and start loading up for the drive to Cordova.

21741291_10155788239872112_8782847912918497596_o.jpg416-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg558-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpgRadar-Watkins-1970-Plymouth-Sport-Fury-Dragweek-2017-GLD_270.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2592362
12/15/18 03:05 PM
12/15/18 03:05 PM
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Pro Street Power Adder class leader Glenn Hunter's 56 Chevy was still sitting in impound, as the first session was coming to a close, and I was beginning to wonder if it was more than routine maintenance. He had ran 7.504, 7.479, and 7.534 all at 186 mph at this point for amazing consistency, and looked to be on his way to a class win until that 7.36 pass from McGilton. Tom's ZL-1 Camaro is really heavy, so despite clearly having superior MPH, the 60ft. and ET just hasn't been there...until today.

Craig Grobner brought his stunning 71 Nova around for his first pass at GLD, holding down the 5th spot in PSPA. "Stunning" has NEVER been a word I've used to describe a 71 Nova, but Craig's car, from the color, to the stance, the quality, and the fit and finish, make that description possible. Another Steve Morris customer, he was basically running the 540 Pro Charger combo that Les Smith had abandoned, but they were clearly in "let's finish and learn" mode running 8.50's in the 160 range.

112-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg113-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg21740847_10155789251347112_4944574117548356583_o.jpgGrobner.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2594152
12/19/18 09:53 AM
12/19/18 09:53 AM
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The faster class cars had been pulling over on the plush grass, just off the return road, where they would gather up their chutes, and relax a bit before heading to their pits in impound. When the call went out for Street Machine Eliminator to the lanes, however, that became a more difficult task. Initially only two lines were opened until the last class cars were run out, and those lines quickly filled up all the way around to where the return road joined onto the pit access road.

Michelle and Will were one of the handful of Class cars to run before SME took over for their session, and I watched her run 11.25 before I headed back to our pits to see what Rachael had rounded up for lunch.

21740976_10155789245522112_9103899585828422618_o.jpg21740892_10155789271827112_518554000301211895_o.jpgIMG_0678.JPGIMG_0674.JPG

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2596652
12/25/18 04:44 AM
12/25/18 04:44 AM
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Minnesota
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Look at the hood on that Nova at 160. It's about to break off!


[img]http://i.imgur.com/boeexFms.jpg[/img]
31 Plymouth Coupe, 392 Hemi, T56 magnum
RS23J71
RS27J77
RP23J71
RO23J71
WM21J8A
I don't regret the things I've done. I only regret the things I didn't do.
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. ~ Plato"
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: Hemi_Joel] #2596667
12/25/18 08:09 AM
12/25/18 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted By Hemi_Joel
Look at the hood on that Nova at 160. It's about to break off!


Joel,
One of the things I try to bring out in these stories, is just how fast the evolution of this event is changing. Every year the cars seem to get nicer, more efficient, and certainly faster!

These two front shots of Craig's Nova illustrate that perfectly. The first, which I just posted from 2017, shows a stock hood latch welded to a tubular core support and a conventional aluminum radiator in front of the Pro-Charger. The second, from 2018 Drag Week, shows the same car, with split radiator to allow more air into what appears to be an even larger Pro-Charger, the latch is removed in favor of a pair of hood pins, and a chin spoiler was added to help with aero at 150 plus!

I don't know if any of those changes were a result of the high speed picture, or just a coincidental result of the other changes...

113-Thursday-Great-Lakes-Drag-Week-2017.jpg41968179_10157846579549899_7035610713833865216_n.jpg

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2597871
12/28/18 03:05 AM
12/28/18 03:05 AM
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Billy, you have an eye for details.I would have never noticed that.


[img]http://i.imgur.com/boeexFms.jpg[/img]
31 Plymouth Coupe, 392 Hemi, T56 magnum
RS23J71
RS27J77
RP23J71
RO23J71
WM21J8A
I don't regret the things I've done. I only regret the things I didn't do.
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. ~ Plato"
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: Hemi_Joel] #2597927
12/28/18 10:58 AM
12/28/18 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted By Hemi_Joel
Billy, you have an eye for details.I would have never noticed that.


Those that know you, are not shocked you missed a detail or two. LOL.


69 GTX 68 Road Runner
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2602448
01/06/19 03:22 PM
01/06/19 03:22 PM
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In between the ending of the class car session, and the beginning of the SME runs, Great Lakes Dragaway sandwiched in a group of 8 Nostalgia Pro Stock Cars, and Hot Rod allowed Jeff Lutz to make an exhibition run in his new "The 57". This irritated some of the Drag Week competitors who were anxious about getting in all the runs they wanted, but to me, it was quite flattering that Drag Week can pack the place on a Thursday and compel the facility to treat the opportunity like a show. It did give an odd feel to a Drag Week pit though, with trucks and trailers, canopies and vendors, and even a small car show!

Nostalgia-racer-Drag-Week-nw.jpgIMG_0668.JPGIMG_0658.JPG

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2602500
01/06/19 05:28 PM
01/06/19 05:28 PM
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The first four sets of SME cars down the strip at GLD featured members of the "Mopar Turbo Mafia", as I recognized the names over the loud speaker from our pit area.
Boone and I were busily enjoying the food truck fare Rachael had procured for us. Heavily seasoned, roasted corn on the cob and barbecued beef tips were the main course, and both met our approval. Her time spent in the long lines had been worth it!

Marybeth-Kiczenski-1995-Eagle-Talon-Dragweek-2017-GLD_95.jpgRichie-17-Hot-Rod-Drag-Week-92.jpgIMG_0702 - Copy.JPGIMG_0703 - Copy.JPG

"Livin' in a powder keg and givin' off sparks" 4 Street cars, 5 Race engines
Re: Hot Rod Drag Week 2017: The Experience. [Re: MoparBilly] #2602616
01/06/19 09:50 PM
01/06/19 09:50 PM
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I brought some food this time, waiting 45 min in line the last time was too much, even though the double cheeseburgers we're good.
Seeing those pro stocks run was way cooler than just seeing them sitting at mcacn.


70 Sport Fury
68 Charger
69 Coronet
72 RR
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