Carlsbad was a blast but, I am very disappointed with performance. The
butt-dyno is recording much better HP than stock around town and at part
throttle, but full throttle performance is not showing much improvement at
the track. Maybe a tenth.
Traction got worse as it got colder. I think that was a pattern for all the
cars (trucks). My last run the 60 foot time went all the way to 2.44!
I don't have the time slips with me but the first two runs were
15.74 @ 86.95
The 60ft time was 2.23
The 1/8th was 9.98
15.77 @ 86.53
The 60ft time was 2.23
The 1/8th was 9.99
Then I ran the first round of the jackpot brackets.
I ran a 69 Dodge Dart with a smallblock running mid 10's. He said he wasn't
running well. He is trying to get fast enough to run Super Gas (9.90
index). Impressive with a full bodied smallblock car. A Duster was set up
similarly and running a little faster. I dialed a 15.74 he dialed a 10.50.
I cut a .548 light with a little more tire spin than the previous two runs.
The 60ft went up to 2.28. The 1/8th mile was 10.03. Once I shifted into
high gear I looked back to find him. MAN WAS HE A LONG WAYS BACK!!!
Carlsbad will DQ you if the brake lights come on before the finish. I never
bracket raced with such a rule. Normally, they DQ you if there is tire
smoke. I'm coming up on the finish line which is nearly impossible to see
(they haven't painted it in twenty years). He's at half track. I let off
the gas to reel him in. Whoosh, there he goes. Too close to tell. I
realize I've probably blown it. STUPID!!! I have him at the MPH light, but
he got me in the last 5 feet or so. I ran 15.93 on a 15.74 dial and a .548
light. He ran 10.69 on a 10.50 with a .539 light. I run .19 over. He ran
.19 over. He got me on the tree by nine thousands of a second. That was
the margin. Not even 1/100th of a second. WHY DID I LIFT??? I knew I had
spun a little and was probably not going to run a .74. I figure I was
headed for a 15.80. The Dart couldn't run the number. The traction was
going away. Next round he dialed up to 10.65. If I would have just kept my
foot in it I would have had'em. With my gift he went on to win the next 3
rounds losing to a 10 second mustang in the semi's.
I still felt like an idiot. Bracket racing is about intense concentration.
And luck. I had the luck, he couldn't run the number. I couldn't either
but I could run far closer than he could (my 15.93 was at 81.0 mph down
nearly 6 mph). I haven't run brackets in 10 years. And I doubt if I have
ever been in a situation where the chasing car is going 46 mph faster!!!
Stacey came out in her 2000 Intrepid ES. The one run I saw she ran 16.40's.
Not bad for 3700lb four door sedan with a N/A V6. She wants to run brackets
too so we might head up to LACR the next time they have a big money event.
If I'm going to drive all the way up there I want it to be for decent money
and occasionally LACR will put on a decent event. I took some good checks
out of there in the late 80's. I'm getting used to leaving much earlier
than I've ever left on the tree. Lights for the night were .634, .633,
.548, .544, and .528 Those aren't going to impress my father, but I was
damn happy with the consistency. I made a conscious change to where I was
leaving on the third run. Not bad for my second time in the truck and
second time in ten years! I have the bug for some competition.
On a different motorsports note, the next Autocross in SoCal is December 3rd
at Hollywood Park. The trucks run in the morning so I plan on running there
in the morning and then hooking up with the DTOA at Speedzone in the late
afternoon. Mark your calendars for December 17th. The last AutoX of the
year in the LA region. It is special. California Speedway. Fresh asphalt
and lots of it. The course will be HUGE. And FAST. Perfect for the DAK's.
Hope to see some fresh faces out there!
-Steve Ekstrand
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:57:31 EDT