After a lovely Saturday picnic and car show, the Blue Flame and I were ready for battle on Sunday at the 10th Annual Mid-Maryland Ford Event hosted by Mason Dixon Dragway in Hagerstown, MD. Mother nature threatened to nix the event with heavy thunderstorms the night before and early morning spotty showers.
After an early morning rain delay, scores of people were in line at the entrance awaiting the opening of the gates. Despite the extremely humid heat, the event had attracted all types of racers for the six classes of racing scheduled for the day. The tech line was long and sweltering, and the Super-Fords were called up and running by the time the car received a number from the tech crew.
A couple hours or more behind schedule, our class was finally called up to the staging lanes for time trials. The first run was inconsequential to the outcome of the day but I was nervous none the less and with the heat and humidity, I was curious what the car would be able to do. The car launched without evidence of the paltry 2.015 sixty foot and the timeslip showed a meager 14.165 @ 96.26. I was disappointed but recognized the car had not always done well the first run on several track appearances before, so I kept my hopes up. Word quickly spread through the pits that the density altitude was over 2500’. While my outside temperature sensor showed 94 degrees, a quick check of the local weather stats via cell phone showed the official temperature was 80 degrees with 71% humidity and a 30.06 barometer. The air was thick with haze as low level clouds did their best to minimize the heat from the strong intermittent sun.
Almost two hours later, the call finally came for the staging lanes again. Hopefully the car was slightly cooler and it would be a more representative run despite the weather not changing for the better. This time I had lined up against an friend in a quick MN12 model Cougar. The opponent red-lighted the launch and the run was a dead heat from the launch to the end of the track with the only difference being the difference at the tree. I could not wish hard enough to be able to pull on the Cougar at all but neither did I lose ground. This time the slip was more gracious…
Car - C14(me) ~ 20
RT - 0.196 ~ -0.085
60ft - 1.976 ~ 1.959
330ft - 5.755 ~ 5.805
1/8 - 8.890 ~ 8.967
Mph - 77.97 ~ 75.56
1000ft - 11.621 ~ 11.693
¼ - 13.919 ~ 14.005
Mph - 98.63 ~ 96.55
So much for time trials as the next call was the start of eliminations. The air still had not improved and the weather stats showed virtually no change from earlier. My calculations were telling me to dial a 13.81 but I chose a 13.85 as I felt the humidity had a stranglehold on the car. Just slightly over an hour had transpired since the previous time trial. My opponent this time was a friendly face in a Mark VII.
Car - C14(me) ~ C25
Dial - 13.85 ~ 14.35
RT - 0.011 ~ 0.4069
60ft - 1.967 ~ 2.327
330ft - 5.757 ~ 6.256
1/8 - 8.886 ~ 9.491
Mph - 78.4 ~ 76.21
1000ft 11.612 ~ 12.310
¼ - 13.914 ~ 14.679
Mph - 98.33 ~ 95.57
Left 1st 0.6609
I returned to the pits and felt confident the car was doing its best with two runs at 13.91x. The earlier nervousness had subsided as I methodically analyzed the timeslips. I was stunned at the 0.011 reaction time and noted it was the best of the season thus far. The weather was stubborn hardly budging at all. The cell phone told the temperature was 80 degrees while the outside temperature sensor showed 91 degrees. Humidity was still at 68%, down ever so slightly, as was the barometer at 30.01.
The next call to the pits came with less than an hour wait since the field of cars was being thinned out. I sought out the same Cougar I had run up against before, thinking it would make for a good challenge. As we approached the staging lanes I pulled behind the target and as we approached the front I pulled to the left aside the Cougar in the right lane only to suddenly see four deep in the right lane and no one in the left lane. The track official, anxious to keep the show moving, motioned me on up. I took my place in the front of the line and noticed I was beside yet another Cougar. But this one was an earlier model Pro-Street car complete with a deafening exhaust, a huge hood scoop and more event stickers on his windows than I could count.
Bolstered by the consistent previous two runs, I was advised if I knew what my car would run, just dial it in and force my opponent to break out at the end of the track. Seemed logical to me. I wiped away the 85 and wrote in 90 for the 13.90 dial-in behind two 13.91 back to back runs and a 0.011 light the previous run. It was a win-win situation for me. Either I win or I breakout with a best time of the day. }(
And so it came down to him and me in the burnout box. I couldn’t even hear my car over the roar of his open headers and I let him get to the stage lights first. He pre-staged, I approached slowly and barely lit the pre-stage lights and he quickly lit up his stage lights as I cautiously inched ahead consciously not wanting to stage any deeper than needed. The tree came down and I knew the moment it did I could’ve done better in the reaction time. But the game was on and the deafening noise coming quickly up behind me was a reminder to run it all out to the end. Go for broke. The Cougar gained ground quickly and sure enough, just a little ways before the 1320 foot marker, he passed me on the right and I heard him let off and hit it again and then let off again as we crossed the stripe. With him a full half-car length ahead of me, I spotted the win light in his lane and I only then let off the throttle I had so firmly planted.
Car - C14(me) ~ 770
Dial - 13.90 ~ 12.63
RT - 0.193 ~ 0.078
60ft - 1.968 ~ 1.730
330ft - 5.767 ~ 5.165
1/8 - 8.915 ~ 8.017
Mph - 77.76 ~ 85.57
1000ft - 11.661 ~ 10.497
¼ - 13.978 ~ 12.709
Mph - 97.69 ~ 97.31
Right 1st 0.1146
Initially the timeslip was a disappointment, but upon further review I felt vindicated. The strategy was sound, the execution was poor. Had I done better at the tree, I would’ve been moving on up the brackets.
As it was, I chocked up another learning experience and reflected upon the day with a smile.
After an early morning rain delay, scores of people were in line at the entrance awaiting the opening of the gates. Despite the extremely humid heat, the event had attracted all types of racers for the six classes of racing scheduled for the day. The tech line was long and sweltering, and the Super-Fords were called up and running by the time the car received a number from the tech crew.
A couple hours or more behind schedule, our class was finally called up to the staging lanes for time trials. The first run was inconsequential to the outcome of the day but I was nervous none the less and with the heat and humidity, I was curious what the car would be able to do. The car launched without evidence of the paltry 2.015 sixty foot and the timeslip showed a meager 14.165 @ 96.26. I was disappointed but recognized the car had not always done well the first run on several track appearances before, so I kept my hopes up. Word quickly spread through the pits that the density altitude was over 2500’. While my outside temperature sensor showed 94 degrees, a quick check of the local weather stats via cell phone showed the official temperature was 80 degrees with 71% humidity and a 30.06 barometer. The air was thick with haze as low level clouds did their best to minimize the heat from the strong intermittent sun.
Almost two hours later, the call finally came for the staging lanes again. Hopefully the car was slightly cooler and it would be a more representative run despite the weather not changing for the better. This time I had lined up against an friend in a quick MN12 model Cougar. The opponent red-lighted the launch and the run was a dead heat from the launch to the end of the track with the only difference being the difference at the tree. I could not wish hard enough to be able to pull on the Cougar at all but neither did I lose ground. This time the slip was more gracious…
Car - C14(me) ~ 20
RT - 0.196 ~ -0.085
60ft - 1.976 ~ 1.959
330ft - 5.755 ~ 5.805
1/8 - 8.890 ~ 8.967
Mph - 77.97 ~ 75.56
1000ft - 11.621 ~ 11.693
¼ - 13.919 ~ 14.005
Mph - 98.63 ~ 96.55
So much for time trials as the next call was the start of eliminations. The air still had not improved and the weather stats showed virtually no change from earlier. My calculations were telling me to dial a 13.81 but I chose a 13.85 as I felt the humidity had a stranglehold on the car. Just slightly over an hour had transpired since the previous time trial. My opponent this time was a friendly face in a Mark VII.
Car - C14(me) ~ C25
Dial - 13.85 ~ 14.35
RT - 0.011 ~ 0.4069
60ft - 1.967 ~ 2.327
330ft - 5.757 ~ 6.256
1/8 - 8.886 ~ 9.491
Mph - 78.4 ~ 76.21
1000ft 11.612 ~ 12.310
¼ - 13.914 ~ 14.679
Mph - 98.33 ~ 95.57
Left 1st 0.6609
I returned to the pits and felt confident the car was doing its best with two runs at 13.91x. The earlier nervousness had subsided as I methodically analyzed the timeslips. I was stunned at the 0.011 reaction time and noted it was the best of the season thus far. The weather was stubborn hardly budging at all. The cell phone told the temperature was 80 degrees while the outside temperature sensor showed 91 degrees. Humidity was still at 68%, down ever so slightly, as was the barometer at 30.01.
The next call to the pits came with less than an hour wait since the field of cars was being thinned out. I sought out the same Cougar I had run up against before, thinking it would make for a good challenge. As we approached the staging lanes I pulled behind the target and as we approached the front I pulled to the left aside the Cougar in the right lane only to suddenly see four deep in the right lane and no one in the left lane. The track official, anxious to keep the show moving, motioned me on up. I took my place in the front of the line and noticed I was beside yet another Cougar. But this one was an earlier model Pro-Street car complete with a deafening exhaust, a huge hood scoop and more event stickers on his windows than I could count.
Bolstered by the consistent previous two runs, I was advised if I knew what my car would run, just dial it in and force my opponent to break out at the end of the track. Seemed logical to me. I wiped away the 85 and wrote in 90 for the 13.90 dial-in behind two 13.91 back to back runs and a 0.011 light the previous run. It was a win-win situation for me. Either I win or I breakout with a best time of the day. }(
And so it came down to him and me in the burnout box. I couldn’t even hear my car over the roar of his open headers and I let him get to the stage lights first. He pre-staged, I approached slowly and barely lit the pre-stage lights and he quickly lit up his stage lights as I cautiously inched ahead consciously not wanting to stage any deeper than needed. The tree came down and I knew the moment it did I could’ve done better in the reaction time. But the game was on and the deafening noise coming quickly up behind me was a reminder to run it all out to the end. Go for broke. The Cougar gained ground quickly and sure enough, just a little ways before the 1320 foot marker, he passed me on the right and I heard him let off and hit it again and then let off again as we crossed the stripe. With him a full half-car length ahead of me, I spotted the win light in his lane and I only then let off the throttle I had so firmly planted.
Car - C14(me) ~ 770
Dial - 13.90 ~ 12.63
RT - 0.193 ~ 0.078
60ft - 1.968 ~ 1.730
330ft - 5.767 ~ 5.165
1/8 - 8.915 ~ 8.017
Mph - 77.76 ~ 85.57
1000ft - 11.661 ~ 10.497
¼ - 13.978 ~ 12.709
Mph - 97.69 ~ 97.31
Right 1st 0.1146
Initially the timeslip was a disappointment, but upon further review I felt vindicated. The strategy was sound, the execution was poor. Had I done better at the tree, I would’ve been moving on up the brackets.
As it was, I chocked up another learning experience and reflected upon the day with a smile.