First bracket win!

driller

driller

El Presidente
Staff member
It was a long weekend in Ohio at the SCCOA Shootout.

Started out the race day running 13.83 @ 98.70, then I started tuning in the fuel pressure. Following a 13.81 @ 99.09 time trial, the second bump in fuel pressure gave me a 13.77 @ 99.33 in the first round of brackets. Another bump in fuel pressure netted the best time of the day with 13.635 @ 101.58 - a new mph record for the Blue Flame.

The afternoon was warming quickly, so with a 13.55 dial changed to a 13.60, another round in the brackets brought in a 13.656 @ 101.58 timeslip against a Cougar with a 4.6L DOHC who redlighted himself out of the brackets.

Two more rounds, one a bye and another against the only other Lincoln(who broke out), I found myself where I had never been before - the finals - against none other than "dirtydog" and his Thunderbird. The hotlapping was taking a toll on the Lincoln's ET, but I was reluctant to change the dial, so I let it ride for the final run of the day...

>> driller - dirtydog
Dial - 13.60 - 14.84
R/T - 0.5951 - 0.4260(!!)
60ft - 2.004 - 2.0958
330ft - 5.7427 - 6.1809
1/8 - 8.8399 - 9.5779
MPH - 79.20 - 71.31
1/4 - 13.8407 - 15.0710
MPH - 98.06 - 88.73
MOV - 0.1788 [grin]

The brackets were also qualifying runs for the V8 shootout portion of the event. The Blue Flame missed the top slot of the V8 with no power adder class by a mere few hundredths of a second.

The car responded well with the new intake, but I feel it wasn't running up to par. I think a new set of injectors and a dynotune is in order to bring out the best potential. Also, an exhaust leak developing on the car is demanding attention as well as some desparately needed suspension work. Hopefully some of this can get done before the trip to Atlanta and the SSHS6 event. :)
 
RE: First bracket win!

JP....a win is a win, and once the first one comes, you will almost expect more.

Congrats....savor it...EVERY drag racer out there remembers their first...I think mine was yesterday(feels like it).

Congrats to Alan as well for his final round appearance. Shooting a hole in his foot just means he knew he had to take a shot at the tree, knowing who he was up against ;)

Man, you guys leave the door open for sure though, dialing .24 below what you're running? WOW...I'd be dead if i dialed a .60 and ran a .84 out here...

just playing JP...comgrats pal...and NICE grill.

what's up with the white 96??? havent heard much about it lately?


Oh, and I wont hijack this but...our little S-10 is done...you'ld love it.
 
RE: First bracket win!

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JP....a win is a win, and once the first one comes, you will almost expect more.Congrats....savor it...EVERY drag racer out there remembers their first...I think mine was yesterday(feels like it).Congrats to Alan as well for his final round appearance. Shooting a hole in his foot just means he knew he had to take a shot at the tree, knowing who he was up against ;)Man, you guys leave the door open for sure though, dialing .24 below what you're running? WOW...I'd be dead if i dialed a .60 and ran a .84 out here...just playing JP...comgrats pal...and NICE grill.what's up with the white 96??? havent heard much about it lately?Oh, and I wont hijack this but...our little S-10 is done...you'ld love it.
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Thanks all for the congrats.

The whole roster of racers were more than sportsman at this event. Couldn't of asked for any better opponents and compadres. Alan is a true gentleman and it was a pleasure to see him again and a fitting finale to the bracket races to line up besides him. :)

As far as the .24 cushion, Alan never bothered to change his dial and I just followed suite figuring we would both be slower than our dial and it would simply come down to the tree.

I hope some TLC on the Blue Flame will prep it for better ETs @ SSHS6.

Meanwhile, the '96 simply sits and waits for nice Sunday drives. ;)
 
RE: First bracket win!

Congrats! Sounds like a great time and great times. ;-)
 
RE: First bracket win!

The corrected numbers are very encouraging for the trap speeds...

Based on:
Temp: 67.6°
Humidity: 52%
Track Altitude: 900 feet
Pressure: 30.12 in.

Density Altitude = 1598 feet
Uncorrected 13.6352 @ 101.58
Corrected 13.4 @ 103.36

If I can get the car running like it should with some good air at a nice track this fall... :9
 
RE: First bracket win!

Way to go Driller. You definitely got that car running great times. I'm hoping to get a shot on the 20th (Smack Down) to see what my setup will turn. I finally have a set of DR's, and I'm looking forward to a day at the track for a few licks at it.
 
RE: First bracket win!

Thanks for the video's!

"the first" final round is special, enjoy this moment and rest assured that now there are many more Finals waiting for you.


(smack talk)
I think Alan knew how much this final round meant to you and he tossed the trophy to you at the tree, because he's a nice guy!
*GRIN*
(/smack talk)


Good goin' sir!
 
RE: First bracket win!

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(smack talk)I think Alan knew how much this final round meant to you and he tossed the trophy to you at the tree, because he's a nice guy!*GRIN*(/smack talk)
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Owwwwww!!! That hurts! :7

Alan and I were both grinning ear to ear when we found ourselves in the final bracket. We shook hands and wished the best to each other prior to staging. Obviously, Alan had been running well that day or else he would'nt have been in the finals. Me, I considered myself lucky to get to the finals - with one win at the tree due to the opponent's redlight, one win against a breakout by a fellow Mark VIII owner and one run being a 'bye'.

Truthfully, in my defense, I wanted to bump the dial the last two runs since it was basically hot-lapping with only 10-15 minutes between runs. I would've went from 13.60 to 13.65 to 13.70(that was my plan). However, I observed no one else modifying their dial despite running obviously slower and I feared a freak run and breaking out at the end(my car is famous for that). So I allowed the 13.60 to stand and tried to concentrate on the tree without staging into the beams any deeper and risking a redlight.

I very purposedly tried not to over-think my way out of the eliminations and just race the car and simply enjoy it(taking good notes along the way). :D
 
RE: First bracket win!

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
I very purposedly tried not to over-think my way out of the eliminations and just race the car and simply enjoy it(taking good notes along the way). :D
[/div]

Hahaha!
See... I told ya! ;)
 
RE: First bracket win!

I owe you two, Tommy & Tiffany, a great debt of gratitude. Reading your track stories over the years has inspired me to be the best I can hope for when racing the Mark VIII. ;)
 
RE: First bracket win!

*doh* Now you went and made me blush! :+

It made me very proud reading this story, I don't think I've stopped grinning yet!!

One day we're going to have to all get together and swap racing stories in person... maybe catch a race while we're at it.

Keep up the great work JP! I see many more wins in your future!
 
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