It's been a month of Sundays since I've been to the track, actually late 2019 to be more precise. It's been longer since anyone posted any "Track Times and Triumphs".
This Sunday was the All Ford event at the Mason Dixon Dragway in Hagerstown, MD. I entered the Blue Flame in the Cougar and Comet class to join up with some MN12 friends.
The first call to the lanes was a time trial. We lined up against a long time friend in his newly rejuvenated Cougar. The burn out was purposely longer than normal to make sure we had fresh rubber from the tires having been 'parked' for so long. I approached the tree, staged and waited for the lights. At the launch, I noted the red light in the opposing lane. The car seemed to pull hard down the track with a slight stutter at the 2-3 shift. The Cougar was besides me the entire way and it turned out to be a true fender race.
I stayed in the throttle past the end of the run to be sure I got a full ET since the win light was already on in my lane since the Cougar had red-lit. Picking up the time slip at the end of the return road was satisfying...
It was a warm and muggy day at the track, so I was more than satisfied with an ET of 12.401 @ 110.78 mph.
I returned to the pits to give the car a quick checkover and waited for the next round to be announced. The call to the lanes came about an hour later for the qualifying run to set up the field for eliminations.
The second run was against another MN12, this one with a turbo small block Ford that I previously noted to be a bit quicker. Since it was the qualifying run it was a heads up race that I did not expect to "win". Upon the launch I once again noted the red light in the opposing lane. This time there was no stutter in the 2-3 shift and the Lincoln was pulling hard the entire length of the track.
Remarkably, despite the increasing temperatures at the track, the car ran quicker, this time with an ET of 12.360 @ 110.81 mph.
Now it took a bit longer to be called back to the lanes for the first round of eliminations. This time I was lined up against a significantly faster supercharged Marauder. My previous run had earned me a "BUY" for my reaction time which allowed me to choose the lane of my choice. I chose to stay in the same lane as before. This time however, I was off at the tree and the Marauder did not red light. It was about half way down the track the Marauder was closing in and the car missed the 2-3 shift hitting the rev limiter. I lifted on the throttle to see if it would shift but it did not. I then nudged the shifter forward to be sure I had not inadvertently left it in 2nd gear. It was in drive and not 2nd, so as the Marauder passed me, I lifted off the throttle and coasted the rest of the way down the track.
Eliminated in Round 1 is not how I wanted my day to end but I still had the good vibes from the previous runs being what they were after having been away from the track for so long. It was a typical hot and muggy day in August at the Mason Dixon Dragway and I left with renewed optimism the Blue Flame could break into the 11s on a good day in cooler weather. Hopefully we will see soon enough.
This Sunday was the All Ford event at the Mason Dixon Dragway in Hagerstown, MD. I entered the Blue Flame in the Cougar and Comet class to join up with some MN12 friends.
The first call to the lanes was a time trial. We lined up against a long time friend in his newly rejuvenated Cougar. The burn out was purposely longer than normal to make sure we had fresh rubber from the tires having been 'parked' for so long. I approached the tree, staged and waited for the lights. At the launch, I noted the red light in the opposing lane. The car seemed to pull hard down the track with a slight stutter at the 2-3 shift. The Cougar was besides me the entire way and it turned out to be a true fender race.
I stayed in the throttle past the end of the run to be sure I got a full ET since the win light was already on in my lane since the Cougar had red-lit. Picking up the time slip at the end of the return road was satisfying...
It was a warm and muggy day at the track, so I was more than satisfied with an ET of 12.401 @ 110.78 mph.
I returned to the pits to give the car a quick checkover and waited for the next round to be announced. The call to the lanes came about an hour later for the qualifying run to set up the field for eliminations.
The second run was against another MN12, this one with a turbo small block Ford that I previously noted to be a bit quicker. Since it was the qualifying run it was a heads up race that I did not expect to "win". Upon the launch I once again noted the red light in the opposing lane. This time there was no stutter in the 2-3 shift and the Lincoln was pulling hard the entire length of the track.
Remarkably, despite the increasing temperatures at the track, the car ran quicker, this time with an ET of 12.360 @ 110.81 mph.
Now it took a bit longer to be called back to the lanes for the first round of eliminations. This time I was lined up against a significantly faster supercharged Marauder. My previous run had earned me a "BUY" for my reaction time which allowed me to choose the lane of my choice. I chose to stay in the same lane as before. This time however, I was off at the tree and the Marauder did not red light. It was about half way down the track the Marauder was closing in and the car missed the 2-3 shift hitting the rev limiter. I lifted on the throttle to see if it would shift but it did not. I then nudged the shifter forward to be sure I had not inadvertently left it in 2nd gear. It was in drive and not 2nd, so as the Marauder passed me, I lifted off the throttle and coasted the rest of the way down the track.
Eliminated in Round 1 is not how I wanted my day to end but I still had the good vibes from the previous runs being what they were after having been away from the track for so long. It was a typical hot and muggy day in August at the Mason Dixon Dragway and I left with renewed optimism the Blue Flame could break into the 11s on a good day in cooler weather. Hopefully we will see soon enough.
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