Drag Fest

[chuck]

Is anyone going to the drag fest ? My help can't make it . Could anyone give me a hand towing me to the lanes , I have an NE2 dragster . Thanks Chuck

[hyerus1]

Hey Chuck, Missed You @ Fontana. Why Dont You Come To Vegas With Us? Will Have Pleanty Of Help. Ozzie.

[chuck]

Thanks Ozzie but I have to work fri. . Good luck . chuck

[hyerus1]

GOOD LUCK @ BAKERSFIELD! LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES. OZZIE.

[Mike Lawless]

Here's our race report for Dragfest...

A "Vintage" Event
Billed as being a '60s style event, this one delivered the goods! Side by side Wheelstanders, a jet truck, AA fuel Altered going through the traps with the front wheels dancing off the ground, across the line burnouts in all classes with a back-up girl contest, a live band that was a Johnny Cash tribute deal, and a drive in movie theatre set up at the back of the staging lanes on Saturday night. And yes, there was racing too!
For us it would be a run in E/Gas, which is run on an 11.60 index and a pro tree. Right at the start, we were waiting for our call to the lanes, which never came. Instead we heard "E/Gas, Suit up!" So we had to make a mad dash to the lanes to make a "just in time" run of 11.79 at 116. The run was soft on bottom, strong on top. I had recently reconfigured the fuel system once again, to iron out some kinks on the fuel injection system, so this run was a "baseline run." With a jet change, run number two came in at 11.65 and stood for the number one slot, although the top speed dropped to 112 and change. Since I went fatter on the overall fuel curve, this tells me it might be time to start using the high speed bypass to bring the top back.

We were pretty tired after being up before 4am and a full day at the track, so we didn't stay for the Johnny Cash concert and the drive-in movie thing. John Hashim, who showed up Sunday wearing Ernie Hashims white M&H Racemasters uniform from the 1960s (the actual uniform including the white bush hat, not a copy!), said it was a lot of fun. We'll plan better next time to make sure we can take that in.

We had one more qualifying run on Sunday morning. I was not happy with the resulting 11.72. Even though we had everyone covered on reaction times, I was afraid I would be leaving too much on the table for someone to fender race me at the stripe. I decided to risk a change in tune-up. I advanced the timing a few degrees. This would prove to be a mistake. The result was a loss of performance all the way through the range. This methanol thing is still relatively new and we're still sorting some things out.

Even though I had my first round guy tree'd by almost a tenth, I watched helplessly as he drove away at the top end for the win. At least I now know that it doesn't like what I did. Since there was nothing on the line except for pride (and a little money!), no harm was done. I really wanted to do well here, and the first round loss stung.

However, it was a really fun event to do and we made a few more friends and the car attracted a lot of attention outside of our little VW fishbowl and that is a good thing!

[Trouble Maker's Tea]

A good friend and I drove up on Sunday and had a blast. We blew off the Div 7 race and had a great time. It was great to see the lanes filled with Gassers, not pro mod cars, real Gassers and a lot of AA/FA. There was even a few Top Fuel teams running. I'm looking forward to next year.

[blackwidow]

I was there Sat & Sun

I really have to hand it to Randy that was a blast!!! I was helping with the Black Max and I brought my kids along and have to say that the event was very good and the people were fantastic. I am looking forward to the next Drag Fest and maybe by that time I will have my own car. ;D