So brother Bob decided that before he attempted any more records he would first take a vacation, and then get his N.H.R.A Competition License. He got back from vacation yesterday, and called and informed me that we were going to get the license tonight.
Those of you who have raced at National Trails already know that their tech is about 40 times as strict as other tracks - more strict in fact than any other track I've ever raced at. Well, believe me when I tell you that the licensing process was REALLY involved. All the people there were great as usual, but it took us FIVE HOURS to get the job done.
When the process began, we didn't understand that we were applying for a license that would cover 7.50 through 9.99 seconds. So when they asked what index we were running we told them 8.90, thinking that was closest to what we wanted. Remember that 8.90 number...
For the first pass, they told us to let out at half track. Never having done this before, Bob wasn't sure which cone it was and he let off around 500' instead. This was good enough and netted him something like 11.77 @ 77 mph.
For the second pass, they told us to make a moderate pass, and let out a little after half track. This run was acceptable and he ended up with something close to 10.25 @ 110 mph.
For the third pass, we were supposed to go moderate again, but could go all the way. I think he let off around 1,000 feet and went 9.14 @ 128 mph.
For the fourth pass, we were supposed to 'run 9 flat'. No problem for Bob as he knocked down a 9.03 @ 156 mph. Boost was 6 psi at the launch, and peaked at 25 psi downtrack. Oh yeah, and he nailed a .002 reaction time in case anyone cares. :icon_twis
For the fifth pass, we were supposed to 'run on the index', which was 8.90 seconds. Uh, what did we get ourselves into here? :icon_roll So we added one pound of boost, set the tires and came up with a strategy that we though would give us an 8.90 second pass. After we strategized, I said 'OK Bob, tell me your gameplan again'. He cut right to the chase and said, 'I'm gonna run 8.90, so strap me in'. Bam - a record FWD launch of 1.322. And bam - a new record quarter mile time of 8.902 @ 154.90 mph! Boost was 7 psi at the launch, and peaked at 26 psi downtrack.
The car was sputtering on this pass, and we weren't sure what was causing it. We lost a little trap speed, but it didn't seem to effect our E.T. too much. So we decided to call it a night. We went to the tower and after much deliberation it was finally decided that we couldn't get the license unless we completed one more pass, and it had to be under 9.99. issed:
So back on the staging lanes we went. We decided to launch a hair harder, hope whatever was failing would stay together until ~800 feet or so, then we could coast to a sub-ten second pass and get the license. Bam - another near perfect reaction time of .009. And bam - another 60' record of 1.308! But things went downhill from there. The sputtering was quite a bit worse, and the fuel pump officially croaked somewhere in third gear. By the end of the track he had zero fuel pressure, and we had to get towed back. :icon_redf Final time was 9.409 @ 139.14 mph so he DID get his license.
Congratulations to Bob on two new launch records, a new quarter mile record and his N.H.R.A. Competition License.
Those of you who have raced at National Trails already know that their tech is about 40 times as strict as other tracks - more strict in fact than any other track I've ever raced at. Well, believe me when I tell you that the licensing process was REALLY involved. All the people there were great as usual, but it took us FIVE HOURS to get the job done.
When the process began, we didn't understand that we were applying for a license that would cover 7.50 through 9.99 seconds. So when they asked what index we were running we told them 8.90, thinking that was closest to what we wanted. Remember that 8.90 number...
For the first pass, they told us to let out at half track. Never having done this before, Bob wasn't sure which cone it was and he let off around 500' instead. This was good enough and netted him something like 11.77 @ 77 mph.
For the second pass, they told us to make a moderate pass, and let out a little after half track. This run was acceptable and he ended up with something close to 10.25 @ 110 mph.
For the third pass, we were supposed to go moderate again, but could go all the way. I think he let off around 1,000 feet and went 9.14 @ 128 mph.
For the fourth pass, we were supposed to 'run 9 flat'. No problem for Bob as he knocked down a 9.03 @ 156 mph. Boost was 6 psi at the launch, and peaked at 25 psi downtrack. Oh yeah, and he nailed a .002 reaction time in case anyone cares. :icon_twis
For the fifth pass, we were supposed to 'run on the index', which was 8.90 seconds. Uh, what did we get ourselves into here? :icon_roll So we added one pound of boost, set the tires and came up with a strategy that we though would give us an 8.90 second pass. After we strategized, I said 'OK Bob, tell me your gameplan again'. He cut right to the chase and said, 'I'm gonna run 8.90, so strap me in'. Bam - a record FWD launch of 1.322. And bam - a new record quarter mile time of 8.902 @ 154.90 mph! Boost was 7 psi at the launch, and peaked at 26 psi downtrack.
The car was sputtering on this pass, and we weren't sure what was causing it. We lost a little trap speed, but it didn't seem to effect our E.T. too much. So we decided to call it a night. We went to the tower and after much deliberation it was finally decided that we couldn't get the license unless we completed one more pass, and it had to be under 9.99. issed:
So back on the staging lanes we went. We decided to launch a hair harder, hope whatever was failing would stay together until ~800 feet or so, then we could coast to a sub-ten second pass and get the license. Bam - another near perfect reaction time of .009. And bam - another 60' record of 1.308! But things went downhill from there. The sputtering was quite a bit worse, and the fuel pump officially croaked somewhere in third gear. By the end of the track he had zero fuel pressure, and we had to get towed back. :icon_redf Final time was 9.409 @ 139.14 mph so he DID get his license.
Congratulations to Bob on two new launch records, a new quarter mile record and his N.H.R.A. Competition License.