LACR Battle of the Imports 05/22&23/99

Rather than just post our best time and mph (9.83 and 135) as most other sites do, I thought most of you who have been following our project might be more interested in a list by run number, with narrative, of the whole fun weekend we had. Please remember this was the first drag race any of us had ever had a car at, and the first drag car we had built!
Starting parameters: One previous test with a bone stock 20B and maybe 60hp of nitrous Engine wasn't fired until 6:00pm Thursday (that's another whole story) Only "testing" was a few launches in the driveway about 8:00 that evening Reasonable lack of sleep Choices Thursday night: 1) Don't go due to lack of testing 2) Go to the Friday night all-car drags and decide after that
Click on image for larger	Run Number	E.T.	MPH	Remarks
	Friday Night 1	17.1	80	Ran like crap, dies as soon as you hit the gas
	2	19.9	83	So bad it dies in the burnout box!
	3	15.9	74	Got about 100ft before it died
Getting very frustrated with the ProJection, so we turned on the first stage of Nitrous 20%>40% (those are the start and final percentages of nitrous), pulled up to the line and found out the new electric bottle valve had dumped the whole bottle sometime in the last week - our fault for not checking (we were VERY busy remember) -- was so "unhappy" I didn't even pick up a time slip.
It's now dark -- I do a sad looking burnout, pull up to the line and they hang out a sign that says "Tail Lights?" -- we have no tail lights ??!! We were never planning on running at night, so we never thought about lights. When I saw the sign I thought --Oh yeah, I DO remember reading that in the rule book about a year ago !! -- out fault again. They wave me off.
We are back at our pits, in the pits, getting ready to pack up. There were a number of spectators grieving with us when one of them says "hey, just tape a flashlight in the back -- I did that one time!"" So we taped a flashlight in the back and pulled up to the line. --- IT WORKED (although the track guys told me Saturday morning they were not pleased with it, and don't try that again).
	5	12.4	78	Still running so bad it died in the burnout box so I was ALL over the track with cold WET tires! when the nitrous hit and have to get out of it at half track.
	6	12.5	114	Getting a little better
Saturday -- We were fighting numerous "new car/engine" teething problems, but the first thing we needed to correct was the massive stumble/bog/die coming up from the 2200rpm idle. So after our Friday night discussion we decided to give up on that (and work on it later when we have more time), and just set the idle up to 3500 where it seemed to be able to come up from OK. We had decided to try one or two passes on Saturday, and if it was still as bad, we were probably not going to continue running it, and just put it on display for the rest of the weekend.
	1	11.38	119	The rpm went up when I hit the pedal !!!-- what a concept!!
	2	11.12	114	Getting a little better, nitrous at 20%>50%
The previous test we did (with the used, bone stock 20B and 60hp of nitrous), plus all Friday night, was with an "Import Tree" -- lights are: stage, yellow 1, yellow 2, yellow 3, green, at 1/2 second intervals. I've been getting: stage, all three yellows at once, then a green! -- which is a "Pro Tree". I had inquired long ago, and was told all Import weekends use only an Import Tree -- NOW they tell me all exhibition and Pro Imports only get a pro tree. That is VERY different settings on the nitrous timer!, and a whole new thing for me. Needless to say, my reaction times had been absurd!

Red-tape footnote: For anyone else new to drag racing, I thought you might be interested in the current license loop we are in -- to go faster than 10sec you need a license, you can't get the license unless you go under 10's, if you go under 10's without a license they will not let you run that event anymore until you get a license.

They had told me early Saturday that if I was under 10, I would not be allowed to run that fast anymore -- I "forgot" to go find anyone after that 9.8, and nobody came to see us, so we kept going.

You can not test for your license, and compete in an event, on the same day.

If you can't go under 10 seconds at your license test session, then they reject your license application because you don't need one -- you are not fast enough!

(This will all be a moot point as soon as the car is faster)

We can not license test at Pomona because we do not have the muffler ready yet (100db limit), and we are not legal for their "Friday night street legal" anyway (full tube frame).

I have been told Pomona is 1/2 to a full second faster than Palmdale (altitude)

We have to license test at Palmdale (sound and chassis), but at this stage may not be able to do two 9's on demand (altitude and still under development)

A 10.1 at Palmdale will not qualify me for a license.
That same run at Pomona would probably be in the high 9's.
If I run a 9 at Pomona we will be out because I do not have a license to go that fast!

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I doubted it would count, but I do find it interesting that previous experience counts for nothing with NHRA:
20 years of road racing
166 mph on the banking at Daytona with a car pushing me and one outside each door
Doing that on a 1 1/2 mile "straightaway" for a 45 minute race + qualifying etc.
175mph on the back esses at Road America in a TransAm car for the weekend
135mph around the Shoreline curve at Long Beach with the right door 4" off the wall
etc etc -- but none of that helps when going in a straight line for 10 seconds, with only one other car on the track, and they won't even let you then nail the brakes, go down a few gears, and then haul up from a late apex onto the return road. -- whatever.