Brian, session 2 starts at ATCO on Saturday. Good luck Bro. I finished 28th for session 1. 5 first round losses, 1 second round, 2 third round, and 1 fourth round loss. Total of 18 points. Time for you to step up to the plate. So much for my rookie season. Its up to you to do better.

 

Jim,
You did an awesome job for the first half and deserve a pat on your back. This was your rookie year at Atco and you placed 18th - that's great!!! I think Rick and my dad each have 9 or 10 points each. YOU HAVE DOUBLE THAT!!!

Rick thinks you should continue to run Atco.

Back to the topic,
Brian, good luck for the second half of the season. We didn't meet my deadline with the car (again ) so I won't be racing for a while. I was hoping for the second half, but it ain't happenin'! I think you can pick up where Jim left off and kick some butt!!!

Good luck!!

 

Thanks. I'll keep you posted on how the season goes. My tranny may force me to be a little inconsistant. But I'm going to work with what I have go for it. Hopefully I will be able to yank it out and rebuild it on an off week.

Jim you racked up 18 pts in 9 races... IMO thats noting to laugh at, especially for your "rookie" year. Honestly if you were to run second half and rack up another 18+, I think you would be supprised at where that would put you.

If I can stop red-lighting I will be just fine. I'm used to holding .050 and making it work in my favor . I just have to get out of the gates with a GREEN light

 

well day 1 of the second half is over. Good news and bad news. First I got there a little late due to traffic down in berlin. The traffic lights were out so fire and police were out directing traffic...

I missed the first round of time trials so I only got 1... I dont know what happened. All was good till half track and suddenly the motor just quit. It was still running but it just completely cut out and just about went to idle. I coasted thru the traps and it came back... I heard a loud bang and it started running again. I think the bang was a backfire and the exhaust pipe hitting the floor under me. I'll have to look into that.

I dialed 12.30 just pulling a number out of my butt. My 1/8 on the TT was 7.8x so I figured it was worth a shot.

First round I finally got the tree figured out a little and cut a good light. .023 GREEN!!!!!

Suddenly the car had a ton of power and the run felt really strong. It didnt slip on the shifts and I knew I would break out. I had the other guy beat by a mile so I jumped on the breaks... 12.18 @109.

so a loss with a green light is much better than handing over the win at the starting line if you ask me.

 

I hate to seem like a newb, but what's the rules/regs on this series??

I ask because I live 15 minutes from the track and would like to get involved once my car gets running again.

 

I agree - at least you have a chance at the end of the track. Keep pluggin' at it Brian and you'll get it.

I heard two friends of ours won Heavy and Super - Dave Harvey Jr and Frank Conulli. The good part about Frank winning Super is that Saturday was his FIRST day out in him Maverick this year!!!

All the rules for the Saturday Bracket series can be found in the NHRA rule book. I honestly don't know the specifics as much as Jim or Brian do.

 

Summit ET Series. Each track calles it something different and is a little different on the rules. Bracket racing on a .500 sportsman tree (3 yellow lights then green).

ATCO:
3 classes , Street, Heavy, Super.
Street 12.0 or slower, dot tires, exhaust, etc.
Heavy 15.99 - 9.0, no trans brakes or electronics. Slicks, open headers, etc.
Super 11.99 - 7.50 , dragsters and door slammers, trans brakes and electronics ok.

Cars or trucks need to pass NHRA saftety requirements. Faster you go more safety stuff is needed.

Sign up to run points in one of the classes ($40 fee). 1st round loss is 1 point, each win is 1 point. Bonus points semi finals gets 1, runner up gets 2 and winner gets 3. 20 races in the season. Track keeps tally of each persons points. Season is split into 10 races each. Top points earneres gets to represent the track in the Division 1 race, winner of Div 1 race get to go to the National Championship race on the west coast.

You don't have to be signed up to run points. Anyone can enter each race. Each race has an entry fee and payouts. Races are run on most Saturdays. Just check out ATCO's website. The schedule and info are posted. www.atcorace.com

 

Brain, just keep at it. Red is dead. Anything else you might be able to drive on the top end. I had the 15 second ragtop out again. I'm having issues with it. First round I tried to go against a low 10 second car. I got luckey and matched against a 55 chevy running 10.20's. He went red on the 5 second wait and was .40 off his dial 'cause his converter heated up. I cut a 1.00 light in the second round and went home. After the race the guy came over and shook my hand and said he was glad I didn't have the teal car today. This was my second loss to him at Maple (both times in the red car) but I beat him twice a ATCO (teal car). I'll be in the red car for 2 more Maple races then switch back to the hot rod.
I want to get more seat time in the red car in case I really need it as a backup. I plan to run the red one later this season at the SLP day and EFI races at Englishtown. I can run in the 15 second class against the imports too. Wow, benifits of a 15 second bracket car. Just put in 2 and go.


Jackie, that great for Dave. He's a good guy. He always seemes surprised to me go rounds at ATCO. Heck I was surprised to go some rounds.

 

Fastbird, Jim pretty much summed it all up with that post. The rule book you need to follow is NHRA's book. But the race class is up to you and how your car runs. Both Jim and I run in Heavy. Jim does a little better than I do... but by the end of this year I'll be right there with him. I have been finding out the hard way... its very competitive at Atco. Im sure Maple is also but I have not had the pleasure of running there yet. Come one down and try it out. the worst you can do is loose and go home after a day of fun.

Jacki, thats great! It must be an awsome feeling to go out and win first time for the year. Who is Dave Harvey? I know Ive heard the name but I cant put it with a car?

Jim, sometimes the wait just kills ya. Its not always bad to be the slow guy I'm getting better... I just need the seat time. My r/t's are starting to come around. At the last race you were at, we were talking to that guy parked next to us. All I could remember was him saying "just react to the lights, dont count or time them just react to them."

You know what... thats what i did and it worked! With some practice staging I'll get it down.

The worst part about being chased is that you dont get to see how well the other guy is on the tree. He cut a .350 light to my .023... I had him beat on the line. But I miss judged the end and took WAY too much stripe. he broke out too with a 10.52 on a .54 dial. Ahh, there's always next week!

 

THanks for the info everyone. I won't be out anytime soon as my car is still at F-Body Central getting the new motor put in.

This may just be wishful thinking on my part though. I'm a die hard six speed fan, and while I believe I'm pretty good and consistent with a stick, I don't have the consistency it takes to really be competitive. That, and I'm going to be real inconsistent for a while as I figure out how to make an easy launch with a street twin clutch and stock rear end.

Will I give it a shot though?? Heck yeah. Sun shines on a dogs you know what every once in a while. If anything, I'll try to get out to the track and watch some of ya do your thing!

 

Definitely give it a shot! Jim (kazman) started out as a 6 speed guy but it didn't take him too long to make the conversion to a TH-400.

Brian,
Dave Harvey drives a goldish colored mopar (I am embarrassed to say that I don't even know what kind of car it is!!). You may want to invest in a practice tree. A pocket one is around $100 and it will help you to figure out your own reaction. It's a good investment.

Jim,
I just want you to know that Dave had only a few more points than you going into last Saturday's race and after ONE win he is now sitting in fourth. Rick wants your number so he can call you. He thinks you have a GOOD shot at qualifying...

 

Lol, not going to be me. I'm a die hard gear banger.

 

So was he.

 

Jackie, ok ok, I'll be at ATCO tommorrow with the slow car. I left the truck with Linda at Raystown (near Altoona).

Fastbird, I love banging gear and I'm good at it. Bracking racing a stick is like banging you head on the sidewalk. Its not too bad running in special events like Pontiac day, EFI shootouts, BOP day, SLP day, trophy marathons, etc. The competition is nowere close compaired to bracket racing in the points races. ATCO and Maple Grove are just plain hard. I had 4 races this year that the margin of victory was less than .005. The stick just gives you something else to go wrong. I ran the stick for 3 years. Last race of the season I cut a perfect light then lost because I missed 4th gear. That was the end of the T56. I have a full manual valve body and still have to shift the car. Some of my famous quotes, "I never pull the stick out", "I'll never put a bar in my car", "I'll never take the car off the street".

Brain, you got to make the yes/no desision to use the brakes at the 1000 foot mark and hit them at the last orange marker (60' in front of the finish line). That is if you don't get big feet like me and miss the brake pedal.

 

Kazman, that was just funny to read. I'm thinking that within the next 18 months when I go to get another (my third) T/A, which will be an LS1 WS6 this time, I may shoot for the auto then. Even that's going to take some convincing though.