Yep! that's my silver Mustang convertible I have been well... have had someone working on for about 6 months, now it is time to DRAG RACE! As you see it its been converted from a stock everyday convertible into an instrument of terror. The car is now been wickedly supercharged to the point of 650HP with 4:10 rear gears to make it faster from a stop along with a few other goodies and a radical computer tune making it an 11 second quarter mile semi controllable drag racer but still street legal. Sorry I didn't get better pictures but someone had to drive, well hold on for dear life anyway!
I had only been to the drag races once before in my life but as a fan of it on TV I thought, I can do that! Here is my story from last weekend...
It was pretty scarry as everyone involved assumes you know exactly what your doing....
I rolled up at exactly 1pm asking the person at the gate if it was too late to run as I just happen to have had other business in town and semi close to the raceway, they made a call and handed me an inspection card... "What's this I am thinking". She asked if I was a 14 seconds and over car?... Heck, I didn't know but I was smart enough to know 14 seconds and under was $50 to enter as opposed to $30 for 14 seconds and over so I paid $30! She said drive around and find the inspector... ok. I drove around and called my friend Stephen who flagged me down toward the end of the strip. He was still putting slicks on his Duster and then had issues with his transmission brake so he needed more time to work on his car before he could race. He didn't know at what point I needed a helmet so he handed me his in haste to get back to his car. In the mean time I asked him who the inspector was. Stephen pointed him out as he was the greasy looking, balding pony tailed auto mechanic with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth trying to replace a power steering pump across the way. I showed him my card and he said fill it out, so I did. After that he glanced at my car, said "wow, nice car, sure you wanna race that? I said oh ya! He quickly signed my car without "inspecting" anything.
OK... without looking like a total idiot I drove toward the lines of cars then asked someone where I should line up. Each person I spoke to was very helpful and no one laughed at me. In minutes I found myself being waved forward onto the track. I had my window down and the guy at the line told me to roll it up. My heart was pounding as I tried to do a burn out but my brakes would not let me as I had had no practice... I pulled up to the line and followed a friends directions mashing the gas pedal to the floor on the last yellow before the green light. My reaction time was .3 seconds and 12.3 seconds at 114mph, for my first drag race I was told I did exceptionally well. Though I did spin the tires a little it turned out to be my best run of the day as I lined up to make another pass. I was waiting in line again as I thought I could make a third pass, I had no idea I was waiting to race someone when a guy said "where is your break out time"? I had to idea what he was talking about so he explained it to me and told me a number to write on my windshield which gave me a goal time to be as close as possible without going under. It was hot, I was racing a pickup with a similar time on there windshield... I spun the tires for what seemed to be half way down the track after I took off and was heading for the wall so I let off and finished the pass with a 14 second run. My mechanic told me after he tuned my car it should be 650HP and 11 second quarter mile if you can get traction, no I know what he meant now.. Need traction.
My friend Stephen trans brake was still broken but he wanted to run. I asked him how fast his car was before I ever told him my first time, he said 11 second car... I laughed inside a little as I told him my first pass (first ever!!!) was 12 seconds. He finally ran but his brakes could not hold him at the line so he red lighted.
It was time to go home with the top down and warm sun still shining... Success! I will return, with traction....
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