So this was something I never had on my bingo card 17 years ago, but yesterday I was a spectator watching my daughter race this ute at the local 1/8 mile drag strip.
From the outside looking in, we had a shocker. She got 4 qualifying runs and 3 rounds of racing. So 7 runs all up - and stalled it on the start line 4 times.
But we had an amazing day.
She has only just got her license last month, never raced before, and aside from the bikes, it was the only manual there. The only prep I did other than checking the oil and coolant was to fit the rear mudflaps, and put the remaining two 17” HSV wheels on the back thinking there was some better traction to be had. Other than that, she drove it as is to the track. Full exhaust with the rear resonator, just under a full tank of fuel, spare tyre, ute mat and jack all still in place. I do have a set of MT slicks on pursuit rims in the shed, but they are over 20 years old now so not an option. That and I’m not ready to put a clutch in it just yet. I’m also not keen on an inexperienced driver and a canvas/radial combo as they float around a lot.
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But the standout for me was the amount of competitors and volunteers who came up offering encouragement and advice to her. Everyone was so friendly and accommodating. They gave her a decent tour of the start line and fully explained how the lights and everything works. We also had 2 solo runs where I was a passenger. Everyone was so good to her, and it made for a brilliant day. Her ute went well, there was no axle tramp, and she had the same traction issues as everyone else not running slicks.
First run ever (with me as a passenger) pulled a decent 9.449 at 77 mph. 0.357 reaction time which is brilliant for a first attempt and way better than I have ever got.
For the racing we ended up dialling in at 9.00 seconds neat. Best time for the day was 9.181 at 80.17 mph. So it’s not fast by any means, but went surprisingly well, and there are slower cars that get trailered to the track. But clearly there’s more in it.
I recon with a lot more practice on the clutch and a set of drag radials there’s a mid to high 8 in it. And let’s not pretend the tune is perfect either. The cut off for street is 8.50 seconds so that’s a good place to stop.
One of the highlights of the day was a stall on the start line. She restarted and tried to get going again, lost traction and smoked the tyres (or tyre) the entire track for a 13.5 second pass. I can’t post the video but these are the screen shots of that run.
Looks like I’ll be getting a price on some drag radials. And maybe a Torque Lock centre.
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