HRG at Limerock

[wendell]

I went to Limerock yesterday (memorial day) and crewed for a 68 camaro T/A car. It was AWESOME! There were about 10 A and B sedans that were flying. Highlights included seeing one of the Owens Corning ZL1 corvettes destroy the track, a pair of Shelby 350GTs that sounded and ran like Nextel cars, and seeing my buddy click off a couple 1:04.0 laps in the coolest car ever. It is imposible to describe the thrill of seeing all these cars side by side at 130mph with the small blocks screaming at 8200+rpm through straight pipes. And at the end of the day there was an open bar.



On top of the all the fun, I learned and applied a ton of chassis tuning in the pits. HA! What a day. Don't worry, pics are coming.

[sunkistcamaro]

That sounds like a great time.
I cant believe I missed it...
Cant wait for the pics

[Steve Chryssos]

Highlights included seeing one of the Owens Corning ZL1 corvettes destroy the track

Whoa! You had me going there for a minute: You typed "Destroy the track" and I read "Destroyed ON the track"

[wendell]

That would have been terrible on a few levels. Not only do these guys race super hard, but they do it in amazing pieces of american history. On top of all the racing I got to meet quite a few of the guys that were racing and developing A/B sedans and trans/am cars on the east coast during the late 60s/early 70s. These guys know a TON about making 1st gens go obscenely fast! It was awesome.

[Rick Dorion]

Missed it this year but last year was great. I misread too and thought a car had been destroyed. Looking forward to pics.

[vintageracer]

The above comments are why "vintage racing" is the absolute best way to participate in motorsports. Why dream it when you can live it!!!

Buy or build yourself a vintage race car and join the fun.

Remember:

RACING! BECAUSE GOLF, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, FOOTBALL, BOWLING AND SOCCER TAKES ONLY ONE BALL!!!!

[JLM]

haha I use about 8 balls when I golf!

doh!

Sounds like a fun event. Can't wait for pictures.

[wendell]

There's a pretty huge barrier to entry for the vintage racing. An unrestored T/A or A/B production car from back in the day is going t start around 50k. On top of that, you need a LOT of motor to have a competitive car. The final straw is that with vintage race cars come vintage race car drivers. 30+ years of seat time, these guys FLY. Not an easy thing to get into.

I'm still working on getting the pics somewhere that they can be hosted.

[David Pozzi]

A good way to learn, help someone!

JLM, I don't golf, but I DO have a "golf shirt", - it has 18 holes in it!!!

[vintageracer]

You do not have to have a period race car with history. MANY organizations will let you run a car with no history or one that is purpose built. The largest organization out there HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing) is a great example. There are MANY Mustangs, Corvettes, Camaro, Porsche's etc that were never originally race cars that now participate with the "real" cars. Many times those cars win!

Most of the Mustangs you see running to day were not race cars back in the 60's/70's. They were purpose built to go vintage racing. Lot's of real Shelby's racing today are that way.

Find a car you like, build it into a race car that meets the rules and period requirements and come join us in the fun.

[wendell]

vintage,
You're right, the "new" vintage racers are super cool. They are also very well developed cars (cubic money). In addition, from what I've seen, there are quite a few funny cars in those groups. Either way, it's a killer way to race cars. If you have the means, I highly recomend it. Any pics/specs on your car?

Dave,
I learned more between practice sessions in one day than I could have ever imagined. Priceless. I helped tune almost 2 seconds off a lap time and it was facinating.

[vintageracer]

I am on the road for the Power Tour. The car was in the March issue of Vintage Motorsports and Hemmings Motor News. I'll see what I can find when I return.

[CFster]

I went to Limerock yesterday (memorial day) and crewed for a 68 camaro T/A car. It was AWESOME! There were about 10 A and B sedans that were flying. Highlights included seeing one of the Owens Corning ZL1 corvettes destroy the track, a pair of Shelby 350GTs that sounded and ran like Nextel cars, and seeing my buddy click off a couple 1:04.0 laps in the coolest car ever. It is imposible to describe the thrill of seeing all these cars side by side at 130mph with the small blocks screaming at 8200+rpm through straight pipes. And at the end of the day there was an open bar.

On top of the all the fun, I learned and applied a ton of chassis tuning in the pits. HA! What a day. Don't worry, pics are coming.

Our company races two "Spec Miatas" in SCCA. Last weekend they were turning mid 1:03s. It's all about handling at Limerock, not horsepower.

[wendell]

1:03 is hot. I was super impressed with the Miata spec racers. I completely agree about handling. A 550hp 3300lbs camaro is not the fastest way around the track at all. What company? We were in the sunocco padox with most of the Miatas. Maroon/yellow 68 camaro. Best lap was 1:04 flat.

[CFster]

Southern Auto Auction Motorsports. We have a red 90 with white stripes and a white 95 with red stripes. Numbers 52 and 53.

Did you see BSI's trailer? They had 5 identically prepared Pro Miatas - all bright orange. They spend about as much as anyone has on a Miata. The guy who runs it - Stu, once borrowed one of our PPFs (power plant frame - a brace that holds the trans and rear together) down at VIR. He said, "can we borrow your PPF for this race?". Well, we were done with that one particular car at the time so we said ok. Then a crew of guys descended on our car and had the thing out in seconds - it was something to watch. We got a new one in the mail a week later. The Miata guys are pretty good about doing each other favors like that.

Anyway, we aren't in the Pro series. We raced in SM and SSM on Saturday. Interestingly, the Pro series Miatas were turning slower lap times - because they were running the Hankook tires - they're crap compared to the Toyos we run. Almost a full second slower. But the guys who race the Pro series are hardcore racers - a few of those guys are from the Speed Touring, or Grand Am Cup series. They're pretty aggressive on track.

But we have fun in our Regional classes - lots of competition on our level - we actually finished 4th on the first Saturday race. And the fields can get huge - I've seen over 40 cars before.

It's a great series (Spec Miata), because it really hones your driving talent. Because they have no freekin horsepower, you learn to carry a lot of speed through corners where you ordinarily wouldn't. Our lead driver only brakes in 2 spots on the whole track now. Going into turn one and turn two. The rest of the track is either flat or a slight lift - even the uphill at the end of No Name Straight. You point the car right at the flag stand and pray!

Lots of fun!

[wendell]

I only saw the PRO racing sunday. The BSI trailer was out of control. There was a swarm of orange Miatas. King Rat had a pretty serious set up as well. I'm interested in the Miata club racing, got a link?

Still haven't had a chance to up load pics but they're coming. Here's a taste.

[Steve Chryssos]

More!

[wendell]

tease:
the GT350 sounded and ran like a jet powered slot car. The red and white vette is packing a ZL1. The blue one is really fast. The black 'stang is show car beautiful.

[CFster]

I only saw the PRO racing sunday. The BSI trailer was out of control. There was a swarm of orange Miatas. King Rat had a pretty serious set up as well. I'm interested in the Miata club racing, got a link?

Still haven't had a chance to up load pics but they're coming. Here's a taste.

Spec Miata

[wendell]

CFster,
The spec miata class look fairly accessible. Any idea what the Mazda Speed kit costs? Whats a used spec racer go for? Thanks for the link. I'm real intrested in gaining experience in a low cost class ASAP.
Jensen