2009 Nevada Open Road Challenge - it's official - After Race Report

[James OLC]

Jimi at FM3 Performance Marketing sent this press release out earlier today:

OPTIMA® Batteries to sponsor James Shipka and the One Lap Camaro for 2009 Nevada Open Road Challenge 




April 28, 2009


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 




Milwaukee, WI - OPTIMA® Batteries continues its support for the Silver State Classic Challenge in 2009 with sponsorship of James Shipka and his One Lap Camaro. The One Lap Camaro, a custom-built 1967 Camaro, featured at the 2008 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) convention, the worlds largest automotive industry trade show, will represent OPTIMA® Batteries in it's run across the public highways of central Nevada.


The Camaro was built and designed specifically for competitive sanctioned public highway competitions including the famous One Lap of America 4000 mile endurance race. James' first test of the brutal Camaro came last fall at the OPTIMA® Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational where it proved its prowess on the road course and autocross at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park.




OPTIMA® Batteries and James has assembled a top-notch team of OPTIMA® Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational veterans, including the reigning 2008 champion, Steven Rupp, Technical Editor of a popular automotive performance magazine and owner of Bad Penny. Bad Penny is a 1968 Camaro that earned the 2008 OPTIMA® Batteries Ultimate Street Car title. Steven will ride shotgun and take on the daunting task of navigator, attempting to keep James and the One Lap Camaro between the white lines and on schedule throughout the 90 mile timed run. Anchoring the rest of Team OPTIMA® is famed road course racer David Pozzi and his SCCA autocross champion wife, Mary Pozzi. They will be using their skill and experience to make sure the One Lap Camaro stays dialed-in for each event including the OPTIMA® Batteries High Noon Shootout - a one-mile top speed challenge. 




”We are very excited about working with James and promoting our continued relationship with the Silver State Classic Challenge Series. Partnering with James and this Silver State Classic event is a great example of our commitment to high performance events that prove OPTIMA® Batteries perform in the most extreme applications." said Cam Douglass, Director of Product Development and Marketing for OPTIMA® Batteries.


The Nevada Open Road Challenge, part of the Silver State Classic Challenge, is a 90 mile timed run on the closed public
highways of Nevada, starting in Ely and finishing in Ash Springs. It begins just South of Lund, at White Pine County just north of mile marker 9, heads South through Nye County, and finishes at Lincoln County mile marker 7. The journey traverses 90 miles of two-lane highway that has recently been repaved and is in excellent condition, with long straights, twisty sections, and dips, which for the faster participants, may result in an airborne experience. The winner in each class is the car that finishes closest to the perfect time for the average speed of their class. Visit www.silverstateclassic.com for more information.



OPTIMA® Batteries are like no other battery in the world. The unique SpiralCell design offers the most advanced technology and provides a strong and clean power source that far surpasses any of today's filled lead-acid batteries. With OPTIMA® under your hood, you can count on a longer lasting battery life under starting and deep-cycle applications. Stop by your local retailer or visit www.optimabatteries.com for more information.




About OPTIMA® Batteries 

OPTIMA® Batteries are manufactured by Johnson Controls, Inc. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI - 
News) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. 
By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine 
the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees 
creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for 
more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our 
commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in 
our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For 
additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com. 


### 


Jimi Day
President & CEO

FM3 Performance Marketing, Inc.
1369 Port Washington Road, Suite 346
Grafton, WI 53024
Ph: 414-702-4939
www.fm3marketing.com

[James OLC]

Obviously we are really excited about this opportunity and Dave and Mary have been working hard on the Camaro's suspension setup to prepare for this and work some of the other bugs out of the car. It's coming together really well and we will give it a run for it's money this weekend at Streets of Willow to see how it likes the improvements.

It should be a wild ride and will be awesome to have Steve navigating and the Pozzi's providing moral, spiritual, and technical support.

I'm probably going to say this more than once but I can not thank Dave and Mary enough for all of their help over the last month. They are two of the nicest people that anyone could hope to work with and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the car comes together.

Cheers!

[WS6]

Congrats James. Best of luck to you as well.

[Damn True]

You got an oil cooler in that thing?

One of the more common problems in these OR events is guys having to slow down to keep the oil temps at bay.

....and tire failures. Get some new skins.

[James OLC]

Yeah... we've got an oil cooler (not to mention the 'benefit' of the external oil tank) - it should be ok.

TORCO has also been kind enough to supply us with some of their incredible SR-5 Synthetic Race Oil for a much needed oil change before the race.

New tires are on the list - just trying to decide on which ones to go with.

[zbugger]

That's really awesome James. That's an event I'd LOVE to attend, let alone participate in. We'll just say it's on my bucket list. I wish you the best of luck on the event. Oh, and on your tire choice, go with one's that don't blow out at high speeds. lol...

[David Pozzi]

Mary called me in, pointed at this thread, and said "you better go out there and work on that car!" :)

[CarlC]

Very cool James! I sure is nice to have the Pozzi's in your corner.

[James OLC]

David - she called you in to tell you to go back out and keep working? lol The good news is that I'll be there in about 20 hours...

Allen it should be great. I had a list of events that I wanted to do with the car and the Silver State was one of them. We'll run the spring event as first timers (time and speed restricted) and with luck will return in September to try it again with the benefit of some experience.

Carl - I could not ask for better friends.

[Damn True]

Mary called me in, pointed at this thread, and said "you better go out there and work on that car!" :)


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/04/irony6-1.jpg

[Steve1968LS2]

Can't wait.. been on my list for a while now.

I get my feet wet here and if I survive I run Penny next time.

I found my wife online pricing out additional life insurance.. she know something??? lol

I need to find out what safety gear we need.. besides the obvious helmet

[dropit69]

congrats james ..they just had an episode of Gearz on that race Stacey David got to run it..can't wait too see how ya do..and have fun !!

[David Pozzi]

Actually she called me into her computer room, showed me this thread, then told me to get out in the shop and get to work!

It's really fun to be part of your Team!
David

[parsonsj]

Hey James, congrats!!! Sounds like a blast!

jp

[Damn True]

Can't wait.. been on my list for a while now.

I get my feet wet here and if I survive I run Penny next time.

I found my wife online pricing out additional life insurance.. she know something??? lol

I need to find out what safety gear we need.. besides the obvious helmet

http://www.sscc.us/docs/2009%20Rules.pdf

Safety regs begin on page 6


Helmet Restraint System, such as Hans, Hutchins or similar, is MANDATORY for:
Super Sport and Unlimited Divisions and any Driver and Navigator seeking a Technical Speed of 180 or Higher
And is highly recommended for all other Divisions and Technical Speeds
This will be the last year that SA 2000 Helmet will be accepted as the minimum standard. Effective in the year 2010, Snell Foundation SA 2005 Helmets (or later) will be required as the minimum standard.
Motorcycle Helmets are NOT acceptable in any Division.

[JEFFTATE]

Mary called me in, pointed at this thread, and said "you better go out there and work on that car!" :)

David , you are busy on everybodies car !
Are you earning extra income from all this ??? LOL

Mary and You should start a company that tunes peoples suspensions .
I'll move to California and work for you guys !!

[JEFFTATE]

Congrats on the Run Ron !!
Wish I could attend.
Maybe some day.

[rogue]

what sort of gearing are you running? has that car been shook down at 150+mph speeds yet?

A few cal speedway days in would be benifitial to dialing in that car at those speeds.

[James OLC]

Steve - we can talk about some of the safety stuff on Sunday. For our class (open door there) there aren't many beyond the helmet written into the rules. There are a few good ideas though and we're working some of them into the car now - revised anti-sub mounting (they have to be bolted and cotter-pinned) and arm restraints being a couple of them. I'll probably wind up erring on the side of caution though.

Don't give Dave and Mary an ideas... there busy right now.

rogue. We have 3.89's in the car right now. We haven't taken the car over 150 yet nor will we in the forseeable future. Out tech sped for the NORC will be 124 - any faster than that will be an automatic DQ.

September though...

[79-TA]

^ ah, running in the 110 mph class I see. Will you guys be running any of the standing mile/half mile events?

http://www.silverstateclassic.com/shootout.htm

Man, I hate how the NORC and SSC happen on very college-unfriendly dates. I'd go up and run the fox body if it were a week later (and if some money materialized out of nowhere.)

[jeff96]

James your going to love doing this. The wife and I just got back from the Big Bend Open Road Race. The race was on 4/26. It has basically the same rules as the SSC. Last year was our first year to get the rookie dust off. We took my 96 SS Camaro and ran in the 105 class. We managed a 105.023 average. Good enough for a second place in class 21 place overall. I wanted to run the 69 Camaro this year but just didn't have enough time to finish it up. So we put a harness bar in the 96 and moved up to the 120 class. We thought we had it all figured out until we were on the return leg with the wife telling me we were slow. So I stuck it on 137 for about 20 miles then what do you know we were 10 miles from the end and 11 seconds fast. I dropped it down to 5 mph above low tech speed and we still came in 2.89 seconds fast. This was only good enough for a 71st place overall. The top 35 were all under 1 second with the event winner at .015 seconds off. If I can get the 69 ready in time and they don't have a fall event at Big Bend we may try to make the Nevada race. Good luck and have fun.
Jeff

[rogue]

rogue. We have 3.89's in the car right now. We haven't taken the car over 150 yet nor will we in the forseeable future. Out tech sped for the NORC will be 124 - any faster than that will be an automatic DQ.

September though...

interesting, thats going to be a walk in the park....

good luck! I'd love to do it myself one day.

[Steve1968LS2]

David , you are busy on everybodies car !
Are you earning extra income from all this ??? LOL

Mary and You should start a company that tunes peoples suspensions .
I'll move to California and work for you guys !!

He get a lot of my extra parts... and I have some nice extra parts.. lol

[JEFFTATE]

He get a lot of my extra parts... and I have some nice extra parts.. lol

I'll take 'em !! LOL

[Damn True]

He get a lot of my extra parts... and I have some nice extra parts.. lol

Damn...there goes my gravy-train.

[chicane67]

If it wasnt for the opener of the 'Landspeed' season... I'd be there...

[James OLC]

Jeff - it should be a lot of fun. The car worked really well last weekend at Streets and aside from a failed alternator we didn't have any serious issues. David is going over the car again as we speak and is making some minor changes here and there - nothing major - and giving the car a good nut and bolt (again).

Tom - too bad the timing worked out the way that it did, it would have been great to have your help. Maybe in September...

[James OLC]

Obviously, we couldn't be doing this without help from OPTIMA Batteries who got us set up for the event but as the days get closer there are a couple of other companies who have stepped up to help us run the event...

A special thanks to TORCO USA (http://torcousa.com/default.aspx)who set us up with some of their awesome SR-5 (http://torcousa.com/products/productview.aspx?id=2b8d25b6-a08f-4eed-bda1-8e08ecd17105&cat=automotive%20racing&type=motor%20oil) Synthetic Racing oil so we could do an oil change before the race. One thing about the LS7 is that it takes a bunch of oil so TORCO's help was greatly appreciated.

Likewise, another thank you to the guys at Racequip (http://www.racequip.com/) who have helped outfit both the driver and navigator for the event. Even though we're competing in the 105 mph class which has fewer safety requirements, we are erring on the side of caution and will be wearing all of the requisite safety gear for higher speeds. I may even head out with a HANS device if I can put the peices together.

Also, TOYO (http://toyotires.com/)is giving us some help with fresh rubber for the event. I cut up the outside edge of one of the fronts at the Goodguys show in Del Mar last month and although it's hasn't proven to be an issue I wanted to change both the fronts. Again, erring on the side of caution. The R888's are great tires and I was really impressed with how they wore at Streets so they should be great on highway 318!

Five days to go before the Rookie School...

[David Pozzi]

James your going to love doing this. The wife and I just got back from the Big Bend Open Road Race. The race was on 4/26. It has basically the same rules as the SSC. Last year was our first year to get the rookie dust off. We took my 96 SS Camaro and ran in the 105 class. We managed a 105.023 average. Good enough for a second place in class 21 place overall. I wanted to run the 69 Camaro this year but just didn't have enough time to finish it up. So we put a harness bar in the 96 and moved up to the 120 class. We thought we had it all figured out until we were on the return leg with the wife telling me we were slow. So I stuck it on 137 for about 20 miles then what do you know we were 10 miles from the end and 11 seconds fast. I dropped it down to 5 mph above low tech speed and we still came in 2.89 seconds fast. This was only good enough for a 71st place overall. The top 35 were all under 1 second with the event winner at .015 seconds off. If I can get the 69 ready in time and they don't have a fall event at Big Bend we may try to make the Nevada race. Good luck and have fun.
Jeff

Jeff,
That's amazing! do you use any special equipment to get your speed right?
David

[-The Stig-]

Jeff,
That's amazing! do you use any special equipment to get your speed right?
David


Well, I know mile markers, a stop watch and basic math will get the job done. But I'd be curious as well to know what sorta gizmos you can use to help keep you on time.

Running the Silver State has been a dream of mine for years, each time I buy a car it's been to "run the Silver State" but for some reason... life happens and I never get around to it. Maybe the Camaro will make it out there? ... maybe the G8?

[Steve1968LS2]

Can't wait, should be a blast.

Saftey gear will be here Monday. Tires are in transit to the Pozzis and clean underwear has been packed.. we should be set. lol

The navigation thing has me a nervous but I've been reading up on what's involved.

I wonder if there's any video out there?

[David Pozzi]

Steve,
Read this: http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/eventcoverage/0903chp_1966_chevy_chevelle_silver_state_classic_c hallenge_drive/grand_sport_class_race_navigator.html
http://www.silverstateclassic.com/winninginfo.htm

[CarlC]

Good luck James. You have a lot of good people to help you git-er-done.

[Twentyover]

Can't wait, should be a blast.

....and clean underwear has been packed.. we should be set. lol


Steve- Perhaps just a little too much information.....

[James OLC]

Good luck James. You have a lot of good people to help you git-er-done.

Thanks Carl. Believe me, I couldn't imagine taking this on without the help that I am getting from David, Mary, Steve, Jimi and Optima. The fact that we were able to run as much as we did last weekend without (major) issues really helps as well.

That being said, we did have some problems that had to be addressed this week, the most serious was a toasted alternator which, without David's help never would have been fixed in time.

Now with four days before we head to Las Vegas the only thing that we are waiting for are the front tires which should arrive Monday.

[CarlC]

David does have that farmer blood running through him. Make sure there's no bailing wire on the new alternator. He used that to fix my power steering a while back.

[James OLC]

David does have that farmer blood running through him. Make sure there's no bailing wire on the new alternator. He used that to fix my power steering a while back.

Funny you should say that Carl... David took the alternator to his local guy who usually helps him out with tractor bits. After going though the alternator and finding numerous problems (sigh) he asks David who built it, because he sure wasn't impressed by the way it was put together (again... sigh). You definately don't always get what you pay for.

[zbugger]

The navigation thing has me a nervous but I've been reading up on what's involved.

I wonder if there's any video out there?

Steve, I could be wrong, but I think Scott Parkhurst navigated for Cam Douglass when he ran it. I wonder if getting in touch with him would be of any assistance to you. Wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

[Damn True]

Our own Tony Huntimer has done it too.

[chicane67]

Tom - too bad the timing worked out the way that it did, it would have been great to have your help. Maybe in September...

September just might work... although it's going to be a seriously busy month. With a lakes weekend before the September run and my 16+ hour a day work sechedule... I might just have to purchase a new 6.0L bladder for the CamelBack just for coffee.

It would be fun to go again... I havent driven/RIO it since the "Roger Ward" days...

[James OLC]

Can't wait, should be a blast.

Saftey gear will be here Monday. Tires are in transit to the Pozzis and clean underwear has been packed.. we should be set. lol

The navigation thing has me a nervous but I've been reading up on what's involved.

I wonder if there's any video out there?

I'll FedEx the intoductory video that they sent me to you tomorrow so you should have it Tuesday morning. It's pretty good (I'm watching it once a day, every day, until Sunday). I'll also bring it and my laptop if it somehow doesn't make it.

What kind of GPS do you have? I'm bringing my Nuvi 220 but have to hard mount it (no windsheild mounting allowed) so I can grab an extra mount for yours so we can have two going. I also have a couple of stop watches and am playing with some course notes that have target times on them.

David has the in car communications together (although I'm working on getting a different headset for you) - are you going to run your open or closed face helmet?

[jeff96]

Jeff,
That's amazing! do you use any special equipment to get your speed right?
David

David,
Our first year we bought a stopwatch at Walmart in Fort Stockton the day after sign-in and a Nuve 650. We didn't find out it dropped the tenths at 30 minutes until the day of the race. On the leg down in the first race we crossed the line, I geared down and asked what our time was. My wife said "oh sh$* and hit the watch. My reaction was how far between "oh sh$*" and the line? She said about 5 seconds. We came to the line for the north leg and she said I figured wrong we'll be to fast. Coming to the line she recalculated the correction for all the way points. We finished .888 seconds fast or 105.023 mph.

This year we have the Nuve 650 two Robic SC-888 stopwatches. We use one watch accending and one decending. The accending watch we use for way-points. The problem with this was at an average of 120 mph the wife was to busy. She was calling the course and running the time. On the down leg I shot for a good trap speed. We hit 137 mph so the rest of the time your trying to get back to average speed. The trap is 6 miles from the start. We ended up 7 seconds slow on the down leg. To make it up on the way back I leaned on it hard. Full dirfts through blind curves at 130 mph was a little hairy. We ended up 2.869 seconds fast or 120.093 mph average.

The thing we'll change for the next race is another GPS. I can use the 650 for curve setup and the wife can use a different one for trip calculations. I think correcting for the mileage error in the GPS is the toughest thing. We're still working on a few things for this.
Jeff

[James OLC]

At this point we should have two GPS units - one for Steve and one for me - that if nothing else can be used for instant and average speeds. We also have two stopwatches - one that is a cheap, basic chrono and the other is the Robic SC-888 which is a triple timer that counts up, down, or both. I might try to get another one of those real quick to replace the walmart special.

I'm also working on some quick look notes that Steve can follow with check points and flag stations, ETAs and corrections.

We'll see...

[jeff96]

At this point we should have two GPS units - one for Steve and one for me - that if nothing else can be used for instant and average speeds. We also have two stopwatches - one that is a cheap, basic chrono and the other is the Robic SC-888 which is a triple timer that counts up, down, or both. I might try to get another one of those real quick to replace the walmart special.

I'm also working on some quick look notes that Steve can follow with check points and flag stations, ETAs and corrections.

We'll see...

Running two stopwatches is good. Some guys run three just in case you fat-finger one of them. Its good to practice your watches with your gloves on.:twothumbs

[James OLC]

Good point. I do have three watches (and the SC-888 functions as three as well) so what we might do is start two of them with the GPS's off the start and use the third off of one of the mile markers as a backup. Excellent advice with the gloves - I was thinking that myself.

[Krazed]

Can't wait.. been on my list for a while now.

I get my feet wet here and if I survive I run Penny next time.

I found my wife online pricing out additional life insurance.. she know something??? lol

I need to find out what safety gear we need.. besides the obvious helmet



Wait a sec, you're married?

So much for my Bromance! :rotfl:

[Larry Callahan]

I got word today James did 148 today according to his GPS system. I can't wait to hear more and see some video. Congrats!!

[James OLC]

Yesterday - Half Mile Shootout - 136 (GPS) with no issues beside traction and elevation (7,000+ feet).

Today - Optima High Noon Shootout (1 mile) - 148 (GPS) but an ignition gremlin cropped up... For no apparent reason the car just shut off at 148 - three runs in a row???

Tomorrow we race - 90 miles on highway 318...

[Larry Callahan]

Didn't they tell you about the built in speed limiter? LOL!

Sorry, I hope you figure it out and congrats. I can't wait to see some video.

[blown9746]

I did this two yrs ago solo and had a great time, but I wish the course had some more turns in it. It is basically 87 miles of straights w/ 2-3 miles of turns. It would be fun in the higher speed classes, but I was limited to 124 just as james is.

[GrabberGT]

Would it be possible to get a "down and dirty" version of how this competition works? Are all "stages" avg'd together for an overall. What are the goals for each stage?

[Steve1968LS2]

Hey guys,

Got home last night at 3AM.. what a blast!

The car did great. Since we were rookies we were limited to a max class of 110mph (tech speed 124). We decided to go in the 105 class since it was way less crowded.

At the end of 90 miles we ended up only being off 0.377 seconds.. or .01%

Unfortuantly three teams did better putting us in 4th place. However we did get "special mention" for being rookies and having such a great time.

Third place was less than a 10th of a second better. In any event we were all VERY happy with our time. As Nav I was pretty sure we were within a second, but this was even better.

A very fun and challenging race and the car felt great at speed (max speed we hit on the road was 121)

Anyways, have to go to work, just wanted to update :)

I will have pics later. There is video (two sources, in car and splittervision)

There will also be a story in Camaro Performers

[buickfunnycar.com]

Awesome...can't wait for your pics and Mary's.:smoke:

[class67]

"splittervision"...I like that...lol

Thanks for the update, and I'm glad everything worked out and everybody is safe!

[Steve1968LS2]

Quick shot.. half mile shootout (136 mph on gps)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/21mhyf7-1.jpg

[Bow Tie 67]

Great pic, and congrats on yours and the cars performance.

[buickfunnycar.com]

awesome picture,great angle...spoilers look like they're doing their job.

[James OLC]

Wow - the last four days has been a heck of a week! I'm just sitting in the Phoenix airport now but I have to thank Steve for his great navigation, Dave and Mary Pozzi for their selfless and priceless assistance and moral support, as well as Jimi (FM3 Marketing) and Cameron (Optima Batteries) for helping to make this happen. I'll have more details once I get home but in the mean time I'm sure that Steve and the Pozzi's will be able to carry the flag!

Thanks everybody - great time and great finish for our first shot!

[Larry Callahan]

Quick shot.. half mile shootout (136 mph on gps)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/21mhyf7-1.jpg

AWESOME SHOT! My new wallpaper.

[David Pozzi]

Wow! I can't believe it's only been 5 days since we left for this event!
A few quick impressions from it:
1. It's a long way to drive, aprox 800 miles from us.
2. The event is incredibly well organized and takes over 90 people to put on.
3. It has been going on for over 20 years and is well established in the community.
4. There are a lot more activities that fill each day, there was not much "hangin'n out" time.
5. Ely is at 6435' elevation, so horsepower drops a lot.
6. The other competitors in this event, and the officials were terriffic, really nice people to hang out with and they all loved the One Lap Camaro!
7. This event is not a race, it's a rally, the navigator is the key person but the driver must carefully adjust his speed to get results.

Here is a short video of the half mile run:
58u6GYxOUhc

[-The Stig-]

Good job guys... maybe in the next coming event I'll be able to run with ya.... just as long as I win the lotto and can rebuild the car.

[David Pozzi]

The lower speed classes can be run in about anything. I think one class was won in a Honda Civic...
Here's another pic from Friday, the half mile. Note everone gathered around O.L.C. looking at the engine, Steve, Mary and James are in this one too.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

In line to run half mile
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Start line for half mile, notice Steve Rupp on the job.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[stealth71]

Looks like everyone had a good time. Cool event.

[James OLC]

Wow! (again)

As I said really quickly earlier, this was an awesome event and the OLC Team was great every step of the way.

After the Streets of Willow deal two weeks ago the car went back with Dave and May Pozzi for a good once-over as well as some safety enhancements and some pre-race maintenance. It turns out that we had toasted the alternator at some point over the last weekend out and David got that covered off for us before heading off to the NORC event. He and Mary also added a second fire extinguisher to the car and set up the anti-sub belts so that if nothing else Steve and I were safe in the car. The alignment was also tweaked for the longer, straighter course (1.5* negative camber and neutral toe) and an in-car communication system was added so that Steve and I could talk during the race. Without Dave and Mary’s help there is no way that we could have got the car to Las Vegas and been ready to race with no worries.

The four days of the event are still a blur…

Thursday we were on the road course at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway taking laps with the Mario Andretti driving school to demonstrate that the car and driver were at least capable of the basics.

Friday we were in the Optima Batteries Half Mile Shootout. As mentioned before, we hit a maximum speed of 136 mph although in hind sight I know that there is more there to be had. One of the issues in Ely is obviously the elevation and the heat and my air intake needs to be moved to somewhere more efficient as it is. Regardless, I was really happy that the car was solid and stable and felt fine at speed so I chalk this one down as success.

Saturday we were in the OPTIMA Batteries High Noon Shootout running the mile on Highway 480. We did have some problems here that I never would have encountered if I hadn’t at least tried. We never did actually complete a mile under WOT; on every pass that engine died (like blowing out a candle, no mis-fires, no slow death, just and instant poof…) before hitting the mile marker. We still reached a GPS indicated 148 before it died but since the timing equipment was focused at the mile, our times stunk as I coasted across. At this point I have no idea what the problem is… mechanically everything appears fine so it’s some where in the MSD ECU, I just have to find it.

Sunday was the actual NORC event – 90 miles on Highway 318. We were going to be competing in the 105 mph class and I was nervous about two things… just making it through mechanically sound and running out of gas. To be honest, despite all of the time that I have been able to spend in the car over the past couple of months, I’ve never had an opportunity to run 90 miles, non-stop, at speed – any speed. So this was going to a first.

Steve was a great navigator and we muddled through and eventually abandoned my course notes in favor of some that were supplied by our rookie liaison Blue (who is one of the nicest racers I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with). Anyways, using Blue’s notes we fine tuned our time to the start of the narrows, running between 90 and 121 mph on the course) and exited the tight 3 mile stretch just 6 seconds off our pace with about 10 miles to the end. More fine tuning and we were within 1 second with a mile to the finish. With Steve counting down we crossed the finish line within a second of perfect by our seat of the pants estimate. Gas was never an issue and the car performed flawlessly, it was dead stable and predictable at any speed.

Ultimately, as you already know, we finished in 4th place in our class with an average speed of 104.99 mph and a time variance of 0.37 seconds off perfect. That put us in 27th place out of 162 competitors and (IIRC) makes us the highest finishing rookie driver/navigator combination.

It was a great event and we will be back in September to do it again with a higher target and technical speed (the car will tech to the Grand Sport class with a maximum 150 mph target, 165 mph tech). Thanks again to Dave and Mary, Steve, and Optima for inviting us.

Working on downloading the SplitterVision tonight…

[Steve1968LS2]

Ultimately, as you already know, we finished in 4th place in our class with an average speed of 104.99 mph and a time variance of 0.37 seconds off perfect. That put us in 27th place out of 162 competitors and (IIRC) makes us the highest finishing rookie driver/navigator combination.


Yea, it was just a bad draw.. our time would have won the 95, 100, 130 and 115 class.. it would have podiumed in several other classes.

Personally I'm very happy with our performance and even more so with how the OLC did.

I will be taking Penny out there next May.

I call dibs on the navigation duties in September if James wants me in the seat!

[Steve1968LS2]

James forgot to mention that we filled up after the event...

After over 100 miles, 90 of them in the ralley, we ended up with an MPG of 20!!!

lol

[Damn True]

James forgot to mention that we filled up after the event...

After over 100 miles, 90 of them in the ralley, we ended up with an MPG of 20!!!

lol

100mi at triple digit speeds in a big ol' honkin 500+hp 40 year old Camaro getting 20mpg.

Awesome!

[Steve1968LS2]

Here are a couple Pozzi shots...

Gearing up for our run. Safety first.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/34gxern-1.jpg

19 seconds until launch!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/34hjc78-1.jpg

[David Pozzi]

100mi at triple digit speeds in a big ol' honkin 500+hp 40 year old Camaro getting 20mpg.

Awesome!

And I was worried about them running out of gas! :lmao:
Congrats to James, - what an awesome Camaro! It get's such great praise wherever it goes.
David

[79-TA]

I will be taking Penny out there next May.


Psshh, and in Costa Mesa you told me you weren't sure you'd have time for such things . . . (granted you were addressing my quesiton about both the SSC and 1 lap of America) :)

[class67]

Here are a couple Pozzi shots...

Gearing up for our run. Safety first.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/34gxern-1.jpg


That hand written sticker on the side of your helmet really makes you realize the seriousness of it all...

Kinda creepy...lol

[David Pozzi]

Steve, Yes it makes you think seriously about what you are doing. Even though it's "only" 105mph, that's plenty fast enough to kill someone. In this event, one car ran off the road and one blew a tire at VERY high speed. I was listening to the scanner and Deer were reported close to the road near the Narrows.
David

[jeff96]

Wow! (again)


Steve was a great navigator and we muddled through and eventually abandoned my course notes in favor of some that were supplied by our rookie liaison Blue (who is one of the nicest racers I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with). Anyways, using Blue’s notes we fine tuned our time to the start of the narrows, running between 90 and 121 mph on the course) and exited the tight 3 mile stretch just 6 seconds off our pace with about 10 miles to the end. More fine tuning and we were within 1 second with a mile to the finish. With Steve counting down we crossed the finish line within a second of perfect by our seat of the pants estimate. Gas was never an issue and the car performed flawlessly, it was dead stable and predictable at any speed.


It was a great event and we will be back in September to do it again with a higher target and technical speed (the car will tech to the Grand Sport class with a maximum 150 mph target, 165 mph tech). Thanks again to Dave and Mary, Steve, and Optima for inviting us.

Working on downloading the SplitterVision tonight…

James sounds like a blast. Our first race was very similar to yours. We ran the 105 class but got a little luckier on the draw. With a .888 fast we still got a second. That .37 is great and at least next time you'll move up. We tried 120 this year and the navi gets a whole lot busier. The end came up on us a lot quicker than expected. I think the count was like 5..4..3 uh was that the line? But the ORR folks are great. I think a lot of the people at the NORC were at the BBORR this year. Was Blue in a black 93 RX7. I think his last name is Offutt. If so did he tell you about the buzzard strike that took off miss passenger mirror. He is one of the nicest guys and at the BBORR he leads the Team Invaders who always win the team challenge. Ya'll should try coming on down to the BBORR next April. Its a little more twisty then the NORC.:wrc:
Jeff

[Steve1968LS2]

James sounds like a blast. Our first race was very similar to yours. We ran the 105 class but got a little luckier on the draw. With a .888 fast we still got a second. That .37 is great and at least next time you'll move up. We tried 120 this year and the navi gets a whole lot busier. The end came up on us a lot quicker than expected. I think the count was like 5..4..3 uh was that the line? But the ORR folks are great. I think a lot of the people at the NORC were at the BBORR this year. Was Blue in a black 93 RX7. I think his last name is Offutt. If so did he tell you about the buzzard strike that took off miss passenger mirror. He is one of the nicest guys and at the BBORR he leads the Team Invaders who always win the team challenge. Ya'll should try coming on down to the BBORR next April. Its a little more twisty then the NORC.:wrc:
Jeff

The BBORR (Big Bend Open Road Rally) sounds like fun.. "60 turns in 60 miles" - it's just that west Texas is a lot further than Vegas :)

However, it is on my "bucket list".

Yea, Blue was in his Mazda. I think he got 2nd or 3rd in his class. What a great guy and a great "rookie mentor", very helpful.

That Buzzard strike sounded nuts. After the race the guy in front of us almost hit us. Another racer said he hit two smaller birds durring the race and in addition to the reported deer we were also warned that some cattle had gotten out of thier fence.

Blue told us that this is really the most dangerous form of motorsports since it's just a public road and emergency help is not right at hand. Still, the event staff makes it as safe as possible.

Here is an ex-cup car (monte carlo) that went off track at speed. He was in the Unlimited class. Looks like he rolled a bit. The driver was ok because of all the safety gear (that's not the driver, he left via ambulance).

Notice the piece of tire in the road? Well, that's not from him. That is from one of the guys in front him. Well, that guy blew a back tire at 180+ mph but kept going. In fact he said he drove the last 10 miles on just the rim at 160 MPH.

While that sounds cool, the problem was that he left a huge debris field in his wake. One thought is that the Monte hit some of that and lost a tire or moved to avoid the junk on the road. He said at one point he hit 223mph. Anyways, he was DQ'd.

In any event, it's dangerous - expecially in the REALLY fast classes.

Crashed Monte
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/n63mtd-1.jpg

Camaro that ran before the Monte.. this is how he came across the finish line except the rear was smoking and almost on fire. lol
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/adetsy-1.jpg

[jeff96]

The BBORR (Big Bend Open Road Rally) sounds like fun.. "60 turns in 60 miles" - it's just that west Texas is a lot further than Vegas :)

However, it is on my "bucket list".

Yea, Blue was in his Mazda. I think he got 2nd or 3rd in his class. What a great guy and a great "rookie mentor", very helpful.

That Buzzard strike sounded nuts. After the race the guy in front of us almost hit us. Another racer said he hit two smaller birds durring the race and in addition to the reported deer we were also warned that some cattle had gotten out of thier fence.

Blue told us that this is really the most dangerous form of motorsports since it's just a public road and emergency help is not right at hand. Still, the event staff makes it as safe as possible.

Here is an ex-cup car (monte carlo) that went off track at speed. He was in the Unlimited class. Looks like he rolled a bit. The driver was ok because of all the safety gear (that's not the driver, he left via ambulance).

Notice the piece of tire in the road? Well, that's not from him. That is from one of the guys in front him. Well, that guy blew a back tire at 180+ mph but kept going. In fact he said he drove the last 10 miles on just the rim at 160 MPH.

While that sounds cool, the problem was that he left a huge debris field in his wake. One thought is that the Monte hit some of that and lost a tire or moved to avoid the junk on the road. He said at one point he hit 223mph. Anyways, he was DQ'd.

In any event, it's dangerous - expecially in the REALLY fast classes.

Crashed Monte
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/n63mtd-1.jpg

Camaro that ran before the Monte.. this is how he came across the finish line except the rear was smoking and almost on fire. lol
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/05/adetsy-1.jpg


Holy crap! That monte is Mike Borders. He's the record holder at the BBORR with 172.78 average. His wife is usually his navi. I hope everyone is ok. Take a look at this link from the 2007 race. He hit the buzzard at 190+ and stayed in it.
http://www.bborr.com/2007/2007contest.html
This one is at the half way point in Sanderson.
http://www.bborr.com/2007/buzzard.html
The small critters are a good reason to run the 145 class instead of the 150. At the half way point our friend Robert was pulling sparrows out of the front of his C6. Its amazing how much bird can go through a small hole at 160.

Well looks like you guys got the bug. Maybe we'll make the NORC with the 69 or ya'll might make it down here to Texas. There's also the Sandhills Open Road Challenge in Nebraska. Thats a really tight road. The unlimited guys average about 140. They also have a road course and drag event earlier in the week. Which ever just post'em up and maybe we'll catch you on the road.
Jeff

[James OLC]

Personally I'm very happy with our performance and even more so with how the OLC did.

I will be taking Penny out there next May.

I call dibs on the navigation duties in September if James wants me in the seat!

If you can make it in September (17th - 20th) the seat is yours!

[James OLC]

That hand written sticker on the side of your helmet really makes you realize the seriousness of it all...

Kinda creepy...lol


Steve, Yes it makes you think seriously about what you are doing. Even though it's "only" 105mph, that's plenty fast enough to kill someone. In this event, one car ran off the road and one blew a tire at VERY high speed. I was listening to the scanner and Deer were reported close to the road near the Narrows.
David

Yeah, I have to admit that this event definately gives a person pause when you stop to think about the safety side of things. Unlike open track days this isn't a closed course, it isn't smooth and contained, and, if you are heading for an off track excursion you're heading for ditch then desert. That being said, the saftey precautions that they take are pretty awesome... someone else straps you into the car (and when she is done with you, you're in there tight) and verifys that your driving equipment is on and done up properly... a safety team of four guys checks over every tire on the car every time you head out for an event - whether its the half mile, mile, or on Highway 18 (my tires were inspected eight times over the weekend including tech)... while running on 318 there are course workers stationed every two miles or thereabouts with radios and there are two planes in the air at all times following the course from above. It's as safe as they can make it but stuff can still happen.

[rogue]

Man that tag on your Helmet Steve sure is a reminder that this experience is no joke. Glad you guys had a good time. That guy that drove on the rim is an idiot, not sure what he was thinking...

[James OLC]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the many cool things about the event is, obviously, the people that you meet. I had the opportunity to spend a half hour or so with a gentleman who works for K&N and has been working on the suspension setup for Big Red for many many years. Besides some invaluable information regarding spring rates, rake, and steering rates it was awesome to be able to talk about some of the history of the car. Someone who had actually been there from the begining.

There was such a huge cross section of cars and drivers that it's taken days to process all of it. There were two new ZR1's (and at least three older 32 valve deals) amongst dozens of other Corvettes including a Mallett built Z06; there were Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, Aston Martins, and Porsches (a GT2 ran 178in the mile for the record); there was a BMW with a motec driven LS7 and the Chevelle From Hell (which sounded absolutely increadible until clutch problems sent him back on the trailer). We were probably the fourth oldest car there behind a wild (180+ mph) '65 Corvair, a really cool '63 Galaxy, and the '66 Chevelle; there was also a really neat boattail '73 Rivierra that had to have won the longest car award. One of the other rookies was there with a Viper ACR coupe, another had a really neat Mitsubishi, and two kids from Oregon had come in a '77 Camaro to try their luck.

It was great to have been a part of it and I'm looking forward to September and trying it again... this time with some idea whats going on.

Edit - forgot about the '37 Ford F1 pickup. I don't hink he finished the race but he was there through most of it - averaging 182 mph...

[tymbom]

My dream is to run this race someday...:headbang:

[Damn True]

This and Bonneville are on my list for the Camaro.

[Larry Callahan]

Oh yeah. Give me a year to get comfy with MotiV8r and I'm there!

[David Pozzi]

Here's a video I just uploaded. It's James running the one mile.
On the tape I say it's Sunday first run, but it's really Saturday first run.
sXN2sczgOfM

Here's a pic of that V8 Corvair
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here's a McLaren M6 Coupe body on a home made chassis.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[JEFFTATE]

Wow !
This would be such a cool race to attend or participate in !!
But , the safety concerns are a little overwhelming..scary..
At those speeds , and with the tire temperatures.
Whew..

I hope to do it someday..

Thanks for posting guys !!

[jeff96]

Here's a video I just uploaded. It's James running the one mile.
On the tape I say it's Sunday first run, but it's really Saturday first run.
sXN2sczgOfM

Here's a pic of that V8 Corvair
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here's a McLaren M6 Coupe body on a home made chassis.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

That corvair is Charlie Friend. His trap speed was 207.3 at the Big Bend race this year. He won the unlimited class.

Did Team Blender make it to the NORC? They have a gas powered blender and they dope the margaritas with a little moonshine. Here's the link from this years party at the BBORR.
http://www.bborr.com/2009/blenderparty.html

The open road racers are like one big family. This year at the BBORR there were a lot of the guys that usually race in Nevada, but with the sanctioning body for the Gambler and the Pony Express going under thay had to come to Texas for there speed fix. I think James mentioned a Mallet Z06. This would be the guys from Nebraska. They are Team SORC (Sandhills Open Road Challenge). This one is like the NORC except they have a Drag event, a road course, then the open road race. I didn't realize how many of the racers do most of the events. Looks like its time to get the 69 out on the circuit.

[James OLC]

Wow !
This would be such a cool race to attend or participate in !!
But , the safety concerns are a little overwhelming..scary..
At those speeds , and with the tire temperatures.
Whew..

I hope to do it someday..

Thanks for posting guys !!

The SSCC group does a really great job of trying to make the event as safe as possible - with a great deal of attention spent on the driver and navigators safety in the car, as well as tire safety.

Before any run - half mile or mile shootouts or the Highway 318 run - every car goes through two saftey checkpoints.

At the first stop two lovely young ladies (one on either side of the car) open the doors and thoroughly check over both the driver and navigator - verifying that all of the required protective equipment is in place, making sure that there is nothing loose or unsecured in the car, and finally cinching your harness like it's never been done before. If you've never had someone else tighten your harness for you, you should try it some time; you think that you're strapped in tight... not as tight as you could be.

At the second stop four inspectors look over your tires - checking the sidewalls while stationary and looking over the complete tread section while you roll forward for at least one complete tire rotation. If there is anything that appears to be penetrating your tires your car can and will be pulled out of line. This is happening barely a minute before you take to the starting line; at tech, your tires were reviewed for condition, load and speed ratings, and 'suitability' for the event. All told, my tires (each tire) were visually inspected 8 times before I ran on Highway 318.

They take safety very seriously and while preparation can never eliminate risk, it can help to reduce it as much as possible given the circumstances.

[James OLC]

That corvair is Charlie Friend. His trap speed was 207.3 at the Big Bend race this year. He won the unlimited class.

Charlie had the unofficial overall top average speed of the event. He was in the 180 mph class but was having problems with his oil cooling setup. He averaged 163.5 mph. There was a '37 Ford Pickup (forgot about that one) that averaged 182 mph but (by his own admission) did not finish the race and conceded the title to Charlie on the podium.


Did Team Blender make it to the NORC? They have a gas powered blender and they dope the margaritas with a little moonshine. Here's the link from this years party at the BBORR.
http://www.bborr.com/2009/blenderparty.html

There were so many teams that it would make your head spin but I don't remember seeing or hearing any gas powered blenders... there was a rookie initiation that involved home made Alabama Moonshine but that's another story entirely...

[David Pozzi]

Just uploaded this video of the start.
A car came up behind me and I had to move a bit so I lost track of the car in the middle for a couple of seconds.
David
KH1cBJ-CfFo

[James OLC]

It looks so easy in that video David...

...meanwhile, in the car, Steve and I were pressing and clicking just about everything that we could reach. With 30 seconds to go we started a Radio Shack kitchen timer that was counting down the run for us... with 5 seconds to go we both reset our GPS units... when the green flag dropped I had a stopwatch on the steering wheel that I started while Steve had two more stop watches that he started, one counting down and one counting up that he used for splits at mile markers.

Radar had us at 107 mph at the top of the hill... nice leasurely start.

---

I'm still having trouble with the SplitterVision camera... it supposedly taped the entire run (the file is nearly 4 mb) but my Vista laptop gives me a codec error and my XP desktop only has 7 minutes and change of video. That being said, everything after minute 5 will be pretty similar except for the narrows. I'll try to upload something tonight.

[Damn True]

Jonesing for "Splitter-Cam"!

[David Pozzi]

It looks so easy in that video David...

...meanwhile, in the car, Steve and I were pressing and clicking just about everything that we could reach. With 30 seconds to go we started a Radio Shack kitchen timer that was counting down the run for us... with 5 seconds to go we both reset our GPS units... when the green flag dropped I had a stopwatch on the steering wheel that I started while Steve had two more stop watches that he started, one counting down and one counting up that he used for splits at mile markers.

Radar had us at 107 mph at the top of the hill... nice leasurely start.

---

I'm still having trouble with the SplitterVision camera... it supposedly taped the entire run (the file is nearly 4 mb) but my Vista laptop gives me a codec error and my XP desktop only has 7 minutes and change of video. That being said, everything after minute 5 will be pretty similar except for the narrows. I'll try to upload something tonight.

James,
After seeing the start, I think you could have started some of them 1 minute early, that's when the car next to you left.
David

[-The Stig-]

Oh yeah. Give me a year to get comfy with MotiV8r and I'm there!


Need a navigator? :wrc::twothumbs

[Damn True]

pssst - splitter cam

[James OLC]

Trying True - having a problem with the data. Apparently the GoPro has an issue recording more than 2 gb of video. SplitterVision from Highway 318 "appears" to be nearly 4 gb on the card but won't play on my laptop in Windows Media or my splicing software (codec error) and on my desktop comes out to be only 7 minutes long... I don't know what to do but I'm trying.

Steve has some video from the mile and half mile shootouts as well as full in-car from Highway 318 but we need to convert it from tape to digital.

It's all coming...

[hotrdblder]

i think your only suppose to use up to a 2gb card??

[James OLC]

It looks like you can use a larger card (I've been using an 8gb card for a while now) - just that the GOPro can't actually write a file larger than 2gb? Doesn't make much difference now - the full run was bigger than 2gb regardless.

The issue now is somehow opening and editing the file or portion of the file that I have. I can't even upload the 7 minutes that I have because it's too big....

[David Pozzi]

This forum says if the file runs over 2GB, the file get's "corrupted" http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=477124

Have you tried playing back to a TV right out of the camera? I think I did that once with ours.

Here is a guy with the same issue, he made it work but I'm not sure I follow what he did exactly...
This is a google catched version of the page, the original didn't load.
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:Nk2E62RDYwYJ:https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D14%26t%3D58773%26p%3D197482+go +pro+hero+corrupt+file&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[Larry Callahan]

Shoot it to filedropper.com and send me the link. I will take a stab at it.

[Young Gun]

I would love to do that someday... looks like fun, and as usual, CAR LOOKS GREAT!

[Damn True]

Trying True - having a problem with the data. Apparently the GoPro has an issue recording more than 2 gb of video. SplitterVision from Highway 318 "appears" to be nearly 4 gb on the card but won't play on my laptop in Windows Media or my splicing software (codec error) and on my desktop comes out to be only 7 minutes long... I don't know what to do but I'm trying.

Steve has some video from the mile and half mile shootouts as well as full in-car from Highway 318 but we need to convert it from tape to digital.

It's all coming...

Does GoPro have a tech suppt line?

[James OLC]

Does GoPro have a tech suppt line?

True - I spent the better part of today on the phone with so called "tech support" people trying to get some guidance a slightly larger issue and honestly - I don't think that I could handle any more "tech support". I mean really, how hard is to say "the problem just can't be with our...", it's "obviously with this seemingly unrelated component over here"... arrggghhh...

[James OLC]

But...

That being said, I followed the thread that David posted and downloaded a free dealeo called VirtualDub and have been able to open the file with no apparent issues...

The good news is that its all there - starting line to finish line...

The bad news is that its really pretty boring...

I'll try to cut it into some decent pieces and will post them today if I can.

*edit* maybe... the program does something really funky to the file size... I started with a 3.72gb file... the fixed and saved version looks like it is going to be 113gb... wow

*double edit* maybe...

[Damn True]

I feel your pain on the tech support. The company we just bought has a "support staff" er.....not exactly shinning examples of engineering excellence.

[David Pozzi]

James,
The second post down says to save it out of AVIDemux but with specific settings, that should allow other players to open it for further editing.
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:Nk2E62RDYwYJ:https://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D14%26t%3D58773%26p%3D197482+go +pro+hero+corrupt+file&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

[James OLC]

I've got the video and it works fine... now I just have to get YouTube to actually upload it... what the heck is an unknown error anyways?
It could be my modem - it was recently given 'classic' status and probabaly needs to be replaced.

[James OLC]

Here you go True (and everybody else who's interested) - the first upload that worked...

SbueaZVUyE8

This is running through "The Narrows" the slowest section of the course... Steve and I are running around 120 mph as we head into the Narrows with (I think) 13 seconds in the bank (meaning that we have to scrub some time off). We went through around 100 mph and had a 6 second cushion when we exited. The long right hand sweeper into the Narrows is an off camber turn with two apexs but at our speed you barely even notice it.

Some more gear head details - running in 6th gear at just over 3000 rpm we're about 40 minutes into our 51 minute run. Everyone is cautioned about running through the Narrows since this is where most people get out of shape but, as Blue (our Rookie Liason) is fond of saying, "a motorhome towing a trailer can run through the damn narrows at 80 mph". At our speed it wasn't an issue but for the faster classes who have been running for a half hour at a buck and a half you have to make a concerted effort to slow down...

Enjoy - more coming soon...

[Young Gun]

too cool... weather looks gorgeous as well!

[blown9746]

James I did the exact same thing when I ran 2 yrs ago. running at 120 slowed to around 105 for the narrows. Some guys were running in the 150 class and planning on going through the narrows @85. Overall, the event was a blast for me, but mostly because of the people I met. The race itself especially at the first timers level was rather boring. But like a lot of people said it was one of those things I always wanted to do.

[James OLC]

More SplitterVision videos... kind of boring but in 10 minute chunks. When I have some more time later today I'll try to add some comments but for now:

The First 10 Minutes:

gI2_yrAn_9c

Roughly 30-40 minutes in including the Narrows section in the earlier video:

2xXRB8eJQ4I

And the last 10 minutes from the exit of the narrows to the finish line... including, as Steve put it, "the little autocross course" at the end:

y2nJiL7soBU

[-The Stig-]

friggin sweeett.

[Larry Callahan]

Awesome footage! Can I get a full rez copy of one of those? It would make a great opening for a video while credits or text scrolls. I will make sure you get credit for the footage.

[Larry Callahan]

The fist one might be best. There are fewer bugs on the lens. LOL!

[JEFFTATE]

That video is great James !
Thanks !!

[James OLC]

Larry - I'll upload the entire deal for you when I get to California tomorrow. My modem is acting up at home and it's hit or miss at best. Don't worry about credit - the real credit goes to a suction cup, some duct tape and eight zip ties....

[streetk14]

Thanks for the videos, James. I've been wanting to do this for several years and I think the time is coming. I'm thinking next May will be it for me. I have a buddy who is ready to navigate and some extra vacation time set aside.

For my rookie outing, I think I'll be driving the M3 instead of the Camaro. While it would be a far more "entertaining" experience in the '67, the M is really made for this kind of thing. Plus, it has airbags, tire pressure monitor system and several oil coolers. Huge brakes and 430 hp are pluses. Running the 110 mph class should be a breeze in that car.

Maybe the next time the Camaro will get a chance. It really needs a rollbar or cage before I get serious about doing something like this with it. Otherwise, it should be good to go.

What do you guys recommend using for a GPS to track speed? I'm not looking to be super competitive, more about having a good time. I would like to be prepared to finish with a respectable time, though. Any tips for a first timer?

[79-TA]

Thanks for the videos, James. I've been wanting to do this for several years and I think the time is coming. I'm thinking next May will be it for me. I have a buddy who is ready to navigate and some extra vacation time set aside.

For my rookie outing, I think I'll be driving the M3 instead of the Camaro. While it would be a far more "entertaining" experience in the '67, the M is really made for this kind of thing. Plus, it has airbags, tire pressure monitor system and several oil coolers. Huge brakes and 430 hp are pluses. Running the 110 mph class should be a breeze in that car.

Maybe the next time the Camaro will get a chance. It really needs a rollbar or cage before I get serious about doing something like this with it. Otherwise, it should be good to go.

What do you guys recommend using for a GPS to track speed? I'm not looking to be super competitive, more about having a good time. I would like to be prepared to finish with a respectable time, though. Any tips for a first timer?

While I understand the conveniences (and safety advantages) of a modern car, what would make your Camaro such a hassle? You have a 6 speed transmission and (I assume) tires rated for more than 124 mph for goodness sake.