RtthIV

[Steve Chryssos]

According to the gauge in Vin's new Duramax, ambient temps at the autocross track were pushing 111 degrees. We know that because, at times, we escaped the heat by hiding out in the air conditioned truck. On the DVD player was Vinnie and Tina's favorite movie: Talladega Nights.



As Ricky Bobby's daddy liked to say: "If you ain't first, yer last!". And that right there sets the tone for the fourth annual Run Thru The Hills event. Heat and perseverance were directly proportional. The hotter it got, the harder we all tried. Tenacity.

Vinnie's car, "Shocked!" came into this event with 10.30 E.T. slips, road course usage, and Year One Experience Autocross winner status. So winning the King of the Hills competition was important to Twist Machine as well as the Twisted Idiots car club (Jake, Vin, Jimmy, my partner Frank, myself and our newest idiot from Arkansas...Jay Wiggins--Bucks69). Despite an extraordinary effort by all, we missed out by 1.01 seconds collectively.

...And that's a good thing. It means that the Run Thru The Hills event format is exciting, challenging and competitive. It means that we can all build pro-touring cars with the knowledge that our efforts will yield more than just car shows and cruising around at the speed limit.

We fought vapor lock issues followed by a Howard Stewart Race Pump that refused to prime. That led to a dead starter which--with the help of Frank and Michael Serafine from Prodigy Customs and David Sloan from Road Killer Customs was replaced in a Sunday morning thrash that you would just not believe unless you saw it in person. Vapor lock prevented us from competing in the top five autocross shootout--a last chance contest to unseat the fastest autocross car. Vin made it into the top five in the number two position--one second behind Kyle Tucker and his second gen Camaro.

On Sunday we made it to the drags in time to make one run before the 12:30 cut-off. The time on the E.T. Slip? 12:29 and 58 seconds. Unbelievable! Though faster than Kyle, Vin's car ran .01 second slower than Brett Voelkel in Velocity. So second in the drags (by .01 second) as well as second in the autocross. With people's choice, cruise, and 75 mile points, Vin tied Kyle for 1st place. The tie breaker, as stated, was the autocross time. There you have it: 1.01 seconds.

I can't say give enough praise to Jay Wiggins (Bucks69) and his wife Steph. Prior to the event, these two were complete strangers to us. They agreed to meet us 75 miles north of Pigeon Forge to drive our truck and trailer so that Jake and I could compete in KOTH. Then they stuck it out all weekend providing immeasurable assistance at every turn. With heat, time and a demonically possessed GPS working against us, Jay and his wife helped us push thru.

Congratulation to Kyle Tucker on his King of the Hills win. Kyle, Stacy, and the entire Detroit Speed team make it look easy.