Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Sports nationals Wrap Up

Not much to report, unfortunately.

Keith won his first elimination round in his A/SA Camaro. And he won his first elimination is SS/JA in the Mega Maniac.

But that was all of the winning.

The next round for both resulted in elimination.

Oh, well! That's racing.

God Bless, and Race Safely!

David


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sports Nationals Columbus Ohio September 21-23

The Sports Nationals is always a great event. And with the exception of potential rain, at this time of the year, the temps are usually good and the track is usually fast.

As it turns out, Saturday was pretty much lost to the rainy weather. But that is Columbus In September in Ohio.

Back to racing. So why wouldn't the Mega Maniac be registered to run A/SA in Columbus, this year?

Keith decided to run his Camaro in A/SA, and you can't run two cars in the Stock. But that doesn't mean that the Mega Maniac won't run at all in Columbus? No!

It just means that we will not it in Stock.

What other class, can the Mega Maniac run, you ask.  How about Super Stock!

Reasons why running a stocker in Super Stock doesn't make sense:

1: You can have wider tires in Super Stock

2. You can have additional work on your heads

3. You can have a much more aggressive Cam

4. You are allowed to have a Trans Brake

There are more reasons, but these are the big issues. Wider tires would give us better traction on the starter line. Additional work on the heads would five us better air/fuel flow and more horsepower. An bigger cam would increase our horsepower too. And the Trans Brake would give us a more more positive initial launch, as you just hit a button and off you go.

So, other cars can have some pretty significant advantages on us, if we are running in Super Stock.

But there is one significant edge that we do have is the horsepower rating for my car that is back to where we started in stock; In Super Stock, it is 305 Horsepower. That is where we started in Stock before an illegal car stole some class wins from us, and got us a bunch of horsepower before he was finally torn down and found to be illegal. But since the NHRA won't bother to correct that obvious error, we will just go where water hasn't been poisoned.

We had run Super Stock in a the Nationals last year in Las Vegas. We then stayed the week to run A/SA at the divisional in Las Vegas where set the A/SA Stock National record. We did OK ub the Class in the Nationals, and it was the first time we had actually run Super Stock with Mega Maniac and although we were competitive, we didn't win it. But Keith has won two World Championships in Super Stock, so he knows what is involved and we weren't terribly disappointed.

And so far, in Columbus, we have done OK.

We qualified number five out nearly 100 cars in Super Stock, and we won out class; SS/JA

Eliminations are going on right now. And it may run into Monday, So I will keep you posted as to how we do,


God Bless, and Safe Racing

David




Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Mega Maniac at the Indy Nationals

It was last minute, and totally unplanned.

But I told you that came about in the last entry, so no more to say about that.

Considering that racing was not high, or even located on my to-do list, the trailer had been mostly unloaded, of tools, spares, etc. The only tools we had were inside of  a 10" X 10" cardboard box containing a few miscellaneous tools that Keith had brought.

There were a total of about 140 or more cars there. Only the top 128 would go into the eliminations. We ran a 9.96 and were 17 out of the 128. Not bad for a car whose engine hasn't been apart in nearly a year. And in all honesty, we could have run faster.

In fact, the motor is still sealed from our record run last year in Las Vegas. So we were hoping that we wouldn't need to tear down. We could do it, but we didn't have spare gaskets, and would have needed to borrow tools.

But fortunately/unfortunately, the track conditions saved us from a tear down. We were clearly running well enough to get second place in Class, but the bald spots on the poorly prepared track caused us to spin the tires (happened only twice before in the car's long history) and we lost the race and were eliminated in class.

On Friday, when eliminations got under way, we drew Jeff Taylor again. And Jeff always seems to really hit the tree hard when we run against him. He knows that we are no pushover, and that he had better play his "A" game. Keith had a .009 reaction time. (Pretty sporty when .030 is about the average for all racers. But, wouldn't you know it? Jeff had a perfect .000 light. So we went out in the first round. Oh Well. At least we got to race. And once again, neither the driver nor the car were an embarrassment.

Here is a video of our 9.96 run, which came in the first round of Class, which also was the last round of qualifying. This run, although impressive, was done running less than a 1/4 mile at full throttle. I wont say where on the track the brakes went on, but it was before the finish line.

 


 The car is still for sale. It is still capable of winning, and it will be sad to see it go. But it is time. Both Chris and I knew that a time would come when it would be sold, and that was OK with both of  us.  It would cost a lot more and take a great deal of time to build a car capable of what this car is capable of doing. $85,900 is a very fair price for this car.
 
See you at the Sports Nationals in Columbus at the end of the month. Cash, or  a Cashiers Check will allow you to take this gem home with you.
 
Next post will include some comments about the nature and character of most Drag Pak owners.
 
God Bless, and Safe Racing!
 
David
 
 
 

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Mega Maniac goes out to play...

A fellow Drag Pak owner needed some help. He thought that the electronics in his car were faulty and asked to borrow the ECU from the Mega Maniac.

I was trying to figure out the most efficient way to get the ECU to him at the Nationals in Indianapolis. I called Keith since he lives about half way there, and thought that if I drove down, and gave him he box, it would be in good/safe hands, and Dennis would get it right away.

Keith was already in Indianapolis. Oh well, I hate to trust Fed Ex with something that cant be replaced, but was preparing to do just that, when Keith called me back and told me the day in Indy was lost since it was raining. He and I had talked about getting the Mega maniac out for a race later in September. But he suggested that since the day was lost, he might as well come up and get the car and race it at Indy, That way Dennis could check out his electronics, and the car could get some exercise.

So, on Monday afternoon, Keith picked up the car and went back to Indy. I got up early on Tuesday and drove to Indy.

We checked out the electronics on Dennis' car, and they were OK. After replacing his with mine, there was no difference. So trouble shooting was the order of the the day. After a lot of possibilities, Keith suggested examining the fuel filters to see if there is some issue with the fuel.

The symptom was that the car start out running fairly well when fuel injectors were changed, but get progressively worse running very rich.

When the filters were examined, they were packed with crap, apparently from the foam that comes in the fuel cell to prevent the fuel from sloshing around. We had removed outs a long time ago, because Keith said that they tend to break down. Well, it appears that is what happened to Dennis' car.

The fuel was drained, the foam removed, and the plugs and injectors pulled. The plugs were crusted black with unburned fuel. Too much fuel was being dumped into the cylinders because the injectors were being jammed open with junk form the foam in the fuel cell.

The filters were replaced, and another filter was inserted into the line. The lines were flushed again, new fuel in, and the car started fine.

So, for you Challenger  Drag Pak owners who still have foam in your fuel cells, you are playing with fire. It might be a good idea to take it out.

And while I see no disadvantage to taking it out, I do see an advantage. When you wish to see how much fuel you have in the tank, you just need to look. You don't have have to guess what is hiding in the foam.

More tomorrow on our runs at Indy.

God Bless, and Race Safely
David

Thursday, July 19, 2012

MegaManiac now for Sale!

The Mega Maniac is now for sale!

After having it listed on classracer.com, and racingjunk.com for several months, I decided to take a shot at eBay.

I am not sure about the response I will get, and don't really expect that teh car will sell there, as ebay isn't what it used to be.

But, it is worth a try. If not sold here, I will take it to Mecum.

Don't give up on New Hemi Racing yet! As long as I own the car, you cant tell what might happen.

I am putting a new engine in the pickup truck that we used to haul the trailer with. And I am renewing my competition license in the NHRA, and have already checked with the IHRA and liked what I heard there.

But if someone wants to pay my price of $80,000, then I guess I will retire.

But I am putting together a 5.7 Hemi to stick into the 1968 Lemans convertible I have owned for about five years.

God Bless and Race Safely, my friends.

David
The New Hemi Guy

Monday, May 21, 2012

Norwalk Points race

The car arrived in Norwalk on Thursday. With qualifying on Friday and round one of Stock  Eliminations on Saturday.


The hood hasn't been off of the car since last year. But as usual, it ran like a monster.

We were #2 in qualifying, and the only non-mustang in the top six low qualifiers.

On Saturday, we won our first round of eliminations. And on Sunday, we lost our race in round two of eliminations when the car ran faster than we thought it would run, again.

And that was that. The race in Norwalk was over. It was great to see Mike Psutelny, Dennis Breeden, the Downings, and Paul Dilcher again.

But as Norwalk ended, so did the racing for the Mega Maniac. At least it is done for the short term.

The Mega Maniac is temporarily retiring, until the car has a new owner.

That is right!  The car has accomplished everything that Chris and I had schemed and dreamed that it would. And running it without Chris, which was OK while we were chasing his and my mutual goals, now just doesn't seem right any more. And it doesn't help that NHRA has such a problem being fair.

So I am now offering the car for sale.

The car's success could never have been accomplished without the help, knowledge, and talent of racer, engine master builder, and and all around NHRA racing guru, Keith Lynch.

And I wish both him, and his lovely wife Tonya, all of the best in the future. They have been good friends, and we all made a good team together. We will always be friends.

To all of my racing friends and New Hemi Racing Blog fans, I say, thanks for your support, friendship and encouragement.

God Bless, and Race Safely!

David

Monday, May 7, 2012

Indianapolis Points Race

The car hadn't been raced since last year.

And the NHRA doesn't seem to be in any hurry to do the right thing. So we are still rated with more horsepower than is fair and honest.

We run legally, and get horsepower by going 1.20 under, and we get torn down. Fair enough. We are proven legal by the tear down.

Another Drag Pak with 5.7 engine runs, gets horsepower on numerous occasions, at least three and is never torn down until he attempts to go for a record. Then he is found to have been illegal all along, by his own admission. His defense to the illegal pistons, was were the original pistons, that they have been in his car all along. What a joke. Whether or not he knew he was running illegal pistons, is your call.

Whether or not he really knew, is not the point. Some people are insecure enough to seek any edge, legal, or not. And I really don't care if he knew.

The point is, that he was running an illegal engine. He got caught. Some would say that the fact that he got caught, just proves that "the system" works.

I say that it is nearly totally dysfunctional, and "the system" is applied unfairly, inconsistently, and arbitrarily.

And when they have a chance to correct a mistake, they don't even give you courtesy of a response.

But that is the reason why I haven't been running the car.

Due to some plans that changed, Keith took the car to run at Indy. Personally, I love Indy. I am not sure why, but it is a very comfortable track for me. I have a lot of good memories of racing, and being broken in Indy. But as I said a change of plans occurred, and I was not able to make the race this time in Indy.

I watched the results very closely, and was afraid that there was some kind of problem with car, possibiy due to the inaction over the past few months.


When the final qualifying times from Indy were posted, things looked a lot better.

And after we won the first round of eliminations. I was all the more encouraged.

Then we ran against a slower car, that had a very strong reaction time, and put together a great overall package to win. I talked to Keith as he was driving back form Indy, and gave it a good go. But you cant win them all.

A good friend, Dennis Breeden managed to wheel his Drag Pak to the Stock Eliminator win.

Congratulations Dennis!

Not sure when we will run again. It really depends on the NHRA, and whether they really believe in fairness, or not.

God Bless, and Race Safely!

David




Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The story to be told......

I just left Chris' Mother, after she called and asked for some things for Max's school project.

Max is Chris' youngest son, a 2nd grader who has a school project.

The project he chose; was his Dad, and the race car.

So he needs pictures, and whatever.... No problem.....

I was up until 2:00 AM sorting through the volumes of photographs, and other "stuff".  I put over 150 photographs of Chris when we were building the car ( I have thousands, but not all have Chris in them), onto the DVD, along with numerous videos.

I also gave him a Wally from the first race we won. (Someday he will get them all) And I had a plaque with a picture of the car on it's maiden voyage, that I also gave him.  I gave him a Class Finalist Sticker from Las Vegas, and threw in some other things..

So now, I am curious to hear the story as he sees it, and tells it.

I am gratified to know that Chris will not be forgotten. He was an incredibly gifted, and unique individual. And I know that his sons, and daughter will never allow him to be forgotten.

I am now, more than ever, committed to finishing the book about our ventures with the car. I don't care if nobody else ever reads it, but his children will know every thought, every decision, every strategy, and everything that went into the car. And they will know the part that their Dad, along with his Dad, played in building that car.

God Bless and Race Safely

David

Monday, March 5, 2012

Hello again friends

I would like to personally thank all of those who have been so supportive and kind throughout the whole New Hemi Racing saga.

No, we are not done yet. The end will come some day, but for now we are simply on a bit of a sabbatical.

My health is as good as it has been. No worries there.

Right now I am dealing with what I see as an incredibly unfair action by the NHRA.

First of all I will explain that when a car runs too fast, typically 1.20 seconds or more under their assigned index, the NHRA automatically increases the rated horsepower for your car. This generally results in you needed to add weight to compensate for the increase in horsepower, which usually slows you down.

Prior to the end of last year, we were told, by someone who has a hand in these things, that we would NOT get horsepower at the end of the year, if we didn't run 1.20 under, which is an automatic trigger for horsepower. We were told that "they" knew that we were running fast, and being pretty honest about it. So they would take care of us. And we didn't run 1.20 under. We ever garnered a National Record for A/SA, and the National Class Performer Win for Stock/Automatic, and still did not run 1.20 under.

But guess what at year end? We got horsepower, in spite of what we had previously been told.

If I had know that we would be getting more horsepower, I would have petitioned the NHRA earlier for a reduction in horsepower for our combination, due to at least 2, and more likely 3, horsepower hits we took due to runs made by a car with an illegal engine. The illegality was identified when that car was torn down, and he admitted that he had always run that way.

So how is this fair? After I learned that we did horsepower, I wrote a letter to NHRA to the group responsible for the horsepower, and asked that the horsepower for those illegal runs be lifted. But since it was after the end of the year, it was too late. Therefore my request, in spite of the unfairness of the additional horsepower,  would not be considered until the next cycle of change in six months.

Not at all fair, and I am really wondering if the NHRA cares about fair.

We are waiting to get a resolution on this issue. Until then, whether or not we even race again in the NHRA, is an open question.

But once again my friends, I appreciate you support, and prayers.

God Bless, and Safe Racing.

David

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Today... As Chris would would said, It was like Herding Cats...

Today was an interesting day.
Chris' oldest son David was with me, and we went to see Chris' younger son Max play basketball in a local Church league.

Max is now eight years old, and is an aggressive (in a good way) and competetive little guy.

His little sister Bella, now 6 1/2 is a cheerleader for Max's team, so it was like a double header.

At one time, there two short basket ball courts with two opposing teams competing on each. Additionally the stands were full on both sides, and the cheerleaders were cheering.

Max and Belle actually got the Church after David and I had arrived, and she informed her mother that Grandpa is here, there is his car.   She knows my Hemi Orange Challenger and often to refers to me as Grandpa with the car.

Well, when the courts were filled with kids with absolutely no basketball skills, and the crowds were cheering, and little brothers and little sisters running amuck around the court and in the stands...

I loved Max's energy and competiveness, he actually scored twice. And Bella was terrific as she waved the Pom Poms and jumped and cheered....

But the whole experience, which Chris would have loved to see, because he loved his kids so much, would have quickly been labled by him, as Herding Cats...... a term he often used when the kids being ........kids.

David and I are spending the evening playing around wth the same computers, that Chris and I played around with back in the late 70s, a old S100 computer called an IMSAI, with a Lear Seigler ADM - 3A connected to it.   And just like when Chris was young, and I was younger, it is not at all without adventure...

I just wanted to share that picture with you, and my son would have used to characterize the situation...and I always enjoyed his colorful descriptions of situations...maybe because he got a lot of that from me.

It is new year.. and who knows what it holds?

But I thank God for life, and for time with my grandchildren. And today was a particularly rich experience.

Good Bless, and Race Safely

David