At the track
HPP's first shootout in the Mountain State took place under cloudy skies and heavy humidity. The temperature at Kanawha Valley Dragway rose from 64* to a high of 73* in the afternoon, and the humidity, which sat in the 90s during much of the morning, finally dropped to a more reasonable 80 percent or so during the course of the day. Only the slightest of breezes, just 3 miles per hour, was registered that Sunday. Save the humidity, it was a beautiful day to be racing, and Kanawha Valley's crew made sure that its 1/8-mile track was up to the challenge. With the sticky track prepped, our entrants pulled through the waterbox, did their burnouts, and unleashed some of the most wicked wheelstands that we've ever seen. We took the liberty of converting these smokin' 1/8-mile times to a 1/4-mile estimate, using an averaged NHRA formula of 1.555.
Jim & Dave Hillard
Dave Hillard did most of the driving on July 14, and he was pleased with the way the starting line grabbed the big Goat. "The car wanted to drift past the 60-foot mark, but traction was good," Dave said. He went to the line with the slicks holding 18 pounds of air, which he dropped down to 16 psi later on. Dave left near two grand, with the Turbo 400 kicking it up a gear at 6000. Changing the 462's spark plugs provided a negligible gain, but it was when he changed back to #7 Rapidfire plugs from Delco that he recorded the best run of the day: a 6.66 at 101 mph. Jim's two trips, runs 3 and 6, were within a tenth or two of his son's, but the smaller burnouts added wheelspin to the elder Hillard's obstacles of overcoming his son's ET.
Tim Wade
Tim's lightweight Bird had no trouble scooting off the line with 7.5 lbs. of air in the slicks, even with a torquey 406 leaving off the trans brake. Wade entertained the idea of a Dominator for the first run, but he quickly changed his mind. "That 1050 Dominator was just too much carb for my combo," he laughed. When he swapped the 750 Holley back on, he immediately saw two tenths, 3 miles per hour, and the best run of the day--a 6.84 at 98 miles an hour after leaving at 3600 and shifting at 5800. Dropping the tire pressure to 7 lbs. and experimenting with launch rpm proved fruitless, but Tim stayed consistent all day, never turning an 1/8-mile a tenth apart.
Allan Sandy
Allan's 462 was hamstrung in one crucial aspect: a street-type converter wasn't getting the 1970 GTO off the line like a high-stall unit could have. "I think my Pontiac launched pretty well for my combo, but I needed more converter," Sandy lamented. With airbags in the rear springs set to 5 pounds in the left, 15 pounds in the right, Sandy was content to launch his Goat at 850 rpm and shift it at 5700. It ran straight and true, and his first run with 32* of timing produced the best time of the day, an 8.13 at 85 miles an hour. Unfortunately, his motor began breaking up over 5000 rpm on the subsequent runs, and not only did he not get the problem fixed (it turned out to be a worn-out bushing in the factory distributor), he wasn't able to better that time.
Vance Heck
Vance's hard-launching Catalina was hampered by a lack of traction on this day. But let's face the facts here--how much traction can you expect from a low, low 10-second car after the rain stopped? "My new clutch slipped when I shifted the 470, my shifter popped out of gear a couple of times, and things were getting a little squirrelly on the top end," Vance reported. But he still sidestepped the clutch at 5500 and pointed the nose skyward on every run, getting out of the gas only when the big Cat was about to swipe a wall. That's entertainment, folks. Vance's third run had him shifting at 6700, flying through the traps at 6200, and recording a stout 6.58 at nearly 104 mph. His only beef about the HPP shootout was that we didn't have any Hooters girls present. For the show that this guy put on, supplying a couple of wing-serving hotties would have been the least we could've done!
Johnny Duncan and Tom Beasley
Mr. Duncan's Firebird was as dependable as an old Bonneville, except for a slick and jet change (to Goodyears at 10 psi and #74s, respectively). Driver Tom Beasley took the Bird about its business more normally than a Pontiac this fast should have. The '95 Firebird left at 3800, shifted at 6400, and flew absolutely straight through the traps at 6800 rpm. "It ran very well, we're pretty happy," Tom reported. Tom's best run was his first, with a 1.40 60-foot time translating into a 6.66 ET at 101 miles an hour. The other four runs would be within a few hundredths, but that evil 6.66 was the best for this bad Pontiac.
Conclusion
In what is becoming a pattern, the lucky dogs of HPP dodged another weather bullet in getting this shootout off. And to add icing to that important cake: the track was smooth and well prepped, Peggy Cowen fed us to our heart's content over the noon hour, and the Pontiacs ran like gangbusters. With mountainous scenery that couldn't be beat and friendly people who loved Pontiacs, we thoroughly enjoyed our initial venture into West Virginia, a land of misty mountains, beautiful scenery ... and fast Pontiacs. Our thanks to the Almost Heaven POCI club, Peggy Cowen, and Tim Bell and Ray Lewis for a first-class event. See what happens in Part II of the Mountain State Mayhem when a few more Pontiacs come out to play at Kanawha Valley.