AT THE TRACK
It was warm and muggy in Virginia with temps hovering at 95 degrees and the barometer at 30.05 hg. The good news is that thanks to the high barometer, effective altitude was 120 feet below sea level (if you choose to believe my Casio watch). If the cars could maintain their cool in this heat, there could be some outstanding performances. As you will see, opinions on track conditions were mixed as always, despite the efforts of the dedicated VMP crew.
Jeff Raff
Jeff dialed in his '64 GTO mostly with jet changes. Late in the day, he removed the mufflers and accidentally tried a Second-gear launch. Then he launched in First gear without mufflers for his final run and broke into the 9s, posting a 9.97 at 133.45. Jeff said the track surface was "a little slippery due to the heat. The car was a little off, but not too far for 95-degree weather."
Marc Silva
Marc took advantage of his shootout passes to dial in a new pair of Hoosier radial slicks by adjusting tire pressure and launch rpm. Tire pressure increases and the removal of the bullet mufflers netted Marc a best-ever 10.35 at 127.73 on his third pass despite hitting the rev limiter in the traps. He said the track conditions were "very good," and his '67 GTO had no issues during the day. He also enjoyed the "relaxed atmosphere and the chance to tune extensively."
Doug Chell
Doug reported traction issues for the better part of the day. He simply stated, "I could not hook up." He described the track as "slippery in the afternoon." With the traction woes and his '68 Firebird pulling left on launch, Doug's best run of the day came on the fourth pass with a 10.37 at 128.87.
Jeff Allen
According to Jeff, his '73 Firebird "hooked good and went straight," and he described the track conditions as "good." As you can see by his tuning log, Jeff was dialing in the carb mostly, but he also experimented with launch rpm. All his tinkering paid off on the last pass of the day when his Bird went 11.03 at 119.67 and posted his best 60-foot of the day with a 1.49.
John Muntean
"The car was flawless all day," John says about his '72 GTO. "It hooked great, and the track prep was great!" His best pass was his third, which came when the engine spit out its power steering belt. Posting a 12.35 at 108.15, John may want to consider leaving that belt off whenever he goes racing--as long as he has the arm strength for it.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, our first-ever shootout at VMP was a success, and there will be more installments in future issues. Great people, great Pontiacs, a first-class race facility, and lots of pizza made it all happen. Stay tuned to HPP for the next installment of the VMP shootouts.
Special thanks to Jim Zeek, Jamie Zeek, and the VMP staff for their help in organizing and executing this event.