At The Track
Truman Fields
Truman said he was very pleased with how the HPP and YearOne staff treated the racers. He described the track prep as "typical of a Friday night test-and-tune or street-bracket race," and felt that it "needed better prep for high-horsepower cars." Of his '68's performance, "the car hooked well initially in the right lane but spun two turns when we ran in the left," he said. He ran M/T radial slicks early on, which had an 89-in circumference. Later, he switched to bias-ply M/T slicks with a 92-in circumference for the third and fourth runs, but then went back to the M/T radials for the final pass, which was his best. The '68 posted an 11.54 at 115.03 on a 1.58 60-foot. Also of note, Truman employs varied heat-range spark plugs in different cylinders to provide a performance advantage for his combo.
Donald Babb II
"My car hooked very well and didn't spin at all!" Donald told HPP regarding his '65 GTO. "I know other cars were having trouble hooking up, but mine didn't. It was my first time racing this car on a quarter-mile track so I was also happy to learn how it reacted to the longer race." Donald adjusted tire pressures, changed the front shocks on the sixth pass, and opened up the exhaust for the last pass, all the while dialing in launch rpm. Ultimately, uncapping the exhaust did the trick as the GTO ran 12.60 at 107.13 on a 1.81 60-foot. He said the car pulled better on the top-end, which is revealed in the fact that the 1.81 was not his best 60-foot of the day, having run a 1.79 on his third pass that netted a 12.63 at a slower 106.14 mph. Donald said what he enjoyed most about the event was that "everyone was friendly, helping each other when needed."
Mike Trice
Mike slowed his '64 Tempest to run 11.50 to meet the track rules because he would have had to install a rollbar otherwise. The car usually runs very low 11s. Despite the heat and the fact that he says his Tempest "never hooked all day," Mike was running just about dead-on the rule-imposed goal. His best pass of the day was 11.50 at 117.35 on a soft 1.67 60-foot. Mike said the shootout was "the opportunity of a gearhead's lifetime," and that he really enjoyed himself. His only suggestion for improvement would be to run later in the day when it was a bit cooler.
Rick Sulo
"Slick!" is how Rick described the track conditions. "My '67 LeMans did not hook very well. There was a slick spot about 30 feet out." Rick adjusted tire pressure for each of his four passes and even backed off the timing for the third pass, but he spun on all of them. The best effort of the day was a 12.05 e.t. at 112.37 on the second pass with a 1.85 60-foot and 16 psi in the rear tires. While we're sure that Rick would have wished for better traction and less heat and humidity, he still said that overall the event was "very good" and "everything was well-organized throughout."
Conclusion
Truman Fields and his '68 Bird made us realize that dedication and the will to win are ageless in this hobby. After all these years, his Ram Air racer is not only still competitive in the NHRA and IHRA ranks but is a record setter.
Donald Babb II proved that you can still drive a '65 GTO to work everyday and run 12s at the strip. While many have packed away their Goats, relegating them to show duty and some summer cruises, Donald has said fair market-value and pump-gas prices be damned and has enjoyed his Pontiac.
Mike Trice's Tempest represents the pure definition of a sleeper, though it may be a bit too clean--that is, until you pop the hood. You realize that you were suckered in by the 326 fender emblems when those 2x4s on the Offy intake are revealed. His next logical step is to install the required rollbar so that the combo can run to its full potential, but Mike said it will ruin the sleeper theme. Such is the quandary of a sleeper Pontiac that runs in organized competition rather than illegally on the street.
Talk about making the most of your graduation gift, Rick Sulo has done just that with his '67 LeMans. Giving a nod to its GTO sibling with a hood only, the LeMans has been a loyal weekend racer for years with no end in sight. Just imagine how dumbfounded some of the competition is in other-make racers when they are forced to see not GTO but LeMans taillights crossing the stripe at the traps ahead of them.
We had a great time swapping stories, shooting photos, and putting on this event with a bunch of dedicated people. Though I had originally planned to complete this shootout series in three installments running five or six cars in each, I have since decided that given the increase in pages and color, four installments with fewer cars in each is better. So stay tuned for the final shootout from Atlanta Dragway in the next issue.
Special thanks to YearOne, DAPA, Randy Allen, George Reeves, Martin Templet, POCI, and Atlanta Dragway for their efforts in ensuring the success of this shootout series.