writer: Thomas A. DeMauro
photographer: Thomas A. DeMauro
SO there we were at Ohio Valley Dragway in Louisville, Kentucky, anxiously awaiting not only the start of the HPP-sponsored Jim Wangers Invitational Race, but also our HPP shootout. The only problems were that you could cut the air with a knife and it was raining on this July morning.
When doing events like this, you really only get one shot at it, so we kept our fingers crossed as the morning wore on. Thankfully, the skies cleared and the race was on by noon after track prep by the very competent Ohio Valley staff.
As you may have guessed, this being a GTOAA event, chances are we would feature GTOs in the shootout; that's exactly what we did with an '04 model, a '70 race car, a '69 street/strip car, and a '66 street car. Despite the name in the grille, these four machines have very different personalities that will be revealed over the course of the Ohio Valley eighth-mile.
Paul Williams' Carrollton, Georgia-based '04 GTO is primarily a race car, according to its owner. A healthy 408ci stroker LS1, a built 4L60E trans, and a 3.91-geared rear provide mid-11-second quarter-mile times. But with a setup more akin to 1,320-foot speed contests, how will the 3,875-pound (race weight) Goat respond to the shorter track?
Danny Estep rolled into Ohio Valley from Royalton, Illinois, with his methanol-sniffing '70 GTO race car. The 2,825-pound (race weight) Goat makes good use of a 12.5:1 compression, 474-cube Pure Pontiac motor with a big roller cam, a Glide, and a 5.00:1-geared 9-inch to post 9.50s in the quarter and 5.90s in the eighth. How will his luck run today on a track that saw plenty of rain prior to the race?
Pete Pulizze's '69 GTO pulls double duty as a street/strip car. With a mild, iron-headed 428, a Turbo 400, and 3.73s, the Spring Grove, Illinois, Goat goes through the traps in 12.5 seconds in the quarter. This is another GTO that has never raced on an eighth-mile track, so we'll see how well it performs.
G. Tom Oxler drove his '66 GTO post coupe to the event all the way from St Louis. It's his only ride home, so breaking it is not an option. Yet, during its previous few times at the track, it did break. Tom is new to drag racing but really wanted to participate with his Goat, which features a 389 that has been poked and stroked to 454 cubes, a stock Tri-power unit, a Muncie M20 trans, and a 3.42 rear. With a previous best of 13.30 in the quarter, he was hoping for low e.t.'s and no scattered drivetrain parts.
Weather Report
The temperature hovered in the low 90s for the day, and humidity dropped from 60 percent at noon to 52 percent by late afternoon. Density altitude ranged from 3,640 to 3,830 feet, so we will use 3,700 feet to factor in sea level for the best pass. For e.t., a factor of 0.9549 will be used, and for trap speed, 1.0479 will be applied.
Because this is an eighth-mile track, we will also provide a quarter-mile equivalent for the best pass of the day for each competitor based upon e.t. But please keep in mind that generally, cars set up to run on quarter-mile tracks will not run as close to their potential on an eighth-mile track as a car that was set up specifically for the eighth-mile.