At The Track
Jody Traylor
Jody simply varied shift points for the first four runs to see what his Bird liked best. Later in the day, he pulled and read the plugs, which revealed a lean condition. After richening the carb with thinner metering rods, the 350 H.O. rewarded him with his best e.t. of the day-13.93, going through the traps at 4,500 rpm at 97.76 mph. The 60-ft time was 2.03, 0.03 off his best. Jody said, "The Shootout was a great experience and the track prep was perfect!"
Mark Weymouth
Despite nursing an ailing clutch, Mark's R/A-IV Judge ran quite well. Varying launch rpm through the day and making one tire pressure change early on resulted in a best pass of 12.48 at 113.95 on a 2.08 short time with the engine turning 6,200 rpm at the traps. On the sixth pass, the clutch expired. Mark said, "I enjoyed the Shootout. I just wish I hadn't lost the clutch. Mid-Michigan is a good facility with a good launch pad. My Judge hooked up well except for the soft 1-2 shift."
Brad Rising
Brad performed a lot of tuning in his five passes. Increasing tire pressure, adjusting the carb linkage to ensure wide-open throttle, and lowering launch rpm all rewarded him with his best pass of the day on the final attempt. His GTO ran a 13.37 at 106.26 on a 2.07 short time, hitting the traps at just under 5,200 rpm. Brad related, "Track conditions were good, I was able to hook up the car well, and temperature was good also. I enjoyed having the time to perform modifications in an unhurried atmosphere, talk over changes with other drivers, and assist them with their changes as well."
Conclusion
What have we learned?Jody Traylor's '68 350 H.O. Firebird convertible brought some much-deserved respect to its relatively small engine. It ran 13s on bias-plys at a whopping 3,900-pound race weight. More weight than a coupe out back and the lower torque of the 350 allowed Jody to launch by mashing his foot into the floor on some passes without tire spin.
Mark Weymouth's '70 R/A-IV GTO is a great example of what Pontiac intended the Ram Air IV package to be. It's the top performer amongst the other Pontiacs and competes on an even keel with the best that the other GM divisions and other automakers had to offer. Sometimes it has to do that with 55 less cubic inches than the guy in the next lane.
Brad Rising's '64 GTO taught us that a mild 067 cam, wire wheel covers and redlines don't always mean boulevard cruiser. When combined with a Tri-Power, a four-speed, 3.90s and judicious tuning, they can mean potent racer too!
HPP would like to thank Mark Weymouth, Dan Jensen, Jody Traylor, and the management and crew of Mid-Michigan Motorplex for their assistance in making this Shootout possible.