A Tempest, A Trans Am, And A GTO Stampede the Traps At NorwalkLast month, HPP brought you the exciting details about our Pavement Pounders Shootout at the Ames Performance Pontiac Tri-Power Nationals. The event allows select drag racers from across the country to have private use of the NHRA-sanctioned Summit Motorsports Park for the day, test the engines they've been working on all winter, share tips with fellow racers, and compete in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
This month, we put three classic Pontiacs against each other. Each runs an iron block engine, an automatic transmission, and no power adders. Let's get right to the action.
Ken Burmeister
Ken Burmeister of Mokena, Illinois, nurtures his need for speed with his '66 Tempest. It features a 455/468ci engine, No. 48 heads, a Turbo 400 trans, and 3.73 rear gears.
Mike Plymale
Mike Plymale of McHenry, Illinois, got his first kiss in a '75 Trans Am so now he brings one to the track for a little hanky-panky. It's equipped with a '73 455 motor, a Turbo 350 trans, and 3.90 gears.
Bill Dietrich
Bill Dietrich of Prosperity, Pennsylvania, has spent most of his adult life with one car, his '68 GTO. It's powered by a 400/412ci engine, a Turbo 350 trans, and a 4.33-geared rear.
Weather Report
The temperature at Summit Motorsports Park was 70.6 degrees at 10:30 a.m. and peaked at 76.1 degrees at our midafternoon reading. Barometric pressure was 28.63 hg and the dew point was 63.9 degrees. The track is 853 feet above sea level and density altitude was calculated at about 2,500 feet, so we will use a factor of 0.9705 for e.t. and 1.0311 for mph to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level. This will be done on the best pass only, based on e.t.