Last year, HPP published a comprehensive Pure Stock Shootout series in multiple issues. Completing the event was an arduous task because it rained out three times before we finally got a dry race day. With a change of venue to Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, our Pure Stock Shootout ultimately came to fruition under sunny skies on a warm mid-September day, which happened to be the day before the Pure Stock Drags.
Noel Drach of Canal Fulton, Ohio, participating with his '68 GTO and the factory 360-horse 400 H.O., backed by a four-speed and 3.73s, performed well despite the fact that it had weight-adding A/C and power windows. When all was said and done, we had the photos and the performance figures, but we didn't have the details on the GTO, or Noel for that matter. He moved shortly after the Shootout but before the stories ran, so we couldn't find him for quite a while. Happily, word finally reached him that we were looking for him and he contacted us. The result is the one-man Shootout you're about to read.
Weather Report
The temperature range was 55 to 71 degrees, barometric pressure read 30.01 hg, and humidity was 41 to 100 percent. Thanks to a 1,599-foot density altitude figure, a factor of 0.9822 for e.t. and 1.0185 for mph is employed to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level. This is done for the best pass based on e.t.
| STRIP TUNING LOG |
| Run/Tuning | Launch RPM | Shift Pt. | 60-ft. | 1/8-mile | 1/4-mile |
| 2. Off the trailer | 1,500 | 5,700 | 2.30 | 9.27/79.86 | 14.22/100.98 |
| 3. Increased tires | 1,500 | 5,700 | 2.30 | 9.10/80.51 | 13.91/103.55 |
| to 42 psi, reset |
| dwell to 30-deg |
| 4. Flipped air- | 1,700 | 5,800 | 2.22 | 8.88/81.76 | 13.67/103.90 |
| cleaner lid |
| 5. Fresh plugs | 1,800 | 5,900 | 2.16 | 8.26/82.12 | 13.51/104.20 |
| BEST PASS CORRECTED | | | | | 13.26/106.12 |
Four most important passes are listed.
Run Notes: 2) Missed shift, 4) Broke loose on powershift to Second gear
Owner Bio: Noel Drach
Noel, a 39-year-old director of environmental services says of his '68 GTO, "The price was right at $3,500 back in 1986. I bought it because most of my friends had Mustangs and Camaros. I drove it daily through high school and college." Though he owned many other muscle Pontiacs--including a '66 Tri-Power GTO, a '67 Firebird, a '70 GTO, a '71 Grand Prix SSJ, and a '70 T/A--this '68 is the one Noel has kept all these years. "My kids love it when my wife, Kristin, drives it and rips through the gears," he says.
At The Track
Noel Drach
Noel concentrated on maximizing performance with the available traction. He increased launch and shift rpm, both of which paid off on the final pass. Run 5 netted a best-of-the-day 13.51 at 104.20 on a 2.16 short time. Despite the strong performance, Noel says that the GTO was not pulling like it should on the top end. It had run a best of 13.36 at 106.2 mph previously. Of the event, Noel says, "It was great" in spite of the "slippery" track surface.
Conclusion
Noel told HPP that his GTO isn't optimized for Pure Stock racing. Instead, it serves double-duty as a Pure Stock racer and weekend cruiser that, he says, can be driven anywhere. "My kids call it the ice cream car because we usually take it for those types of special occasions," he recalls. This Solar Red Goat looks factory stock, runs low 13s on bias-ply tires, cruises effortlessly in air-conditioned comfort, and gets the ice cream--quite versatile. Perhaps, that's why Noel has kept it for so long.
HPP would like to thank the management and crew at Mid-Michigan Motorplex for their assistance in making this Shootout possible.