No matter how many times we head West, as Easterners, it is still a surreal treat to visit Southern California. From the vintage rust-free cars still roaming the streets to the palm trees and Spanish architecture, it is so different from what we are used to back East (except for contributor Troy Avent who grew up there).
Of course, the biggest draw is that it is actually possible to drag race in the winter months. So between the floods and landslides of early 2005, we were blessed with a patch of perfect weather in late January, and the HPP staff headed out to legendary LA County Raceway in the high desert for a Pavement Pounders Shootout, SoCal style.
The idea for this shootout was first presented to HPP by Dave Anderson of Pontiac Drag Days. Coordinating the event remotely would have been difficult without his assistance in the selection process and getting information to us. He also helped us manage nearly two dozen participants who are members of the Southern California Gathering of Goats and who participate in Pontiac Drag Days competition. As a result, this event, which was the largest shootout to date and was run while the track was open to the public for the first time, was also one of the smoothest. Now let's meet the participants.
Our first round of racers included the 455-powered '74 Trans Am of Alan Mandella. Would this ride remain a model of consistency for this event? Dan Lazzaro's '98 Trans Am is a mildly modified LS1 car and was the lone Fourth-Gen representative for this installment. Could 12- second e.t.'s be possible for this F-body with LACR's altitude? Steve Bonaparte's '68 Firebird packs a poked and stroked 400 that now displaces 462 cubes--low-10-second timeslips are a real possibility. Marc Bechtold's '66 GTO also features a 400 with an overbore and stroker crank to displace 467 cubes and may be mid-10s capable. Craig Cyr's '00 GTP illustrates how some seemingly mild mods can wake up the supercharged 3.8L six. Would low-13-second passes be the result? Last, but certainly not least--unless, of course, you are referring to e.t.'s--is Dennis "D-Mac" MacDonald and his 9-second '62 Catalina running a 474-cubed engine on alcohol at 14.6:1 compression. See if D-Mac and the rest of the racers are on their game for this first installment of HPP's Pontiac Pavement Pounder's Shootout from sunny Southern California.
At The Track
Even though the idea of drag racing in January seemed so foreign to those of us who live in the Northeast, the weather really could not be improved upon for racing in any climate. The sun was out, the clouds were nonexistent, and the temperature was in the mid to high 60s, climbing into the low 70s. A combination of barometric pressure and actual elevation, gave us an equivalent altitude of 2,700 feet, which was excellent for this facility. Correction factors were 0.9679 for e.t. and 1.0337 for the trap speed. The track surface at LACR seemed to work quite well for our competitors for most of the day, and one could hardly find fault with the air and bite. [Editor's note: Since corrected quarter-mile e.t.'s and mph are seemingly always up for debate--especially with late-model, computer-controlled cars and forced-induction cars--we have provided both actual e.t. and mph figures, and corrected e.t. and mph figures in the Strip Tuning Logs.]
Alan Mandella
It seemed Alan was on his game the entire day, as his '74 T/A displayed "instant replay-like" consistency, with only 0.03 second separating the slowest and the quickest runs. He was hooking up and running straight. Trap speeds were also on the money, with only 0.334 mph separating the slowest and fastest runs. His best run of the day was a 13.31 at 102.65, which would correct to a 12.88 at 106.11 mph. With that level of repeat-ability, this is not the car you want to meet up with in the finals. Alan says that whatever changes he made, the car stayed "consistent, consistent, consistent."
Dan Lazzaro
Running in the Pontiac Drag Days series has helped Dan finely tune both his '98 T/A and his driving skills. "The car reacted the same as always, as I race here once a month," he says. Carrying Third gear through the traps at 5,400 rpm, the Trans Am was running in the 105-mph range, with a best of 12.79 at 105.26, which corrects to a 12.37 at 108.80. Like Alan Mandella, Dan's Trans Am was consistent, varying only 0.05 second and 0.3 mph. When it comes to bracket racing, practice does make perfect.
Steve Bonaparte
Steve also made good use of the prime weather and track conditions-- his '68 Firebird was hooking well, as he notes there was a lot of fresh rubber laid down on the line. He says that without the pressure to keep surviving rounds of race action, he was able to relax a bit and have some fun with his car and bring out the "showman" in him. His relaxed nature also helped him nail some impressive reaction times. Steve ran through the traps in Third gear at 7,000 rpm and only 0.1 second and 1 mph separated his slowest and quickest runs. His best run of 10.37 at 130.11 corrected to a 10.04 at 134.50.
Marc Bechtold
Marc used his shootout runs as a chance to test and tune his '66 GTO with a bit more latitude than he normally has. This was an especially good opportunity, given the air quality and track conditions at Palmdale that day. He reported that his car was hooking up nicely with no pulling or slick spots. By altering his launch and shift rpm, he was able to arrive at the optimum combination, which was to leave at 4,000 and shift at 6,000. That day, his best e.t. of 10.91 and trap speed of 122.29 were in different runs, but they were so close, they were almost identical. If those numbers were in the same run, they would have corrected to a 10.56 at 126.41.
Craig Cyr
Like Marc, Craig also stated that the track was sticky, with no pulling or slick spots. This is especially important with a front-driver, as upon acceleration, the car's weight shifts off the drive wheels. Still, traction aids can make a huge difference with a grip-challenged front-driver. With Hoosier slicks, his 60-foot times were in the 1.86-1.93 range, enough bite to put Craig's '00 GTP well into the 12s. Speaking of 12s, his corrected times in four of his five runs dipped into the 12-second range, meaning his little V-6 is making power an LS1 would be proud of.
Dennis "D-Mac" MacDonald
D-Mac and his fluorescent Catalina were definitely the heavy hitters of the bunch, and they certainly lived up to their reputation. Dennis was trying to make the most of the good air and traction, clicking off some mid-1.30 60-foot times. He began having some fuel-system problems in the third run that threw off his time signifi- cantly, which was too bad, as he had his highest eighth-mile trap speed in the aborted run. He continued to have fuel problems along with some traction issues in his fourth and final run. Still, those first two runs were solid, with a corrected best of 9.25 at 145.55. Not bad for a full-sized doorslammer!
Conclusion
Our trip to California was a winner on all counts. With the opportunity to hook up with so many old friends we had not seen in a long time, the great weather, and the chance to hold a shootout when a huge blizzard was taking place back home, we felt like this was the perfect way to kick off the '05 season. We would like to thank Dave Anderson and Pontiac Drag Days, as well as LACR owner Bernie Littlejohn for their help making this shootout happen. Stay tuned for more shootouts from Palmdale in upcoming issues.