Finally decided if i can get off work i'm going to the high school drags here at bandimere. Hoping it'll run fast but i live about an hour away from the track and i'm afraid shes going to run hot. I'm also having problems with the rear end so hopefully she wont decide to puke all over the track. I expect times under 14's with the conditions but you never know. Anyone ever ran at Bandimere in denver? Tricks? Tips? I've read tons of articles on rollout and **** like that and my dad used to run an NHRA pro stock nova but i'm so nervous i'm going to screw up and make an *** outta myself. The best tip i've gotten so far is from a guy running a 2nd gen Z28 thats ran a best of 9.60 1/4 he lives down the street from me and he said just dont think about anything other than the lights. I think this sounds easier than it looks considering the amoun tof people that show up for these.

I've also been told i have an EXTREMELY good chance at the db drags contest(loudest stereo). I'll keep ya posted on what she runs my girls going to be there taking tons of pics of me runnin so...

 

Ignore whoever is beside you and run your own race. You don't care what he's doing until the last couple of hundred feet.

Concentrate on the timing lights. When you see the last yellow come on, go. If you wait for the green, you'll be too slow.

The only real thing to remember is to just go out and have fun. Since it's a bracket race, speed means nothing. Just because someone else has a faster car, doesn't make then a better racer.

 

I was told last year a minivan ended up taking the wins not because of it's speed but because it was consistant. That was the other thing i forgot was the last yellow thing. If i'm happy with the way she runs i'll run her with the rest of my team at club clash 4 days later

 

Bandimere is my home track. Whatever you think your car will run, multiply the time by 1.078 and you'll be a lot less disappointed when you get your timeslip (e.g., a 14.00 "normal" time at sea level becomes 15.09 because of the elevation).

TPI cars (and most any car, for that matter), benefit from being cooled down after being driven there. They have a cool-down rack at the far end of the track along the return road where you can hose the engine down (or just radiator if you like). Be aware that it is untreated well water, with a lot of minerals in it. A lot of TPI guys take ice with them and ice down the plenum before every run.

Take a good tire pressure gage with you. Run the same tire pressure every run - I check both front and rear in the staging lanes. There is an air hose available at the fuel store, right by the shack where you get your time slip, where you can add a little when you get there or after a run, then let it back down to the right pressure in the staging lanes. Most people put a little more than "normal" in the front tires, and a little less in the rear (say you normally run 35 psi, use 40 in the front and 30 in the rear).

I don't look at any of the lights but the last yellow - ignore the first two. When it lights, I let it go.

If you can swing it, go Wednesday evening for "Test & Tune". You'll get an idea what to do, get some practice runs in, etc. Costs $30.

 

My little bit of advice. When you stage and the lights start coming down, breath out and hold it out. It'll give you a little better concentration control. You look like an idiot, but I can knock off quite a few .005 to .010 times here at Cecil (it has a .000 clock instead of .500)

 

Yea i was planning on icing down the intake tube and the plenum runners when i got there. I doubt i'll hose the whole engine off though. Since my dad did have a prostock car we still have the trailer for it so i'm trying to talk him into letting me take his suburban and just trailer it up there that way it won't be so hot. Chances are thats not going to happen.

 

Bandimere is using the .000 perfect reaction time this year, as well as LED yellows on the tree (see my previous post about that).

 

IMHO, driving to the track is SOOOoooo much better (for the braggin' rights). Something about backing a car off the trailer, then running 16's that just isn't.

Hosing the radiator off when you first get there is a good idea, even if you don't after that.

If you go to T&T, you will need to get your car tech inspected. For an additional $15, they'll give you a sticker that allows you to skip the tech for the rest of the season (still need to fill in a card each time, sign the waiver, and get a wrist band, but at least you don't have to wait for tech). There are days, and HSD's will probably be one of them, when waiting in tech for all the people who haven't tech'd before (or haven't paid the ransom) will represent a significant amount of wasted time.