rcryniak
Active Member
HOOOLLLLY CRAP!! That was AWWWESOME!!
I can't even begin to describe just how much fun that actually was to race my SHO at my local track. At the track this was at, it's more of a full-on race track with a nice straightaway that was used for the flashlight drags. (See the satellite map of it. The facility was just gorgeous too.) To line back up, you had to go around the track... which was SICK fun. I am absolutely amazed how well our cars perform on a professional track. Not that I had anything to compare it to really, but it was a blast... makes my whole Logitech G27 Racing Wheel PC racing getup seem like the toy that it truly is.
:swing:
Everyone that went there was really super nice, great sportsmanship, I was sincerely impressed with the caliber of folks that were there. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Well worth the $30 entry fee.
I ran a good 15 times (lost count actually.) My first two races were up against a Challenger SRT/8. It was really, really close. Being my first time at the drag strip, I didn't have the brake torqueing launch down yet (yes, I totally should have practiced it) and so I was late off the line both times. Even so, our cars were neck and neck all the way down, with the SRT8 just a shade ahead of me because he got off the line first. It was almost like he was shadowing me a couple feet in front. It was truly a driver's race, and he was the better driver... for now.
The second car I raced was a 2010 SHO. He flagged me down, asked if I was tuned, we talked for a few and as it turns out, he had a Livernois tune, but was trying out a tune from someone else (not Torrie, I can't remember who he said) and I won that one. Barely. It was a pretty close race. (And I was pretty jealous of his red paint... that's such a fantastic color for the SHO.)
Then I got saddled up against a couple different old time drag racers. I'm not entirely sure what kind of cars they were... one could have been old challenger, not sure. But both of them were really decked out, beautiful cars with massive drag radials, gorgeous paint jobs, and presumably huge engines. OMG both those cars were crazy fast! I mean, seriously... I watched a video afterwards, and they seriously made my car actually look slow. It was really, really fun to be a part of that, even though I got seriously spanked.
(me)
Next several cars were all Mustang GTs. One was some kind of specially modified GT, not sure the whole package, but it was decked out with stickers and such. Every one of those guys were real nice... even after I gave them a really good long-distance view of my tail lights. I beat them all by a good couple of car lengths. (One guy had to have been 4 or 5 car lengths... I have NO idea what happened there... I actually felt bad for him.) Honestly, that surprised me. Quite a bit. I figured I'd be pretty closely matched against a Mustang GT 5.0, maybe a little faster. Nope. Not really. It was awesome! I stopped to talk with the other SHO owner, and after I mentioned how surprised I was, the comment was made... "yeah, the best part is... how surprised they were!!"
Seriously, all the drivers were really great... and then they all stopped to ask about my car, what mods were done, was it all-wheel drive, what the size of the engine was, etc. It was pretty fun.
Then I saw a Camaro SS 1LE, flagged him down and we raced. I smoked him... not as bad as the Mustangs (sadly, cuz I love Mustangs quite a bit) but I beat him pretty solidly... I'd say almost a full car length between us. We continued around the track and he pulled up next to me, and started asking questions about my car. Then he said, "cool... hey if you don't mind, I'm just curious... if we let these guys ahead of us really get far ahead, then you try and keep up with me around the turns, ok?" I was like, "Sure!" WOW... that guy could seriously drive. I didn't quite keep up... I was a little terrified wailing around those turns like I was in NASCAR, but terrified in the fun sorta way. Good times, good times. (That totally makes me want to take their PDE racing class offered at the facility.)
I also went up against a WRX... not real eventful. I'm sure they're really fun cars, particularly for rally type events, but the SHO just pwns them in a straight line. The girl driving it was pretty cool though.
One of my last races was against this beautiful vette. I'm not a huge fan of Corvettes, but this one was pretty sweet... a later model with two toned fading paint sort of look... really sharp looking. Anyhow, about halfway through the race I was thinking, "OMG, I'm gonna take this Vette!!" Then... a little over half way, the Vette just caught right up and then blew by me straight across the finish line. hahahahaaha!! :laugh_ti: It was pretty sweet...
Oh, and I took a break about half-way through to go to the bathroom, and was driving through the lot, and I overheard some teenage kid say to one of his buddies, "That S.H.O. is stupid fast." :woo-hoo:
Made me all proud.
Well, I think that's my whole "first track day ever" story. WHEW!!! That was just... Too... MUCH... FUN. :thankyou: I have to do that again.
I can't even begin to describe just how much fun that actually was to race my SHO at my local track. At the track this was at, it's more of a full-on race track with a nice straightaway that was used for the flashlight drags. (See the satellite map of it. The facility was just gorgeous too.) To line back up, you had to go around the track... which was SICK fun. I am absolutely amazed how well our cars perform on a professional track. Not that I had anything to compare it to really, but it was a blast... makes my whole Logitech G27 Racing Wheel PC racing getup seem like the toy that it truly is.
:swing:
Everyone that went there was really super nice, great sportsmanship, I was sincerely impressed with the caliber of folks that were there. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Well worth the $30 entry fee.
I ran a good 15 times (lost count actually.) My first two races were up against a Challenger SRT/8. It was really, really close. Being my first time at the drag strip, I didn't have the brake torqueing launch down yet (yes, I totally should have practiced it) and so I was late off the line both times. Even so, our cars were neck and neck all the way down, with the SRT8 just a shade ahead of me because he got off the line first. It was almost like he was shadowing me a couple feet in front. It was truly a driver's race, and he was the better driver... for now.
The second car I raced was a 2010 SHO. He flagged me down, asked if I was tuned, we talked for a few and as it turns out, he had a Livernois tune, but was trying out a tune from someone else (not Torrie, I can't remember who he said) and I won that one. Barely. It was a pretty close race. (And I was pretty jealous of his red paint... that's such a fantastic color for the SHO.)
Then I got saddled up against a couple different old time drag racers. I'm not entirely sure what kind of cars they were... one could have been old challenger, not sure. But both of them were really decked out, beautiful cars with massive drag radials, gorgeous paint jobs, and presumably huge engines. OMG both those cars were crazy fast! I mean, seriously... I watched a video afterwards, and they seriously made my car actually look slow. It was really, really fun to be a part of that, even though I got seriously spanked.
(me)Next several cars were all Mustang GTs. One was some kind of specially modified GT, not sure the whole package, but it was decked out with stickers and such. Every one of those guys were real nice... even after I gave them a really good long-distance view of my tail lights. I beat them all by a good couple of car lengths. (One guy had to have been 4 or 5 car lengths... I have NO idea what happened there... I actually felt bad for him.) Honestly, that surprised me. Quite a bit. I figured I'd be pretty closely matched against a Mustang GT 5.0, maybe a little faster. Nope. Not really. It was awesome! I stopped to talk with the other SHO owner, and after I mentioned how surprised I was, the comment was made... "yeah, the best part is... how surprised they were!!"
Seriously, all the drivers were really great... and then they all stopped to ask about my car, what mods were done, was it all-wheel drive, what the size of the engine was, etc. It was pretty fun.Then I saw a Camaro SS 1LE, flagged him down and we raced. I smoked him... not as bad as the Mustangs (sadly, cuz I love Mustangs quite a bit) but I beat him pretty solidly... I'd say almost a full car length between us. We continued around the track and he pulled up next to me, and started asking questions about my car. Then he said, "cool... hey if you don't mind, I'm just curious... if we let these guys ahead of us really get far ahead, then you try and keep up with me around the turns, ok?" I was like, "Sure!" WOW... that guy could seriously drive. I didn't quite keep up... I was a little terrified wailing around those turns like I was in NASCAR, but terrified in the fun sorta way. Good times, good times. (That totally makes me want to take their PDE racing class offered at the facility.)
I also went up against a WRX... not real eventful. I'm sure they're really fun cars, particularly for rally type events, but the SHO just pwns them in a straight line. The girl driving it was pretty cool though.
One of my last races was against this beautiful vette. I'm not a huge fan of Corvettes, but this one was pretty sweet... a later model with two toned fading paint sort of look... really sharp looking. Anyhow, about halfway through the race I was thinking, "OMG, I'm gonna take this Vette!!" Then... a little over half way, the Vette just caught right up and then blew by me straight across the finish line. hahahahaaha!! :laugh_ti: It was pretty sweet...
Oh, and I took a break about half-way through to go to the bathroom, and was driving through the lot, and I overheard some teenage kid say to one of his buddies, "That S.H.O. is stupid fast." :woo-hoo:
Made me all proud. Well, I think that's my whole "first track day ever" story. WHEW!!! That was just... Too... MUCH... FUN. :thankyou: I have to do that again.
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Though with any luck, I may no longer qualify for the "dominate with the most fun had with the fewest mods possible" by then... we'll see how my current home purchase goes - I assume you guys'll be getting a call from me pretty soon after.
