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embarassed myself at the track. :-|

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#22 ·
When i built my 63 nova i was so concerned with how fast the car was i never concidered the drum brakes would not be sufficient to stop the car
it had only been on the street prior. Needless to say first pass at the old
Carlsbad Raceway i crashed into the tires at the end no real damage but
pretty embarassing.
Then to top it off when i went to get my time to see finally how fast the car was they told me they couldn't give me the time slip because i ran under
11.99 and didnt have a cage. So not only did i crash they then kicked me off the track.
 
#23 ·
Motor Martyr said:
While its your duty to make the last move staging a move forward, its also something the starter should be keeping an eye on.

When i back up i back up way past the beams, then roll forward again.
Click to expand...
You're right... I've since been much more careful. I now do the same thing as you if I have to, and back up too far, so I can go forward into the lights agin. It turned out fine, aside from feeling like an idiot :) As soon as I started letting out the clutch, the tires had just started to spin backwards, then I realized what i'd done and pushed the clutch back in.... the car didn't hardly move yet. The worst part was me sitting there, and putting it back into first and trying to figure out if I should still go forward and down the track, or if I had to sit there and wait for the next car to line up with me. I went.... and got my worst time of the day ;)
 
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#24 ·
Many NHRA tracks, especially Englishtown, will not let you back up unless you are a pro car that is allowed to burn out over the start line. That way there is never a chance of a reverse start or dry hop. Also, I believe it is now a rule that nobody can stand behind a car - the only up close death I ever saw was when someone popped for a dry hop in reverse and hit his buddy in the chest flopping him down on the pavement and shattering his skull. Starting anything in reverse is not funny to me, it's a serious issue.
 
#25 ·
I'm with Chevhell68......I did a burnout in reverse too. I was nervous, first time out with the car. Failed on the first burnout attempt, so backed up into the water and let her rip. Dang good thing I noticed before I eased out of the water! Someone behind me could have been killed.

It will go better next time!

Ron
 
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#26 ·
Hey, my Daddy drove Catalina's. Nice rides, huh! ;)

Shake it off and fight another day.
 
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Discussion starter · #27 ·
427L88 said:
Hey, my Daddy drove Catalina's. Nice rides, huh! ;)

Shake it off and fight another day.
Click to expand...
No offense Gene. ;)

The Cat turned a 17.? something and beat me out of the hole. :-|
I went by him like he was picking starwberries, but my face was still
red. I didn't look over when I passed him. He was probably laughing is
buttox off. :D
I get back to the pit and the first thing out of my buddies face was:
Hey, that Catalina smoked you off the line. BWAHAAAhaa.
I said, No sheeyetee smartguy, how you gettin home?. ( I drove )

I'll give it another go before the track closes.
This time I can guarentee my accel pump linkage will be connected, but
I can't guarentee I won't pull any numbskull moves.
 
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#28 ·
66ElkyBB said:
Many NHRA tracks, especially Englishtown, will not let you back up unless you are a pro car that is allowed to burn out over the start line. That way there is never a chance of a reverse start or dry hop. Also, I believe it is now a rule that nobody can stand behind a car
Click to expand...
you can back up, but the last move staging must be forward.
 
#29 ·
My most embassasing moment was my first attempt at running my Mustang at Irwindale (1/8 mile). I went up against a last 60's early 70's bug. I could just barely hear the commentator saying something about, "hey guy's, don't be afraid, move up to the staging lines." :p :D Other then street, I've never run stick on the track, so, I was thinking, instead of looking like a dumbass and passing the staging lines, or worse, have the car turn off on me, I'd just move up to the lines slowly :clonk: But, that wasn't the embarassing part. Finally when we both were staged, I was soo nervous that when the 3rd yellow light lit up, I (for what reasons I have no idea) lifted my right foot and tryed to reposition it at the last minute. Well, to my "suprise," my foot didn't exactly sit on the gas pedal the right way. I ended up giving the car half throttle on launch, had about a 2 second reaction time, almost missed putting it in first gear, and the worst part........the bug smoked me :eek: :rolleyes: Well, then again, that bug was pretty fast. It did run in the 8s, and my Mustang is only a solid mid 9 second car bone stock (talking stock air duct/filter, mufflers, etc.) The only "mod" I had, if you will, was the absence of my passenger's side headlight to allow more cold air to hit the air filter. I guess the only good part of that run was, I did chirp 2nd and 3rd gears! :thumbsup: :p :D :D :D
 
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#30 ·
There is ALWAYS, at least one car at Irwindale TNT that does a reverse launch. I thankfully have never done something so emberrasing. The most I've done has been to accidentally deep stage.
 
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#32 · (Edited)
Just Checked it now from work, my home computer is having issues.

I did get it, thanks for the info, Brian. My line runs pretty close to my radiator hose and I want to get something to keep the heat away at least a little. That looks like what I've been looking for.
 
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Motor Martyr
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