Well Gentlemen..... I finally got off my @ss and made it out to Stanton MI for the PSMCDR! I spent last weekend with Tommy up at LVD pulling together loose ends, working on launch technique, etc.. and got as ready as we're ever going to be. It was horrible 3000 ft air, but still managed to get the car into the 14.8's by the skin of my teeth. Figuring I would not embarrass you guys, we pulled the trigger and started packing up. We towed my car 800 miles from Connecticut to Michigan, and I'm proud to say with no drama(Big Big thanks to Ken from Everyday Performance for letting us borrow his trailer!) Yesterday was only a tech day, but I'm happy to report that the 65 made it through in current configuration (!) and it was confirmed that I am the first Nailheader ever to run the series in 16 years. The group was super welcoming and inclusive, even my buddy said (from a Northeast perspective) how are these people so nice? The weather this weekend is sketchy, but looks like we may get too full days of racing in. Today is time trials, tomorrow is full on racing. If you've never been to this event, make it a priority! It's a rolling car show, and the stuff I've already seen will blow your mind. RAII GTOs and Firebirds, SD Trans AMs, W30 442's and of course I am hanging with the Buick folks - the McNichols and Millers and their jaw dropping Stage 1 cars. More reports and photos to follow, but lets keep our fingers crossed everything hangs together. At least this time I've got a trailer and winch! Thanks Ken! Here are some pics from the tech day...
OK, I've finally got a minute to tell you about it - I write too much, and I get that, so here is the short version (sorry to give it away) - bad air, ran a best of 14.93 @ 92, won my shootout against a 74 Super Duty Trans Am, got knocked out of the bracket race by redlighting against a 68 Z-28. Long version: Friday AM, I get the interesting news that the event organizers confirm I am the first Nailhead and first 65 Gran Sport to ever run the series! AND, since it's 50 years commemorative, the annual t- shirt this year has a 65 GS on the back! In 17 years, it's tough to bring a car these guys haven't seen before, and it drew a crowd all weekend. Cool. The threat of rain kept a lot of people home, the car count was only 106 vs. a normal 150 -200. As we got set up and tech'd Thurs night, we were able to get right to racing on . The weather looked threatening, but the rain never came until nightfall. However, the air was like syrup, and everyone was 2-4 tenths down, including me. But Tommy and I had run the car at LVD the week before and got it dialed in as it could be. Straight off the trailer, I got to work and raced everything in sight. I got my @ss handed to me all day long by much faster cars, but did manage to beat a nice 70 Formula 400, and 60 foot a few more cars than that. But I couldn't get the car (which had been running 14.8's the week before) to break into the 14's. I felt pretty bad, until I watched some racing myself and saw that there were plenty of cars running in the 15's, the air was that bad (at one point I calculated a DA of 3500 feet). But for all the cars I ran, I had the most fun running a beautiful and rare 73 Stage 1 Riviera. He had 55 cubes (on a fresh rebuild) but 700 lbs on me, so we were almost perfectly matched. We ran the "Bookend Buicks" against each other 3 times in a row. and he treed me each time for the win. But we would go down the track with me hanging off his doorhandle, and the crowd loved it. Eventually I tossed the keys to my buddy Brad, who showed me up by running 3 low 14.9's in a row, back to back. I was red hot over that, so I kept at it, and on my last run of the day ran a 14.93 @ 92.30, which turned out to be my qualifying time and my best run of the weekend. Saturday morning, the rain had cleared and we made practice runs until noon - The air was cooler, so I went back to CK secondary rods and ran 4 times - 2 14.9's and 2 15.0's . At least I was consistent, so we went to get my pairing for the shootout pairing - my heart sunk when I find out I was up against a beautiful survivor 74 Super Duty Trans Am. I had heard this car pull into the hotel parking lot the night before and it sounded meeeaaaan! But the owner told me it had been in storage for a long time, and was having carb and traction issues, and qualified at a 15.1. So OK, we go at it.... Round 1 - I tree the TA with a .016 light to his .238, 60 foot him 2.17 to his 2.23 and never look back. I take the win with a 15.02@91.67 to his 15.22@91.47 Round 2 - I'm told, the TA owner wasn't happy being shown up by a little old Skylark, so they tore the carb down or tried a different carb or something and lined up. Well crap, whatever he did seemed to wake that beast up and I'm racing a different car! I tree him again with a .113 vs. .224, but he 60 foots me with a 2.14 to my 2.18. He gets off the front of my bumper and stays there, winning with a 14.804@93.11 to my 14.99@91.87. He almost handed me the shootout with a .3 breakout but for that .004 of a second! We stand at one all. Round 3 - They say it and I believe it - in this event, its not about how fast you run, or whether you win or loose, but it's about making friends and hanging out with like minded people. True, but I didn't come 800 miles to lose. I put my game face on and watch the yellows....and I jump him with a .081 light to his .245. Seeing that he presses a little too hard and spins slightly, handing me the 60 foot with a 2.28 to my 2.18. I decide to keep that tenth the whole way through and take the 3rd round with a 14.94@92.3 to his 15.01@93.22. And I win my shootout and move on to the bracket eliminations. I have to point out that the TA owner was a great sport about it. In the first bracket round I line up against a beautiful 68 Z-28, whose running deep into the 13's. We line up, this guy's a regular and I figure I'd better cut a razor sharp light, which I do. Unfortunately it's on the wrong side of the tree and I redlight with a -.016 to his .099. I'm still peddling it for all I'm worth, but his 4.11 gear gives him a 2.08 60 ft to my 3.23 powered 2.15. But I keep going and right at the line ( I mean ON the line) he wheels by me with a 13.51@103 on a 13.60 dial to my 14.93@92.07 which is BANG ON my dial. He breaks out by .009, but I redlighted so he takes the win. Nice guy, too. Between the redlight and breakout, tightest bracket race I ever had. Think about that, he was .009 ahead of me at the stripe! Cooooooool. And just like that, it's over and I'm on the trailer, getting ready for another 800 mile drive. I was high as a kite until 2:00 am. ALL total, I had run 29 times, against 29 beautiful and rare cars. I cant say enough about the people I met, cars I saw and raced, Sat night parking lot party, friends I made. I'll be back.
You don't know how much I WISH I could've been there with you Rhett. It's ALWAYS a fun time!!! Car sure looks GREAT in the pictures!!!!! Tom T.
That's awesome Rhett! Great job! Can't wait till I can get mine out and try to do some bracket racing.
Nice job Rhett, bring that GS up to New England Dragway this sunday for the nostalgia event. It would be good to see another Buick racing and I suspect you would probably get your best et's ever due to the cool dry air we are supposed to have this weekend Bryan
Hey Bob! It's funny, all the work I've done seems to be (recently) losing ground to blow by and lack of compression on the 50 year old/75 k original motor. I do the math and come up with a different number every time, but this motor has to have 600-700 passes on it. If I'm not mistaken, that kind of abuse means a brand new race motor would just about be done, much less this old lump. And yet, it runs beautifully. I can wait to get my hands on the new motor and go through the process again and see what we get in incremental steps.
It was great to meet and visit with both of you. I have been racing at this event since 1996. Thursday as we were heading home after dropping the trailers we did pass you and were very pleased to see that YES we finally have our 1st Nailhead. It's good to hear that you made it home with no issues. Eric with the 68 Z you raced in the bracket challenge is definitely a very nice individual. He is part of a family affair team. His dad, brother and brother in law all race at this event as well. We all get together a few times through the year with a few other delinquents to bench race and get tuned up with our favorite beverages. Sometimes we even work on cars too. The Friday before the race we were gathered for our pre-race session and ended up working on the red 1970 455 HO GTO that was at the race. It's also required to leave a little smoke in the driveway and or on the road before heading home. See ya next year.
Rhett That was really cool! You fulfilled My dreams! Someday I'll be there with my Buick bucket list. Good for you. That looked great. What A car very nice
Hi Rhett, It was great to meet you and Brad. I think the three runs we made on Friday were the most fun I had all weekend! I was hoping to get paired up with you on Saturday. Just an FYI, my "fresh rebuild" was done in 2004. It still has the 8.5:1 compression. Hope to see you back next year. Clark
Clark! Out of all my junk, that's ULTRA fresh! For example, here's a pic from when my 71 motor got rebuilt by the previous owner in 1980! It was great to meet you, and I honestly had the most fun of the whole trip running you in our impromptu "shootout"! (never mind you treed me unmercifully 3 times in a row)
Dave - thanks for checking in, yeah the trip home was drama free, and that's the best kind of trip. Eric was a great guy, and it was a super tight race. I didn't know he was a buddy of yours, but I should assume that just about everyone knows everyone. I wish I lived closer and I'd join you for the driveway sessions, that 70 GTO was no stone.....and for that matter, neither was your Stage 1 car. Very cool. I'm doing an engine for the 65 that I hope to have in over next summer, but just in case I don't I'm "stocking" my 71 Stage 1 car, getting cast iron back on it and playing with the chassis balance. One way or another, I'll be back.
Love those old pics when everyone had lots of hair! I'm kinda inconsistent with my lights, l had a good day that Friday. Clark
