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For you guys who like Front-motored Top-Fuel Diggers, check this web site =
out!
http://www.nitronic.com/rootbeer Cole, I like your writing style!
Nitronic.com is also a neat web site , lots of interesting stuff! Drag, =
Land-speed , Check out some of the old issues. The one on Jocko Johnson =
and his LSR car is DIFFERENT!
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To: roobeer-info@nitronic.com
From: Cole Coonce <rootbeer-info@nitronic.com>
Subject: MASTERCAM AA/FUELER BLAZES THE SKINS TO OBLIVION AT SPIR
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MASTERCAM AA/FUELER BLAZES THE SKINS TO OBLIVION AT SPIR
by Cole Coonce, NR
April 5, 1999, Los Angeles, CA--The term "nostalgia drag racing" is
considered somewhat of a misnomer by the drag strip cognoscenti that has
begun to jam the bleachers and staging lanes at the vintage-style
front-motored fueler races, including last weekend's Goodguys 11th Nitro
Nationals at Sears Point Int'l Raceway. For although this circuit tries to
hold on to the vivacity and unique worldview that made drag racing such a
spiritually correct endeavor back in the 1960s, the reality is that =
today's
front-motored fueler folks have the gumption and common sense to tap into
thirty-odd years worth of improvements in racing technology and apply =
these
changes to the, uhh, "nostalgia" drags.
"Wild Bill" Alexander, driver of Frank "Root Beer" Hedge's Mastercam
AA/Fuel Dragster, gallantly threw all of that out of the window Saturday
afternoon during a do-or-die qualifying shot at SPIR: Frustrated by an
earlier futile attempt to crack the elimination ladder after instantly
overpowering a finicky track surface, the Mastercam team took weight off
the clutch, diluted the nitromethane mixture with alcohol and retarded the
magneto, three key ingredients in lessening the bodacious horsepower
created by the team. . .
It didn't work. In a run highly reminiscent of the days when Top Fuel cars
did not have the hardware necessary to control and finesse the application
of massive horsepower through the clutch can, at the hit of the throttle
the Mastercam digger began tossing off voluminous clouds of
performance-eating tire smoke like it was 1963 and "Wild Bill" was =
swappin'
pedals on the old "Ernie's Camera" AA/Fuel Dragster at the long-defunct =
San
Fernando Raceway. Indeed, faced with not joining the quick 8 qualifiers on
Sunday, Alexander blazed the tires for the duration of the run as he
steered one-handed and danced the front tires like windshield wipers set =
on
high, ultimately recording an elapsed time of 7.65 at 219 mph.
"It struck the tire(s)," Alexander explained. "and I grabbed the brake
thinking if I got (the smoke) stopped and I got it to hook, I could it get
it down there and turn maybe 6.80 or 6.60 and make the show. When I leaned
on it the second time, and I just squeezed off the brake handle and it =
just
blew the tires off again, I just said the hell with it. I squeezed it and
backpedaled, I squeezed it and backpedaled it and about the 1/8th mile I
could feel it settle down and I leaned on it a little bit and it hooked--so=
I stood on it. I was having a ball."
So were the the bleacher bums. Despite the fact that Alexander missed the
main event with the 7.65, as the scoreboards lit up with a 219 mph reading
the race fans went bonkers, showering the team with cheers and applause.
This recognition softened the sting for the Mastercam team, as did the
notion that the could race on Sunday in the B main reserved for the the
second quickest 8 cars, many of whom were also confounded by the paradox =
of
copious amounts of "free horsepower" in the form of favorable air at sea
level juxtaposed against a cold racing surface with "no teeth" to
accommodate all the power.
On Sunday, the Mastercam machine was granted a solo pass in the first =
round
of the B feature and they finally managed to finesse their way down the
drag strip with a 6.44 @ 218; in the second round, Hedge and Alexander
continued with the soft tuneup and recorded a 6.56, 213 against eventual B
main winner, Larry Gotelli, Jr, who posted a superior 6.39, 215.
More Nitro Nationals notes:
Top Fuel winner: Mike McLennan and the Smith, Allred & Maher fueler over
Denver Schutz.
Low E.T.: Denver Schutz, 6.08.
Top Speed: Larry Gotelli, Jr., 239 mph.
Next up for the Mastercam AA/FD. Pro Nitro event at Tucson, AZ, May 15th, =
1999.
Hedge & Alexander Mastercam AA/FD Website
http://www.nitronic.com/rootbeer
************************************************************
You have been included on this mailing because you have been fingered
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"unsubscribe" or send a blank e-mail to "unsubscribe-rootbeer@nitronic.com"=
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You will be removed immediately. Sorry for the hassle.--Cole Coonce
*************************************************************
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