Drag Racing!

No measurable car work this weekend (except cleaning up the random RPU parts strewn about the backyard, now safely stowed beneath my covered deck, away from possible inclement weather) because I spent the better part of yesterday helping at the local annual drag race!

I got to work in the timing booth, so I was right on top of all the burn out and staging action, and it was a blast, but I stunk like burned rubber when I got home and showered. Don't get me wrong - I loved every minute of it, but I got a little nauseated after a while from all the fuel, exhaust, and burn out smoke/fumes. While I wish I could say I did some really cool timing work there, frankly I just helped wherever I was needed: mostly with tools and setting up/assembling/fixing things, and that was fine by me; I was just happy to work there, get a great observation seat, and the free lunch didn't hurt, either!

My "official" shift was 6a-12p, but I helped out a bit beyond that; hung out until I was too blind from the constant blowing dust, then headed out by 4:30p or so. The day was mostly filled with 60s cars, with some late models. Only a couple of what I would call "hot rods," and just ONE flathead-powered car, but what a car!
The motor was (if I did the math correctly) 322 inches(!?) (3-3/8" bore x 4-1/2" stroke) running first-generation Hilborn injection and a Harmon & Collins crab-style magneto. Most interesting, was that the motor's water jacket is filled with aluminum (42 pounds' worth, I think he said)! He consistently ran around 11.88 @ 112 mph or so. Powerglide and 8" rear end made up the rest of the drivetrain, BTW.

The day kicked off with the national anthem, a color guard, and this:
While hard to make out here, it was a triple flyover by a WWII P-51 airplane. My apologies for the poor photo, but it was the best I could do with my iPhone as an Allison V-12 powered fighter came roaring at me seemingly dozens of feet off the deck! She flew over twice, then came back one last time in a wingover roll - very cool!

My friend whose birthday we celebrated after Billetproof came out to the drags, and we wandered around and got lunch before I had to get back to work. Later, we went out to dinner, followed by tire-kicking and conversation at my place - it made for a very pleasant close to a long yet fun day.

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