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Open Road Racing anyone?

If I would have stayed around WI and not moved to BFE Oregon where we only have drag strips and tiny ovals tracks my hobby would be road racing. Road America had some great vintage action and the sound of the v8's is incredible.

There is a 600-13 headed 451 all set up for a dry sump in the for sale section. That is where I would start!
 
Limits on equipment depends upon what limits you feel safe with and exploring the limits of. I don't particular care to go beyond what I consider my safety factor, vehicle or clock. I don't need a bucket list of special parts to go have some fun. After all is that not what it is all about. Having some fun. Guess I have reached the age were I have little to prove to others. But still lots I would like to do.
 
Limits on equipment depends upon what limits you feel safe with and exploring the limits of. I don't particular care to go beyond what I consider my safety factor, vehicle or clock. I don't need a bucket list of special parts to go have some fun. After all is that not what it is all about. Having some fun. Guess I have reached the age were I have little to prove to others. But still lots I would like to do.

The cool thing about the Silver State is that you can do just that. Run anywhere from 95 mph average speed to 170, 180 or unlimited. There is something for everyone and every car. As was said above, you can do this in your stock B-body that is in good repair. You'll need newer speed-rated tires, newer belts, and a fire extinguisher..... and yes you will have fun :D
 
Yep down in Yelm near Ft Lewis/Olympia. I see that much of the auto x stuff is more up north of me, past Seattle. I need to just go and watch one and ease into it. I know if I go I will get in to it, problem is that takes from building them... LOL

Where are you open road racing?

Yes I know I need to drive them, its just a timing thing not to mention an insurance thing if I am actually going to take them anywhere other than the road out front.

Like I said, I would start off with my 10 Challenger and then go from there.

The Silver State Classic Challenge is in Ely, Nevada. It is a 14 hour drive from Bremerton, and that's pulling a car trailer. So it's an easy commute, all highway. Check out their website and rule book at www.SSCC.us. It's very casual and fun. No one is proving anything to anyone other than themselves. Even if you want to be a course worker, I guarantee you'd have a good time! There's a parade of cars one day, a car show the next. Then the race on Sunday. I just hope they have the events this year.
Check out the many youtube video on SSCC and NORC. You may find Mike's 72 Charger flying by with an awesome exhaust note.
 
I wanted to drive that road this winter just to see what it was like but we were running out of time instead ended up taking 15 into Las Vegas.
I was wanting to take two weeks getting to Phenix this year instead of 5 days. Was still a beautiful trip. But many places were closed. There is always next year.
 
Lining up with the rest of the starting grid for another Pony Express 100 race on Highway 305 in Nevada. (One of the highways that Vanishing Point was filmed on)

PE Grid  RR Rear View 98 (2).JPG
 
Been doing Silver State Classic since 2010, and Big Bend Open Road Race since 2016. We ran the 150 class in May and were well north of 160 for a fair bit, but had a brake issue and had to retire from the course. Since then I finally found my persistent cooling issue (cracked block).

#1 thing for the car (after safety of course) is the ability to hold RPM. I run 2.50's in a Ford 9" behind a 727 and sit right on 5000 rpm with a 496" stroker. Plenty of power there, but the engine needs to be built to handle it. I melted a set of 1.6 ratio Crane Gold Rockers since they weren't bushed and the hot oil didn't provide enough film to prevent contact. I've gone to Comp Pro Magnums and have been trouble free ever since, at the sacrifice of lift since they're 1.5's. Wide LSA cam (110°) for good power in the 4500-5500 range, not a high-overlap drag cam. I'm constantly fighting driveline vibrations since the driveshaft is 54" long. Pinion angle has to be perfect. Good tight steering is a must, and an air dam is essential above about 125. Too much air under the car makes it WAY loose and actually causes cooling problems, or at least doesn't benefit from low underhood pressure drawing air through the radiator as much. rake angle of the car matters too. if the hood is too flat, it causes lift on the front of the hood. A little nose-down lets the air hit the surface of the hood more directly and plants the front better.

I could go on, but that's a good start on things not already covered in other posts. I actually run a plactic scraper below the metal dam you see in the picture. It rides about 2.5" off the pavement, and yes, it scrapes at speed sometimes, but it made a BIG difference.

IMG_0026.JPG
 
I ran the La Carrera and the Silver State races in the unlimited classes for many years. Not with much success I will admit. We had a 74 Jag XJ sedan with a built 496 roller cam, 1050 dominator carb BBC. Problems we found out the hard way. The wind will try to rip your hood open and a factory lock is not to be trusted. Ours popped open at 160, very unsettling. Gear oils get blazing hot at 190 for 100 miles. Change it every race. We lost a ring gear when we didn’t. The road surfaces suck. Frost heaves 1 foot tall on an off camber corner that’s no problem at 65 is a big problem at 170 plus. Great shocks and springs are a must. metal valve stems with o-ringed caps on your wheels. Whe lost some good friends before they figured out that centrifugal force will unseat a Schrader valve at prolonged high speed enough to drop the tire pressure causing the tire to over heat and pop without warning. Oil control. We found out the hard way that a BBC will pump more oil into the valve covers that it can drain back. 75 miles in our pump pickup uncovered at 6500 rpm and just like that poof we had a wounded motor. A dry sump system fixed all that. Tires are a big deal. Follow their recommendation, safety first. We quit racing those and cut the chassis into scrap when we lost a friend. It’s fun and safe now. Was much more Wild West when we ran it.
 
A member here is 65roadracer.
I haven't seen him on the forum in quite awhile.
He dropped out. I saw him awhile back and he told me he was getting too much flack from some of the forum members. Don't blame him.
 
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