Race coverage for VW Bracket Eliminator race at Dragway 42 Sunday.

[Ohio Tom (DdK)]

June 26, 2011. Dragway 42, Round one of the VW Bracket eliminator series.
 
They day was perfect. Temp in the mid 70's and low humidity. The track had Test-n-tune that day but also ran our class in the mix.
This worked out great as we got to take as long as we wanted between rounds.
The race action was hot and heavy with no less than 23 cars showing up to race. Eric H. was not allowed to race since his car did not have seat belts.
Some new faces showed up as well to make this event one of the best ever.
There was no failures during time trials, so all 22 cars went into first round of elims.
 
Dragway 42 is an older track with a rich history. They don't mess around there and very little time was spent standing around waiting.
 
Jim Ollio's new motor/trans combo laid down some killer ET's. He ran a best of 11.66s. He is sure getting that car sorted out and having fun doing it.
Doug Dowd's car was struggling with jetting issues, but still manages to run in the high 10's for Elims.
Larry Herald's Manx buggy was going reasonably straight enabling him to run low 12's all day
Troy Mcnare's rabbit was running strong all day.
the Trike guys were there showing off their usual big wheelies to the crowd.
Canadian friend Wayne Goddard's new torque converter was working well for a while until it decided to disintegrate during elims. It was a spectacular cloud of smoke.
Daryl Reynolds sweet Unlimited Street turbo Vert was running well, but boost was kept to a moderate 10psi while he sorts out the jetting and clutch management system.
 
Personal performance:
I should have taken Daryl's lead on keep it "conservative" while sorting out a new motor.
I wanted to really lay down some good ET's so I had the boost up to 18psi in my car. She really felt strong and ran a best ever 10.36 @ 129.8mph in the 2nd time trial. I backed it up several times running in the low 10.40's for the remainder of the day. Then...
 
Race results:
22/11/6/3/2 was the ladder layout. I cut a good light in the 1st round that got me the "by" in round 2. 3rd round I faced off against Doug Dowd. We both struggled with getting down the track, It ended up with both of us fender-to-fender at the stripe. I managed to win by .003s. That was pure fun.
For the Semi final, I chased down a Rabbit with a 19s dial in (sorry I didn't get the guy's name). I waited 9 whole seconds before I got the green. This threw me a little and I didn't get the car on the limiter for launch and cost me out of the hole. I chased down my opponent and then....
 It happened...
I felt the motor nose over, I also heard it get louder like an exh leak. I feared the worst and shut her down as fast as I could. I still coasted thru with the win advancing me to the final.
Unfortunately, the damage was severe. I pulled 2 studs out of the case which ended up blowing the side of the case out.
So, I had to forfeit the final round to Ken (can't remember last name) in his turbo sedan that was stuck in 3rd gear. He broke the beams in the final for the Win.
The payouts were FAT. Ken got more than $560 in cash with a whole stack of gift certificates. I'm sure he can buy a new hockey stick with his winnings.
2nd place (me) took home $190 in cash and $100 in gift certs. Not quite enough for  a new case, but a good start...
 
My motor is sitting in my garage waiting to be torn down. In the mean time, I am installing my old N/A (ol' reliable) 2276 so I can keep racing.
Hopefully the damage is isolated to the case only. My quick reaction to shutting the motor down probably saved me several thousand dollars.
That's racing for ya....
 
A good time was had by all folks anyways and we all can't wait for the next race at Thompson raceway next month.
 

[Ohio Tom (DdK)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBw14bhoWzU
In car cam of a 10.41 pass.

[Dougzilla]

I'm impressed with the 23 car turnout and several VW powered spectators
that came the the NCVWDRA season opener at Dragway 42 in West salem, Ohio
last Sunday. The track was glad to have us there and said we fit in seamlessly
with their program. Let's all plan to be at our next race Saturday july 23 at
Thompson Raceway Park in Chardon, Ohio.Another FAST NE Ohio 1/4 mile
facility!
See you at the track!!!