NMCA pictures
 

thank God our Pontiacs have wheelie bars!

Re: NMCA pictures
 

Yes John went for a ride. Actually I think he had a couple of these and may have hurt his neck and back on the last one and the car too. I was there but never got by to see him after the incident.
JIM

Re: NMCA pictures
 

OMG! Why would you do this over and over again until you destroy that beautiful car and yourself? I don't understand. Jim

Re: NMCA pictures
 

Jim, I don't know what their deal was this weekend. They usually have it under control. I guess they thought they had the hit soften up for the second run. Like I said I didn't get by to talk to them after. I was too busy going -.009 red and losing a bye to the final. John is a good racer, he must have had something going one.
Jim N.

Re: NMCA pictures
 

I have been racing that car since 1994. I have made thousands of passes, held national records and won world championships with it. During that time it has only done that 4 times. Two times that weekend, once last year at the same track durng the first round of eliminations and once 4 years ago at North East Dragway in NC. Those that are unfamiliar with the nmca, the class I race in is called Pro Stock. It is a heads up weight per cubic inch class with strict chassis, tire and engine limitations. These cars are max effort from the engines to the pro-flite trans to the dewco rears. We are not allowed to use wheelie bars, traction control devices or mercury switchs to pull timing during wheel stands. The top 8 qualifiers are usually within .06 seconds. My car has been as fast as 1.221 60' weighing 3380lbs. Everyone is set on kill. Unfortunately a few cars have been lost over the years and a few people have gottten hurt but when we pull up to the starting line, we all know the risks. The engine in my car is a n/a traditional Pontiac 525" motor with a cast intake and single 4 carb. It makes 1117 hp and 817 ft/lbs. We are restricted to ladder bars, stock front and rear frame rails and a 29.5 x 10.5 tire. After the first wheel stand at Commerce (which I wasn't too happy about) I made major adjustments to the car. I went from 15 on the front shocks to 38 (full tight), put 2 sweeps in the rear shocks and increased the rear tire pressure 1/2 lb. I was expectiing to go up there and spin pretty bad. The second wheel stand was more violent then the first. I was in high gear by .8 seconds into the run to try to bring it down. The car was on the rear valvance before it past the tree. I am not a big fan or no wheelie bar racing but that is the class I have chosen. The series has been very good to me financially and sponsor/exposure wise. I will continue to run in that class.

Re: NMCA pictures
 

John,
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I now understand your "fight control". You have a beautiful car, I hope it stays that way. Jim

Re: NMCA pictures
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKj26rfeww

yikes!

Re: NMCA pictures
 

What are the specs on that tire, section width, roll-out, diameter & width?

Re: NMCA pictures
 

29.5 x 10.5

Re: NMCA pictures
 

If you watch that film clip, you will notice that there is very little front end travel.