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Craig's 2002 Review
UPDATE--3/23/02
The weather finally dried up enough for the Death Nova (as its called on the Nova Listserv) to make its first trip to the track in 2002 this weekend. Lake Cumberland Dragway and Beech Bend were both having big dollar bracket races and I just wanted to test out the new 4.88 gears and Detroit Locker. So Angella and I headed to Music City Raceway, just north of Nashville. Nice little track, but dang, what a short shutdown! And its downhill to boot! I wasn't sure if the 4-wheel drums where going to be up to the task as I crossed the strip on the first pass, but I got it stopped just fine on each run. The ETs weren't improved any due to a delayed 1-2 shift, but the 60' has improved significantly. The best of the night was a 1.58, which please me immensely. I went out first round of eliminations, but that's OK, the 60' times were enough of a victory for the day.
UPDATE--4/6/02
A friend from F-bodies Unlimited invited me to their "Bash" at Beech Bend and I'm glad I took him up on it. The weather was wonderful and the car was running great. The 60' times were not where they should have been due to the number of cars on street radials, but the ETs came around just the same. The best pass of the day was 11.107@122.62 and the best mph of the day was 123.63. Those are personal bests, so I was pleased to say the least. To top off the day, I entered the King of the Street heads-up class and took home top honors. Here's a couple shots of my plaque and timeslip.
UPDATE--6/8/02
The PRO Fastest Street Car Series was at Beech Bend in Bowling Green, KY this weekend and I tried my hand at the True Street class. In this class, you have to complete a 30 mile drive and then run 3 back to back passes with minimal cool down time. I had thrashed all day before the race rebuilding and installing the tranny and it seemed to be shifting properly again. I also added a transbrake. But the tranny ran warmer than usual and the 60' times were off. So I think I got the clutch pack clearance too tight. Anyway, the competition was very stiff in True Street and my low 11s didn't have a shot at winning against a couple 8 second cars, a couple 9 second rides and a handful of 10-second cars. On my first pass, the transbrake didn't engage properly and I redlighted. That counted at a 20.0 sec pass. The last two passes were in the low 11s and my average ended up at 14.3. Yuck. PRO awards a trophy to the driver closest to 10.0, 11.0, 12.0, 13.0, 14.0 and 15.0. I ended up getting the 14 second trophy. Dubious honor, but a nice trophy none-the-less. I had fun racing at a big time event and even ended up getting my picture and a small mention in Fastest Street Car magazine. Thanks to my pal Chris Uratchko for letting me hang out under his shady tent and to my close friends Patrick and Erica Higginbotham as well as my wife Angella for coming down to Bowling Green to support me.
UPDATE--7/6/02
I took the Death Nova out for one last tune-up before the Nova Gathering. It was rather warm, so I didn't really expect any new best ETs, but the car surprised me with a 11.09. I was tuning on the ignition timing all night and I think I found the sweet spot. Looks like the Nova is ready to challenge for Low ET at G02.
UPDATE--7/13/02
Angella and I loaded up the '73 and headed north to Marysville, Ohio on July 11th for the 4th Annual Nova Listserv Gathering. All the details and pictures can be found by clicking on the link to the left, but the short of it is that I was able to set low ET of the event with a 11.18@121. The ETs were off due to about the slickest track I've ever been on. Once again, I lost in the first round of eliminations. I've got to get a handle on launching with the transbrake. I'm just too inconsistent on the lights at this point.
UPDATE--8/31/02
Seems like its been forever since I last raced at the Nova Gathering. The summer has been busy and seems like every chance I had to race, it would rain. But I finally got a chance to get back to the track with the company of a couple car club buddies, Kenny and Dale Smith. Kenny is majorly addicted to drag racing, so he's probably one of a few people that would enjoy watching me tear into the carb 4 times in one night! My efforts paid off as I found a good chunk of ET hiding in the jetting. It was a tad on the lean side and fattening it up front and back seemed to do the trick. No new best ETs or MPH due to the temps and humidity, but once things cool off, its going to pick up a bunch.
UPDATE--10/19/02
Most of my spare time lately has been devoted to the convertible's engine swap, so Death Nova time has suffered some. But this past week was spent getting it ready for Beech Bend Bash 5, put on by F-bodies Unlimited. I cut the crash bars out of each door and swapped the Camaro bucket seats for lightweight poly drag seats with cloth covers. Not sure I like the seats. They just don't look right in my car. The Bash got rained out, but the club was able to secure chassis dyno time at Total Engine Airflow so the day wasn't lost. I put up the highest naturally aspirated horsepower and torque of the group with 458hp and 480 ft-lbs at the rear wheels. My pulls where after about 25 other pulls, so the air was terrible in TEA's shop. I think it would have made closer to 480-490 in better air. TEA's dyno is known to read a tad low as well.
UPDATE--10/26/02
The Beech Bend Bash was rescheduled and the weather cooperated this time. The track looked terrible, but it was hooking better than ever before. My 60' times finally dipped back below 1.60 and air was pretty good (60-70 degrees). On my first run, I finally met my goal--10.901@124.32. The next three runs were in the 10.8s, with a best of 10.866@124.66. I was estatic with the cars performance to say the least. I guess the 70 lbs I removed from the car, along with a sealed air pan on the carb and solid body bushing I added really paid off. I won this event back in the spring and I ended up winning it again. The only down side of the day was the tranny. In the finals of the sticky tire quick 8 heads-up class I was in, the tranny started slipping badly in 2nd and 3rd gear. But my opponent redlighted, so I had the win anyway. That's OK, I was going to have it rebuilt this winter anyway. All in all, it was an awesome day! Here's a shot of my latest prize.
Craig Watson
10/26/02
Copyright © 2009 Bruce Johnson and Craig Watson
