Woodsy leads in the Superformance Cobra Daytona Coupe, with Rory Meier in hot pursuit
in the Heritage Deuce hot rod. Woodsy took 1st in Road Course and 2nd in Autocross in
the Street - Small Block class.
Woodsy leads in the Superformance Cobra Daytona Coupe,
with Rory Meier in hot pursuit
in the Heritage Deuce hot rod. Woodsy took
1st in Road Course and 2nd in Autocross in
the Street - Small Block class.
The 19th Annual Run 'N Gun 2006 was a blast --
three days of Road, Autocross, Drag races
and friends from Club Cobra and SCOF at Gateway International Raceway Park.
All replicas are eligible to compete, as long as the driver and vehicle are safe. With
safety in mind,
drivers race against the clock on the Road and the Autocross, and against fellow
competitors in
the drags.
Woodsy enjoyed seeing what an "average Joe" could do with the Coupe, after Dennis Olthoff
took "top dog" two years ago.
New for 2006 was the "Novice" class. Run 'n Gun organizers added it to level
the playing field.
First time drivers competed against their peers just as the seasoned drivers and pros did.
Novice
Rory kicked Cobra butt with our old-school Deuce.
Good showing by Superformance. Charles Hunter was chosen "Rookie of the
Year", thanks to
a quick harmonic balancer fix with help from local guys and his "navigator"
Tommy Justice.
Great to visit with Jim & Sherrill Smith, Karl Schoenfeld, Steve Payne, Pete K, and Kristen
"Hey Litttle Cobra"
Breeden and everyone else giving it their best!
I heard a noise developing in the driver's side CV joint so I pulled the axle shaft,
disassembled the joint, polished the races, re-packed it and re-installed the shaft.
I performed the same procedure several months ago on the passenger side and
it has been fine since. This one responded well to the same treatment.
It appeared that the rear tires weren't quite wearing fully across the tread, so I
adjusted
in a little less camber. Readings at the track showed it was well worth the time.
Because it was open, the rules required that we install competition seat belts
and a roll bar for the Deuce because it is an open car. Tuxedo Park Racing,
in East St. Louis, bent up the roll bar to our specs and we were good to go.
Once we loaded the Deuce into the trailer for the three-hour drive to
St. Louis, our adventure began . . .
Woodsy competed in the Street Small Block class in the Superformace
Cobra Coupe that
Rory drove to and from the race. Powered by a FRP 351 Windsor and
Tremec 6-speed,
Woodsy was happy to take First on the Road Course and second on the Autocross.
Not bad for a GT coupe.
Rory kicked Cobra butt in the Heritage Hot Rods 70's-style Deuce powered by a 351 Cleveland.
After tweaking the car for the track, Rory was clocked at 108 mph on the straight away and
placed near the top in the Novice class on the Road Course and Autocross. With a little
more
HP and a gear change, he says he'll show his taillights to all the Cobras next year.
Gentlemen, start your engines!
Felt like the Tail of the Dragon while running the
slalom and approaching the reducing radius
turn which leads to the High Bank.
I took it easy on Thursday because I haven't been on a track for 30+ years, never had
the
Coupe on a track, and ran it exactly as it came off the road. Plus, we only had room
for
ONE car in the trailer and it was getting pretty cold to drive the hot rod home. LOL!
Friday we dropped tire pressures in both cars. With the warmer temps, we were getting
better
grip and started to get some lower times.
On my first Friday session, I ran without a transponder recording my times because it
had
lost charge overnight. No worries because the track was still cold. More seriously, on a
later
run I caught a glance in my rear view mirror of a Cobra lock them up at 110+ and spin. He
was attempting to pass, without getting a signal, as I was passing another car. Slowed me
down
a lap or 2 while I readjusted. Later yet I was closing on a Cobra through the slalom when
he pitched a knock-off up into the air. I thought it was his and that he was about to lose
a wheel,
so I backed off to allow whatever to happen. Turned out it was a decorative spinner off a
Manta,
so I didn't need to back off.
Since I knew I only had one session left, I stepped up the pace and was able to set the
best time
in Class to earn the First place Road Course award.
The Street and the Novice classes ran together several times on controlled speed runs,
giving us a chance to mix it up. I took Ann and Jack the Dog on the Thursday runs, and
Karl Schoenfeld on the Friday runs. The middle photo is of Rory, me and Karl relaxing
in the garage while waiting for the times to be posted.
I had no clue as to how well the Deuce was going to perform in all the events. On the
Road
Course I was quite impressed with the handling of the car. I started off easy on the 1st
lap.
After that I felt comfortable pushing the car harder. The car was nimble enough and wen
where I wanted. I seldom used the brakes.
On the second day we dropped our tire pressure 10 lbs. Our times dropped dramatically.
The Deuce was very consistent each lap actually getting consistently faster each lap. I
was
putting Cobras to shame ; ) My favorite session was on Thursday when I had run
Woodsy down.
After tailing him a few laps, he signaled me to pass him.
The Autocross competition was just three runs. No practice, other than walking the
course.
You got what you got. I came in second in my class. Rory made some good times too,
although he spun out on his hottest run.
The Autocross was another new experience for me. I took it easy to keep from hitting
any cones.
I think the car had a lot more on the table for this course. I only had 3 runs to get my
best time.
My best time was, of course, the 3rd run. I ran only 1 second slower than
Woodsy so I was happy
with the results.
Woodsy races Hershel Byrd in his Roaring 40's Coupe on the 1/4 mile drag strip.
The track had gobs of traction, and I was having some tire shake off the line. All the
times
were in the 13's and I clocked off a best of 13.08 at 108mph.
Seemed like the left lane had the best times and is the one the Coupe ran the best on
before I headed back to the pits to see why Rory hadn't made it to the drags.
Turns out he had run out of gas. After getting him fueled, I didn't run any elimination
rounds.
If I had kept running, I am sure It would have run in the 12s in a few more passes.
The drag race is a short story. I wanted the car to be light, but wound up running out
of gas
on the way to the strip. By the time I got fueled I had missed practice and went into
Eliminations
without any clue as to how quick I was. I dialed in a 13.6 and wound up with a 15 second
time.
It was fun for me anyway since it was my first time racing on a ¼ mile drag strip. We
could use
one here!
I want to conclude by saying Congratulations to all the winners of Run ‘n Gun 2006
and give props
to Charles Hunter who, even after a harmonic balancer mishap, was chosen Rookie of the
Year.
Jerry Fink smoked Woodsy at 144 mph in his Viking powered by a rotary engine.
Jerry Fink set a new event Road Course record despite heating problems. He would run
a pace lap and one fast lap before heading back to the pits to cool down. Check out all
the
results for Thursday
and Friday,
thanks to the posting on Gas Holes.
Sincere thanks to Jay "Big Daddy"
Nordstrom, Dean Lampe, Clois Harlan, the
Gateway International team and all their volunteers. We had a GREAT time!!!
Jump in for a ride
around the Road Course with Street Big Block Run 'n Gun Champ
James Yale in his hot Factory Five Daytona Coupe powered by Keith Craft Racing
427 aluminum Windsor dynoed at 587 hp. Many thanks to James for tackling our new
rescue pup who darted out the RV door. James is the fastest in and out of his
car!
Check out Club Cobra for the latest and Kit Car Magazine for more stories and
photographs . . . and join in the fun yourself next year. See you there!