Bradenton Track Rental

Captainmorg · 12-18-2006, 09:19 PM

First of all I'd like to introduce myself. I'm the owner of a silver 2001 Ford Lightning. Some of you may have recognized my truck as it screamed bloody murder on the dyno at OSW on December 3rd. I organized our gathering and we had a turnout of about 35 trucks that day. When I was sitting there I was thinking how great it would be to have a heads up drag day with another club, such as yours. Since then some people have expressed an interest in renting out Bradenton for a day of just pure speed and fun. (Bradenton as I'm to understand it is a far superior track to OSW).

Now Lightning on Lightning violence seems somewhat wrong to me, especially since most of our members will be able to call a winner before the race starts as most have similar combinations of mods. Unfortunately, we don't have 60+ years of heritage to add vairety to our ranks like you do.

So, this is what I would like to propose. A track rental with two clubs should make for a much more affordable day. Ideally, I would love it if the turnout from each club was similar. We then do runs to set benchmark times for the day, all the vettes run, then all the Lightnings run. 3 passes each should be good. At this point a representative from each club will create a lineup (slowest to fastest being the most logical) and have heads up races with mixed companies. You can keep track of total ET or win v loss total and crown an eventual winner, but the important thing is we all have fun. Anything after that is grudgematch time!

No idea of date set as of yet, I would love to see if you had any interest from you guys first. So let me know what you think, and thank you for having me as a guest on your forum.

Gannet · 12-18-2006, 10:04 PM

You do realize that you're asking a bunch of Corvette owners, not the least egotistical of car enthusiasts, to sign up for the possibility of not only being beaten by a Ford, but by a Ford TRUCK?!?!?!?!?

How fast are those things, anyways?

A gallant offer.

It'll be interesting to see what folks think.

ynkedad · 12-18-2006, 10:47 PM

ynkedad · 12-18-2006, 10:59 PM

The 2001 model has an impressive 386 horsepower.
And the truck was doing 13.8-second quarters.

Corvette Concepts · 12-19-2006, 06:52 AM

Brian and I would be interested in a friendly day of racing at Bradenton. We've been sitting idle due to a motor swap in our car but the motor has just about enough break in to entertain an event. What type of cost factor are we looking at? If the cost is high we can always show up for an informal Saturday AM test and tune session. We can get it arranged to have our own lanes, I believe. Let's let the dogs off the porch!!

Captainmorg · 12-19-2006, 06:52 PM

Well truth be told stock for stock in the 1/4 a C-5 should have no problem with a Gen 2 Lightning, though in the 1/8 it might be a different story. Both with bolt-ons should be comparable, but I'm guessing and it all depends on what bolt ons naturally. I don't think any of our members have anything that can beat the black C6 ZO6 that was at OSW, but I'm sure there are a few that could make it interesting. We could see over 30 trucks show to this event, how many cars can you field for a track event? I can arrange for a dyno for those who are interested and for a bar-b-que trailer to have evryone fed. The target would be under $100 a head, but I'd need to get at least a rough idea of a head count before I commit to a price (shooting for $50). Also, there will be a few trailers to save the burn of a large towing bill in case the unthinkable happens.

As for hurt egos, please don't tell me you bought these cars to look pretty in your driveways.

thebeepster · 12-19-2006, 07:30 PM

Why gentlemen (and ladies) I believe we've been issued a challenge...

Gannet · 12-20-2006, 10:08 AM

If it goes down after I get my clutch replaced I'd be up for it. Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure when that will be yet. Christmas 'n all... Keep us posted.

litevette · 12-20-2006, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captainmorg

please don't tell me you bought these cars to look pretty in your driveways.

You'd be surprised. Seems as if a lot of Vette owners are scared to mash the gas. That's why we started trying to organize something out at OSW. We realized that a lot of guys were parking their Vettes at shows and getting bored with that.
I think it's a great idea and it would help us acheive our goals quicker ( getting dedicated staging lanes, etc.) My only personal issue would be if it is held anywhere other than OSW. My '72 is a reliable turd that could make it to Bradenton with no probs, but is BORINGly slow. When I get my '69 done (that's the car I intend to do my racing in), it will be too loud for that long of a haul, too illegal for that long of a haul and the DR's would disintegrate after a trip or two (to Bradenton). But I do realize that Bradenton is a far supeior track and wouldn't blame the others if they wanted to go there instead og OSW. So I can only speak for me.
I'm all for it if we can do so at OSW. I know a guy who has a modded Lightning who has ben talking some smack for a while and (when I get my '69 done) would like to have him join us too.

Red 69 · 12-20-2006, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by litevette

You'd be surprised. Seems as if a lot of Vette owners are scared to mash the gas. That's why we started trying to organize something out at OSW. We realized that a lot of guys were parking their Vettes at shows and getting bored with that.
I think it's a great idea and it would help us acheive our goals quicker ( getting dedicated staging lanes, etc.) My only personal issue would be if it is held anywhere other than OSW. My '72 is a reliable turd that could make it to Bradenton with no probs, but is BORINGly slow. When I get my '69 done (that's the car I intend to do my racing in), it will be too loud for that long of a haul, too illegal for that long of a haul and the DR's would disintegrate after a trip or two (to Bradenton). But I do realize that Bradenton is a far supeior track and wouldn't blame the others if they wanted to go there instead og OSW. So I can only speak for me.
I'm all for it if we can do so at OSW. I know a guy who has a modded Lightning who has ben talking some smack for a while and (when I get my '69 done) would like to have him join us too.

I agree with litevette, keep it at OSW and I'm in. It seems we have similar goals and might be able to support one another.