Post by Niko L on Jun 30, 2014 16:47:06 GMT
FHRA Drag Race Week is just a week before the Nitro Nationals that is also held at Alastaro Raceway. Earlier this year Drag Race Finland made a new asphalt on the Drag Strip, as the old one was in a bad shape and there were some little bumps as well. It was very interesting to see how the new asphalt works and how smooth it is compared to the old one. We did some modifications for the car, too. At Pori West Coast Street Cup the Chevelle did twisting wheelstands, so we thought it's better to add a sway bar for the rear end. The guys at Vallilan Takomo built one for us and Tomppa L machined some parts so that we can adjust the Preload. Thanks Guys!
Friday:
On Friday afternoon we put the car on trailer and headed to Alastaro. When we arrived in Alastaro, I headed straight to the Race Office to get all the papers and some electricity. At the same time Mika with my little sister went to the pits looking for a place for our car. The car was taken off from the trailer and we put the rear end on jack stands. Tech Inspector was also doing the inspection, so he took a look at our car. After we passed the Tech Inspection, we had to drive my sister to Pori and we slept that night also at our relatives'.
Saturday:
On Saturday morning we arrived to the pits at 9 AM. First we had to clean up the car, as it was a bit dirty after Friday's rain. There was also a drivers' meeting at the starting area. The new asphalt looked very good and I was pretty sure the traction would be good enough for us, even though some of the faster cars had some traction problems on the first round before our turn. We did a little warm up for the car and then we were called to Line Up.
On the first run I was on the first pair with Tarmo Mikkola in his Super Stock Camaro. The burnout was succesful, but the engine was screaming very high even on the third gear, a bit over 7,000 RPM. It was interesting to see how the sway bar would affect on the launch. I took a little red light (-.088) but the car didn't do a twisting wheelstand as it did at Pori. So the sway bar worked just fine! I went full throttle and ran 12.339 with 170.64 KM/H top speed. The new asphalt was very smooth and I felt no bumps or anything on it. The 60 FT time wasn't the best, but it was a decent. I think the car didn't spin, or if it did, it spun very little.
The second run was nearly three hours later. There were lots of cars so rounds weren't as fast as they were in Motopark. Anyway this time I got a neat surprise in the Line Up. I was again on the first pair and this time it would be a battle of two K/SA cars as Noora Laine came to the other lane with her Buick Skylark. This time I had to be careful in the burnout not to rev the engine too much. I had to pump the gas a couple of times... I took a good RT, .038 and I hammered the throttle as hard as possible, because I knew Laine's Buick is fast as well. I recorded a new 60 FT record (1.638) and my ET was 12.335 with 170.02 KM/H top speed. I didn't see Noora's Buick at all so I knew I was the first one to cross the finishing line. She ran 13.110 because of technical problems.
The third run was again three hours later. It was another Heads Up run with two K/SA cars. I couldn't do the burnout with full thottle so that the engine wouldn't scream too much. Anyway .107 RT for me and another good 60FT time, 1.649. My ET was 12.333 with 168.80 KM/H Top Speed. It was my best run so far and after these three runs I had ran 12.339, 12.335 and 12.333. Noora had more technical problems, she ran only 13.209.
The last Qualifying round was at 6:46 PM. I took another good light there (.053), but I ran only 12.433 with 169.36 KM/H top speed. Anyway I was really happy with this run, too, as my Reaction Time was good and the car launched well.
After Qualifying ended, we walked through the pits and looked other cars and of course we talked with friends, too.
EDIT: I found this very cool video in YouTube. Stock & Super Stock first Qualifying Round. Great job and thanks for filming this!
Friday:
On Friday afternoon we put the car on trailer and headed to Alastaro. When we arrived in Alastaro, I headed straight to the Race Office to get all the papers and some electricity. At the same time Mika with my little sister went to the pits looking for a place for our car. The car was taken off from the trailer and we put the rear end on jack stands. Tech Inspector was also doing the inspection, so he took a look at our car. After we passed the Tech Inspection, we had to drive my sister to Pori and we slept that night also at our relatives'.
Saturday:
On Saturday morning we arrived to the pits at 9 AM. First we had to clean up the car, as it was a bit dirty after Friday's rain. There was also a drivers' meeting at the starting area. The new asphalt looked very good and I was pretty sure the traction would be good enough for us, even though some of the faster cars had some traction problems on the first round before our turn. We did a little warm up for the car and then we were called to Line Up.
On the first run I was on the first pair with Tarmo Mikkola in his Super Stock Camaro. The burnout was succesful, but the engine was screaming very high even on the third gear, a bit over 7,000 RPM. It was interesting to see how the sway bar would affect on the launch. I took a little red light (-.088) but the car didn't do a twisting wheelstand as it did at Pori. So the sway bar worked just fine! I went full throttle and ran 12.339 with 170.64 KM/H top speed. The new asphalt was very smooth and I felt no bumps or anything on it. The 60 FT time wasn't the best, but it was a decent. I think the car didn't spin, or if it did, it spun very little.
The second run was nearly three hours later. There were lots of cars so rounds weren't as fast as they were in Motopark. Anyway this time I got a neat surprise in the Line Up. I was again on the first pair and this time it would be a battle of two K/SA cars as Noora Laine came to the other lane with her Buick Skylark. This time I had to be careful in the burnout not to rev the engine too much. I had to pump the gas a couple of times... I took a good RT, .038 and I hammered the throttle as hard as possible, because I knew Laine's Buick is fast as well. I recorded a new 60 FT record (1.638) and my ET was 12.335 with 170.02 KM/H top speed. I didn't see Noora's Buick at all so I knew I was the first one to cross the finishing line. She ran 13.110 because of technical problems.
The third run was again three hours later. It was another Heads Up run with two K/SA cars. I couldn't do the burnout with full thottle so that the engine wouldn't scream too much. Anyway .107 RT for me and another good 60FT time, 1.649. My ET was 12.333 with 168.80 KM/H Top Speed. It was my best run so far and after these three runs I had ran 12.339, 12.335 and 12.333. Noora had more technical problems, she ran only 13.209.
The last Qualifying round was at 6:46 PM. I took another good light there (.053), but I ran only 12.433 with 169.36 KM/H top speed. Anyway I was really happy with this run, too, as my Reaction Time was good and the car launched well.
After Qualifying ended, we walked through the pits and looked other cars and of course we talked with friends, too.
EDIT: I found this very cool video in YouTube. Stock & Super Stock first Qualifying Round. Great job and thanks for filming this!
