FHRA Summer Nationals 2018

[Niko L]

FHRA Summer Nationals was organized at Alastaro Raceway in June. There was also a Test & Tune Day on Friday, which was really good as we needed some test runs to be able to tune the car better.

Earlier that week we had to do some work for the car. At Spring Nationals we were suffering from oil leaks so we pushed the car out of the garage, took the engine out and changed the oil pan gasket to a new one (and a lot of gasket maker ). The engine was mounted back in the car and on Thursday we were going to pack up the car and head to Alastaro.

Thursday:

On Thursday when everything else was already packed up and I tried to fire up the car and drive it closer to our Race Bus in order to drag it inside, the engine was running very rough. There was no idle at all and with a lot of throttle it kept barely running. We opened up the carburetor a couple of times, cleaned everything inside but it didn't help at all. We tried to check ignition timing also but it wasn't possible as the engine was running so bad. Finally when we took the carburetor off completely, I found out that either me or Mika had forgotten a pair of washers under the carburetor gasket... Great. No wonder it ran so bad... Well, a few hours late of our schedule we finally got the car inside and started driving towards Alastaro track.




It was pretty late when we finally arrived to the pits. There were only one or two Stock/Super Stock teams so we just parked our bus behind Lindbergs' SS/KA Plymouth Duster.



Friday:

Friday was a Test & Tune day so we were hoping that we would get as many runs as possible and be able to tune the car a bit better. Hopefully even run the 11 second ET that we had been looking for. In the morning I waxed the car as we didn't have time to do that before the Spring Nationals. After that the Malibu looked pretty good.



Before our first run we did a bit of carburetor tuning. First run was at 11:24 AM. There was some new asphalt in the burnout box, and it was very slippery! Had to pedal the car several times in the burnout to keep the RPM below 7000. I left with .071 RT and suffered from the carburetor bog again. Despite the bad 60 FT, I ran a decent 12.132 and 175 KM/H.




After this run we did a bit more carburetor tuning. The second run was at 12.43PM. This time I left with a good .011 RT. My 60FT wasn't very good this time either, actually the carburetor bogged a bit more than what it did on the first run. Despite that I ran 12.111 and 176 KM/H.




After this run we tried a couple of tricks with the carburetor as a friend said that they had helped in their car. Well, they didn't work on ours, as I suffered from a huge bog at the start. Anyway, my Reaction Time was a good one, .015. I ran 12.146 & 176 KM/H on this run.




Next we went back to the setup that we had on second run. As the car bogs when I hammer the throttle at starting line, we decided to try launching against the Two Step, with full throttle to see if that would work. Well, it didn't work either. I didn't concentrate on reactions this time, so I left with .123 RT. I ran only 12.167 with 175 KM/H top speed.




Before next run we increased the ignition advance a little. It seemed to be a good thing as my 60FT time improved a lot. I left with -.032 red light, but I ran 12.041 and 175 KM/H anyway. That was a new record so we knew that we're on the right track!




While the engine seemed to like it when we increased the timing advance, we did the same thing again. I took .084 RT on this run. My 60FT was a bit slower than on previous run, but despite that I set another new record by running 12.018 and 177 KM/H! Getting closer to the elevens!


Our last Test & Tune run was at 5:25PM. We decided to go with the same setup as on previous run. Unfortunately this time the engine bogged a bit at start. I left with .047 RT and because of the small bogging, I ran 12.122 and 175 KM/H. So not completely bad run, but not a good one either.




Overall it was a very good day! We were able to tune the engine and I set a new record for the car a couple of times, too! So on Saturday when the Qualifying would start, we were ready to try running into the elevens!

[Niko L]

Saturday:

On Saturday the weather was really nice. In the morning we charged our battery a little. After a small warm up and refueling the Malibu we were ready to go. First Qualifying round was at 10:40AM. Again, we went with the same setup to see how it would work on these weather conditions. I left with -.044 red light. My 60FT was decent and I set yet another record again! This time I ran 12.009 with 175 KM/H top speed! Very close to the 11 second ET we weree looking for.




Since we were this close, we didn't do any changes to the car. We decided to see what would happen on round two. This time I left with .030 RT, but the carburetor bogged a little. Because of that I ran 12.081 and 175 KM/H. So not bad.




Before third round we changed the carburetor metering rods to see if that would improve my ET a little. Well, it didn't. My 60FT was slightly better this time, but top speed was lower. So I ran 12.104 and 173 KM/H.

For fourth round we changed the carburetor rods back. Also rear shocks were adjusted harder as the track had very good traction and we were pretty confident that it could take it without spinning the tires. Fourth run wasn't a major success, I had a carburetor bog at start which slowed me down at 12.118 and 173 KM/H.

At this point it looked like the 5th round will be the last Qualifying Round for us. So before that, we increased the ignition advance again and borrowed an air blower from a friend to get the intake and carburetor as cold as possible before this run. Of course we were looking for the 11 second run as we were already so close in the morning...


The fifth and last Qualifying Round was at 5:25 PM. I left with .015 RT and immediately I noticed that now the car is running very well. The 60FT was a good one, 1.612 and that promised a good ET. Well, after all it didn't go to the elevens yet, but I set another record by improving the old one by .002 seconds! So I ran 12.007 & 174 KM/H!





After a good Qualifying Day like this it was time to grill some meat for dinner and get ready for the Eliminations on Sunday.



Qualifying Results:

1. The 1st place went to Arto Sulopuisto in his B/S Pontiac Firebird. The Pontiac was running great, the best ET was 10.021 that is -1.179 under NHRA 11.20 index.


2. Jarmo Grönman took the 2nd place with his C/S Chevy Camaro. He had to run with the Camaro in this event as the Factory Stock Mustang had a broken transmission. The Camaro was running strong, too, so his best run was 10.254 that is -1.096 under NHRA 11.35 index.


3. Jarmo Markkanen with his A/S Pontiac Firebird was the third. He ran 10.055 that is -0.895 under NHRA index.


4. Anna Hassinen with her SS/JA Pontiac Trans Am. She ran 10.128 that is -0.872 under NHRA 11.00 index. If I remember correctly, this was a new record for her as well.


5. Bo Nylund with his E/SA '72 Ford Mustang. The best ET for him was 10.889 that is -0.811 under NHRA 11.70 index.


6. Iiro Mikkola with SS/HA '69 Camaro. His best run was 9.808 that is -0.792 under NHRA 10.60 index.


7. Kai Suilo with his home-built FS/C COPO Camaro. He ran 9.596 that is -0.704 under NHRA 10.30 index.


8. Vilma Palasmaa with her D/SA '68 Camaro. Her best run was 10.966 that is -0.584 under NHRA 11.55 index.


9. Yrjö Wallius with his SS/J Rambler American. This time he didn't do such a huge wheelstands as he did in Spring Nationals. And that made him run a bit faster. This time the best run was 10.253 that is -0.547 under NHRA 10.80 index.


10. Sari Kainulainen in her F/SA '66 Chevy II. She ran the best of 11.188 that is -0.512 under NHRA 11.70 index.


11. Niko Lindström with J/SA '74 Chevy Malibu Classic. I set our new record at 12.007 that is -0.443 under NHRA 12.45 index.


12. Julia Lindberg in her SS/KA Plymouth Duster. They got more runs with the new car and the results improved since the last time. Her best run was 10.809 that is -0.441 under NHRA 11.25 index.


13. Jouni Kortelainen in D/SA Pontiac Firebird that he had rented from Eronen Racing. Unfortunately something happened, and the drivetrain got hurt pretty bad. So unfortunately he was out of the Eliminations. The best run for him was 11.399 that is -0.151 under NHRA 11.55 index.


14. Noora Laine with her K/SA '72 Buick Skylark. It was great to see them back on track after a few years. The Buick had a new engine, but it gave them lots of problems especially with the valvetrain. Despite all of the problems they were able to make it to the track, running the best ET of 12.920 that is 0.270 over NHRA 12.65 index.

[Niko L]

Sunday:

On Sunday morning we decided not to do any modifications to the car. I set my dial in to 11.99 and decided to go full throttle no matter what happened on the other lane. After all, if I would break out, I'd still be happy for the 11 second ET!



1st Elimination Round:

On the first round, the first pair was Arto Sulopuisto in his B/S Firebird against Vilma Palasmaa in her D/SA '68 Camaro. Unfortunately the game was over already at the starting line, when Palasmaa left with a tiny -.001 red light. She ran 11.142 with her 10.99 dial in, while Sulopuisto left with .046 RT and ran 10.093 on his 10.02 dial in and continued to the 2nd round.

The second pair was Jarmo Markkanen in his A/S Firebird against Sari Kainulainen in her E/SA '66 Nova. Sari left first with a bit better reactions, .063 against Jarmo's .083, but after a very close race, Jarmo took the win. He ran really close to his dial in, 10.145 (10.14 dial in). Sari ran 11.279 on her 11.20 dial in, but it wasn't quite enough this time.

On the next pair Iiro Mikkola had a solo run, as Jouni Kortelainen was out of the Eliminations because of a broken drivetrain. Mikkola's SS/HA '69 Camaro ran 9.852 on 9.80 dial in.

Next pair was going to be a tight match up, between Jarmo Grönman's C/S Camaro and Yrjö Wallius' '67 Rambler. Wallius left first with .041 RT and ran 10.311 on 10.28 dial in. Grönman left with .101 RT but broke out, running 10.240 on 10.25 dial in, so Wallius continued to the 2nd round with his Rambler American.

Then it was Bo Nylund in his E/SA Ford Mustang against Julia Lindberg in her SS/KA Plymouth Duster. This race was also pretty much over already at the start as Nylund was so late at the tree, leaving with .483 RT. He ran 10.989 on 10.89 dial in, but had no chance against Lindberg's .106 RT and 10.853 ET on 10.80 dial in.

Next I was going to be against Anna Hassinen's SS/JA Pontiac Trans Am. I knew it was going to be a tight race so I had to try everything I could to make a good pass. On the burnout I saw some problems with Anna's Pontiac, but she lined up to the starting line so I thought everything was OK. Apparently that wasn't the case as her Pontiac crawled to Deep Stage, which is not allowed in our class. So I won, despite leaving with a small -.041 red light. I ran 12.164 and 172 KM/H, for some reason the car didn't go any faster than that. Anna's problems continued and she barely made it to the finishing line with a 39 second ET.



Last pair was Kai Suilo in FS/C COPO Camaro against Noora Laine in K/SA '72 Skylark. Noora left first with a good reaction time, .021 but the newly rebuilt Buick engine wasn't properly tuned up yet. She ran 12.942 on her 12.65 dial in, which wasn't fast enough to beat Suilo who left with .121 RT and ran 9.565 on his 9.56 dial in.


2nd Elimination Round:

First, Arto Sulopuisto had a solo run in his B/S Pontiac Firebird. He ran 10.129 on 10.00 dial in on that run.

Second pair was Jarmo Markkanen in his A/S Firebird against Iiro Mikkola in his SS/HA '69 Camaro. It was a very close race, both of the guys left with almost identical reactions, .041 for Iiro and .043 for Jarmo. Mikkola ran 9.870 on 9.85 dial in and Markkanen ran 10.143 on 10.12 dial in. The win light was flashing on Mikkola's lane so he continued to the Semi Finals.

Next pair, Yrjö Wallius in his '67 Rambler American against Julia Lindberg in her SS/KA Plymouth Duster. Lindberg left first with .096 RT and Wallius followed with .079 RT. It was a close race, but Lindberg broke out by a little, running 10.821 on 10.84 dial in, so Wallius continued to the Semis by running 10.323 on 10.30 dial in.

On the last pair I was going to run against Kai Suilo's FS/C Camaro. I slowed down my dial in to 12.13 for this run. I left first with a not-so-good .119 RT. Suilo did a lot better with .042 RT, but he spun the tires a bit at the start which gave me the possibility to hit the brakes before finishing line to prevent from breaking out. So I won by running 12.164 and 169 KM/H on my 12.13 dial in, while Suilo ran 10.031 with his 9.56 dial in.




Semi Final Round:

On the first pair of the Semi Finals, Arto Sulopuisto in her B/S Firebird was running against Iiro Mikkola's SS/HA '69 Camaro. Sulopuisto was a bit late at the start with his .214 RT and had to break out trying to stay ahead of Iiro's Camaro. Sulopuisto ran 10.078 on 10.09 dial in while Mikkola won by taking a .019 RT and running 9.880 on 9.87 dial in.

On the second Semi Final pair I was going to run against Yrjö Wallius' Rambler American. I changed my dial in to 12.14 for this run. I left first with .127 RT so plenty of room for improvement in there. But this time it didn't matter because Wallius took a red light by -.052. So I ran 12.214 on my 12.14 dial in, Yrjö did 10.334 on his 10.31 dial in, but because of his red light, I continued to the finals!




Before the Finals we had to add some weight to the car. The minimum weight for our car is 1704 kilos. On the second round I was exactly 1704 kilos on the scales and after this Semi Final run I was only 1705 kilos. So that's a bit too close. Thanks to Hassinen's team we got some more fuel to the gas tank (the final was going to be my run number 16 during this weekend so we had no more gas in our gas cans). Small bits of lead were bolted to the car as well to stay safe with the weight.

Final Round:

I changed my dial in to 12.15 for this final round. We both left with identical reactions, .100 for me and .104 for Iiro. It was a very close race, and a double break out too. I ran 12.112 on my 12.15 dial in, Iiro ran 9.841 on his 9.87 dial in, so he ended up the winner as I broke out more. Anyway, a Runner Up place for me, so I was very happy with the results!




Overall it was a great weekend! I was able to set a couple of new records for the car and we got really close to the 11 second ET. And the Eliminations went really well, as I got my first ever Final Round appearance in FHRA events and ended up being the Runner Up.

Here is a link to the Picture Gallery from this event.

And here are a couple of videos.
First, an in car video of my 12.007 run.


And here are all of the runs that Mika was able to film on video...