Edwards & Young Racing – Seattle & Kent, WA.

Today we took the ’57 out to Pacific Raceways for its last field trip of 2013, and Paul was driving Torri’s Pontiac in Sportsman attempting to wrap up the 2013 Sportsman Championship.

After the drizzle cleared up in the morning and the track was dried, I was first up with the ’57 in Pro Bracket. Once again we buzzed the tires on the starting line and only mustered a 10.971 @ 124.14 mph. The good news is after Chris replaced our old fuel tank with a foam-filled fuel cell prior to this race our high gear drop of fuel pressure is resolved. I had 7 psi in the lights.

We lowered the launch to 7300 for our 2nd time hit and the car left much better (pictured below) but the transmission blocked out going into 2nd gear. This also happened in the 1st round so we have some transmission issues – likely the 2nd gear pro shift ring and slider –  to address over the winter. We’ll also be replacing our old, crusty Kustom headers with Stahl headers and putting on new Hoosier slicks since Goodyear has discontinued our tire size.

See It Imagery photo – CLICK TO ENLARGE!

The Tempest was running well today but Paul was a bit late on the tree in the 1st round and lost, but he did pick up 30 valuable points and is still currently the points leader. Paul then went into the Gambler race and went a couple rounds before being eliminated by a -.007 redlight. After this round Chris jetted the carburetor for the upcoming Division 6 ET Finals at Spokane next weekend using the data from Boise – both tracks are similar elevations and predicted temperatures, so the Tempest is ready to go! After the Spokane race there is only one points race remaining at PR which could decide the 2013 Sportsman track championship.

Hiking the left front wheel, August 24th 2013

My thanks to Chris, Justin, Paul & Pam for all their help with the ’57 this season. Not the best season by a long shot but the motor held up well so I’m happy! – Roger

Torri & Peyten cheering for us from the stands!

August 19th 2013:

This past weekend Chris took the Chevelle out to Pacific Raceways for the divisional race along with helping Barry Hobson with his Top Dragster and Top Sportsman cars. Barry did well on Sunday making it to the 3rd round in both categories before being eliminated.

Barry Hobson at the hit in Top Sportsman – Pacific Raceways Divisional Race, August 2013

As to our Chevelle wagon, problems continue to plague us. A car that averaged 10.42 last season only mustered a 10.793 @ 124.88 MPH with a sluggish 1.473 60 foot time on its final pass on Sunday. Frankly I think we are having some engine problems which we must investigate. Or the transmission/converter is consuming a ton of horsepower. Either way, we need to take a step back and examine everything carefully. Until we can find the problem the car will remain parked. – Roger

UPDATE:

Chris informed me this afternoon that while taking the car off the trailer, the car wouldn’t back up. I guess my hunch that the sensitive transbrake switch was applying when the car came down and bounced after the lauch was valid. Now we have two transmissions to replace and the converters are in doubt.

Regardless, we will still run extensive checks on the motor. I hope the damage is limited to the transmissions. It has been a very frustrating year for all involved ! – Roger

UPDATE:

Since our original post, we checked the engine running valve spring pressure checks, leaked down the cylinders, checked the ignition timing and all is in good shape. The only wear we saw was with some of the lash caps which we will replace before next Spring.

Chris has since installed the new transmission with our rebuilt TCI torque converter we were using prior to the 2013 season. The Chevelle should be back to launching hard in 2014! – Roger

We were going to take the ’57 out this evening but threat of thunderstorms and the fact I tweaked my back this morning cancelled that venture.

However, Paul went out to garner more points in Sportsman before the rains came just before the 3rd round and here is his report on his race for the track championship. Chris was at the track giving Paul a hand and maintaining the Tempest. – Roger

It was a crazy evening at Pacific Raceways as the weather threw everyone a curve ball with figuring out what to dial and due to unplanned down time for oil downs, breakage, etc. we all had 1 time hit before 1st rd which isn’t much of an issue with the Pontiac as the car is consistent as heck to say the least!  🙂

This afternoon was HOT here throughout the Northwest with temperatures reaching 91-degrees on the first qualifying hit. Kudos for the track crew at Pacific Raceways for doing a good job in the unusual heat here in the Seattle area, the worst atmospheric conditions we have run in since keeping data.  

Chris was on a roll before the transbrake gremlin raised its ugly head again in the 4th round of Pro Bracket and wouldn’t apply on the starting line. The car rolled through the beams turning the tree red. This year has been frustrating dealing with the repeated stuck transbrake piston but Chris was having fun until that moment!!  Despite the heat and high water grains, the Chevelle put up some good numbers during this event running in the low 10.50’s and 1.42 60′ times.

Paul extended his lead tonight in Sportsman driving Torri’s ’66 Tempest to the semi-finals before being eliminated by an exceptional run by his competitor that took the well deserved round win cutting a great light and running on his dial-in. Like Paul said, “he earned that one!”

Our thanks to Justin Jung once again giving us a hand at the track this evening. Job well done guys! Paul’s report is below – Roger

It was a fun filled evening with both Chris & myself making it to the 4th rd, I was very happy that we both did well well just a little sad for Chris having lost due to transbrake issues.  We were really thinking that we would both meet in the winners circle together for our respective classes but still great evening overall, good job bro!

I lost in the 4th rd with a good rt of .019 but as you know my opponent Larry DeCamp went .005 on me and ran 12.277 on a 12.27 dial to my 12.343 on a 12.32 dial due to spinning a bit off the line but not too bad.  I saw him pretty much the whole way from 660 ft on as he was just pacing me as he only went 102 mph so great job on his part as a great race.  I picked up another 63 pts so should be about 85 pts ahead of “The Worm” as he showed up at the last second due to racing at Bremerton earlier in the day.

Thanks again for all the support given by everyone, can’t wait for the Nostalgia race in 2 weeks as should be fun times with watching Dad kick butt! – Paul Young

’70 Chevelle, Pro Bracket:

As reported the last time out, the Chevelle damaged our reliable TCI torque converter in the 1st round after 169 runs. Chris & Justin got the replacement TH-400 with the new, tighter TCI converter in the Chevelle this past week. We were hoping for a performance improvement but the car is actually running a tad slower with the new converter.

To add to the frustration in the 1st round this Sunday, the transbrake didn’t apply. After this aborted effort, Chris pulled the transbrake solenoid and found the pushrod had stuck. With a little spit & polish it is once again operational.

’66 Pontiac Tempest, Sportsman:

Paul was running Torri’s Tempest this Sunday as the ’68 Mustang of Ron West still has some problems to sort out.  Prior to going out this weekend Chris replaced the old dual-plane intake with a single-plane model. In the performance department there was no measurable changes. As predicted it gave up a little on the bottom end and improved slightly on the higher RPM range, but the end result was basically a wash.

Paul lost a very close race in the 1st round running a 12.343 on a 12.36 with an outstanding .016 reaction time. His competition cut an equally uncanny reaction time of .013 and ran a 10.657 on a 10.64 for the win!  You don’t see many of those great races in Sportsman!

Barry Hobson runner-up in Pro Bracket:

Barry did an excellent job today, getting to the final found of Pro Bracket with his blue Pontiac Tempest. Torri purchased her ’66 Tempest from Barry years back and it still has his 400 c.i. engine in the car. Congratulations Barry!

This evening we headed out to Pacific Raceways to get the chassis sorted out on the ’57 for the upcoming Nostalgia Race on July 13th & 14th. The goal was not for maximum performance but for a good combination that would work in the heat and give me some practice time behind the wheel. The Wednesday test & tune in the heat gave us the opportunity to put some hits on the car and make adjustments which is difficult on a race day.

We opened with a 10.845 @ 124 mph @ 81-degrees and a density altitude of 2114 feet. After this pass we loosened the rear shocks one click but that was a bit too loose and the car slowed to a 10.861 @ 123.45 mph @ 81.8 degrees and a density altitude of 2194 feet.

Strapping in – Pacific Raceways June 5th 2013
Click to enlarge image

First pass, left lane, June 5th 2013
10.845 @ 124.00 – 1.498 60 foot
Chris Young, crew chief, behind car checking wheelie bars.
Click to enlarge

We went back to our original shock setting and recorded a 10.823 @ 124.60 mph @ 73 degrees with a density altitude of 1633 feet but the water grains had risen to 57.12.

We allowed the sun to go down, lowered the launch from 7500 to 7400 rpm and in the best air conditions of the evening we recorded a 10.793 @ 124.68 mph @ 71.5 degrees with a density altitude of 1580 feet, water grains @ 64.55 and our best 60-foot time of the evening of 1.480 seconds.

Looking at the data this morning compared to runs going back to 1999, we put up some good numbers in like atmospheric conditions. We’re happy with these results.

My thanks to my crew chief, Chris Young, Justin Jung & Paul Young for making this testing possible and a success. I believe we are in good shape for the upcoming Wild West Nostalgia Race. Here’s a short YouTube video:

httpvh://youtu.be/asWjYSvt9Gk

Mac West, Justin Jung, Chris & Paul Young

June 1, 2013:

Paul got his 2nd win in Sportsman at Pacific Raceways driving Torri’s ’66 Pontiac Tempest. Paul switched to the Pontiac as the ’68 Mustang of Ron West was not yet ready for the track. The new TCI converter in the Tempest really woke the car up and it was putting up strong numbers on the way to the winner’s circle.

The bad news was in the 1st round, Chris’ Chevelle appears to have damaged that converter after 169 hits. So the team has more transmission related work in the future.

Congratulations to Paul and my thanks to the entire Edwards & Young team getting the Tempest operational for this race. The work paid off for Paul and his 2013 quest for the Track Championship. Here’s Paul’s report:

This was the 1st race back at Pacific Raceways with the new converter in the Pontiac and it couldn’t have gone any better to say the least!  We set new ET records across the board with the quicked pass ever @ 12.278 107.93 mph with the best ever 60 ft of 1.659, talk about a huge difference.

I had a few opponents red light against me that sure helped the cause as I wasn’t at my best on the tree at times but that is one of the cool advantages of having the faster car.  One of the closer races was in the 2nd rd when I took the stripe by .0153 as I had a .004 rt to my opponent .051 rt which gave me wiggle room to back into him just a little to run 12.376 on a 12.35 dial.  In the final round it was a rematch of myself versus Jerry Durant Jr, the difference this time was I beat him with Mac’s 67 Mustang at the 1st points race of the year and I knew that I needed to be on my game especially for this round.  I had a .016 rt to his .072 rt and once again that gave me some wiggle room at the stripe as I caught him and just fendered him to the stripe running a 12.362 on a 12.32 dial with a margin of victory of .0212 for the 2nd win of the 2013 season.

This will put me back in 1st place going into the next race which hopefully will be the long awaited debut for 68 Mustang owned by Ron West, we are expecting good things for the remainder of the season.  It will be a big adjustment on my part driving my 3rd car for this year but I like challenges and will be ready to go.  My buddy and teammate Mac West went out in the 2nd round in Sportsman by the narrowest margin of .003 driving his 67 Mustang, he will get em at the next race for sure.

I want to say thanks again for all of the support from everyone in getting the Pontiac fixed so quickly and just can’t believe how fast the car went, it is sure fun to drive to say the least.

Sincerely,

Paul