Finally, our ’57 hits the track! – August 19th 2020

August 19, 2020:

We had BIG plans for our ’57 going into the 2020 season, and after 2019 we made the decision to put Chris behind the wheel. Over the winter I freshened our old Doug-Nash transmission and installed lower input gears to lower gears 1-4 to accelerate the car harder to the 1/8th mile. We also adjusted our Ram clutch from data we collected in 2019 removing some counterweight from the three levers. 

New 23-33 lower input gears, high-reverse slider & high gear pro-shift ring from Liberty’s Gears for 2020

 

In preparation for 2020, we also purchased a pair of Doug-Nash transmissions from Don McClure to give us some added depth in December 2019, one of which is a face-plated Liberty’s Gears unit which will ultimately become our primary transmission. This transmission being out of a Ford would require a new input shaft and input retainer/collar for our use in the Chevy, but the costs were reasonable from Liberty’s. Just recently I got the transmission fully assembled with the necessary changes. Now I’m waiting on the shift rods from Long to make it a complete unit with an extra pistol-grip shifter Don included in the purchase!

Completed face-plated Doug-Nash 5-speed with new input shaft and GM front bearing retainer/collar

 

In February excited about the 2020 season, I got the Jesel rocker arms back on the car for testing in April and then the pandemic hit which scuttled our plans. In April, Chris fired off the car and ran it thru the gears to get him familiar with the cockpit. We also changed the steering wheel to give him more room in the ’57. Finally on July 1, we took the car out to Pacific Raceways for a test & tune only to get rained out prior to any runs after Chris had warmed-up the car. Needless to say we were disappointed, but we were still hoping the BC Super Shifters would be able to run their race here at PR in August, but extended border closures scuttled that race also. The racing gods were not cooperating!!

Paul, Chris & Pam before the rain came on July 1st!!

 

Not giving up to the pandemic, we went out on August 19th to have some fun at the track at Pacific Raceways to give Chris seat time in the old buggy at a Test & Tune! Pam and I have been staying close to home since early March, so it was especially nice to get out with Chris & Paul at the track on a warm, but beautiful day!

Chris opened with a 11.137 @ 125.72 MPH at 2509 density altitude. The atmospheric conditions did not improve much thru the evening in the low performance air as a low-pressure front was moving in.

His 2nd hit improved with a 10.946 @ 127.17 MPH, he was starting to get the rhythm!

His 3rd hit, Chris put it all together with a very respectable 10.671 @ 127.23 MPH! This was a solid run given the poor density altitude, baro, and air density! We’re very proud of Chris!!

His 4th hit was aborted when the transmission popped out of 4th, but the launch and 2nd gear were rather spectacular as the starting line was in GREAT shape!! Thanks to the entire crew at Pacific Raceways for excellent track prep and keeping us all safe!! I had a GREAT time watching my son behind the wheel and my profound thanks to Paul for helping me crew the car & Pam who captured the following video from this fun outing! And our profound thanks to Handan Trailer Repair for their continued friendship and support! – Roger

Video capture of that last launch:

Slow-motion video of Chris’ 10.67 hit:

Post script, August 21, 2020:

I’m enjoying this crew chief gig of our ’57. I’ve been pouring over the Racepak data from Wednesday, reading sparkplugs and can be more objective about the data not driving, and seeing room for improvement in little places here and there. It takes me back to my line chief duties in Vietnam on Scout helicopters, where I could make objective decisions without the emotions. Don’t be surprised in good air next year if Chris rips off a low 10.20 or better with the face-plated Doug-Nash 5-speed with a tad lower gear ratios in it. Despite the fact the air was very poor on Wednesday night, the data shows we made the correct decisions lowering clutch counterweight and running lower 1-4 gear ratios in the transmission. We’re still learning with each hit and why I love this sport after 50-years!! – Roger

August 26, 2020:

The shorter shift rods showed up today from Long and the face-plated Doug-Nash is ready to go in the car! – Roger

Face-plated Doug-Nash with Long shifter

 

 

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Post Race Report – August 9th 2020

Hello Race Fans!

This past weekend we had 2 cars racing at “The Place To Race” Pacific Raceways for a Swift Tools sponsored bracket race.

Chris was driving Torri’s ’66 Pontiac Tempest and Paul was driving his ’85 Mustang, both in Pro bracket.

We only got 1 qualifying pass, Chris went 11.07 and Paul went 11.62 respectively.

Chris dialed 11.00 for the 1st rd and got the win running 11.01 as had a nice light to go along with his close run against his dial-in.

Paul dialed 11.61 for the 1st rd and ran 11.608 but was tardy against always tough Brian McGinnis so took the loss.

Chris dialed 11.00 for the 2nd rd and in a double breakout race he lost a tight one running 10.98 on his dial-in. The car is running superb and on this pass had the best 60 ft ever of 1.480 which is badass for a street driven naturally aspirated footbrake car! Chris says he had a blast!

It is always fun being out at the track seeing our friends and fellow racers as it was once again a very nice day out.

Big thanks again to our sponsor Handan Trailer Repair and thanks to Brian Lawrence – Swift Tools for all you do for us racers.  Thank you to our family as without their support we wouldn’t be able to race. – Paul Young

 

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From 2015 to the present!

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The History of NHRA ProStock, 1970-2019

An excellent pictorial history of Pro Stock by NHRA that is available on Amazon. From the very beginning of the category featuring small-block, 4-speeds to today’s very high-tech race cars with 500 cubic-inch, fuel-injected engines you’ll enjoy this colorful publication if you are a fan of the factory hot rods and the legends of the sport! – Roger

The History of NHRA Pro Stock 1970-2019

 

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Post Race Report – Sat 07/25/20

Hello Race Fans!

This past Saturday 07/25 Paul raced his Mustang at “The Place To Race” Pacific Raceways to try and capture his 2nd Wally.

He just put new Magnaflow mufflers on the car which he bought from a fellow racer whom owns Auburn Muffler and Repairs.  I would highly recommend their business as they did a fabulous job and it was at a great price. 

We got 2 qualifying passes and the car went 11.59 and 11.62 which were very solid passes for the air so looks like we picked up some ET from the muffler change.

Paul dialed 11.63 for the 1st rd and took the win by .008 in another close race running 11.64 with a little peddle at the stripe.

Paul dialed 11.64 for the 2nd rd matchup against fellow Ford racer Tony Pearce and unfortunately went red for the loss.  Tony went on to make it to the finals against Brian McGinnis in his ’56 Chevy where Brian got the big win for the coveted Wally.

It is always fun being out at the track seeing our friends and fellow racers as it we was a nice day out. 

Big thanks again to our sponsor Handan Trailer Repair and thanks to Brian Lawrence – Swift Tools for all you do for us racers.  Thank you to my family as without their support I wouldn’t be able to race. 

See you all soon at a track near you. – Paul Young  

 

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Torri Sets New Personal Best at TNT – July 24th 2020

After Chris repaired the secondary accelerator pump linkage, Torri was back out at Pacific Raceways in her ’66 Tempest and set a new personal best this evening recording a 10.959 at 120.25 MPH! Baro was 29.59 and corrected altitude was 1100 feet.

Next up will be Paul in his ’85 Mustang and we hope to have Chris out in ’57 in August for some testing – Roger

 

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John Kilroy Footbrake Shootout – Bremerton Raceways

Hello Race Fans!

This past 4th of July weekend was the John Kilroy Footbrake race at Bremerton Raceways for which Chris & Paul have been looking forward to attending since everyone raves about this yearly event.  We took Paul’s Mustang over to give it our best shot!

It is an absolute blast of an event that we would highly recommend to all of our racers & friends as there was plenty of classes to run for all types of cars both with & without electronics.  

We entered into the Gamblers race on Friday night and unfortunately Paul got knocked out in the 1st rd due barely turning on the dreaded red bulb.

We double entered Sat/Sun for both the red & blue side of the ladder.  Paul unfortunately barely got knocked out in the 1st rd of red side by .009 to David Chun in his dragster.  He made it past the 1st rd of the blue side by .0102 margin and in another tight race got nudged by .0038 in the 2nd rd so we were done for Saturday.  

We headed into Sunday with hopes of some more round wins and it happened on the red side as Paul made it to the 3rd rd before getting knocked out by .007 margin against race finalist Justin Cooper.  The blue side of the ladder Paul lost 1st rd due to barely going red once again. 

We had fun time traveling to and from this event with James Ferguson and his son Jim.  James was able to notch a few round wins in his Vega on Saturday. 

We were camping right across from the finish line so we had a birds-eye view of many many tight races at this fabulous event.  We cheered on our fellow racers in all classes and gave them the thumbs up coming back up the return road right beside us.

I would like to give a huge shout out to the Sears Family Racing for doing an awesome job coordinating the footbrake race and ensuring all went well by checking in on us along with our fellow racers.  

THANK YOU to my family as without their support I wouldn’t be able to race.  

See you all soon at a track near you! – Paul Young

 

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Fred Hoffman’s Bracket Kings Showdown – August 1st at Pacific Raceways

For additional information contact Fred at:
https://www.facebook.com/fred.hoffman.3110

Paul’s 2019 Bracket Kings report

 

 

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Chris Pilot’s Our ’57 on July 1st at Pacific Raceways – But Not Far!

As I discussed at the end of the 2019 season, Chris is now behind the wheel of our ’57. We got out for this Test & Tune to get him familiar with the car which is a bit more complicated to drive with our updated Ram clutch. Prior to the burnout you need to turn the launch RPM limiter off, then turn both it and the Racepak Sportsman data recorder on prior to staging to acquire clutch data on each run. There is a LOT going on in a short amount of time! [You make 4-shifts in 6-seconds. You are in 5th gear by the 1/8th mile]. We wanted to get Chris comfortable in the car prior to the very tentative BC Super Shifters race at Pacific Raceways on August 8 & 9th 2020.

Mom & Dad upgrading our ’57 for our new driver in 2020!

 

We went out with our old Pro-shifted Doug-Nash 5-speed which I updated over the winter to lower the 1-4 gear ratios as I discuss here. We were hoping to have the updated face-plated Doug-Nash we purchased over the winter in the car, but the new input shaft & bearing retainer I ordered from Liberty’s Gears had not arrived prior to this outing. So we went with what we have! 🙂

Paul, Chris & Pam before the rains came!!

 

We got out there, went thru tech, and Chris got to warm up the ’57 driving it to the top end, turned it around, jumped on it a tad and shifted from 1-2-3 and came idling back to the pits and stated it was shifting great with the increased air gap in the clutch! We were ready to go, and then the rains came and the track called the event. But at least Chris got a little seat time in the ’57 and we’re home safe & sound! Thanks to Chris, Paul & Pam for a good effort! 2020 continues to be just a tad strange! 🙂

Pam and I wish you all a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend!

Roger

 

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Paul Goes Rounds in Pro Bracket at Pacific Raceways on June 27th 2020

June 27, 2020:

Hello Race Fans,

We had 2 of our cars out at “The Place To Race” Pacific Raceways this Saturday for the Swift Tools points series race. Torri was driving her ’66 Pontiac Tempest and I was driving my ’85 Ford Mustang, both entered in Pro Bracket.

We both got the customary 2 qualifying passes prior to elimination.  Torri’s car was off by .15-.20 from the normal expected 11.0 ET’s on those qualifying passes and I ran 11.71 & 11.70 on my 2 passes.  

We put a 11.20 dial for Torri in the 1st rd and she ran 11.25 just coming up a little short to her opponent unfortunately.  The car has lost .06-.08 in the first 60 ft so we are thinking the transmission and/or converter might be hurt but we will know more in the near future.  It was a bummer as the car has been running awesome prior to this race with a best of 10.99 @ 120 mph and Torri has been doing a fabulous job driving too.

I managed to make my way to the 5th rd before I got taken out by .0016 margin in a double breakout against the eventual race winner Brian Thompson. 

It was nice to see all of our fellow racers and friends once again during these crazy times & wish to say congratulations to all of the finalists in each class. Huge thanks to our sponsor Handan Trailer Repair and Swift Tools Brian Lawrence for his support. 

Hope to see you all again real soon, please stay safe!

Paul Young 

Paul wins 4th round vs Gordon Rust – Video capture

 

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Torri Runs First 10-Second Pass at Pacific Raceways

Torri’s first 10-second pass on June 17, 2020! Video capture

 

June 17, 2020:

Torri and Chris took her ’66 Tempest out to a Test & Tune and recorded her first 10-second hit on her 3rd pass setting a new milestone at 6:36 PM at a density altitude of 1654 feet! Her Pontiac is now officially a 10-second street/strip car with the Pontiac 436 under the hood.

Prior to going out, Chris installed a rear sway-bar which GREATLY improved the roll in the car on the launch. Congratulations Torri!

Chris has a video posted below. – Roger

 

https://www.facebook.com/chris.young.9022/videos/2995216723848928/

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First Out In 2020 – Torri’s ’66 Tempest – PR May 29th 2020

May 29, 2020:

First out for Edwards & Young this year of the Covid-19 pandemic was Torri’s ’66 Tempest featuring new Wilwood front disc brakes, new upper & lower front control arms and new radial ‘slicks’ on the back of the car at Pacific Raceways under their guidelines to keep all the participants and their track crew members safe. Chris worked hard upgrading the Tempest over the winter!

New Wilwood disc brakes for Torri’s Pontiac

New A-arms and spindles for Torri’s Pontiac for the 2020 season!

 

On Torri’s 1st hit of 2020 she ran a 11.11 @ 117 MPH with a solid 1.50 60ft

On her 2nd hit she recorded a 11.093 @ 120.10 MPH with the 830 carb.

Her 3rd hit with the 830 carb was her best of the evening. Chris stated after the 3rd hit, “It’s torquing over and going to the right on the launch. Last run was better and went 11.03 @ 120.14. The 830 worked well on this pass. Thanks pop’s for putting it together.”

Our thanks to the entire crew and management at Pacific Raceways for making this evening possible under Covid-19 restrictions! – Roger

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From 2015 to the present!

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Black Magic Clutches – Interactive Clutch Tuning Podcast with Cale Aronson – April 23, 2020

 

Excellent clutch tuning webinar by Cale Aronson:

Part 1:

https://youtu.be/X9KVkxnidDs

Part 2:

https://youtu.be/RMEmfuvRLio

Roger Young & Jamie Roth – 2016 BC Super Shifters Race at PR – Mike Ward photo

 

We confirmed by the webinar that we’re not very far off on our clutch settings. When we have the unit rebuilt we’ll lower the base pressure spring rate and rely more on counterweight to give us a larger tuning window from what we learned from Cale last evening. I thank Cale for sharing his extensive knowledge with all of us!!

Below is a capture of our RacePak data from last run of 2019. Blue line is Engine/Driveshaft ratio. I’ve placed the vertical cursor where high gear goes 1:1 and clutch lockup is at 6488 engine rpm – we’re shooting for 6600 so we’re close. The blue line also vividly shows where you spike the tires on the gear changes, 1-2 naturally being the worst due to less ground speed and lower ratios. This was with the 3.19 1st gear. – Roger

[Click on photo for full size]

Liberty’s Gears Videos:

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