Post by {ICM} Pete on Aug 11, 2012 21:10:57 GMT -6
Hi guys,
As you know, I was gone on Friday (yesterday). I thought I would share some of the pictures and videos of things I saw because it may be neat to one or two of you.
On Friday morning I left to meet my parents at their home town (we live in Texas). One of the things my dad does as a fun hobby has always been working on cars. He and my uncle both own dragsters and other things. My dad put his together all his own. It has been through a lot of stages and my dad has learned a lot. Yesterday, he took it to a track.
This place is called Little River Raceway about half an hour north of Austin, Texas. Every weekend (Fri. and Sat.) there are different kinds of tournaments. This weekend was a "test and tune" session. There weren't any official races, but people still raced for fun. My dad wanted to take his dragster there and test how it performed. I decided to go with my family.
So here we are in one of dad's shops getting ready to leave the morning of the trip. Dad is basically doing some fine tuning and cleaning it off.
The trip took about three hours on the road. The trailer is 24 feet long and has a lot of weight in it, so you have to drive slow around winding turns at about 55 mph tops.
We arrived early (about 6 p.m.) and cars had already started to line the streets. Anyone can race here in anything - street cars, high performance cars, and even everyday common vehicles.
At first, we just hung out by the fence near the racing lanes after we parked. We wanted to relax for a bit after the long drive. We watched other cars drive by getting ready to race:
...and we watched other cars race for awhile:
Then dad decided he was going to do a pass. We got the car out of the trailer.
Dad put on the suit and helmet and all of that stuff then got ready to do the race. This was the first pass he did which was a "test pass" to see how the car would handle the lane and how it was running. He did about 3/4 throttle on this one and then let off.
Each pass uses about two gallons of fuel. Different cars run on different things. Some engines run on things like Aviation fuel. The engine that dad has in his car right now runs on methanol. If you stand close while the engine is running, it makes your eyes water really badly because a strong biproduct from the methanol is put into the air from the combustion.
Dad ended up doing three passes in total Friday night. Each pass takes time to prepare. It's not like starting up your regular car.
The last pass he raced someone who he had been talking to during the night for fun.
My version of the pass is above. The sound cuts out a bit of the way through because it's VERY loud.
My brother's video is a better version of the final pass here:
My dad actually technically lost the race because he "red-lighted". That means that he took off before you're supposed to. My dad's car works on a trigger system. He mashes a button as soon as he sees the first light come on. From then on, everything works through a computer chip and the car takes off automatically.
They recorded that my dad took off too early by .0001 seconds and gave him the red light. With such a slim margin of time, who can be sure though? Maybe the computer hit it right on the buzzer? Maybe not? Either way everyone laughed because it was just for fun.
Anyway, the day was exhausting (got home at 4 in the morning), but very fun and exciting at the same time. I thought one or two of you would enjoy the pics/vids, so I shared the days events. Feel free to talk and comment if you like, but I would greatly appreciate it if you don't spam the poop out of my thread please (as a courtesy to me). Thanks. Hope you enjoy guys.
-Jenna
As you know, I was gone on Friday (yesterday). I thought I would share some of the pictures and videos of things I saw because it may be neat to one or two of you.
On Friday morning I left to meet my parents at their home town (we live in Texas). One of the things my dad does as a fun hobby has always been working on cars. He and my uncle both own dragsters and other things. My dad put his together all his own. It has been through a lot of stages and my dad has learned a lot. Yesterday, he took it to a track.
This place is called Little River Raceway about half an hour north of Austin, Texas. Every weekend (Fri. and Sat.) there are different kinds of tournaments. This weekend was a "test and tune" session. There weren't any official races, but people still raced for fun. My dad wanted to take his dragster there and test how it performed. I decided to go with my family.
So here we are in one of dad's shops getting ready to leave the morning of the trip. Dad is basically doing some fine tuning and cleaning it off.
The trip took about three hours on the road. The trailer is 24 feet long and has a lot of weight in it, so you have to drive slow around winding turns at about 55 mph tops.
We arrived early (about 6 p.m.) and cars had already started to line the streets. Anyone can race here in anything - street cars, high performance cars, and even everyday common vehicles.
At first, we just hung out by the fence near the racing lanes after we parked. We wanted to relax for a bit after the long drive. We watched other cars drive by getting ready to race:
...and we watched other cars race for awhile:
Then dad decided he was going to do a pass. We got the car out of the trailer.
Dad put on the suit and helmet and all of that stuff then got ready to do the race. This was the first pass he did which was a "test pass" to see how the car would handle the lane and how it was running. He did about 3/4 throttle on this one and then let off.
Each pass uses about two gallons of fuel. Different cars run on different things. Some engines run on things like Aviation fuel. The engine that dad has in his car right now runs on methanol. If you stand close while the engine is running, it makes your eyes water really badly because a strong biproduct from the methanol is put into the air from the combustion.
Dad ended up doing three passes in total Friday night. Each pass takes time to prepare. It's not like starting up your regular car.
The last pass he raced someone who he had been talking to during the night for fun.
My version of the pass is above. The sound cuts out a bit of the way through because it's VERY loud.
My brother's video is a better version of the final pass here:
My dad actually technically lost the race because he "red-lighted". That means that he took off before you're supposed to. My dad's car works on a trigger system. He mashes a button as soon as he sees the first light come on. From then on, everything works through a computer chip and the car takes off automatically.
They recorded that my dad took off too early by .0001 seconds and gave him the red light. With such a slim margin of time, who can be sure though? Maybe the computer hit it right on the buzzer? Maybe not? Either way everyone laughed because it was just for fun.
Anyway, the day was exhausting (got home at 4 in the morning), but very fun and exciting at the same time. I thought one or two of you would enjoy the pics/vids, so I shared the days events. Feel free to talk and comment if you like, but I would greatly appreciate it if you don't spam the poop out of my thread please (as a courtesy to me). Thanks. Hope you enjoy guys.
-Jenna
