Let's Try This: Your 1st Trip Down The Dragstrip

sneaky98gt

10 Year Member
Apr 23, 2008
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NC State University
Local racing forum had a thread like this, turned out pretty cool. So, for those of you who have been racing, you certainly remember your first trip to the track. What was it like? What ETs did you run? Any cool memories? I'll go first.

It was November 2006, less than a week after I turned 16 at Outer Banks Speedway in NC. I was driving the 98 GT still in my sig now. 100% bone stock. It ran 9.73 at 72.something. Slow as hell. Still got the timeslips from that night somewhere. I still remember being scared as hell right before each pass I made, haha.

There was another guy there (now close friend) who had a turbo Jetta, gas motor. We literally ran the exact same ETs and traps. Only difference was the RT. So we'd run door to door all night long, only difference was the reaction. We'd make a several dozen runs on any given night. It really was more fun back then. Door-to-door racing, even if it's at extremely slow ETs, is still ridiculously fun. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 750 passes since then, all in the same car.

Whatcha got?
 
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I cant remember the specific date or ET but it must have been 12 or 13 years ago. I drove my 88 Pontiac Firebird Formula with a 305. That car was heavy and slow. I ran somewhere in the 15 second range. I was incredibly nervous but after the first run it got a little easier each time.

The funny thing is I know I had run higher speeds on the interstate but for some reason it seemed a lot faster on the track. I was never paired up with anything I could get ahead of. My Firebird was slow but it had T-tops and was a fun car to drive. Nice to remember but I'll never own one of those cars again. Stupid headlight motors and T-top leaks.
 
mine was back in 1991. Bought a brand new 91 Mustang GT and went to Cecil a few months later. Ran a best of 13.99 after a rew runs. Of course the very first run was more like a 15.xx because i spun through three gears. :D. Later was able to get that car into the 13.60's. I was hooked!

Best time I think I had was a few years later I picked up a 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo. I as able to get that thing into the 12.60's after I upgraded the turbo. I remember sitting in the staging lanes amongst a bunch of old Chevys and Dodges rumbling away watching them glance over and shake there heads as I lined up. One guy came up to me later and said "damn, whats in that thing, a nuclear reactor?"
 
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I wish I'd run my car stock. My 1st runs were after my gear and intake manifold swap. I think my 1st run was a 15.7 at 97. After a few runs I had 14.7 at 98. I wasn't really nervous since I was 34 at the time. I wasn't worried about what anyone thought of me like you do when you are younger. I do still get giddy as a school girl when I get out there though.
 
I remember making my first pass on July 1st, 2011 in my current car (sig). I ran a pitiful 14.54@97 at our horrible track, Luskville Dragway in Quebec. I ran against my buddy who had a '03 Sentra SPEC-V. I left late every time trying to get the 60 foot down pat and he always left right at the green light. we would end up crossing the traps at the same time, and he always thought he won despite the actual time slip saying otherwise. It was a good time but I couldn't manage a better 60 ft than a 2.2X that day. The track prep sucked and I was new. Good times! I haven't been since so I'm curious what I could do now, with a few more mods added since then.
 
Spring of 88 at Marion County Dragway in La Rue, OH. Driving my uncles NHRA L/SA 87 Olds 442. Went like 13.02 at 103. Had I not had a few shifter issues, would have went about 12.70. Using a Hurst Quater Stick, I went to shift to second and pulled it all the way to third, realized it and pushed it back into second. Back to third at 6200. I was 16 and thought it was the coolest thing ever.
 
My first time was at the then Baytown Raceway, now it is Royal Purple Raceway. Anyways I ran a blistering 15.6 in my 2003 GT lol, I was nervous as heck and had went as soon as the light went green. Ive gotten my times down to 14.3's and 14.4's but I still suck at my 60ft times. I dont know if its the tires or me, more than likely me cause my buddy with and 1999 GT ran a 13.9 bone stock... Grrrr.
 
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My first trip down the track was in my 1998 Mustang GT with a KN in 1999 with under drive pulleys, and an H pipe. First pass was a 14.8. My final pass of the day was a 14.2@98mph, and I was hooked after that. All passes were against my buddies 3000GT vr4, and beat him all 4 times which gave me bragging rights against him. I hope to break in to the 8's some day with a DD street car in full street trim(weight, no slicks, skinnies) with a stick.

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I got killed by the Fbodys at my school after that. My first real embarrassment was when I swapped to PI heads, was cruising on the freeway. I decided to mess with a random modified RX7 and literally got drug bus lengths. Quickly realized I needed boost.
 
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My first run was at York US 30 Dragstrip..... A 70 Nova SS 350/300 HP auto. 3.73 gears and 14" dia wheels. I power braked it til it nearly stalled and ran a 14.34.....got trashed by Ford Dealer sponsered 428 Torino GT. Back in the day, every local car dealer built and trailored cars to the strip.
 
It was the early 80 at Riverside Raceway (moment of silence......). I had a 65 Mustang fastback with a heavily massaged 351 Cleveland with an auto and a "high stall" converter...when we got there I uncorked it and when I fired it up it drew a pretty good crowd, nothing sounds like a cammed Cleveland :D . Anyway there were lots of ohh and ahhs so my 20-something head expanded a few sizes.

for my first pass I lined up against a VW bug and he really, really he left on me. My brain checked out so I tried to push my right foot through the floor. Needless to say I got zero traction and never caught the Bug. I don't remember the exact time but it was 15.xx and 115mph, I remember "15 and 15"...somebody took a picture and I was still hazing the tires going through the traps...some of the "old timers" said I looked like an old AF/X car, that took away some of the sting of losing to a 15 sec VW...
 
First time I went to the track wasn't anything spectacular. Had my old Ford Ranger with a 5.0L drop. It went pretty good for the time, but I was a young, broke kid. I couldn't afford tires for it. I remember buffing a lot of ash vault with it.

Funny occasion was with my Cougar a couple of years back. Had the blown 4.6L under the hood, but didn't have it dialed in yet, the drag radials I ordered hadn't come in and I didn't have time to install the traction lock in the rear end....but damn I wanted to go racing. :D One of my first runs was against an old C4 Corvette.

It was a testament to either how fast my car was, or how slow those old C4's were. I literally burned one wheel down to almost the half track (1/8th-mile track) before hooking up, catching and passing him by the finish line. Not sure what my time was, as the ghetto track officials hadn't affixed their time index sign properly to it's location and a gust of wind blew it down and wrecked it. :rolleyes:

Had another run immediately after. This one is yet another testament to how poorly that track was run. As you can see and hear in the video the engine in the Nova next to me was toast. Hammering hard enough that you could pick it up on the video camera mic from the stands and blowing copious amounts of engine antifreezec coolant in the form of large clouds of while smoke out of the tailpipes

Needless to say, he blew his engine up before we got out the first 330ft. Good thing too. As you can see, my car was bouncing around trying to gain traction and since he was running slicks, I wouldn't have stood a chance in that short of a distance otherwise.

And I got it on video....:D

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In any case, that was the last run of the afternoon, because they didn't have the supplies on hand in order to clean the track after this guy spread antifreeze all over it. And forgive the quality. I like many, decided to bring a buddy who's never used a video camera in his life.