Pulled Out The Old Hemi This Weekend

We drug out the Mustang for the KY Horsepower shootout on Sunday at Clay City and had a ball. This was our first drag race of the year. A lot of family and close friends came out to support us. We qualified #1 with a 5.12 at 146 mph. Made it all the way to the finals and met Sam Vincent. He had ran back to back 4.65's so I turned it all loose to see what would happen. We both spun the tires down track but he was farther down track than I was. I ran a 5.08 at only 134 and he ran a 4.87 at 140. We won $1500 for 2nd and received an additional $500 for the number 1 qualifier so I was tickled to death. The car should have ran a 4.9? something at 150 for the finals but would of could of should of. All in all it was a great day. How often do you get to spend time with your close family and friends and get to race too?

Good deal Joe. Sam is a tough cookie,his stuff is always crazy fast! Congrats on a good day of racing

Good deal sounds like some good racing

Your car is a lot of fun to watch. I was going to come by and check it out, but I got so wrapped up in my own stuff, that time got away from me and I didn't get a chance.

BTW,.....I was pitted just down from you guys. I was in the Copper/Orange Lightning.

I ended up being the # 6 qualifier out of 32 in the True Street deal. Ran the best of a 9.59 @ 140 in the 1/4.

Good deal Joe was wondering where you were

Your car sat for a year...you dusted it off, and ended up in the final with sam?...no loss there...nice

Good job Joe. Was that a 10.5" tire deal,,,,or were big slicks allowed?

Charlie Evans

It was a 10.5 deal but with no weight limits. I think Sam's car weighs around 2500 lbs race ready and that makes it hard to compete with but I am not complaining. He has one fast car. 4.65 with a 1.10 60 foot is pretty bad on a 28 X 10.5 tire and no wheelie bars.

We tried something totally off the wall this weekend. Dad and I have been contemplating the idea of leaving the line in high gear and never shifting to calm the car down on the line. I didn't think it would pull it but I was wrong. Right off the trailer I had a bunch of timing pulled out and even leaving in high only it ran a 5.15 at 146.9 which is the fastest mph ever for me so I knew we were on to something. I kept putting power back in all day and it kept responding until the final round. I put all the power in it and when it got to 6200 rpms it broke the tires loose and I had to lift. We still need to work on the gearing to get it right but I was definitely pleased for the first outing and kind of in the dark on the setup.

congrats Joe on a great weekend

Great job, Joe!

jmayabb wrote:It was a 10.5 deal but with no weight limits. I think Sam's car weighs around 2500 lbs race ready and that makes it hard to compete with but I am not complaining. He has one fast car. 4.65 with a 1.10 60 foot is pretty bad on a 28 X 10.5 tire and no wheelie bars.

We tried something totally off the wall this weekend. Dad and I have been contemplating the idea of leaving the line in high gear and never shifting to calm the car down on the line. I didn't think it would pull it but I was wrong. Right off the trailer I had a bunch of timing pulled out and even leaving in high only it ran a 5.15 at 146.9 which is the fastest mph ever for me so I knew we were on to something. I kept putting power back in all day and it kept responding until the final round. I put all the power in it and when it got to 6200 rpms it broke the tires loose and I had to lift. We still need to work on the gearing to get it right but I was definitely pleased for the first outing and kind of in the dark on the setup.

Joe and Joe Jr., you guys do a great job and are great people to be around. Nice things do happen to nice people. It's always nice ( ) to have family near. How could anyone ask for a nicer day, doing the things you enjoy and with the family!

As to the "high gear only" runs, that's impressive! That "torque monster" you pack under the hood of your sharp Mustang has plenty of muscle. I too experienced a similar event of what an engine will do given the opportunity. However no comparison to your ride, my 428 FE equipped Mustang experienced a valve body issue that did not allow the use of second gear. Instead of throwing in the blanket, I tried shifting the car from first to high. What, only .03 of a second slower! As you, if my memory serves me correctly, the speed was up a bit as well. My first thought when making the first to high shift was the engine would give me a cussing, however it showed me it had a bit of grunt left! Sometimes it makes one wonder, my setup may not be as efficient as I thought!

Best regards,
Dave.

any updates on the new hemi