Just got back from the most dramatic race we ever had out in Ely. This time we left the family at home, it was my brother-in-law Nick, our fellow pantera owner Ritch, and myself. We left on Thursday night late and got into Ely about 8am in the morning. After registering, eating, and getting quick nap we cleaned up the car and participated in the Ely parade. All the locals come out for the event and line up the streets. Unfortunately there is no burnouts allowed despite the crowd begging for us to do so. Afterwards we had a lot of fun at the Big 4 partying it up with all the guys.
Saturday was the car show and we sailed through tech inspection. Mad Dawg and Chuck showed up with their Pantera and Corvette respectively and we watched the high noon shootout which is a 1/2 mile or 1 mile high speed run where fastest speed wins. We performed some more car maintenance and got ready for the next morning's event.
This time since we had Ritch with us, he signed up as a course worker at mile 63. The plan was to camp out on the race course that night and then drive the car back to Lane's truck stop where the race starts, early in the morning. The only problem was that the drivers meeting went so late we didn't get to leave until after dark and had a real a problem finding the spot. Luckily we found a nearby spot with plenty of parking for the 35 foot RV plus the 20 foot trailer. It was midnight after we parked and cooked up our steaks for dinner.
We got up at 5:30 to have enough time to make it back to the start line about 60 miles away, which was no problem. We were around number 20 on the grid and after a short delay the event was started. Mad Dawg went first ( as always ) and then several other cars left the line. After a few minutes we were ready to leave for the start line but were told to shut down because there was a problem on the course.
What followed was a series of rumors including that Mad Dog was on fire on the track. Now Mad Dog's claim to fame is his event of 98 where the car caught on fire as he was crossing the finish line where it proceeded to burn to the ground after the firemen used water on the overheated magnesium wheels. I was in disbelief as how the same firey end could happen to the same guy twice in one lifetime. As it turns out the K & N Dodge Viper had went off course after his engine blew up and dump oil on the road. This caused him to spin out at speed, go up an embankment, flip the car on it's roof and catch fire. The driver of the car was not hurt.
After this event the NDOT folks had a long conversation with the event organizers and over the course of three hours come to an agreement to continue with the event but had to stop at 4pm even though we were all 3 hours behind schedule. Finally the event was restarted.
We left the start line strong and the car felt good up until about 150 where i was "chasing" it all over the road trying to keep it on the pavement. I don't know if the wind was causing the issue or the tires were not up to temperature but it was not feeling good so I could only drive around 140 for the first 12 to 15 miles or so. This put us about one minute behind. After that the car felt much better and I was able to run at 150 or 155 and did so for a good 30 miles. During this time we passed Mad Dog who was waving to us from the side of the road and the Viper.
We passed the radar trap and even though the car was getting hot managed to pass the trap at 163mph ( results still pending ). This is the fastest we have ever been in any vehicle and was one of the main goals of the event.
Somewhere around mile 50 on a straight section of road we heard one bang and the car stepped to the right several inches all of a sudden. Both Nick and I thought we would be in the ditch for sure as I tried to correct the car from it's slide. We went right, left, and right again as the swerving decreased and then I applied the power ever so gently to bring us out of it. We were the luckiest men on the planet at this point and new it.
After that incident the car was getting hotter and hotter and the temperature gauge was pegged past 270. The car also sounded very funny, which we would find out later why, and there was a burning smell of pastic or some other non-engine smell. The car was still holding up and we kept it at 160mph. Before we entered the narrows the car started sputtering, we were not sure why at the time but the car would run fine and miss a bit then kick in again. This made it very difficult to keep speed but still we could manage 150.
We went in the narrows and through them around 110 and decided that the car would probably not make it to the end. She was overheated, loosing power, strange electrical smells, and moving all over the road, but still we kept pushing it. I had written off the engine at this point and thought if we could just finish the race it would be a miracle. We pushed it back up to 160 and hoped for the best in the last 11 miles, and managed to cross the finish line 1 minute and 30 seconds to slow.
We were the luckiest men on the planet and celebrated as we looked over the poor Pantera. It was overheated and coolant was overflowing from the tank. We lost one muffler on the passenger side and after closer inspection, it was apparent the muffler somehow caught on the tire and went over the tire and dented the fender well as it did so. This explains the car pitching sideways during the middle of the course and the very strange noises.
Additionally the broken exhaust was now hitting the rear of engine bay directly and melted the rear wiring harness, paint, and undercoating which explained the strange smell. The overheating caused the coolant to escape from the overflow and spewed onto the fuel pump which shut the fuel pump down and explains why the car was loosing power, as there was no fuel pressure. The motor was fine but we also lost the starter since the engine bay temperatures were very high. The car was superficially damaged but she made it and kept us alive during the event. We push started the car and headed back to the RV to load up.
This event was the most dramatic event we've ever had. From excitement of the start, frustration of the delay, disappointment of the first 10 miles, fear of crashing in the middle of the course, and elation when we actually finished. We lived a lifetime in 37 minutes, and we will do it again!
Thanks for reading see you on the road.
