Thanks for everyone's input. That's my 225" Spitzer that came apart Sunday. Ricardo's been trying to get me to join this forum, so your helpful advice has gotten me to sign up.
First, let me introduce myself. I've been drag racing over 30 years. Started off with a 14 second '70 GTO that I ran at Martin US131 Dragway near Grand Rapids, my home town. Sold that car for $850. I hope it's still around somewhere...
About 27 years ago, I moved to Columbus, IN and found there were a bunch of drag racers at Cummins, where I still work. I bought a '73 Barracuda from an old buddy that just needed the 440 stuffed in it and all put together. I ran that car in ET Heavy for several years. I wanted to go faster, but it was such a nice car, I couldn't bring myself to cut it up to tub it and make a real race car out of it.
Dave Miller knew I was looking for something faster and hooked me up with the guy that had his old '69 Camaro Super Stock car. It was a rolling chassis, which was perfect for a guy who likes working on engines, but hates fabricating and body work. It's had a variety of BBC engines and a TH400 over the years. With the early '70's ladder bar suspension, it's a consistent wheel stander and just looks nice going down the track. This is the 'Solid Rock' car and most people that have been at Bean Blossom over the past 25 years are pretty familiar with it. Some people know it as 'Ole yeller'.
I popped the aluminum head 468 on the Camaro a couple years ago and I'm finally working on the 396 that's going in next. I've got a 17 year old and I figure toning it down to about 450 hp is just about right...
The problem with the Camaro is that it weighs 3650 lb with me in it and I wanted to go faster. This RED came up in 2010 turn key and was a deal I couldn't refuse. The only problem is that Bean Blossom is a terrible place for a fast hard tail car. The biggest problem, if you've never been there is the dip right after the finish line. Getting the car from 135+ mph back down to zero before the 2 track dirt road at the end of the track is a great challenge, especially when you have to wait until you come out of the dip to lean into the brakes. I can only get my car stopped reliably in the left lane, so it's a good thing the fast car gets lane choice...
The first 100' of the track is pretty bumpy. On videos I can always hear the car chirp the tires 3 times during a run, none of them while shifting. It was in this bumpy area coming off the burn out that the frame broke. Combine the bumpy track with the traditional bumpy stop of a hard tail car and it can be really exciting...
The other thing you have to watch for at BCD is the return road. There are two places that will shake you teeth out if you take them too fast and I often do. So I'm pretty sure that has at least as much to do with the failure as my lack of supporting the car in the trailer.
By the way, I love Brown Country Dragway. Great bunch of racers out there and Sandy and Billy do a great job with the track. It's just not the best place to try to run a hard tail car every week. Besides, there's rarely a Super Pro (delay box) class out there anymore, so that's why I'm getting Ole Yeller back together.
