"Black Ghost" headed to Mecum

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 3X24SPD

I have a story to share with you on one of those.
Couple years ago, this girl showed up with one at the track to race on street night.
First time racer- she puts her foot down and keeps it there- didn't bother to lift until 1/2 mile after the starting line.
After she cleared the sand trap, she hit the hay bales and finally came to a stop.
So they flatbed the thing back to the pits.
Next thing you know, the thing is engulfed in flames because all the hay that got jammed up in the engine compartment ignited.
Burnt the car to the ground...

You'd be amazed how many racers don't know when to lift...

I really am in no place to pass judgement.

I have been racing my Chevelle for 44 years and I have never had this happen until just now:

Last August I was at the NMCA (National Muscle Car Association) race at Summit Raceway Park (Norwalk Ohio) and after making a pretty good first pass I went off the end of the track, into the sand (or gravel, actually, in this case). Nice pass - mid 9.90 or so.

I just zoned out. Normally right after I cross the finish line I get on the brakes, either moderately or fairly aggressively depending on the track. I crossed the finish line, shut the motor off and flipped it into neutral and was just coasting down when I realized I wasn’t going to get stopped in time. Rather than do anything evasive I just steered straight in and braced for impact.

In my defense – the shutdown area at Norwalk is pretty short. And – there is a hill there. So the end of the track is obscured until you clear the hill and then realize it’s right there. And it was my first pass of the weekend.

Nothing was damaged, except my ego and my confidence, but the car was a huge mess. Covered in dust everywhere. I also flat spotted the front tires and had to run into town to have a couple replacements mounted up and balanced.

It shook me up pretty good, but it took all day to get all the rocks out of the chassis and get the tires mounted, so by the time I had to make a pass the next day I was back in good form.

I’m still shaking rocks out of the frame rails, though. My enclosed car trailer catches them all. I think I am going to collect them and give them back to Bill Bader Jr.

K