Our first track appearance...
Our first track appearance at Bradenton Motorsports Park had us camped out in the staging lanes for some time. Despite the numerous motoring follies that befell the track, the staff did an excellent job at providing a sticky racing surface.
We contacted Todd Dickinson, one of the owners of Bradenton Motorsports Park, who gave us the opportunity to make a few passes the following Friday during the test-and-tune session for the upcoming Snowbird Outlaw Nationals. We got two runs in, and our best was an 11.67 at 119 mph. Apparently, Fourth doesn't like to be powershifted, or your author needs to sharpen up because it failed to appear for the exchange again.
After three attempts to get a decent number (we also narrowly missed hitting some idiot on I-75 who performed a few donuts at 70 mph) and the story deadline come and gone, we loaded up the GT the following day and traveled the three hours to South Georgia Motorsports Park, where we were able to get in three more runs on their last test and tune of the year.
This time, spinning was the problem and our first hit was rather sloppy. For the second attempt, we dropped tire pressure to 15 psi and heated the tires a bit longer. The car spun at the top of First and into Second after the shift, but the 60-foot time improved to 1.79 and we reached the stripe in 11.92 seconds at 124.4 mph. We then lowered our launch rpm from 5,000 to 4,000, and the car responded with a 1.77 short time, a 7.43 eighth-mile, and an 11.41 run at 125 mph.
With a sticky track, we needed...
With a sticky track, we needed to raise the tire pressure from 15 psi to 18 psi, as the increased launch rpm (5,000 from 4,000) still had the car bogging off the starting line.
Our day concluded without us improving on that time, and though the mph suggests the GT is 10-second capable, it didn't happen and probably won't without at least a 3.73 gear out back, a better chassis setup, or more horsepower. While the ProCharged Pony is carrying an extra 120 pounds due to the T56 and stereo upgrade, that's really only worth a tenth or so.
At this point, it's probably time to retire the drag rubber and focus on some other aspects of the ride, like fixing the A/C and detailing the shoddy engine compartment. Maybe sometime in the future we'll bring the ProCharged Pony back to the track, but for now we're content to cruise it on the street. Sounds like it's time for a drag project, doesn't it?