Well, I don't usually post stories but this night was just classic.
Saturday night down at highway 100, as usual Colin and I were out cruising. The strip was just packed. Enough blue headlights and washer nozzle LED's to make your head hurt. We did a few laps and decided to take the road up north a bit just to get away from the police patrols for awhile. So we're at a light about to turn left when we see some sweet, low, HID headlights waiting at the light coming towards us. I ask Colin, the resident honda expert, what the hell that thing is, and he responds with my first thought: S2000. Perfect. Time to abort the left turn and pull a U. Abort! Abort! Plot a course for Intercept! Cruise along at around 20MPH just waiting for the guy. Sure enough, he catches up and it's a slate gray S2000, complete with girlfriend in the passenger seat. Bonus! I'm just hoping we'll get a light and sure enough the DSM gods were shining and the light just ahead goes red. It's now three across. Me, the S2000, and a new Red SS camaro (the camaro didn't go, I suspect because I beat him at the track three days earlier). We hear the buzzy rev of the 2000 next to us....it's on. Anticipation, adrenaline....
Waiting, waiting, waiting...GREEN!
We both get a good launch but I grab about a car length on the Honda and it's over after that....we basically pulled away pretty consistently up to about 65 or so.
That's 50pts. for taking down the Honda flagship and another 100pts. for having the girlfriend present! Yah!
Pretty quiet for awhile after that. Tried to get a cobra to run but never got space...same for a silver Vette with a classic Wisconsin packer-loving-brat-eating-mustache-having-middleaged driver. Oh that would have been a joyous encounter. We both ended up swapping ricer flybys but never got to run together.
Next up we're turning around again and are about to turn right onto the strip. There's a newer Z28 in front of us turning. Bonus, it's got temporary plates! New owner! So the light turns green and as anticipated he takes off and I take off behind him. Well, halfway through 2nd I steer gently to the left and fly right by him and his full throttle v8 rumble. He pulled up eventually and his face was just classic...couldn't understand what happened at all. Our heads hurt from laughing so hard at his reaction. That's 50 bonus points for taking down the new Z28 owner! Sha-zam!
Well, after that we figured we'd call it a night. Now, I've gotta give a little background here before this next one. Colin always cruises with me. Colin also has a Honda. Now, nothing against Hondas at all, but he's always just loving the turbo dsm. Its a guaranteed grin when the bov goes off or the head smacks back and hits the headrest. He's always talking about how he wishes he could get in these races and beat fast cars and all that... Well, I figure I'd let him drive the car back home, starting off at the spot I always do full quarter mile datalog runs.
So picture this. We're in the middle of nowhere switching drivers. The crickets are chirping, the orange glow of the sodium vapor street lights shine over the four way stop we're parked next to. Heading due West from the four way is a two lane onramp, totally flat and smooth, that is somewhere around 3/4 of a mile long. No turn offs. No cop hiding spots. Just a high speed two lane merge heading off into the darkness. Colin gets the seat adjusted right and starts to pull out, happy to finally drive the beast full throttle. Well, the planets must have been aligned and the turbo gods were smiling on us as, out of the blackness, rumbles a clean camaro with a cowl hood and fat tires. He rolls past slowly and stops at the sign, facing the ramp. He just sits there. Waiting. I look at Colin, Colin looks at me, we both smile.
Rolling up next to him, we roll the windows down. The camaro rumbles. He says, smiling, "wanna go?" I look at Colin, I look back at the guy and say, "well, he's never driven the car before, we just switched". He smiles and looks at Colin. Colin nods and the guy says "on three". Colin frantically asks "how do you launch this thing!" He starts to rev it up as the guy starts counting...."One". Colin's got it at like 2000 rpms. "Higher!" I yell. "Two" Now it's at 3500 rpms "Higher, higher!" I scream over the v8 noise. "THREE" Colin launches at 4500 or so...slips the clutch too fast....a quick bog but it's Ok because the screaming V8 is just spinning tires. 7500 RPMs then grab second, I hear the V8 three feet from my head. Boost hits and we're off, pulling at least a car length in 2nd. Colin looks like he's doing brain surgery he's concentrating so hard. I just start laughing hysterically and watching the sideview. BOV screams and we hit third, pulling, pulling....The V8 can't even be heard at this point, we hit 110 and shut it down, coasting onto the highway about 3-4 carlengths in front. I look at Colin. Colin looks at me. We both break out laughing hysterically for the next mile. Just ten minutes ago he had been sad since he had never raced in a fast car. I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried. 200pts. for taking down the V8 in his first DSM race ever. Boo yah!
We eventually stopped and talked to the guy. He was super nice and gave the usual "what the hell did you do to that thing?"
Turns out it was a late '80s camaro with and LT1/ZZ3 prototype motor. Now, I never heard of a ZZ3 or any of that prototype business, but I can say this was one of the cleanest older camaros I have ever seen. Giant modified LT1 under the hood, rollcage, the works.
I love my DSM.
Colin, you rule!
Jon
Saturday night down at highway 100, as usual Colin and I were out cruising. The strip was just packed. Enough blue headlights and washer nozzle LED's to make your head hurt. We did a few laps and decided to take the road up north a bit just to get away from the police patrols for awhile. So we're at a light about to turn left when we see some sweet, low, HID headlights waiting at the light coming towards us. I ask Colin, the resident honda expert, what the hell that thing is, and he responds with my first thought: S2000. Perfect. Time to abort the left turn and pull a U. Abort! Abort! Plot a course for Intercept! Cruise along at around 20MPH just waiting for the guy. Sure enough, he catches up and it's a slate gray S2000, complete with girlfriend in the passenger seat. Bonus! I'm just hoping we'll get a light and sure enough the DSM gods were shining and the light just ahead goes red. It's now three across. Me, the S2000, and a new Red SS camaro (the camaro didn't go, I suspect because I beat him at the track three days earlier). We hear the buzzy rev of the 2000 next to us....it's on. Anticipation, adrenaline....
Waiting, waiting, waiting...GREEN!
We both get a good launch but I grab about a car length on the Honda and it's over after that....we basically pulled away pretty consistently up to about 65 or so.
That's 50pts. for taking down the Honda flagship and another 100pts. for having the girlfriend present! Yah!
Pretty quiet for awhile after that. Tried to get a cobra to run but never got space...same for a silver Vette with a classic Wisconsin packer-loving-brat-eating-mustache-having-middleaged driver. Oh that would have been a joyous encounter. We both ended up swapping ricer flybys but never got to run together.
Next up we're turning around again and are about to turn right onto the strip. There's a newer Z28 in front of us turning. Bonus, it's got temporary plates! New owner! So the light turns green and as anticipated he takes off and I take off behind him. Well, halfway through 2nd I steer gently to the left and fly right by him and his full throttle v8 rumble. He pulled up eventually and his face was just classic...couldn't understand what happened at all. Our heads hurt from laughing so hard at his reaction. That's 50 bonus points for taking down the new Z28 owner! Sha-zam!
Well, after that we figured we'd call it a night. Now, I've gotta give a little background here before this next one. Colin always cruises with me. Colin also has a Honda. Now, nothing against Hondas at all, but he's always just loving the turbo dsm. Its a guaranteed grin when the bov goes off or the head smacks back and hits the headrest. He's always talking about how he wishes he could get in these races and beat fast cars and all that... Well, I figure I'd let him drive the car back home, starting off at the spot I always do full quarter mile datalog runs.
So picture this. We're in the middle of nowhere switching drivers. The crickets are chirping, the orange glow of the sodium vapor street lights shine over the four way stop we're parked next to. Heading due West from the four way is a two lane onramp, totally flat and smooth, that is somewhere around 3/4 of a mile long. No turn offs. No cop hiding spots. Just a high speed two lane merge heading off into the darkness. Colin gets the seat adjusted right and starts to pull out, happy to finally drive the beast full throttle. Well, the planets must have been aligned and the turbo gods were smiling on us as, out of the blackness, rumbles a clean camaro with a cowl hood and fat tires. He rolls past slowly and stops at the sign, facing the ramp. He just sits there. Waiting. I look at Colin, Colin looks at me, we both smile.
Rolling up next to him, we roll the windows down. The camaro rumbles. He says, smiling, "wanna go?" I look at Colin, I look back at the guy and say, "well, he's never driven the car before, we just switched". He smiles and looks at Colin. Colin nods and the guy says "on three". Colin frantically asks "how do you launch this thing!" He starts to rev it up as the guy starts counting...."One". Colin's got it at like 2000 rpms. "Higher!" I yell. "Two" Now it's at 3500 rpms "Higher, higher!" I scream over the v8 noise. "THREE" Colin launches at 4500 or so...slips the clutch too fast....a quick bog but it's Ok because the screaming V8 is just spinning tires. 7500 RPMs then grab second, I hear the V8 three feet from my head. Boost hits and we're off, pulling at least a car length in 2nd. Colin looks like he's doing brain surgery he's concentrating so hard. I just start laughing hysterically and watching the sideview. BOV screams and we hit third, pulling, pulling....The V8 can't even be heard at this point, we hit 110 and shut it down, coasting onto the highway about 3-4 carlengths in front. I look at Colin. Colin looks at me. We both break out laughing hysterically for the next mile. Just ten minutes ago he had been sad since he had never raced in a fast car. I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried. 200pts. for taking down the V8 in his first DSM race ever. Boo yah!
We eventually stopped and talked to the guy. He was super nice and gave the usual "what the hell did you do to that thing?"
Turns out it was a late '80s camaro with and LT1/ZZ3 prototype motor. Now, I never heard of a ZZ3 or any of that prototype business, but I can say this was one of the cleanest older camaros I have ever seen. Giant modified LT1 under the hood, rollcage, the works.I love my DSM.
Colin, you rule!
Jon
