Forums / Off Topic / Daytona

Good stuff bro.. Far as im concerned "boodadee" makes the races.. Any of you guys old enough to remember when they first put Daytona in the dirt.. I remember reading an early racing magazine, can't remember if it was Car and Driver.. Think before them.. Ok.. left field time.. with out google which mag came first C&D or R&T ? .. thats tonights trivia..and don't look to greg for the answer as i have no idea.. The mag i was reading could have been hot rod, anyway what i remember is a guy standing in steepest section, and you can tell he's having a hard time with the angle.. I also remember they "over" marketed it at first.. There was a big news story that if you parked a car on the bank it would roll over..This had an embarrassing end as of course people started parking their cars and nope no roll overs.. that being said i don't think i'd want to park a big 18 wheeler on it...

What they did is going to make the drivers have to drive again. Put a whole lot of suspense back into it. When they put Daytona down was a little before my time. Love hearing some of the old stories though about that time frame.. Now if they would put the ticket prices back down to where a working person can afford them, That would be wonderful. Not swearing to it but I believe that C&D was the first mag.

I stand correcetd it was road and track (1947).. Car and Driver didn't publish until 1955

Know i started reading them in 63 or 64.. I still remember the big test between the Pontiac GTO, and the Ferrari GTO.. this had some of the purest upset, as the "sports car" crowd was not into comparing the lowly ranks of GM with the iconic Italian top dog..The 64 GTO did 0-60 in like 4.5 sec.. If i remember this was the first time they had ever had a car go under 5 for 0-60. Pretty much topped the Ferrari in every category but paint, styling, and collect ability..That might still be the case.. as expensive as primo Pontiac GTOs are.. the Ferrari is priced more like fine art than cars.. Safe to say this was (least to me) the real start of the muscle cars..

The split window Stingray had debuted the year before, and was (that year) the fastest road car out of Detroit.. I remember that it was Corvette's first "real" sports car.. (my fav is the 58, but they were all built on box frame till 63) Pop took me up to McCormick place in Chicago for the annual car show that year. The Stingray was big time news.. that first "ray" was a lot more than styling. The first independent rear susp.. the first (think not positive) 4 wheel disk brakes.. that has me wondering .. sure Sam, Hamp, ISD, or one of the other car guys will know.

I got into a line of about 30 guys waiting to sit in it.. When my turn came i climbed in, shut the door, and did the same slam shift that those before me had done..I didn't make any engine noises..(out loud anyway) . I still remember those big gagues, 160 mph, and think 8K rpm..

was the 'rubber and the suspension', all the horsepower in the world doesn't mean jack shit if the 'metal don't meet the meat' put to the ground, traction is everything...........

Thats why the first ind. rear was such a big deal.. They still had incredible understeer, but at least the American co's got on the learning curve that the Europeans had figured out.. We had the power, but getting it to the road was a different issue.. I remember when they first came up with i g lateral on skid pads, and at the time this was off the chart good..

Matter of fact, this is something that you understand as a driver, if you were anywhere above 8 on 10 scale (assume you've read "theory and practice of fast driving") their was a different apex line due to the understeer.. You with me on this Hamp, ever been close to slip angle with an under steering car.?

John Surtees (m/c racer) wrote one of the definitive books on racing, apex's lines related to slip angle and under/over steer.. The other was the "theory and practice of fast driving" Jennings was Sterling Moss's co driver when they won the millia millia in ..uhhh think 58.. He didn't do any driving.. The co drivers for the those races were the same as rally co drivers, and had the responsibility of telling the driver what was coming up.. If you know this forgive me, but this was from an era that's past, and pretty amazing..

Take for example, the Isle of Mann or the Millia Millia race.. Were talking about a couple hundred corners.. These were the same race cars from either Le Mans, or Sebring.. So at the time pushing 200 on the long straights.. The co driver would be shouting (pre intercom) something like "up coming is a 90% degree left past the hill ahead..first down shift, and brake isia the phone booth.. These courses were so large that their was no way for a driver to know them..Jennings book is not only a tutorial on driving at speed, it's also a wonderful first hand account of the race.. they won it that year.. "think" (90%) in a 300SLR

you need to take a ride in my 'pussyru' (I say that out of fun) It really is an experience, I am 'old school', but I saw the light, you would be amazed at what 2.5 liters of displacement and 25 pounds of boost will do, I get more power out of that engine than any other that I have built to date.

ok, a normally aspirated push rod engine is good for one HP for every CI.. You have a 2.5L so thats 153 CI...

If that engine has dedicated cams operating the valves, and efficient intake and exhaust, a couple HP per CI..

If you go to boot.. and not sure how 25 lbs of boost compares to say a "roots" supercharger.. i believe you're in the neighborhood of 3+, maybe as hi as 4 HP to every CI.. so my friend..

ya got 600 ponies under the hood or what... Considering your flirting with 200 MPH i bet im not far off.. talk to us...

After Nascar shoved Mooshell obongo down our throats and after Nascar banned the general Lee http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/story/2012-02-17/No-General-... I'm done with Nascar.

Nascar "ain't worth the dynamite to blow it up" anymore, I support V8 super cars http://www.v8supercars.com.au/ that's racing......