apparently us hambers are not quick learners because several of us got in again. We must like punishment. we are taking another swing at it. it sold out in a new record time of four minutes for 400 spots. kinda makes you think it might just be popular. Im on emergency call for the weekend so I had my son set up to do the computer work from detroit. its a good thing because I got called in to do a case. its hard to concentrate watching the minutes tick off the clock as noon approached. the case finished about 45 minutes after it sold out. I couldn't wait to get unscrubbed to check my messages. from what I read it looks like we have a good team representing the hamb board again. follow us along as we get ready to participate in what has to be one the hardest races to compete in. this event is for the hardest of the hard core hot rodder. just to finish the event is a big deal not to mention finishing in the top three. it may sound easy on the surface race your car and drive to the next track for five days. as a multi time competitor I can assure you there is no shortage of things that can go wrong. knowing your car and possessing some mcgiver skills is a must. go team hamb.
Cool I’ll watch for you! Man I’ve wanted to do that in the slow street car or whatever hot rod class that my car would be in. I haven’t seen the tracks for this year yet, hopefully I’ll be able to go to a few to spectate in my car anyways. It’s always a good time.
pack a lunch for the ride because it will be a long one. sept 8th,9th Virginia motor sports park dinwidde,va. sept 10th cecil county rising sun Maryland. sept 11th. atco dragway atco new jersey. September 12th Maryland international raceway buds creek Maryland. sept 13th back to Virginia motor sports park. its cool that there are several historic tracks this year. running farther up north should make it a little cooler temp wise. less chance of a hurricane to.
It sold out in 4 minutes 50 seconds. I wasn't fast enuff, I missed the birth date part of the form and it made me go back, then when I hit go again, my credit card info had disappeared, so I had to re-enter that. Then when I hit go, it made me go back because the check mark on the "accept" box had disappeared. Then when I went back, the credit card info was gone again. SO it was 12:05 by the time I finally got it right, it was too late. I should have a pretty low # on the wait list, so hopefully I get the go ahead before we hit the road for Drag Week 2019. This year, I'll have the car dialed in and loaded for bear! I'm going to spend the summer making passes, dialing in the clutch, suspension, tires, carbs and driving technique. Then just before the event. I'll check the lifters and put in new valve springs. I'm also putting an air bag over the center of the rear end to help hold the load of the tools and luggage in the trunk, so I don't have to re-adjust the coil overs twice per day, and I'm putting in a clutch tamer so I don't have to adjust the soft lock 2 or 3 times a day. That will make life on Drag Week much easier.
a lot can happen between now and september. several cars will drop out for various reasons. just dont be late on the green during drag week.
I made it in to registration, so I have to go now, right? I guess if someone buys one of my cars, then I'll take the other one. I really should get the Barracuda working right. There are some other things going on in life right now that are keeping me busy, though.
I'm in, just need a motor built, new trans, and get rid of the jag rear and put a triangulated 4 link in it. I should be home by mid march so no problem. This is my first year so a lot of learning will happen. First thing first a place to sleep each night. Tony
I had the same type thing happen as HemiJoel did during the lightning round of reg. Will be going anyway. Work on the car continues. The cage is 80% done.
My buddy Gary loves this event and has done it several times when its in this area. Have not talk to him in a couple of weeks, But I think driving out to the east coast is beyond his comfort zone lol. Maybe he can hitch a ride with Squirrel as he goes by on his way from Arizona!! Squirrel is Gary's Drag week hero. You guys have fun and be safe as always. Larry
The tracks are good this year. I have run at Atco, great track. Lots and lots of history , my car was run their long long ago .
I'm in again. I've heard lots of talk about nightmare traffic and bad roads. Anyone in that area able to fill us in on what really to expect?
I just wish I had the money to go and watch you guys race and yell my head off cheering for you all week.
We do not know the routs yet of course , however traffic on interstates can be bad. A lot of roads in Pa. are rough and depending on what area the rout is it could be very rough. Weather can be unpredictable in these parts, from one extreme to the other within 10 to 24 hours.
So....just like a normal Drag Week. I've heard rumors about the police in some areas not being very hot rod friendly. What's your take?
I have raced at atco; virginia; maple grove and a few others in the area. The highways are congested. The rural roads were originally trails that were paved over. There is little reason to their route. There are roads going every which way. As far as being rough they dont seem any worse than in the midwest. Something positive about the area once outside of the cities the scenery is fantastic. There is also alot of early American history. We might find ourselves at a mandatory stop like the liberty bell. I have always enjoyed racing out east. Something to think about atco is below sea level. That means the air is usually very good. At atco it's normal to richen things up a bit.
Yes, great scenery and cool small towns to pass through . As far as police, I do not think it will be a issue as long as we do not do something stupid right in front of them. If traveling in a rural area, watch out for deer. They move around alot at dusk and dawn. The east has a lot to offer, and some great drag strips.
I was born and raised outside of Washington DC, 45 minutes north of Thursdays track (MD international raceway). Heavy traffic is normal for most areas up that way and like mentioned watch for deer on back roads. The tracks are good ones. Cecil, Atco and MDIR are all great tracks that normally hook well. Definitely plenty of history and scenery to be seen. I hope to fly in and spectate a couple of days
Was the track called capital dragway years ago? Is it the same place? The traction capital of the east coast or was that another place.
That's a different track. With no traffic i was 15 minutes from Capitol Raceway. On Friday and Saturday nights I could here them running from home. In the early 2000s the track was neglected but around 2012 or so it turned around and was being improved. I moved to Florida in 2016 so I'm not sure how it is now.
Good luck folks. I follow the event every year with the Inter-Web... always looking for my friends and how they are making out (That sounded weird... Not... making out together... just... how they're doing...)
Budds Creek was my regular track in the 70s. Lots has changed since then but the track is real close to the river, so less than 100' elevation. MD and VA can be pretty picky about speeding etc. In NJ you can't pump your own gas, at least last time I was up there. Also had to turn right to turn left. I have family in Richmond so it'll be a good excuse to visit them catch a track day in Dinwiddie.