Wow. In a matter of seconds, good ol Har-har-de-HARs ghost made itself known in a VERY big way. First, we find out Neds Dad (at least according to the info that Kelly had seen) was driving the uber-sick SRT-8 Charger. Then, Neds widow was in the black and white striped Shelby. But as we were about to find out, those two cars werent the only ones bearing reminders of good, ol Neds family
Well, folks, unless youre dead you cant help but take a look at what just pulled into the staging lanes
I know I certainly cant take my eyes off of it
Looking in the direction that Kelly had pointed and with the announcers urging, we were surprised to see a graphite colored Viper pulling out onto the track. Oddly, this car at first glance seemed to be a run-of-the-mill late model Mopar snake but the odd hood was the first thing that caught our attention it had three huge slanted air vents on each side of it. Also, the hood scoop was bigger than the Vipers we had seen in the past.
This car here is definitely the first you will see like this in the area, race fans. Officially, this car isnt even for sale yet! Somehow though, our good but dearly-departed friend Ned Reynolds had, shall we say, connections and had ordered this car last fall when he heard it was coming out. Folks you are looking at Dodges biggest of the big boys
the Hemi-Cudas and Hemi-Chargers of old had NOTHING on this car, of that I am certain
well, other than the ability to seat two or three more people
It couldnt be, could it? The 2008 SRT10 Viper wasnt even officially going to hit the lots until summer this year how in Keith Blacks name could there be one sitting here at Tri-County, ready to light the tires?
B spoke first. Steve, is this the 600 horse version weve been hearing about that is supposed to be a Z06 killer and a rival for the Blue Devil SS Corvette? I know I read about it in the magazines but I thought it wasnt coming out for a few more months?
Brandon, if car is what its hood says it is, yes this is the 600HP Viper. I just dont understand how were even seeing one here now. They only had one of them at the Detroit Auto Show in January and it wasnt this car. Well, at least it wasnt this COLOR
Ol Mr. Ned seemed to have a never-ending bag of surprises even if he was dead!
Beyond the fact that we had already been stunned by the fact that Neds father was driving the big bad Dodge, here was a new Viper with HIS name on it. Who in blazes was going to be driving THIS car? His ghost? Or, would it be one of the boys?
Kelly how did you connect this car to Ned? I just realized that Kelly had pointed the car out
Steve it was listed as a potential asset in his estate. Well, at least an On Order $90k plus 2008 Viper of this color was identified I just figured that with the other Reynolds family members racing tonight that this funny looking Viper had to be connected to Ned or his family in some way or other
Thats Kelly for you
when shes right, shes definitely RIGHT.
While Brandon and I were itching to go get our cars and out onto the track, we all agreed that seeing these cars run first was even more interesting. The next to run was going to be the black and white striped Shelby against some other local racer that was a crowd favorite.
Ok folks, heres the deal on the new Mustang. Like the SRT-8 that just ate up that LS Camaro, this Shelby has No Time on it. Therefore, were not going to see its ET or Trap Speed. Doesnt that just grind your gears? And youll definitely want to stick around to see that new Viper run. Ill try and get more info on whos in the pilots seat for you too! But back to this Shelby, were told it is essentially stock of course, who would lie about their car? Ha-ha-ha!!!! - so unfortunately, were not going to be able to tell by any sort of ET. Maybe next time
The Shelby was matched up against a local boy in a 5.0 Mustang that sounded like it was either blown or turbod it had a definitely whine to it that you could hear above the Shelby. The announcer kept his banter going as both Fords began their burnouts
In the Summit Racing lane will be Mira Reynolds in the Shelby. As we all know, her husband Ned died as a result of injuries sustained last fall in a one-car crash. Rumor has it he was street racing but it doesnt matter either way, Ned Reynolds died. In the Mobil One lane is Marty Anderson with his 90 GT that has a blown stroker motor in it of unknown displacement. Marty ran solid mid 11s last fall in good air here at Tri-County so it should be interesting to see how he does here tonight
Ah
Marty Anderson
ok, that was a familiar name after all. Marty is a well known local boy who runs with Brandons Ford crowd. His GT is a heavy street player and a gorgeous car to boot, having been repainted the beautiful Sonic Blue that many of the Terminator Cobras were seen in. With the Weld racing aluminum wheels, it was a beauty to look at and it sounded healthy. Brandon had a lot of good things to say over the years about Marty and his ability to terrorize the local street racing scene
.
At this point, the Viper was already pulling into the near-lane burnout box. The SRT10s opponent was going to be another new car but one that many people knew about it was Tom Seggersons new 07 Z06. Now, THIS was going to be a race to watch for sure! A reputed Z06 Killer in the far lane lined up against the newest Z06 - the baddest (to date) Corvette that Chevy had ever fielded. One that was rumored to be able to humble even the mighty L-88 Vettes of the late 60s
Ok folks, here we go
the Shelby is pre-staged
in case you didnt know this, Mira Reynolds is no stranger to the drag strip
oops, now Marty is pre-staged
now, hes staged
were just waiting for Mira to pull on in and break the second beam
Mira ran over at Barstow for years as well as down at National Trails in Columbus as well as other nearby NHRA tracks this side of the Mississippi, campaigning a Super Stock racer hey, theyre both staged now
Ill shut up
lets watch
Both cars were staged now. The ambers began to light.
First bulbs
The rpms of both cars were fairly high based upon how they sounded. Obviously, Mira was NOT afraid of giving the blown 5.4 liter its head
Second ambers now blazed in fury
the crowd was hushed as was the announcer
only the roar of exhaust and the whine of blowers could be heard
Third ambers lit
in a nano-second, both cars began to be loosed
GREEN!!!! Away they went in a HUGE roar. Neither of us had noticed that Miras Shelby was on slicks until it launched and we saw the sidewalls wrinkle a bit
apparently the detail had been missed by Mr. Microphone as well
At first, Marty seemed to be pulling the Shelby but then something happened
The scream from beneath the hood of the GT500 grew to banshee-like proportions
the 5.4 was now nearing the rev limiter and due to shift
Marty had just shifted and looked to be giving up some of his half-car lead
As we listened to hear if Mira missed a shift, she stunned us all again she fully power-shifted the big Shelby! The nose lifted a bit as the slicks bit again with the rage of second gear coming in strong. In a split second, the Shelby was passing Martys GT almost like it was parked! It was all over in what had to be not much more than 11 seconds if that? It looked like the Shelby crossed the line at least 6 cars ahead of Marty!
Race fans! Did you just see what I just saw here at Tri-County?
The fans roared their approval with the great showing. Many were still clapping even as the Viper and the Z06 were doing their burnouts. And NO ONE was on his butt every person in the stands was now standing to see what was certainly going to be one of the best stock showdowns ever ran at the racetrack.
That Mira Reynolds can flat DRIVE a car cant she?!! I could hear it from up here folks she POWER-SHIFTED that Mustang like she stole it! Man, I wish we could tell you the times she just ran
hell; I wish I even KNEW what it was! Ha-ha-ha-ha!!! Marty pulled down another one of his very consistent 11.40s but sheesh what DID that GT500 RUN? Im amazed
We were all surprised! We had to have just watched what must have been a very, very low 11 second Shelby GT500 completely demolish a solid mid eleven second Mustang GT. Brandon was right Mira definitely proved that she knew her way around a race car. It was obvious that the announcers info was spot on she was a force to be reckoned with on the track. Or, on the street
We sat in muted silence as we listened to the Viper and the Z06 now noisily began to flex their eyeball flattening muscles; they built huge, billowing clouds of white tire smoke as they shot from out in front of the burnout box, the enormous rear tires screeching briefly in protest as dry pavement was grabbed and then driven upon. They both then slowed abruptly to not over-drive the pre-stage and stage beams, beginning to creep forward in preparation to run a balls-out race... slowly
slowly
forward
slowly
Keep your eyes on THESE two fans. That is Tom Seggerson in his new Z06 sitting over there in the Summit Racing lane. Word has it that he just picked up that car less than a month ago and that he only has around 800 miles on it. Regardless, knowing Tom? Im sure hes gonna let it ALL hang out here at Tri-County tonight! Tom had one of the 03 Z06s that he had the Lingenfelter boys work their magic on
Im sure you remember that red Vette. It took home its share of trophies from here at Tri-County!
In seconds, both cars had the pre-stage lamps lit and then both lit the Staged lamps simultaneously
Driving the Viper sitting closest to us in the Mobil One lane is I almost forgot to tell you yet another member of the Reynolds family. Man theyre thick here tonight, arent they? Ha-ha-ha!!! I must say though, I havent had the pleasure of meeting this new guy. Says here that his name is Nate
Nate Reynolds
says that Nate hails from a suburb of Pittsburg McKees Rocks
hmmm
I think that was where Ned was from too
well, lets just watch them race, ok? Im sure its gonna be a hum-dinger!
Brandon and I about broke our necks as we turned to look at each other. Yet ANOTHER Reynolds? Nate? Who the hell is THIS guy? Nate? Ned? Brothers aWhat the hell did THIS mean? Too much was happening and it was too noisy to find right at the moment
I figured Kelly would know and could fill us in later
Behind Tom and Nate, yet another pair of racers from the long lines already filling up the pre-staging areas were pulling into the water boxes
one was an old late 60s Nova SS that clearly had the thunder of a big block motor
the other was a newer Nissan 350Z that also had a healthy sounding exhaust
The SS still had the SS396 emblems on the fenders but it sounded a lot beefier than that
my guess was that it had to have a least a 502 in it, possibly one of the big-boy 572s
Up ahead of the Nova and the Nissan, the RPMS of the Viper and the Vette were upped in anticipation of the launch
The cumulative roar of over 1100 horsepower has the ability to overwhelm most other car sounds other than fuelers
and even though these cars had what must have been stock exhausts, they sounded S-W-E-E-T
in just a few seconds most likely less
**BLINK** The first amber came on
the sounds of the motors seemed to pick up even a bit more
the crowd was hushed
who was going to win this clash of the titans? The 600 HP Viper or the 505 HP Vette? Beauty and brawn against the Beast
**BLINK** The second amber illuminated
sounds of the cars waiting to do their burnouts were completely overshadowed by the screaming exhausts of the big LS7 Chevy and the enormous 8.4 liter MOPAR V10
Both cars had the crowd solidly on its feet, all eyes locked on the big block two-seaters, ready to alter the Earths rotation with the launch of over a thousand pound-feet of torque
**BLINK** The third amber came on
instantaneously, both drivers slipped their feet from the clutches and the clutch pressure plates locked hard against fast-turning flywheels of the cars. In nano-seconds friction was gone and enormous torque forces were being applied against the drivelines of the two V cars
noses bounced upwards just a bit as both cars launched hard, fast and angrily, breaking the beams in perfect simultaneous starts
Thankfully, there wasnt any No Time on either of these two cars windshields we were going to see what sort of stuff these two finest American made sports cars had to lay down where it matters most at the tree
.
Screaming away, their exhaust still overpowering those of the Nova and the 350Z behind them doing their not-nearly-as-impressive burnouts, the Viper and the Z06 looked neck and neck. It seemed for a minute that they were welded together and running as one. Since we were seated about 75 feet beyond the starting line, we had a good view as both cars tore up the asphalt passing us heading towards glory 1320 feet away. They were nose and nose
BAM! They both shifted hard and clean from first to second, with the crowd unable to discern who shifted first, it was THAT close
the finish was coming up fast and from where we sat, it looked like the Viper was beginning to pull the Z06 by the narrowest of margins but that was merely a guess
we knew they had two more shifts to go
already, they were nearing the 1/8 mile
Then, disaster struck for the Z06
the sound of a missed shift/RPM limiter being hit with the combined groan of the crowd Awwww
. let us know that we were not going to see the results of this match-up just yet
the Z06 was slowing noticeable as the Viper tripped the lights with a very respectable 11.64/121 mph time
no one even watched the Z06 coast on through, knowing that Tom had to be miserable
but hey, the night was young and more races were sure to come
we all wanted to see the match-up again and we hoped that would be the case. Clearly, the announcer was as disappointed as the crowd
Aw, DANG! Poor Tom missed a shift there folks and we all know had bad that feels. But Im sure he didnt hurt that monster 427 any and hell be back around again in a little bit. Maybe well try and get him and Nate lined up again, well just have to see
and how about that time for the Mopar Snake? And eleven sixty-four is downright awesome folks! And, now, coming up next to the tree here at Tri-county is
We had watched enough
we didnt even listen as the announcer gave out details about the Nova and the Nissan. We wanted to RUN!
Ok, Brandon
Ive seen enough. You ready to race? Kelly was already moving out of the row of bleachers. Her answer was obvious
Brandon still had that I cant believe it look on his face. But then, a huge grin burst out and I knew he was back to reality
Darn straight, I am Steve
. Lets go kick the tires and light the fires
I just hope I get to run that damned Viper or Tom's Z06!
Brandon had no idea what was really in store for him this night... nor, did I.... and looking back, it was probably best we didn't...
To Be Continued...