Yesterday I raced in real competition at No Problem Raceway Park for the 1st time since my accident in 2006. I must admit, it was hard going back down there, especially in the left lane. I still have very bad thoughts about smacking both of those concrete walls at NPRP.

Yesterday was a big accomplishment for me. I had no trouble at all, the car went straight in both lanes and nothing broke.

When I had my accident, many people thought it was the fault of the track. That was not true! After inspecting the car, after the accident, we determined that the rack attachments came off the car and I had no control of the steering.

Last night I lost in the first round. Stupid mistake. I entered the dial-in of my opponent wrong and left very late. I dialed a 9.13 and ran 9.134 @ 145 MPH. The weather station predicted 9.138 sec., based on one run. Maybe I don’t need one of those new weather stations with the fan.

Oh, bye the way, the stick-on, LED push-on light, works just great for entering changes into my delay box at night. Now all I have to do is learn how to read the scoreboard correct and put the right numbers in!

The alternator worked great. I need a new set of tires. Can’t see the little ware holes any more. The best 60′ time was 1.296 sec. The car did leave straight , so I will leave the adjustable shocks set at 5/12 on both sides.

I normally run 9.8 psi. at NPRP, but last night I ran only 8.00 psi. on the first pass and 8.5 on the second pass. The 8.5 psi gave the best sixty-ft. time. I normally run 7.75 psi at SCR (after much experimenting). Back in Feb. 2010, at SCR, I had some 1.252 sixty-ft. times. Barbara offered to purchase one new slick for a Father’s Day gift.

I purchased 5 gal. of VP, Q16 (116 octane) race fuel last night, but did not use it.

Taken from VP’s Tech Bulletin: In terms of overall performance, a vehicle switching to Q16 can expect to see substantial improvements.  A typical 550 in. drag race engine will pick up about 30 peak Hp and .03-.04 in ET in the 1/8 mile.

I have been told, by Mr. Van Johnson who uses Q-16, that I must increase my jet size by a few steps to take advantage of Q-16’s performance potential. I think every car owner has to determine just how much to go up in jet size. I would recommend calling VP and talking to a Tech. Rep. before running this fuel. That’s what I plan to do.

I continued to use the Sunoco Sup ream (112 octane) last night. I also purchased 5 gal. of VP C-14 (114 octane), which I will also try again. In the past, C-14 was the only fuel that I would run. Then the prices went through the roof and I looked for a less expensive alternative (Sunoco). Prices have come down some now, and C-14 and Q-16 are the same price (which I did not know when I purchased the two jugs last night at NPRP). I should have gotten 10 gal. of Q-16.