We made two runs today. One was not successful and had to be aborted at the 2-mile mark at 180 mph. The other one was very successful and topped out at 220 mph. To understand I need to back up a bit and explain some things.

We have a very technical data recorder on the car called RacePak. It logs data like rpm’s, fuel pressure, oil pressure, water temperature, engine boost, engine blow-by, as well as exhaust gas temperature on each cylinder. We had tracked that information on the run we made on Saturday. Through that we found out that the first cylinder at mid rpm range had gone dead cold. The SCTA official, Lee Kennedy, had told Mike that the car sounded like it was missing. RacePak showed us that the first cylinder had caused the problem.

Armed with that information Mike decided to replace part of the electric system related to the first cylinder. That change brought the first cylinder back to life. It restored 250 horsepower back to the engine combination. In the first run today, that additional horsepower and poor track condition left the car out of control and made the car undriveable at 180 mph at the 2-mile mark. Mike had no option but to pull the parachutes and abort the run.

On run number 2 of the day we made an adjustment to the throttle linkage to slow down its action. As well, Mike discussed the poor track condition with the starter who suggested that he use the right side of the course. The one disadvantage was that riding the right side of the course instead of the middle gave him little room for error without veering off of the course entirely. If that had happened he would have been reprimanded by SCTA and possibly would have wasted the opportunity to advance to his class A license. Thankfully that did not happen. The car was much more controllable and Mike drove through mile 4 and achieved a top speed of 220 mph before pulling the parachutes. The car would have easily gone 240 mph or better but Mike was still bound by the SCTA rules to step up his speed in increments. The 220 number was run at only 6000 rpm off of a motor that is capable of 8500. The combination clearly has 300+ mph in it.

Mike picked up his class A license this afternoon which carries him up to 249 mph so that is the next step in our process. Once we get to that speed Mike will get a class AA license which will allow him to run 300 and beyond.

We have had the privilege of having Mark Gallagher with us over the last 3 days. He is one of the Utah guys and has become a great friend. Mark has an automotive repair business near Ogden and had responsibilities at home so he left us this afternoon. Thanks for your help Mark!