I want to share my experience at the NGK/NTK 4-Wide Nationals at ZMAX Dragway this past weekend. This was my wife's first time at an NHRA event, and we both had a blast.
Let's backtrack to a month ago though. The owner of @High Performance Lubricants, David Ward, and I were having a phone conversation while he was at the 4-Wide race in Las Vegas. He makes the oils for Elite Motorsports who fields the 4x Pro Stock Champion Erica Enders and Troy Coughlin Jr who took the reigns of his uncle's car this year. They also field 2 other cars in Pro Stock and 1 car in Pro Mod. Anyway, we got Elite's engine builder, Kyle Bates, on the phone who invited me to join them when they came to ZMAX Dragway this month. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to see how this team works behind the scenes. They were nice enough to invite my wife along as well.
We drove up on Friday morning and met Courtney Enders at the gate that afternoon. We were shown to the pits and introduced to most everyone. They opened up their operation to us which was awesome to see. We got to see how the team functions behind the scenes. They have walls of gear ratios for every gear except for 5th which is always 1:1. They change gear ratios after every pass depending on the track conditions, ambient conditions, and other factors. They change the tune after every pass based on the same conditions. They measure the tires after every pass for circumference and balance. They control tire pressure in 0.1 psi increments. Spark plugs are pulled and checked after every pass. They pull valve covers and inspect valve spring pressure and lash.
The engines are naturally aspirated 500ci and turn 10,500 rpm making close to 1400 hp.
The oil they use is a 0w-8 with a 10 quart capacity and dry sump system. They don't regularly monitor oil pressure unless a problem arises. So long as the pump is sending oil, they send the car down the track. Oil related failures, with this oil, are very rare. This is the result of Mr. Ward working with their engine department to test repeatedly to ensure the upmost reliability from that oil.
Unfortunately, the weekend didn't turn out the way Elite had hoped. Erica qualified 3rd with a 6.534 @ 211.59 mph. Troy qualified 9th with 6.554 @ 210.28 mph. Unfortunately, Erica got eliminated in the 1st round, beaten on a holeshot. Troy advanced to the finals but came up just short against Dallas Glenn, who got his first event victory.
They shared some stories with me from the road, how they've gotten to where they are, and talked of what laid ahead in the future. I got a bunch of pictures. I won't upload them all, but I'll upload the important ones.
My wife got to experience her first ever NHRA race. I got her to stand by the fence for the Top Fuel cars which completely blew her mind. If you've never seen Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, I highly recommend that you do. Even if you're not into the sport, it's not like anything you'll experience anywhere else. We were sitting in the pits during one of their qualifying runs, several hundred feet from the track itself, and our coke cans were shaking on the table when they went down the track.
I got to speak with a woman I've admired since I was a kid, Shirley Muldowney. We bought two autographed posters from her, the proceeds of which go to her charity that helps disadvantaged and abused children.
I also got to speak with another woman in the sport who I've watched race since the 90s, Angelle Sampey. She shared some insight with us about her years of racing and how having a child changed her perspective on racing in some ways. Unfortunately, she was also eliminated in the 1st round this weekend, but my wife is now a huge fan of her.
John Force, someone else I grew up watching a lot, got his 152nd win and became the first person in the sport to win in 5 different decades. I got to congratulate him on his win and check off another childhood bucketlist item. That man is a legend in drag racing.
The owner of Gunskins, a company that makes wraps for guns and tumblers, was there as well. I got to talk with him for quite a while and he ended up giving me an awesome 1/2 gallon tumbler with the 2nd amendment wrap on it. I made the mistake of letting my wife wander about the midway with my wallet.
We drove up with only 1 bag and came back home with 4 due to all the stuff her and I bought and other stuff that was given to us.
Erica, Courtney, and Troy signed our credentials for us, as well as some memorabilia. This was definitely the experience of a lifetime. A huge thanks to Elite Motorsports for giving us this opportunity and a thanks also to David Ward at High Performance Lubricants who got me on the phone with them to make that happen. This was definitely a weekend I won't forget. I hope to be able to do it again soon.
Let's backtrack to a month ago though. The owner of @High Performance Lubricants, David Ward, and I were having a phone conversation while he was at the 4-Wide race in Las Vegas. He makes the oils for Elite Motorsports who fields the 4x Pro Stock Champion Erica Enders and Troy Coughlin Jr who took the reigns of his uncle's car this year. They also field 2 other cars in Pro Stock and 1 car in Pro Mod. Anyway, we got Elite's engine builder, Kyle Bates, on the phone who invited me to join them when they came to ZMAX Dragway this month. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to see how this team works behind the scenes. They were nice enough to invite my wife along as well.
We drove up on Friday morning and met Courtney Enders at the gate that afternoon. We were shown to the pits and introduced to most everyone. They opened up their operation to us which was awesome to see. We got to see how the team functions behind the scenes. They have walls of gear ratios for every gear except for 5th which is always 1:1. They change gear ratios after every pass depending on the track conditions, ambient conditions, and other factors. They change the tune after every pass based on the same conditions. They measure the tires after every pass for circumference and balance. They control tire pressure in 0.1 psi increments. Spark plugs are pulled and checked after every pass. They pull valve covers and inspect valve spring pressure and lash.
The engines are naturally aspirated 500ci and turn 10,500 rpm making close to 1400 hp.
The oil they use is a 0w-8 with a 10 quart capacity and dry sump system. They don't regularly monitor oil pressure unless a problem arises. So long as the pump is sending oil, they send the car down the track. Oil related failures, with this oil, are very rare. This is the result of Mr. Ward working with their engine department to test repeatedly to ensure the upmost reliability from that oil.
Unfortunately, the weekend didn't turn out the way Elite had hoped. Erica qualified 3rd with a 6.534 @ 211.59 mph. Troy qualified 9th with 6.554 @ 210.28 mph. Unfortunately, Erica got eliminated in the 1st round, beaten on a holeshot. Troy advanced to the finals but came up just short against Dallas Glenn, who got his first event victory.
They shared some stories with me from the road, how they've gotten to where they are, and talked of what laid ahead in the future. I got a bunch of pictures. I won't upload them all, but I'll upload the important ones.
My wife got to experience her first ever NHRA race. I got her to stand by the fence for the Top Fuel cars which completely blew her mind. If you've never seen Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, I highly recommend that you do. Even if you're not into the sport, it's not like anything you'll experience anywhere else. We were sitting in the pits during one of their qualifying runs, several hundred feet from the track itself, and our coke cans were shaking on the table when they went down the track.
I got to speak with a woman I've admired since I was a kid, Shirley Muldowney. We bought two autographed posters from her, the proceeds of which go to her charity that helps disadvantaged and abused children.
I also got to speak with another woman in the sport who I've watched race since the 90s, Angelle Sampey. She shared some insight with us about her years of racing and how having a child changed her perspective on racing in some ways. Unfortunately, she was also eliminated in the 1st round this weekend, but my wife is now a huge fan of her.
John Force, someone else I grew up watching a lot, got his 152nd win and became the first person in the sport to win in 5 different decades. I got to congratulate him on his win and check off another childhood bucketlist item. That man is a legend in drag racing.
The owner of Gunskins, a company that makes wraps for guns and tumblers, was there as well. I got to talk with him for quite a while and he ended up giving me an awesome 1/2 gallon tumbler with the 2nd amendment wrap on it. I made the mistake of letting my wife wander about the midway with my wallet.
We drove up with only 1 bag and came back home with 4 due to all the stuff her and I bought and other stuff that was given to us.Erica, Courtney, and Troy signed our credentials for us, as well as some memorabilia. This was definitely the experience of a lifetime. A huge thanks to Elite Motorsports for giving us this opportunity and a thanks also to David Ward at High Performance Lubricants who got me on the phone with them to make that happen. This was definitely a weekend I won't forget. I hope to be able to do it again soon.
