WEEKEND RECAP

There is so much to say about the last 5 days that its hard to put it all down. We woke up thursday morning and got the hot rod out of the box. We were very anxious to make some test hits because up to this point we still havent been fast. We hustled around to staging and was the third car in line to head down a green track. I burned in and rolled to the beams. I was completely shell shocked when I let go of the button and the car actually headed forward. I was on a lick and I knew it. At the 400 ft mark the left front tire was still dangling. I smoked the clocks with a 4.57 straight off the trailer. The new motor started showing some signs of life.... We tested all day thursday and most of the day friday not able to best the off the trailer pass. First round of qualifying was friday night and It was time to get to work. I decided to detune the car significantly to get her down the track, which is where she went. We ran a 4.66.. Which put us ninth out of a 61 car field. We still had two rounds of qualifying left and This was the fastest field of small tire cars I had ever seen. Saturday when our turn came up I decided to squeeze on the new motor a little. At the sixty foot I knew we were moving and the time slip showed it. 4.59 at 169.94 mph. That moved us to fifth with one round left before the field was set.....The redneck in me wouldnt let me not step on the car a little more So I squeezed a little more on the tune up. The ole orange heap was back in rare form screaming down the track netting a 4.54 at 172 mph. That put us third out of 61 cars. We were pretty happy with this And I still felt as though we had more left. Sunday morning the sun was out. A gorgeous day for drag racing. First round of eliminations I eased the reins back a little, wanting to go down the track. She did exactly what I told her and took the round win with a 4.59 at 169.99. It seems at this point that I had found my stride and the car was responding to what I was telling her. Second round The density altitude was about 400 feet worse than the first so I decided to leave the first round tune up alone and let the air detune the motor for me. After sitting in staging for two hours the air had gotten better. I should have gotten the computer and detuned the car but the track looked good so I made the call to leave the car alone and let it eat. WRONG. When I turned her loose, all she ate was the back tires slap off. It smoked at the hit of the throttle and I couldnt get it to recover. The weekend was over. I was pretty bummed out at first but then I realized that things could have been far worse. At this point the new engine had been running for two weeks and we had made some decent licks. I feel that we have a solid powerplant. I just need some time to figure out how to make it work. I put 52 passes on the motor in two weeks, So she is coming apart now for new rings, bearings, and rods. Then its back to the track to test. See yall soon.

Headed South

After a week and a half of testing, we are headed to valdosta. The ORTC race is this weekend and we cant wait. I wish we were more prepared, but we did make the most out of our last week and a half. I have learned alot about the new setup, and although we havent been fast yet, I feel that it's just around the corner. The car seems to be making good solid power. I am however still learning what to do with it all. Sorry for the short post but its late and I have been up wrenching on the hotrod for 24 hours. We should pull into South Georgia Motorsports Park around 3 am, Testing all day tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed......

Testing Updates

We hauled the ole heap down to valdosta this past saturday to do some testing . It was a beautiful day out and we got there early. Basically to make a long story short, we found a bunch of things that we need to fix and found somethings that we did fix. It was a pretty good test day. No fast numbers but it takes a little time to sort out a new combo. We didnt break anything so I already feel like im winning. I have to change a couple things on the car this week and then its off to Carolina dragway thursday to burn in. With some luck we should start seeing some E.T improvements this week.

FIRE IN THE HOLE...............

Well boys and girls, I have finally busted off the new engine. It has been a long summer and I am really fired up to finally have this thing done. When I tell you that this thing has been a struggle, believe me. Everything from wrong parts to stuff that doesnt fit to shipping damage has plauged us all summer. We have been working on this engine since last october when we broke our good motor. Last night I hit the starter button and the ole girl fired up just like street car. With a little luck I should be ready to test the car by the weekend. I havent burned the orange car in, since May so I am pretty anxious to get behind the wheel. We will test it Saturday night at Carolina dragway, and next weekend at Orangeburg Dragstrip. That only gives me two test sessions to get the car sorted out before we head south for the ORTC race. The weather down south is perfect right now for racing. I updated a photo of the new engine on my website, I will get some more pics soon. I will update you guys as soon as I test it. One more thing, Thanks to all of you who have been patient with our abscence from the track these last 5 months. Your emails and calls have been an inspiration. I hated to sit the summer out, But there comes at time when you have to back up and stop patching stuff. Since last october when we broke our good motor we have been racing with these bullshit childrens motors that I have put together from parts laying around the shop. Before long, you are patching the patches. It was time to back up and get our ducks in a row. And to those of you that have been talking shit, ( You know who you are) I am coming for your ass. BET THAT.

Out With The New, And in With The Old

Some people get homesick, I am Car Sick. Basically I miss my old hotrod. The new 10.5 car is fun, and we have been some fast e.t's, But its time to get back to the type of car that I love. Stock suspension drag radial. No yall know that my dream is to drive funny cars for a living, or maybe blown pro mods, but until that happens, stock suspension is where its at. Now there are lots of people that think that we have been away too long to catch up, but if I have anything to say about it, we will be loading people on the trailer before you know it. There are also a couple folks popping off at the mouth wanting to do some grudge racing, so we will find out where their heart is. I have the engine that is currently in the orange car for sale, And am working on the new heart as we speak. It will take most of the summer to complete, So you guys wont hear much noise from me, but i will keep you updated on the progress. I am very excited to get back in the saddle. If anyone is interested in a completely fresh, dirt cheap, bad ass blower/turbo engine, email me at Steve@SteveJacksonRacing.com

Blown Up and Busted

The title pretty much says it all. We got the hot rod back in the shop this week and took the engine out an tore it the rest of the way down. Boy is it ever STANKY. What we thought was the coneecting rod that caused the issue, turned out was the wrist pin on number 2 cylinder. We sheared the thing. How do you break a wrist pin in half? Who knows, but then the rod turned the piston loose, and the carnage began. The largest piece of piston I found from number 2 cylinder was about the size of a quarter. Half the wristpin is gone. It must have went out the exhaust. The block is cracked, cam bent, head damaged, there is a piece of rod sticking up through the intake. It bent all the pushrods, broke two rockers, bent all 16 valves and took out the oil pan. The good news is that all the fuel injectors and the valve covers are in good shape. No reason to dwell on the past. The ole kawasaki motor was a good one while she lasted. May she rest in piece. Onward and upward to better things. Im still not sure what we are gonna do yet but Ill figure something out.

Bumpy Starts and Second Chances

What an amazing weekend. And a crappy weekend. And a blessed weekend. All in one. We arrived in Montgomery Alabama for the start of the ORSCA season. This was our debut race in outlaw 10.5 and boy were we excited. I have always wanted to race 10.5 every since there was a 10.5. We pulled into the track friday afternoon, unloaded quickly, and were in staging in a hour. We were so eager to make a hit on 10.5's that I couldnt stand it. We had a little tune up help from my friend Chris Tuten on the way and boy did it work. The car launched hard snapping me in the seat and didnt let up till the chutes were out. I would tell you what it ran, but there are a couple guys that need a good ole fashion ass whooping in the grudge world first, so you guys will have to wait till Atlanta to find out. We changed torque convertors after the first pass trying to pick up the mph a bit. I figured it was time to rock the box so i put a VERY aggressive tune up in it. When I turned that thing loose, it was like a class 5 acme rocket was strapped to my ass. Man it was moving. That lasted about 2 seconds, and then that class 5 rocket turned into a class 5 nuclear bomb under the hood. Parts were flying everywhere. Pistons and valves shooting out the exhaust. Smoke everywhere. Not good at all. I pulled the heads off and boy howdy was it ugly. One peek in the engine and we put the front end back on it and put it in the trailer. It broke a rod, which bushwhacked the block. one piston is completely missing. I have no clue where it is. It broke a head, broke the timing belt which bent 16 valves, 16 pushrods, one rocker arm and a spark plug. I think the intake is still good, so it wasnt a total loss. This was not the start to the season that I had in mind. Well it turns out that the good lord was also looking out for me. Sunday the skys opened and it rained the whole race out. I hate that for the organization and all the other racers, but it sure did help us out. So now I have one month till the next race to scrape up enough cheese to build a new engine. I may have to sell a kidney on the black market or pimp brian out at night. So if any of you are interested in a bald guy that only watches sports. give me a call. Brian may be for you. :) Ill let u guys know what we decide to do about a powerplant as soon as i know.

Offseason Updates and The Beginning of a New Year

The offseason was a whirlwind this winter. Almost immediately after parking the rig last november, I got to work. What began as a simple build turned into a 3 month neverending project. The new Outlaw 10.5 car is an awesome piece. Well, it will be if it ever goes fast. It's a 93 Ford Mustang Gt. The powertrain for this car has also ran into speedbumps along the way. We we supposed to have it done by the end of January, But as all things in life, It always takes longer, and costs more. So for now we have pulled the engine and tranny out of the orange car. So its a 522 inch Big Chevy powered by Procharger. As usual, we were scrambling to finish the car in time for the first race, Which was this weekend. With the orange car stripped of her heart, We elected to bring the grey car to the Radial vs the World race in Valdosta this weekend. We showed up to the track with not so much as one full pass one the car. We love a challenge . Second round of qualifying we finally made a clean hit, managing a 4.67 at 166mph. I was happy. After a ton off struggling, It was a huge relief to get on the honker pedal and not step off till the traps. We qualifyied 16 out of a 32 field. This tells you how fast the field was. First round Ileft her safe. We have almost no data to go off of, So I decided that going down broadway is better than stepping up and smoking the tires. We staged up and blasted down the track side by side.He nipped me at the finish going a 4.63 to my 4.67. So we were on the trailer after first round. Which sucks, but for me and the boys, it was a big accomplishment just to finish the car and qualify. Our Outlaw 10.5 season starts in 3 weeks and we have yet to ever even bolt on a set of 10.5 s. So we have some testing to do. We have a good car and a sound powerplant. Now it's just up to me to figure out the rest. The orange car will be back up and running as soon as the real motor is done for the new car. I can wait to feel this thing eat. I wanna thank my loyal sponsors that are sticking with us this year despite a new car and a new class. Procharger, Abby's Performance engines, Mickey Thompson Tires, GRP Rods, Mac Fab Wheels, and 2KEYS Customs, Aiken Augusta Paving. You guys never let me down and meet so much to our team. Also a special thanks to my partner and friend, Phil Shuler. We are gonna do great things together. I will update with testing news in the coming weeks. Steve