texas mile speed event

[fordracing65]

Has anyone here ever done the texas mile speed race in a cobra, it says it takes place in march and must be registered by mid january, could be a fun time, any info would help, i want to do it. (superformance cobra)

[bingo2]

There is a similar event a little closer to you: http://www.mojavemile.com.

[zrayr]

Has anyone done this one:

BIG BEND OPEN ROAD RACE

http://www.bborr.com/

A few years ago I remember reading in the local Mustangs Clubs newsletter the story of one of the members who took his 427 powered Mustang or GT-40, (can't remember which) down there and promptly blew the engine in spectacular fashion.

Straight-a-ways that are miles long really test the engine & overall stability. What fun !


Z.

[Seagull81]

I believe some of the Houston Cobra Club members have done it.

[am9648]

Contact mtpockets for information, attended last year and a group from HCC members are planning to go this year also.

[wkooiman]

I've done BBORR twice in my Pantera.

It's a fun event. You drive 59 miles on a farm-to-market road, have lunch, and then race back. The road is very good with no potholes, etc. There are something like 60 curves, plus several small hills.

The city supports the event pretty well. It brings a lot of $$ to the city, plus the locals love the cars. There's a car wash (HS kids work for college money), a car show (kids ask for your autograph), a parade, and a nice awards ceremony. There are also several small parties the day before the race.

I won my class the first year, plus I bumped into a previous owner of my car (who also owns a genuine 427 Cobra). I was only in the 85mph class, though. I had S-rated tires, which only tech to 105mph.

The next time I entered the 125mph class. It would have been a great race, but I dropped a valve at mile #3 going 135mph.

It would be a lot of fun in a Cobra. There's usually one or two of them at the race.

[fordracing65]

the mohave mile looks good to me, im gonna do it in my superformance, what kind of top speed can the cobras produce.

[Got the Bug]

The Big Bend event sounds like a lot of fun. Make sure you review the tech/safety requirements for roll bars and belts before you get serious about going. As wkooiman mentioned, they also limit your speed based on your tire rating.

[elmariachi]

Mtpockets and I placed second in the 115MPH class at the BBORR last year in his Backdraft. It was the most fun I have had with my clothes on in a long time. Several of us Houstonians are entering again this year. Its a blast, well organized and very competitive (we lost first place by a margin of .010 MPH.). The organizers and locals all love Cobras. Icing on the cake was getting to see CSX3050, which hasn't been on the road since the mid-Seventies and lives in a garage in Ft Stockton.

[mtpockets]

We attended the Texas Mile in Goliad last year with a buddy who brought his '05 Ford GT w/Whipple upgrade. What a blast that was. The GT didnt fair quite as well as the pulley on the Whipple snapped off at 175. Day was over early but we did get to see some 200mph + runs.

The Big Bend Open Road Race was attended by 4 members of the HCC in two cars (LSC and Backdraft). As Jim said, more fun than I've had in a long time with my clothes on. Practice days (Wed/Thur) were tons of fun, different route, 6-8 passes per day on 9 mile stretch of closed road. They encourage you to get up to your tech (not to exceed) speed. Race day was spoiled by a Mad Cow on the course, shortened to only Ft. Stockton to Sanderson leg of the race. Jim and I came in second in our division (105 mph and 126 tech speed) with an average speed of 105.019 mph over 59 miles. Not bad for first time out, one stop watch and an unexpected shutdown of my fuel pump at 110.

Registration for this years (2011) event opens Jan 2nd and we have around 5 cars from the HCC going. I'm going to attempt to move up in class to the 115 mph division and 140 mph tech speed after some more safety mods to BDR 621. If you like to drive fast, there is no better venue than BBORR. Driving south to Sanderson on a closed road at 120 was like a ride in the park. Street tires and I never needed to lift in any turns. Parties on Thursday in Sanderson put on by the town, followed by the "Wild Hat" party at the Best Western in Ft. Stockton. Parade, car show, fund raisers on Friday lead into a hectic Saturday.

The most memorable event for me was our trip to the elementary school in Sanderson on Thursday morning. I can't recall the statistics but way over 50% of the childrens families live below the poverty level. To see the smiles on their faces when we arrived, let them sit in our cars, put on our helmets and the revving of engines on departure was priceless. And those same families and many others rolled out the red carpet for all race entrants on Thursday evening where everyone in the town brings a covered dish and we get an awesome meal.

Anyone that would like to join us in April '11 at the BBORR, please pm me and we'll get you on our group email list. Having done this once doesn't make me or any of the others experts but we can put you on to some good points to make the event more enjoyable. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone.

[mr0077]

Paul Cass and I drove our Cobras from Corpus Christi to the Texas Mile, and got a lot of folks trying to get us to enter, but Paul and I figured it wouldn't be worth it 'cause the way our Cobras were set up (4 speeds and street gears) we would hit our rev-limited speed by the half mile and just cruise through the second half mile at whatever our personal rev limit was (assuming we didn't break something), which would be about 150 mph or so for us. If you had a Cobra with an OD trans or some fairly tall rear gears you could do some serious speed, but just be sure you have the brakes (and tires) to back it up.

I entered my M3 out once a few years later and had a blast...it had just about "hit the wall" as I crossed the end of the mile with the factory gearing, but it was still a real kick. I only got 148 mph against a 15 mph headwind, but still a blast. And even at that relatively low speed, stopping at the shutdown caused a little bit of "pucker" too. I would recommend it as a spectator or an entrant.

[fordracing65]

i have a six speed with 3:91 gears my car has a huge top speed how much is what im after, ive done road racing with it and quarter mile runs so now its time to really open it up, im doing the mohave mile closer to my house. cant wait

[bingo2]

Some serious speed at Mojave last year; top was a Hayabusa at 251.1 followed by a Viper at 222.7.