Drag race - Kirkham 65 side-oiler vs Ferrari 458 italia

[Excaliber]

Consider the recent "marketing campaign" comparing a Shelby Super Snake Mustang against a Shelby Cobra. The Cobra lost, big time. It was OBVIOUS to any seasoned car guy (like Club Cobra members) that the 'Stang was running SLICKS against the stock Cobra tires.

That video and the results quickly became a joke, disdain was heaped on Shelby (justly deserved) and the results were thrown out and ridiculed. I would have the same opinion of THIS race, the results would be a joke, if tire choice factors are not equalized.

While Tommy may win, it would indeed be a "hollow victory" and would prove nothing. After the win, perhaps Tommy and the Shelby marketing group could do lunch, and talk about how they fooled the public with much hype. Yeah, they really pulled a fast one on MOST of the "sheep" out there, but did not fool the serious car guys for a second.

...just a thought.

A link to the pathetic video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liLpiev54lA

[MAStuart]

Any results yet? It's probably 1 o'clock out east and Tommy had to leave by then. I wonder if Tommy is disappointed in his times? Most first time strip drivers are disappointed over what their car really runs versus what they thought it would run.

[JBCOBRA]

Or put some Bias Plys on the Ferrari?
Because Fair is Fair

[Buzz]

It's a very BIG money bet dudes! For the players, it's not about level playing field Cobra vs Ferrari, it's about going home with the marbles!

[cobrarkc]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

Consider the recent "marketing campaign" comparing a Shelby Super Snake Mustang against a Shelby Cobra. The Cobra lost, big time. It was OBVIOUS to any seasoned car guy (like Club Cobra members) that the 'Stang was running SLICKS against the stock Cobra tires.

That video and the results quickly became a joke, disdain was heaped on Shelby (justly deserved) and the results were thrown out and ridiculed. I would have the same opinion of THIS race, the results would be a joke, if tire choice factors are not equalized.

While Tommy may win, it would indeed be a "hollow victory" and would prove nothing. After the win, perhaps Tommy and the Shelby marketing group could do lunch, and talk about how they fooled the public with much hype. Yeah, they really pulled a fast one on MOST of the "sheep" out there, but did not fool the serious car guys for a second.

...just a thought.

A link to the pathetic video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liLpiev54lA

This is the car that should have been in the race!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVt2Wp9VRX0

[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by Buzz

It's a very BIG money bet dudes! For the players, it's not about level playing field Cobra vs Ferrari, it's about going home with the marbles!

x2

These guys are high stakes gamblers. It's all about winning. They would bet you $1,000 that their cup of coffee is hotter than yours.....

We will get an update at the end of the day when the CACC guys are back home. Tommy rented the track all day and I doubt the CACC guys are doing home at 1pm when there is 1/2 a day of free track time left......oh and it's sunny and gorgeous here.

Some of us were lame and had to work.....

[CobraEd]

It is cold here in the DC area today. I run Drag radials on my Cobra and in the cold weather, they are no better than regular tires. I just blow them away. Also, . . My son has a modified factory supercharged 03 Cobra Mustang with the modern wide/low profile Goodyear F1 tires. They are OK in the summer, but in the cold, he also just blows them away too. I believe that the Ferrari will have similar tires to my sons F1s. If the Ferrari runs in the cold like today, he will have terrible traction just like the Cobra. The only way his traction/launch control can offset the lack of traction is by cutting WAY back on the throttle.


.

[ACademic]

Originally Posted by Buzz

It's a very BIG money bet dudes! For the players, it's not about level playing field Cobra vs Ferrari, it's about going home with the marbles!

So what you're saying is that the Cobra owner is a horrible negotiator on the terms of the race.

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by cobrarkc

This is the car that should have been in the race!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVt2Wp9VRX0

How about this one, it is a little better now, 790 lb/ft rear wheel torque
862 rwhp@7000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Cb7N90Rwg

[blitzforce]

Originally Posted by ACademic

So what you're saying is that the Cobra owner is a horrible negotiator on the terms of the race.

When we first made the bet, I told Tom that I had slicks on the car and that i would run slicks and that he had to stick to his stock tires. Later on after he started asking around he then tried to stipulate that they had to be the exact same slicks at were on the car at the time of the bet. The tires I had on the car at the time of the bet were not full slicks, they were grooved slicks and I had every intention of putting on full slicks for the race. He however was obviously under the impression that we could put new tires on, but that they had to be the exact same, thus not allowing me to run full slicks as we agreed in the beginning of the bet. He killed it on the track today ran a few 11.2's and a bunch of 11.3's and I don't want that to influence this, but I have given him every edge possible when we negotiated the terms of this bet, like not making him use a tree so he wouldn't redlight and have a slow start etc. I feel like i have been very fair the whole way through, so I think I should be allowed to run slicks as I had intended in the beginning, but Tom doesn't agree. I really want to do this race, and its the only thing that has gotten me excited this year, I just want it to be fair, and I feel like me running slicks like agreed would make it a fair bet. But Tom doesn't agree, so I might just end up getting ****ed and have to run the road course tires i got on there now, unless we can agree on some fair arbitration...

[GEE TEE]

OK, I guess I'm the first one to make it home from the practice session. As much as I'd like to post the results, I'll let Tommy do that. I will say that he didn't get into the 10's. He even let Blitz drive his car...what a pal!

We had a few Cobras to demonstrate for Blitz the problem he was going to have hooking up. One BB Contemporary with drag radials was great out of the hole, but lost the clutch on the shift to second and coasted to the finish...and the trailer .

Two SB Superformance cars on street tires with first time drivers behind the wheels survived to run another day. I did a few passes gradually feeling what it was like to exceed 80mph. On the third run I had almost worked up the courage to hold the pedal down all the way to the end. Unfortunately I got asked to leave because I ran 12.23 and didn't have a roll cage. 11's may have been possible, but I'll probably never know. Back to waxing . CzarSmith got to stay and better his times because apparently his hard top meant his Cobra wasn't an open car. He worked his way down to a 12.01 @ 125mph before calling it a day.

Video cameras were rolling, so there should be some video evidence later.

[GEE TEE]

I guess Blitz made it back and was faster on the post button than me. Lets hope his timing is good on the track too.

[MAStuart]

What mph did he run thanks.

[GEE TEE]

Tommy's very first run was 11.29 @ 131mph. I don't know what his better times were.

[ACademic]

Originally Posted by GEE TEE

Tommy's very first run was 11.29 @ 131mph. I don't know what his better times were.

I quietly predicted 11.50's, so Tommy showed more courage keeping his foot into the throttle than I personally gave him credit for. With some practice he could knock off another 10th or two. What was the D/A at the track? That could factor into not knocking on the 10's door.

blitzforce, you explained your position very honestly. You have my respect for that. Too bad Tommy won't level the playing field. Even with slicks you would still have to cut a solid 60' time and not snap a half-shaft to run consistently deep into the 11's.

[tommygold]

If you drop my best (11.22) and worst (12.22) times, then my average was around 11.45. It tells you everything you need to know that Blitz came to the track recognizing he was going to race in his existing tire type, watches my car, and immediately goes back to saying he gets to change the tires. I won't detail all the things Blitz is leaving out as he -- for unknown reasons -- tries to persuade this forum that he should get to change his tires.

I also don't understand this repeated claim from some on the forum that Blitz should be allowed to run on other tires to make it "more fair." The bet was our existing equipment, and there was never anything fair about this from the beginning: I have to win 3 in a row. That's not intended as a fair test of the two cars. It's a recognition that I have the better car and Blitz thought he could get in one great run. Big bets generally aren't intended by either participant to be "fair" -- each things s/he has an edge; hence the bet.

Track temperature was around 45, I'd say. Very cold. Warming up my tires seemed to pick me up around .2 seconds. They also only prepped the first 60 feet of the track. On a warmer Vegas track, fully prepped, and now with some experience (though I do almost nothing in the race) I should be able to get towards 11.1.

[dcdoug]

Nice times Tommy. You too Gee Tee, especially for a rookie. CzarSmith too, but you're not a rook either. I can't wait till I can cross that bridge at some point. As for you Mdman, you got to get that car sorted so you stop breaking it!

[DMXF]

Originally Posted by tommygold

The bet was our existing equipment,

Tommy, if you look at your very first post that started this thread, the evidence shows you claiming Blitz would run "slicks", so you knew that's what you were looking to compete against. Now you want him to run hard dirt track tires... those are far from slicks.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by GEE TEE

Unfortunately I got asked to leave because I ran 12.23 and didn't have a roll cage. 11's may have been possible, but I'll probably never know. Back to waxing .

GEE TEE great job!

I wonder. Will Blitz, er, Dan, have this "open car" issue at the Las Vegas track? If so, then the bet could possibly be moot.

[tommygold]

Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAzM11mUrjw

DMFX, thanks but Blitz told me he had "slicks" because he believed that's what he was driving -- what mattered to me was that we would run our existing equipment. I was racing my car against his, not how he could improve his car.