Bonneville Speed Week 2021 170.726 MPH

[WickedWagens]

This year for the SCTA/BNI Bonneville Speed Week we wanted to go back after one of the records we lost last year to a turbo SAAB. We originally set the record in G/CBGALT (1500-2000cc/Classic Blown Gas Altered) at 146 mph in 2017. In September of 2020 a competitor bumped that record up to 162.909 MPH. We decided to try to get it back. A friend, Juan Cole assembled an 1999cc engine and I put my turbo setup on it.
Day #1—boost issues. We got two runs in. 1st run we set the boost controller at about 16 psi. The car made 6 psi and ran 144 mph. 2nd run we upped the boost controller to where we ran 20 lbs before. The engine still only made 6 psi and we ran 144 mph. We then took it back to the pits to look for exhaust/intake leaks and beat our heads trying to figure out why it won’t make more boost.
Day #2— Hurry up and Wait... That’s Racing. We were able to get a run in this morning about 9:30. The engine made 8 lbs of boost and went 150 mph. We adjusted the boost controller and got back in line to test a theory we have. One car crashed and we had to wait for a few hours. We got ready to go again and a guy crashed his motorcycle. A few hours later we were 2nd in line and the car In front of us crashed. Hopefully those guys are all ok. We are first in line in the morning to run after record runs. After being in and out of the car in 98 degree weather with the racing suit it’s time for showers and relaxing.
Day 3——We found the missing boost! First run of the day the car made 12 lbs of boost and ran just under 156 mph. We are refueled and back in line with hopefully more boost dialed in on the boost controller........Update we are 1/2 way there! We are in Impound. The engine made 15 PSI. We ran 168.125 mph on a 162.909 record. We are qualified for our 10th record. We just need to back it up in the morning.
Day 4--- Speedweek 2021 is in the books. Sunrise in impound almost can’t be beat. We towed out of impound to back up our record and went to the front of the line. The 1999cc ran hard and built 16 lbs boost. We managed to go 170.726 mph average over the mile to solidify our new record at 169.426 mph. Upon certification of the record I found a few valve spring retainers that didn’t want to play anymore, so we decided to pack her up, end on a high note, and get it fixed and ready for World of Speed in September. We have 2 more records to get with this engine and are confident that it has a lot more left in it.

[slayer61]

Outstanding! Very well done.

[doc]

Super cool! Congratulations!

[petew]

Awesome!

[John S.]

Very cool.

[Bruce2]

What were the retainers? What RPM do you run at that speed?

[Lo Cash John]

Talk about skin of the teeth!!!

[Chip Birks]

I got to meet Mark and his family on the salt yesterday. Great people and a great racing program. They even let me and a couple of my boys see how we fit in the car. Unfortunately we arrived shortly after they had just had a nasty rocker failure, and we're done for the weekend. Still positive though and excited for what next year will bring. Thanks for say hi!

20210911_160107.jpg

[WickedWagens]

What were the retainers? What RPM do you run at that speed?

Those were aluminum retainers. We were figuring that they wouldn't have the longest life, but thought they would make it through 1 full event. I guess we now know. I take 1-3 gears to 7500 and 4th pulled up to 7100. Its in 4th gear, wide open throttle for approximately 1 full minute.

Great to meet you in person Chip! Hope you guys had fun at the races.

[FJCamper]

Outstanding! We're really happy for you guys. I'm sorry we got rained out when Barret came to drive.

BTW -- we took our "Bonneville engine" to Road Atlanta and dominated the Brit and Italian classics, right up to our crash in the rain. We race again, a 2.2 mile road course through downtown Chattanooga TN Oct 14-15. Monte Carlo of the south.

FJC

[WickedWagens]

FJC, yeah that was just a bad year. I was really hoping for great things before that rain came. I’m glad to hear that the engine is performing well for you guys. Good luck in TN.