2002 Pony Express

After running 5 Silver State 90 mile open road races down highway 318 from America's Loneliest Highway (50) to The Extra Terrestrial Highway (6), Team Pantera Racing was invited to conquer The Pony Express run down Highway 305 from Battle Mountain at Interstate 80 to Austin on Highway 50, that lonely highway again. I must say that trophying 1st, 2nd, and 3erd in my last 3 Silverstates, I was pretty confident of bringing home an award. My last Silverstate 318 run I targeted 150 MPH and in fact covered the 90 mile distance averaging 150.004 MPH. Not bad for a 30 year old piece of Italian art metal.

I run our Pantera Parts Connection demonstration car we affectionately call RED with the license plate of HIS. It is the real in your face of what we sell of reliable performance upgrades. We advertise that "We sell what we run and we run what we sell". There is nothing over the top with this car, just what we call level one upgrades. Put them together right and we will run the best that the world has to offer with basic upgraded 30 year old technology.

NOTHING LIKE TORQUE The engine is a basically performance rebuilt 351 with Assie heads, SVO hydraulic cam, roller lifters, standard duraspark ignition, performer intake with our PPC Double Pumper. The motor idles at 400 RPM maintains power to 6500 RPM, has 410 HP at 4900 RPM with 425 pounds of torque at 2000 RPM and a thunderous 490 pounds of torque at 4400 RPM.

A couple of years ago I met one of my neighbors out at Ely in the Silverstate run. He was eatin wine and drinkin cheese, or something like that with Team Porsche. He was talkin real big about his buddies 930 Porsche kraut can. I asked him that since I was not going to attend the trophy banquet in Vegas if he would be so kind to deliver me my trophy. Three days later he did. They got one too in the 135 MPH class.

So I was driven home Sunday afternoon and saw him out front workin on his lawn and stopped to harass him. I ask him if he would like to join me in some 30 year old Italian art metal, and run a bit faster than he may be a custom in that other German machinery. He scratched his chin and said ..."Hmm My wife's out of town so sure."

I was going to drive RED out to Battle Mountain but now I had that much more gear so we put her on our Flat Bed Transporter and cranked up the air for our 4 hour drive. Battle Mountain as many Central Nevada towns is described as 4 hours from anywhere. The Washington Post ran an article on Battle Mountain and called it "The Armpit of America." The Locals do not agree and invite you out and find out for yourself, they just call it home. We found them quite accommodating.

Friday night was full of getting to know each other and posturing. Madd Dawg Antunucci is a "burning" legend at these events with his reconstructed Pantera. Joe Abe made the drive solo from Southern California with his Burgundy Pantera. Chuck Brown and John Bentley left the Brazilian girls and the Team Pantera Racing 18 wheeler behind to install the Hot Tub and resorted in borrowing my open trailer for John's yellow Pantera. Eric Belter teamed up with Madd Dawg to lend the Dawg his trailer but drove his Red Pantera with those gun metal Kinesis K-20 17" wheels. We taunted the competition with my 150.004 MPH mark set at my last Silverstate outing.

MEETING THE COMPETITION Saturday was Tech Inspection and a car show around the nicely laid out City Park. Just think I could have brought the family and done the playground too. And play we did. Joe Abe had grins from ear to ear taking advantage of the practice sessions that had been arranged on the course. Joe's car is a European Pantera with kilometers on the big dial to deal with, no navigator and an antique to drive by the onlooking ZO6 drivers standards. We joined Joe in the afternoon 1 kilometer Drag Race flying speed timers. The score Joe's Pantera 118 MPH: The ZO6 Corvettes 118 MPH, My RED Pantera 120.5 MPH and Don Hurbel's 2002 ZO6 Corvette with a blower 145 MPH. I think we have now met our Competition.

MEET YOUR MATCH Back to the hotel and pool seen, yes the family would have been right at home here. On to the Navigator's meeting being taught by the well known Internet mathamation nerd himself Paul Kraght. This guy has calculated the height of each mile marker in Nevada. He gave us the MPH of each curve in the road at a given G force rating. He is strictly a stop watch guy (the more and the cheaper the better from Radio Shack. Yes, Battle Mountain has a Radio Shack and a NAPA store). He kept talking about having these navigation conversations with his driver. I finally could not stand it any longer and rose up to confront all this BS and said "Who can hear you say anything at 165 MPH" I then identified myself as the guy who set the 150.004 mark at the fall Silverstate and I don't need no stinking stop watch. He was amused but stubborn.

THE COMPETITION'S STRATEGY REVELED We then adjourned with all these important timing notes to the drivers meeting at the park. They supplies refreshments and a catered BBQ. Again the family could have been right at home here amidst the Open Road Race Car crazed participants. After stuffing our selves and some more posturing banter, we retired for a long nights rest back at the hotel, if only these guys didn't bring out their 2 cycle powered chain saw motor Margarita blender under the hotel reception verandah. This action was also two windows down from my room so ...why not have a night capper or 2,3,4 good night, dunk.

RACE DAY, THE STAGE IS SET Next morning 5 am in Margaritaville... oh Battle Mountain, Nevada.

Be at The High School Parking lot pregrid at 6am or 6:30 sharp or...

Be in grid order. The PPC RED Pantera was grid #15, Don Hurbel's blown 2002 ZO6 Corvette and his navigator instructor mathamatition Paul Kraght was grid #13. The technology clash is set, odds taken, money is exchanged. Is it the 2002 puffer ZO6 Vette VS. the 1972 Pantera or is it the Radio Shack stop watch VS. Satellite Global Positioning System. Is it pitching or hitting, OK I am getting carried away now.

The Race was to begin promptly at 8 am... We finally left for the short drive to race grid at about 8:30. It seems that the air ambulance had transmission problems in Boise. The Race Safety Observation Plane had a magneto problem at the local field, and a few of the local folks who got their free BBQ in the park and a race T-Shirt could not find their way out of bed that morning to man all the gates. They also had to find some cowboys to round up the cattle off the highway. So we waited and waited to get the gates manned and the plane in the air. It was getting hot now on its way to the mid 90's today. I dank my only bottle of water and sat in the trunk which was the only shade. Then it was annouced that the event was about to begin when a spectator airplane landed on the highway probably because he was running low on fuel himself waiting for us to run which delayed us that much more. More time to posture and more time to double our bets.

Finally a little after 10 am the first of the unlimited's left. I retreated from the starting line giving each driver an atta-boy and told them each not to let a Pantera pass them. I did pass many of them on the side of the road as I speed down to certain victory. Temperatures were fast becoming a concern as our time to ascend from 4500 feet to 6200 feet grew near. I informed my navigator Walt that we may need to deviate from our planned 158 MPH average at the 6 mile long canyon entrance to something lower if we cannot keep the engine cool. Let me say this now opposed to The Madd Fire Dawg's concerns, I do not run an oil cooler, and I don't need no stinking oil temperature gauge to scare my navigator. I run 100% synthetic oil in our PPC 10 quart oil pan. Nuff said! But now I am getting some concerns.

10:45 AM - READY - SET - GAGOO We are off up the hill around the first of some 40 curves, a left hander at 130 MPH in 4 Th. gear. Over the crown and frumpty frump goes the road. I was told that it was smooth, and we are proposing along at 140 MPH. For this is supposed to be the fastest section of the road and we are getting bet to s__t. Slowly over the next 10-15 miles I bring RED to 165 MPH. Normally she climbs past 170 in a blink but not today. I finally just put my foot into her to go. Seven radar traps to watch out for along the way so no hot dogging on this run.

IF YOUR NOT ON THE EDGE THEN YOU'RE TAKEN UP SPACE The harder I push the bigger the speed wall gets and my temperature gauge can't seem to climb past 210. Well, that is good news except after the 46 miles is THE 6 MILE CANYON NARROWS. We have only achieved a poultry 153 MPH average to my planned 158 MPH average. So I guess we will run the canyon HOT ... Come on Hoosiers - Hang-On Nothing less than 135 MPH all the way through the 45 MPH Zones.

HOUSE CURVE AT 145 MPH - A NEW COURSE RECORD I AM TOLD! I had planned on a 152 MPH average but We had dropped down to 145 MPH average at this point. Not to worry, we still had 30 miles to make it up with only 25 more curves to go. Did I say curves, coming up is the route 305 infamous "House Curves" Left, Right Left. Our course notes recommend Left at 108 MPH, Right at 106 MPH, and then another Left at 118 MPH, but were are behind so lets test the Hoosiers adhesion at 145 MPH ... LOOK OUT course workers and emergency crews.

CAUTION "THE BRIDGE"- POSABLE AIRBORNE. YEP I'M HERE TO TELL YA I am nervous on this road for the very first time. Blind curve after dropaway curve after dropaway straight a way. Which one is next? Why did we not at least drive it once? Now we think of that. We are on a mission and down the dropaway straight we go and there it is ... THE BRIDGE. My navigator is franticly motioning me to SLOW DOWN, POSABLE AIRBORNE! So I am a respectful guy so even though I finally got her Rollin 165 MPH I submitted to a slower speed. How about 155 MPH - WEEE CRUNCHH. We here the course worker announce over the radio "THE RED PANTERA #73 has landed on at least 5 points." We carried a piece of that bridge all the way home with us under the car, planted under our collected ass's.

THE FINISH OR IS IT WE ARE FINISHED Only 8 blind curves left in the next 20 rolling miles with most of the straight-aways less than 2 miles. The Water Temperture Gauge is now bouncing off the thermostadt. 180-210 - 180 - 210 amazing, Suddenly in no time we come up around a blind curve and down at 160+ MPH and there is this guy waving a checkered flag. We cannot be done; We still have time to make up. Maybe we should just make a run for it so we won't have to cover our bets. OH there are men on the highway waving us into the Austin High School Parking Lot and there is BIG Don and Paul asking us how we did. ONLY 147 MPH average.:<( Time to go home and play with my kids. :>) My day is done.

I got to come back next year and get those smug Corvette guys. Double or nothin. Its great to be in Nevada.