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Buddy of mine and I did this race last year in the Supra. Had such a good time we did it again this year. I did it a couple of times several years ago and thankfully I've been able to get back into it.
For those that don't know, the race is a two leg race with the first leg being the 59.0 mile leg from Fort Stockton, TX to Sanderson, TX. The second leg is the return trip. There are several different classes from the 85mph class to the unlimited class. The object being to hit your target mph and thus time as close as possible. Each class except the unlimited has a speed ceiling that you're not allowed to exceed.
This year we chose the 140mph class which has a ceiling of 168mph and again did it in my '94 Supra TT.
Took this in line waiting to go on the first leg south out of Fort Stockton to Sanderson. MP4-12C:
Once we got to the turnaround in Sanderson I had some time to take better pics. Once you get to Sanderson there's a courthouse that all the cars park at and get organized. This was the Supra parked after getting the windshield cleaned. LOL
One of the several rows of cars parked at the turnaround:
Ferrari 308:
Best license plate ever!
Favorite car, superformance GT40, unlimited class:
Supra in line for the return to Fort Stockton:
And a shot of the bug carnage after the return:
So on leg one our gps recorded an average speed of 140.0 mph, but the stopwatch said we were about 1.5-2 seconds fast. I wasn't surprised because on the first part of that leg we had an average of almost 155mph. Keeping the car under 168mph was a little challenging because it really wants to move. Our max speed according to the gps was 167.2 on the way down. So in the last 20 miles or so we scrubbed some speed by slowing it down to 130-135mph. Slowest speed in any of the turns was probably 120 mph or so.
On the return leg we factored the stopwatch about 2 seconds and set our sights on about a 139.9mph average. We came out of the hills near Sanderson (first 20 miles) with an average of about 135mph knowing we could get the average speed up easily once we hit the flatter portion of the course. Sure enough, about 10 miles further we were right at 140.0mph average. Sadly, this meant the last 30 or so miles were going to be boring with no bursts near 170mph. UNTIL....if you notice the black Z06 parked next to the Supra at the turnaround, well apparently he had an issue of some sort and we were forced to pass him with about 20 miles to go. But that blast up to 167.5 mph set our average a little high and we were forced to crank it down for the remainder of the trip. Without incident, we crossed the finish line with a gps recorded 139.9 mph average. Stopwatch indicated we might have been a little less than a second fast. My buddy AJ makes a fantastic navigator!!! Being within a second on our second year in is just fine with me!
On the return leg we noticed Openroadracer on the sidelines in the mustang. I know you guys had a bad wheel bearing on some test runs the day before the race. Wheel bearing issue again? Sorry you guys broke down, but it was great seeing you guys at this event again!
The fun factor in this race can't be expressed in words. It's without a doubt some of the most fun an average guy can have in a car. Good people, good friends, and a blast to blow by Sheriffs doing 168mph! LOL
For those that don't know, the race is a two leg race with the first leg being the 59.0 mile leg from Fort Stockton, TX to Sanderson, TX. The second leg is the return trip. There are several different classes from the 85mph class to the unlimited class. The object being to hit your target mph and thus time as close as possible. Each class except the unlimited has a speed ceiling that you're not allowed to exceed.
This year we chose the 140mph class which has a ceiling of 168mph and again did it in my '94 Supra TT.
Took this in line waiting to go on the first leg south out of Fort Stockton to Sanderson. MP4-12C:
Once we got to the turnaround in Sanderson I had some time to take better pics. Once you get to Sanderson there's a courthouse that all the cars park at and get organized. This was the Supra parked after getting the windshield cleaned. LOL
One of the several rows of cars parked at the turnaround:
Ferrari 308:
Best license plate ever!
Favorite car, superformance GT40, unlimited class:
Supra in line for the return to Fort Stockton:
And a shot of the bug carnage after the return:
So on leg one our gps recorded an average speed of 140.0 mph, but the stopwatch said we were about 1.5-2 seconds fast. I wasn't surprised because on the first part of that leg we had an average of almost 155mph. Keeping the car under 168mph was a little challenging because it really wants to move. Our max speed according to the gps was 167.2 on the way down. So in the last 20 miles or so we scrubbed some speed by slowing it down to 130-135mph. Slowest speed in any of the turns was probably 120 mph or so.
On the return leg we factored the stopwatch about 2 seconds and set our sights on about a 139.9mph average. We came out of the hills near Sanderson (first 20 miles) with an average of about 135mph knowing we could get the average speed up easily once we hit the flatter portion of the course. Sure enough, about 10 miles further we were right at 140.0mph average. Sadly, this meant the last 30 or so miles were going to be boring with no bursts near 170mph. UNTIL....if you notice the black Z06 parked next to the Supra at the turnaround, well apparently he had an issue of some sort and we were forced to pass him with about 20 miles to go. But that blast up to 167.5 mph set our average a little high and we were forced to crank it down for the remainder of the trip. Without incident, we crossed the finish line with a gps recorded 139.9 mph average. Stopwatch indicated we might have been a little less than a second fast. My buddy AJ makes a fantastic navigator!!! Being within a second on our second year in is just fine with me!
On the return leg we noticed Openroadracer on the sidelines in the mustang. I know you guys had a bad wheel bearing on some test runs the day before the race. Wheel bearing issue again? Sorry you guys broke down, but it was great seeing you guys at this event again!
The fun factor in this race can't be expressed in words. It's without a doubt some of the most fun an average guy can have in a car. Good people, good friends, and a blast to blow by Sheriffs doing 168mph! LOL
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