Went MIA - and had a BLAST!

[28HopUp]

I am active on other Mustang sites. One of them, www.MustangCollective.com, puts on an annual event called the Buckeye Brawl (#6 this year) at Thompson Raceway in Ohio. There was a group from MOCSEM, and members from Texas, Virginia, and other states - over 20 Mustangs together for a weekend of racing and friendship. We had such a great time this year.

Debbie, Jack, and I drove out in Jack's 98 project car, which is a relatively stock 3.8L/5spd. The only go-fast mods are duals, suspension, drag radials, and 3.90:1 gears. Jack recently got his driver's license, and this was his first time running at the track. On the first run with the car, Jack rode along with me and I showed him what to do. Then he solo'd -




Photographs by John Stachlewicz


Jack did great mastering the clutch and line locks, and ended up making 11 passes at the Brawl, with a best ET of 16.5xx. Here's a video of one of Jack's first runs -


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imvqH...ature=youtu.be


The Brawl was the perfect place for him to race at the track for his first time, and he's hooked now for sure! We did slightly injure the car at the track - a broken lower control arm bushing came out from under the car during Jack's last run. But we limped it home without any real issues, other than the rear of the car kicking out left slightly with every shift. We will replace all of the LCA bushings this weekend.

Now Jack is re-thinking his future mods for the car.