Release from ADRL:
ADRL Pro Extreme racer Ellis Vial finally got his brand-new, K&K Precision-built ‘68 Firebird out for its initial outing this past weekend during an event at Virginia Motorsports Park and it didn’t take long for him to put its handling characteristics to a fittingly extreme test.
“A lot of people gave me credit for doing a great driving job to save it,” Vial told your Agent, “but I think it was just God took pity on me and set it back down.”
Vial explained he had the nitrous-injected, supercharged Hemi “all hopped up” for his inaugural pass in the car on Friday, but it immediately blew the tires off, so he and crew chief Scott Filkins backed the power down considerably for a second attempt.
“We left way too much clutch in it, though, and it just hooked left right off the start. Thank God I started from the right lane,” Vial said.
After that, fellow Pro Extreme competitor Quain Stott wandered by with a little new-car advice and Donnie Sykes, crew chief for Bubba Stanton, called in with a few words of his own.
“I love those guys,” Vial said. “They really helped us out.”
A third hit resulted in a solid .960 60-foot time, but Vial admitted he was “just waiting for something else to happen” and he clicked it off just 1.72 seconds into the run. He still ran 2.80 to the 330-foot cone, though, convincing him that “the car’s definitely got it!”
After suffering a supercharger explosion in his first attempt on Saturday, Vial judiciously called it quits and headed home to Hayes, VA, where he’s taken the motor completely apart and unfortunately will miss the ADRL Hardee’s Georgia Drags VI this coming weekend at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
“I hate having to miss the Valdosta (GA) race, but when you bang the blower that hard you don’t know what it might’ve done to the rods and I can’t afford to scatter them all over the place,” Vial said. “I’m like Barney Fife; I’ve only got one good bullet, so I have to be careful where I fire it.”
Vial assured your Agent that after a little more testing he’ll be ready for the next race on the 2010 ADRL tour, when the series visits Virginia Motorsports Park May 21-22, for the ADRL U.S. Drags III.
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