Posts Tagged ‘SCT’

Gotta Have Builds compete at Beaver Springs Friday Night Street Races!

Published by Matt on October 16th, 2012

As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler, the racing season is rapidly coming to a close. With this in mind, the Gotta Have Builds team wanted to make sure that they took Gotta Have It Race and Gotta Have It Street up to Beaver Springs at least one more time for some racing!

Rick and Gotta Have It Race awaiting their first pass.

Rick and Gotta Have It Race awaiting their first pass.

Rick and Tommy planned on leaving CJ Pony Parts at 5 p.m. on Friday and making the 1 hour, 15 minute trip up north for Beaver Springs Friday Night Street Racing. Bailey, from the sales team, decided to join the Gotta Have Builds team with his 4.6L 2V convertible GT. The typical Friday evening rush hour traffic made it a slow go until the team got further north, but they eventually arrived at Beaver Springs, though a bit later than they wanted. Thankfully, the tech inspector at Beaver Springs got everyone through and ready to race quickly.

Gotta Have It Race made the ride on the RaceStar wheels, M&H front runners and Mickey Thompson drag radials so the team didn’t have to worry about swapping the wheels at the track. Gotta Have It Street was going to race on the 19″ FRPP SVT Performance wheels and BFG KDW tires. Rick was driving Gotta Have It Race on Friday night and Tommy was piloting Gotta Have It Street.

Before the team left, Bill gave Rick some tips on the best way to get Gotta Have It Race launched: Start with a 2nd gear burnout until the tires start to slightly grip, then, at the line, get the RPMs up to around 5,000 and be quick with the clutch without dumping it. For his first pass, Rick was able to get the RPMs up to about 3500 before the light went green, and he was able to get a 1.82 60′ time. Unfortunately, the run was for naught, as he managed to miss the 3rd gear shift. Tommy and Gotta Have It Street made a good, clean pass and ran a 13.09 @ 108.63 MPH with a 2.00 60′ time.

Tommy and Gotta Have It Street during a time trial pass.

Tommy and Gotta Have It Street during a time trial pass.

Rick and Tommy both made two more passes during time trials, but neither made a clean pass. On Rick’s second run, he was too quick with the clutch and spun off of the line for a 2.04 60′ time to a 12.68 @ 114.72 MPH. On his third run, Gotta Have It Race rolled off of the line creating a red light. Tommy spun off of the line really badly on both of his passes.

At 9 p.m., the bracket racing started. Rick and Gotta Have It Race were in the Street Stick class, while Tommy was in Street Auto with Gotta Have It Street. Rick and Gotta Have It Race were first up and went with a 12.40 dial-in time. After a nice second gear burnout, Rick brought Gotta Have It Race to the line. Rick brought the RPMs up to 4000 and, once again, let the clutch out a little too quick, creating tire spin, leading to a 1.97 60′ time. The rest of the pass felt good, and Rick caught the Mustang in the other lane by the 1000′ line. Rick decided to stay in and try to get a good time. Gotta Have It Race went through the traps with a 12.33 @ 116.06 MPH for the best pass of the evening. However, the 12.33 was just below Rick’s 12.40 dial-in, meaning that his night was over.

Tommy and Gotta Have It Street were up next up, in the first round of the Street Auto class. Tommy cut a good .101 light and had a controlled 2.08 60′ time. He quickly caught up to the car in the other lane. Tommy crossed the line with a 13.01 on his 13.00 dial-in, almost dead on, but he had to get on the brakes hard keep from braking out. Tommy moved onto the next round. He adjusted his dial-in to a 12.80 for the next round. In the second round, Tommy matched his competitor’s reaction time with a .148 to a .144, but he was just barely beat to the finish line by .029 seconds. Tommy and Gotta Have It Street ran their best time, a 12.94 @ 106 MPH, but it wasn’t quite enough. With both cars knocked out of the brackets, the team was ready to head home. It was 10 p.m. and the temperature was down in the 30s.

The Gotta Have Builds team definitely loves their new 2013 5.0L Mustangs. They can easily go 12s on the drag strip (11s with a good driver), while comfortably making the more than an hour trip to and from the track. Each of the ‘go fast’ parts that the team has installed on the cars has allowed them to keep the cars reliable for everyday use. They have lasted a full season of racing and thousands of street miles, and we can’t wait to see how well they do in the future.

For this season, we have one more event scheduled: The 10th Annual Track Toys Racing ABM Nationals at Cecil County Dragway on November 10. We may pop up at a few other events, too, so keep your eyes open and watch our events page and our Facebook page!

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Gotta Have It Race closes out the NMRA season!

Published by Matt on October 15th, 2012

The weekend of October 4th-7th was the final event of the 2012 NMRA season, so the Gotta Have Builds team loaded up Gotta Have It Race and made the 12 hour trip to Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky for the 14th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals.

Various members of the Gotta Have Builds team had been part of five of the seven NMRA stops this year and everyone has had a great time along the way, learning each of the new 2013 Mustang GTs and meeting many great people. They had their ups and downs but Gotta Have It Race has been running great and Bill and Steve were ready for the finals.

Beech Bend Raceway is one of the more unique tracks the team has seen this year. Not only do they have a drag strip, there is also a circle track and an amusement park, complete with water park! The whole complex is nestled on a large horse farm that you have to drive right through the center of to get to the track. Beech Bend is well known for being very fan friendly, with the stands being only 10 feet from the track. Their outstanding prep is also well known, and they did not disappoint for this event!

The lanes opened for test and tune at 11 a.m. on Friday morning, and Bill and Steve made sure they were near the front of the line, ahead of the huge amount of cars attending the finals. On Bill’s first pass, he launched at 4500 RPM to get a feel for the track. The rumor of excellent prep on the track proved to be no joke, as Gotta Have It Race hooked hard and then bogged down due to the traction. Bill still had a respectable 1.66 60 foot time and ran an 11.85@115 MPH, pretty much equal to his last pass at Columbus. There was no doubt he was leaving ET on the table, though, so he was psyched for the next pass. The lanes were PACKED so they decided to let Gotta Have It Race cool all the way down and sit back and watch some of the action. Around 2:00 p.m., Bill pulled the car up to get one more hit before qualifying. This time, he revved the car up to 5500 RPMs and let it rip. The car dead hooked and pulled the wheels to a 1.600 60 foot time, which was the best 60 foot time yet for Gotta Have It Race, and so close to the 1.5 Bill wanted so badly. Three power shifts later, he was rewarded with an 11.55@116 MPH, the best competition pass ever!! He had a solid .033 light as well, so he was in great shape heading into qualifying.

Gotta Have It Race, getting to know the competition.

Gotta Have It Race, getting to know the competition.

Qualifying was to begin at 3:30 p.m., but got pushed back to close to 5:00 due to some breakage. Gotta Have It Race was nice and cool when Bill went up for first round. He did his usual second gear burnout to put a little heat in the Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials and staged the car. He went for it with another 5500 RPM launch and, once again, left wheels up en route another 1.601 time, but, unfortunately, the run went south when the driver misplaced his map to 3rd gear and coasted to a 14.23@78 MPH. That was Bill’s only missed shift in competition all year and thankfully it came during a test pass. He drove back to the pits as texts poured in from fellow racers and friends asking if he needed a GPS to find third. Bill took the ribbing in stride and he and Steve packed up for the night. He still had another solid .068 light, so he was dwelling on the positives.

Saturday morning brought some really good air to Beech Bend. Bill would have really liked to have made a pass in that great morning air, but wasn’t called for qualifying until close to 1:00 p.m. The air was still good then, so he was excited about the run and had completely forgotten about the missed shift the night before, right up until the Gotta Have Build team’s friend, Michael Johnson from 5.0, was laughing while making shifting movements with his hand while waiting to take pictures. Bill put that out of his mind again and did his usual burnout and staged. He left the line at 5500 RPMs and, once again, hooked and went 1.605 in the 60 foot with a .090 light, which was his worst of the weekend. Thankfully, he didn’t miss third gear this time, and Gotta Have It Race made a clean pass, clocking 11.57@115 MPH, backing up our 11.55 pass. He ran in the 7.30s in the 1/8th for the first time ever, with a 7.39@95 MPH, proving the car is getting it done in the 1/8th mile.

Another one of the NMRA racers at Bowling Green, KY!

Another one of the NMRA racers at Bowling Green, KY!

The final qualifying pass of the day got pushed back to nearly 7 p.m. due to an oil down. On the plus side, it had cooled off a bit and the track still had bite. Bill really felt that Gotta Have It Race could possibly run 11.40s if he could get everything right. Since he already had a few good runs in, it was time to let it rip. After his usual 2nd gear burnout, he staged and brought the RPMs up to 6200 and dumped the clutch on yellow. Bill got just a little wheel spin and Gotta Have It Race was moving down the track. He hit the 1/8th mile in only 7.37 seconds, which was his best ever, but the 11.40s eluded him again, as he went through the traps in 11.51 seconds at 116.59 MPH. The 60 was a little off with a 1.614; a typical 1.60 60 foot surely would have gotten Gotta Have It Race into the 11.40s, but the 11.51@116 MPH was still a great pass and is the car’s current best time!

Sunday was elimination day and the weather was beautiful. Bill and Steve chose an 11.55 dial-in, figuring Bill should be able to run that number all day long given the conditions. For the first round, Bill was paired up against an automatic 2013 GT that had been pretty consistent. That car was dialed in a full second slower, so Bill would be chasing him down. He left first with a .096 light and Bill followed a second later with a .051 light. Bill’s 60 foot was again a 1.608, and the race was on. The run felt good, and Bill’s competitor was half a car’s length in front of him as they neared the finish, which made Bill pretty sure he was going to break out and go faster than his dial-in, which he did, running 12.41 on a 12.55 dial. Bill was thrilled with his pass, as he went 11.56 on an 11.55 dial in. If he could continue that performance, he was going to go deep into eliminations. Bill’s .051 reaction time qualified him 3rd in the 33 car field, which was pretty solid!

Gotta Have It Race resting in the pits in between races.

Gotta Have It Race resting in the pits in between races.

For the second round, the Gotta Have Builds team drew a 2005 Mustang GT running a Whipple supercharger. His dial was an 11.84 to Bill’s 11.55, so, once again, Bill would be chasing. The 2005 GT had a stellar .021 reaction time against Bill’s .096. Unfortunately, the race was over in the first 60 feet, as Gotta Have It Race spun the tires hard and only went 1.80 compared to Bill’s usual 1.60. Bill gave it all he had to try and catch up, but he just couldn’t make up the difference. He lost with an 11.78 on an 11.55 dial-in. The margin of victory was .19, so it would have been a great race if both cars had matched Bill’s typical 1.60 60 foot.

All good things come to an end. With that pass, the Gotta Have Builds team’s 2012 NMRA SST Season was over. Overall, they had a good run, just barely missing the top 10, which isn’t bad for a car that they’ve only owned since May. They have been constantly improving their ET and are hoping to get the car to a few more local events to see if they can break into the 11.40s. The drivers in the NMRA are top notch and every round’s win is a challenge. Congrats to each of the 2012 NMRA Champions!

Coming up tonight: The Gotta Have Builds team takes part in the Friday Night Street Races at the track in Beaver Springs. If you’re not up to anything tonight, head up and race against Gotta Have It Race and Gotta Have It Street!

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Race:

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Gotta Have Builds take on the competition at the NMRA Ford Expo!

Published by Matt on September 10th, 2012

After last Friday’s race at Beaver Springs Dragway, Gotta Have It Race and Gotta Have It Street were ready to do some more racing! With the NMRA’s 6th event on the horizon for Labor Day Weekend, the Gotta Have Builds team headed to the National Trail Raceway in Ohio to race in the Roush Super Stang Class at the 34th Annual NMRA Ford Expo.

Once again, Bill was racing Gotta Have It Race and Rick was piloting Gotta Have It Street. Bill was hoping to improve on his semifinal finish from Joliet, while Rick was still looking for a first round win.

CJ's pit area, including Gotta Have It Race, Scott's GT500, Gotta Have It Street and Bob's Turbo V6.

CJ’s pit area, including Gotta Have It Race, Scott’s GT500, Gotta Have It Street and Bob’s Turbo V6.

Joining Rick and Bill in Columbus were some good friends of CJ Pony Parts. Scott brought out his white 2011 GT500, while Bob drove his 2006 turbocharged V6. Scott’s GT500 has some basic mods, including a tune, axle-back exhaust and a shifter, to go along with the Race Star Industries 17″ x 4.5″ Dark Star Wheels and Race Star Industries 17″ x 9.5″ Dark Star Wheels that no longer fit over the big brakes on Gotta Have It Street. Bob’s V6 Mustang has been evolving over the last few years, with its largest modifications being a single 61 mm turbo, a larger torque converter and a set of Race Star wheels. Both cars have run in the 11 second zone in the past and have gone several rounds at other events.

Gotta Have It Race, ready for the photo shoot.

Gotta Have It Race, ready for the photo shoot.

On Thursday, Gotta Have It Race was loaded in the trailer and most of the team headed off for Columbus, with Scott and Bob following along. Rick and Gotta Have It Street wouldn’t be heading out until first thing Friday morning. After arriving, Bill and the guys got all of the cars unloaded and their pit area setup, then Donut and the rest of the guys from Race Pages Magazine stopped by to talk about Gotta Have It Race. Another good friend and teammate, Bob Cochran, had been talking up the Gotta Have Builds cars’ progress, and the guys at Race Pages felt it was deserving of a full feature in a future issue! Bill and the rest of the team took a break from their usual pre-race routine while the photographers took various shots of Gotta Have It Race before getting back to the business at hand.

Test-N-Tune

Gotta Have It Race, followed by Bob's Turbo V6.

Gotta Have It Race, followed by Bob’s Turbo V6.

NMRA had an open test-n-tune scheduled for Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., so, after the photo shoot, Bill got Gotta Have It Race up to the line to make the first pass of the weekend. The weather was far from ideal, but the National Trail Raceway is known as a fast track with top notch prep. After a healthy second gear burnout to get some heat in our Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials, Bill headed to the line. He went with a conservative 4500 RPM launch to get a feel for the track. Gotta Have It Race hooked hard, with a 1.69 60 foot, but ran a 12.03 @ 113.51 MPH. He knew it would hit the 11s this weekend with a more aggressive run.

Almost as soon as BIll got back to the pits, Rick and Gotta Have It Street arrived at the track. After getting Gotta Have It Street registered, applying all of the NMRA Roush Super Stang specific stickers and getting a tech inspection, Gotta Have It Race and Gotta Have It Street headed up to the line to do a test-n-tune run. Bill and Gotta Have It Race decided to go all out for the 11s, so, given how well the car hooked during the first run, he tried a 5500 RPM launch, which resulted in the one and only spin of the weekend. Even with a weaker 1.80 60 foot, Gotta Have It Race ran a 12.14 @113.27. Gotta Have It Street ran a 13.09 @ 108.24 MPH.

Gotta Have It Street versus Scott's GT500.

Gotta Have It Street versus Scott’s GT500.

Rick made a few more test-n-tune runs in Gotta Have It Street with a best of 12.95 @109.13 MPH. Rick was not able go get a good reaction time on any of his runs, so he decided that he was going to start to stage ‘deep’ with Gotta Have It Street. Bill let Gotta Have It Race cool down and only brought it back up right before the lanes closed before eliminations. This time, with a 5000 RPM launch, Bill found the sweet spot. Gotta Have It Race ran a 1.69 60 foot and gave Bill his first 11 sec pass behind the wheel, with an 11.985 @ 118 MPH. The team felt the 118 MPH might be a timing error, due to the 1/8th mile MPH being off as well, but the ET is dead on compared to what we have run before, so they knew the time is right.

Qualifying

Around 4 p.m., the call was made for the Roush Super Stang class to head to the lanes for their first qualifying run. Rick and Gotta Have It Street went first and made their first qualifying pass with a 13.205 @ 109.84 with a slow 2.23 60;’ time caused by spinning off of the line. Staging ‘deep’ seemed to work for Rick, as he was able to get a nice .051 reaction time.

Gotta Have It Race heading down the track.

Gotta Have It Race heading down the track.

For his pass, Bill, again, left the line at 5000 RPM in Gotta Have It Race and set a new best 1.63 60′ time and a new best of 11.87 @ 116.21 MPH. Since the previous best ET in Gotta Have It Race, Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials, 3.90 Ring & Pinion Gear Set with a Yukon Dura Grip differential and American Racing long tube headers were all added. With most of our competitors being .3-.4 seconds slower, due to the conditions, the team has high hopes for mid 11s in some cooler air!

The NMRA had only scheduled a single qualifying run for Friday, with plans for two qualifying runs on Saturday, then eliminations on Sunday. Unfortunately, upon waking up on Saturday morning, it was raining. It varied from a light drizzle to a hard downpour. The Gotta Have Builds team kept an eye on the NMRA site, since they said they would announce when racing would resume there. NMRA had already changed the schedule, removing one of the two qualifying runs, then starting eliminations on Saturday afternoon, since it looked like the hurricane would be coming through and making Sunday a complete washout. By late morning, the team decided to grab an early lunch and head to the track. To their amazement, their class had already run the one and only qualifier for the day, even though the NMRA never made an announcement on their site stating that racing was about to resume.

Eliminations

Bill and Rick now had to pick a dial-in without getting a chance to test the conditions or the track. After speaking with a few fellow competitors about the conditions, Bill went with a 11.98 for Gotta Have It Race, while Rick went with a 12.90 for Gotta Have It Street, both figuring that gave them some room. Scott dailed in at 12.24 in his GT500, while Bob went with a 12.34 in his Turbo V6. Rick and Gotta Have It Street were the first to run. Rick cut a good .072 light, which gave him a large advantage and caused his competitor to break out, giving Rick a first round win!

Gotta Have It Race, sitting idle after a major differential failure, waiting to be pushed off the track.

Gotta Have It Race, sitting idle after a major differential failure, waiting to be pushed off the track.

Bill and Gotta Have It Race were up next. To start his first round pass, Bill cut a decent .107 light and Gotta Have It Race left the line hard. In fact, the video of Bill’s pass shows Gotta Have It Race pulling both front wheels off of the ground! Unfortunately, the Yukon Dura Grip differential couldn’t handle the launch and the spider gears broke, leaving Bill and Gotta Have It Race stranded just past the 60′ marker. Bill got the ultimate gift, as his competitor went all out and went under his dial-in time, giving Bill the unexpected win.

Neither Scott nor Bob were able to get past the first round, as they lost to experienced racers, with both going faster than their dial-ins.

Bill & RK trying to diagnose and repair Gotta Have It Race before the next round begins.

Bill & RK trying to diagnose and repair Gotta Have It Race before the next round begins.

The Gotta Have Builds team quickly got Gotta Have It Race towed back to the pits and started tearing into the rear differential. They knew that the NMRA was going to try to fit the complete event in Saturday night if the rain was going to hold off, but there also was a chance that it was going to start raining any minute. If the rain came and cancelled out the evening, they would have enough time to get Gotta Have It Race repaired and back to the line. Steve, the team’s photographer, was sent to the manufacturers midway in search of a differential, as Bill and RK, a CJ Pony Service technician who, luckily, came along for the weekend, opened up the differential to survey the carnage and begin to remove the damaged differential. Unfortunately, the rain held off and the Roush Super Stang class was called back to the lanes 40 minutes after the first round ended. Gotta Have It Race was done for the weekend.

With two members of the team losing and Gotta Have It Race broken down and on the trailer, it was up to Rick and Gotta Have It Street to go some rounds for the Gotta Have Builds Team. Rick’s .072 light in the first round was good enough for the 3rd qualifier spot in the second round. Rick got up to the line and cut his best light ever, with a great .013, while his competitor red lit with a .002, giving the win to Rick and Gotta Have It Street. In the 3rd round, Rick cut another good light, with a .040 giving a nice starting advantage versus his competitor’s .159 light. Gotta Have It Street ran a 13.10 @ 109.02 MPH, while his competitor broke out with a 12.39 on a 12.45 dial-in. This win put Rick and Gotta Have It Street in the semi-finals and just two wins away from winning the event!

Gotta Have It Street keeps racing, moving towards the finals.

Gotta Have It Street keeps racing, moving towards the finals.

In the semi-final race, Rick and Gotta Have It Street were paired against Al from BMR Suspension, who is also the defending World Champion in the Roush Super Stang Class. Rick knew that, as long as he kept cutting good lights, he would have a decent chance to win. Al was going to be Rick’s first competitor who also deep staged. While getting the cars lined up, Al was the first to deep stage and Rick did not get set quite quick enough. As soon as the top bulb turned out to signal that Rick was now deep staged, the tree activated and the yellow lights flashed. Rick wasnt’t quite ready and his .408 reaction time showed it. Al’s .184 light would have given Rick a good shot at the finals, but, in this case, it gave Al a huge advantage and he cruised to and easy win.

Rick, after his semifinal finish.

Rick, after his semifinal finish.

Wrap Up

Overall, this is going to be considered a good and productive weekend. Rick and Gotta Have It Street‘s run to the semifinals is the second in as many events that the Gotta Have Builds team put a car in the semifinals. Bill and Gotta Have It Race ran a new best and their 60 foots are getting down where they should be. Hopefully, Bill and Gotta Have It Race can have a good showing at the NMRA All Ford World Finals in Bowling Green, KY in October, and sneak into the top ten standings for the year.

Nobody wants to have a parts failure, but one of the main purposes for the Gotta Have Builds project cars are to test and use the parts that are sold at CJ Pony Parts. This weekend, the team learned that the Dura Grip differential couldn’t quite handle low 1.6 60′ times in a 3800 lb. Mustang with Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials and a 3.90 Ring & Pinion Gear Set. The combination just put too much stress on the DuraGrip. Bill has had a lot of success with the Dura Grip in his much lighter 1996 Cobra with shorter 4.56 gears that cuts similarly low 1.6 60′ times. The Dura Grip is going back to the manufacturer so they can help determine the reason for the failure.

Over the next few weeks, Gotta Have It Race will be getting a new differential, along with a Ford Racing Boss 302 intake, Ford Racing throttle body and a new tune in preparation for the 5.0 Shootout at the Maryland International Raceway on September 24th.

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Race:

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Street:

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Gotta Have Builds drag race and race autocross!

Published by Matt on September 4th, 2012

After a busy weekend two weeks ago, both Gotta Have Builds raced two more times during the last weekend in August, at Beaver Springs Dragway and another SCCA Autocross event!

Friday Night Street Racing

Our new, massive SSBC brakes on Gotta Have It Street.

Our new, massive SSBC brakes on Gotta Have It Street.

On Friday night, August 24, Bill and Rick took Gotta Have It Race and Gotta Have It Street back to Beaver Springs Dragway for their Friday Night Street Racing. Rick and Bill both wanted to get some practice on the .500 Pro Tree in preparation for Labor Day weekend’s trip to Columbus for the NMRA Expo. They also had some new parts to test out on Gotta Have It Race. Since their last trip to the track, they had installed a Yukon Dura Grip differential and slightly lower 3.90 gears. On Gotta Have It Street, massive SSBC Force-10 14″ Front Brake Upgrade Kit and a SSBC Force-10 Sport R1 13″ Rear Brake Upgrade Kit were installed, which unfortunately means that the 17” RaceStar wheels and drag radials will not fit with the new rear brakes. Instead, the heavier Ford Racing 19″ x 9″ and 19″ x 10″ SVT Performance Pack Wheels must be used.

After arriving and getting checked in, Bill’s first trip down the track in Gotta Have It Race was a 12.16 @114.06 MPH with a 1.76 60’ time. That was an improvement of about .2 of a second since the last trip to Beaver Springs. The better gearing and slightly cooler temperatures were definitely helping it go faster. Bill made two more test-n-tune passes, going 12.22 @ 114.03 MPH and 12.15 @ 114.19 MPH with consistent 1.76 60’ times. Bill was also dialed in at the light, cutting .035, .026 and .131 reaction times.

Meanwhile, Rick and Gotta Have It Street were trying a few different things while trying to see how much grip he could get out of the big BF Goodrich KDW II 255/35-19 and 275/35-19 Tires. On the first pass, Rick completely skipped doing a burnout and had a horrible 2.89 60’ time, which ended with a 14.15 at 108.08 MPH. For the next two runs, Rick did a small burnout to clean the tires and put a little bit of heat in them. His last two test-n-tune runs were very consistent at 13.28 @ 106.81 MPH and 13.28 @ 107.06 MPH.

Once the test-n-tune was over, Bill and Gotta Have It Race were first to run in the elimination round in the Street Stick Class. Bill had dialed in at 12.16 seconds, against his competitors 13.96. Bill cut a nice .058 light and cruised to an easy win with a 12.22. Rick had dialed in at 13.25 seconds, to his competitors 11.41. Rick was able to get the win with a 13.52. He was guessing the car in the other lane must have had issues, since it only ran a 13.82. Bill and Gotta Have It Race ended up with a bye in the second round, as there were an uneven number of cars and he had the best reaction time in the first round. He still ran a 12.18 at 114.59 MPH on his 12.16 dial-in. For Rick’s second round race, he redialed in at 13.15 against the other lane’s 11.28. Rick had the better reaction time with a .061 compared to a .071, but he broke out with a 13.08 to give his competitor the win.

Bill was now in the finals and had one more race to win! He kept his 12.16 dial in, versus the other lane’s 13.83. Bill had a nice .052 light, but the other lane had an even better .031. Unfortunately, Gotta Have It Race bogged, leaving the line with a 1.89 60’ time, ending up with a slower 12.27 @ 114.47 MPH. The Mustang in the other lane went on for the win.

Bill and Rick had a lot of fun at Beaver Springs Dragway’s Friday Night Street Racing, and hope that the extra practice on the .500 tree is going to help the Gotta Have Builds Mustangs in Columbus at the NMRA event this weekend. They both expect to make a few more trips up to Beaver Springs throughout the fall.

Bill and Gotta Have It Race, lined up against one of his competitors.

Bill and Gotta Have It Race, lined up against one of his competitors.

SCCA Autocross

After Friday night’s trip to the drag strip, Rick had signed up to run Gotta Have It Street in the Susquehanna Region SCCA Autocross event at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex on Sunday morning. It was another early morning, as Rick arrived at the Farm Show around 7 a.m., with plans for the first car to go off at 8:30 a.m. Rick had signed up to race Gotta Have It Street in the ESP class. Unlike last week’s course, which was pretty wide open and allowed Rick to really use the power of the new 5.0L Coyote motor, this week’s course was set up much tighter, with a lot of slaloms. The course designers actually called the course, ‘Death by Slalom!’

Rick’s first run in Gotta Have It Street was done at a reasonable pace to learn the course. The first run was done in 68.979 seconds. Between the first run and the second run, there was a light drizzle that soaked the course. The asphalt at the Farm show became very slick, and, even after already having a chance to learn the course, Rick’s second run was a slower 70.766, as Gotta Have It Street struggled to get traction coming out of the corners.

Thankfully, the rain only lasted a few minutes and, by the time Rick was ready for his third run, the course was basically dry. Grip levels improved, and Rick was able to run a 67.546. With one last run to go, Rick felt that he could still make a big improvement. His final run felt pretty good, and he was able to trim almost another second and a half, running a 66.114.

His 66.114 was 3rd fastest out of 5 cars in ESP. A late model Firebird and 2006 Mustang GT were the two fastest cars in the class, both of them running racing slicks. Overall, Rick finished 46th out of 77 entrants, which wasn’t as good as the previous weekend, but Rick had fun nonetheless.

During Labor Day weekend, Bill and Rick raced Gotta Have It Race and Gotta Have It Street in the Roush Super Stang class at the NMRA Expo in Columbus. Bill will be trying to better his semifinal finish from the last NMRA race in Joliet, and Rick will be gunning for his first win in eliminations! Check back soon to see how they did!

Rick and Gotta Have It Street racing autocross.

Rick and Gotta Have It Street racing autocross.

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Race:

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Street:

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Gotta Have Builds race at Beaver Springs Dragway

Published by Matt on August 13th, 2012

It had been a few weeks since Gotta Have it Race and Gotta Have It Street had been to the drag strip, so Bill and Rick planned to take both cars up to Beaver Springs Dragway for their Friday Night Street Race!

To prepare for the trip to the track, the Gotta Have Builds team put Gotta Have it Race back on the dyno to see how the numbers changed after the installation of ARH Long Tube Headers and Ford Racing Axle Back Sport Exhaust System. The tune looked good and Gotta Have it Race ended up making an additional 21 horsepower and 13 ft./lbs. of torque! For Gotta Have It Street, they swapped in the Race Star Industries 17″ x 4.5″ Dark Star Wheels and Race Star Industries 17″ x 9.5″ Dark Star Wheels with the M&H Racemaster Front Runner 185/55-17 Drag Tires and called it ready to go!

Gotta Have It Race's results from the dyno.

Gotta Have It Race’s results from the dyno.

On Friday afternoon, the team started their 1.5 hour ride trek to Beaver Springs. Tommy and Josh decided to bring Rick’s 1993 Mustang LX to provide video and photography support, and the Gotta Have Builds team also called their good friend, Bob, and got him to bring his 4.0L V6 Turbo Mustang. Everyone made it up to Beaver Springs Dragway around 5:30 and proceeded to clean out the cars and get them ready for tech inspection. During tech inspection, Gotta Have it Race was classified in the Street Stick class while Gotta Have It Street was classified in the Street Auto class.

Gotta Have Builds Mustangs cooling down.

Gotta Have Builds Mustangs cooling down.

Shortly after getting inspected, the Street Stick and Street Auto classes were called to the lanes. Gotta Have it Race and Gotta Have It Street were still hot after the 1.5 hour drive, and the weather was a sweltering 90+ degrees with high humidity. Bill was first up with Gotta Have it Race. He used his first run to get a feel for the track and made a pretty impressive pass, given the conditions, of 12.44 @ 113.02 MPH. Rick and Gotta Have It Street were up next, and he ran a 12.96 @ 107.2 MPH in his first pass. Both cars made a few more passes during time trails with Gotta Have it Race running a best of 12.32 @ 113.60 MPH and Gotta Have It Street showing a consistent 12.93 @ 108.6 MPH.

During time trails, Beaver Bob, the owner of the Beaver Springs Dragway, brought over his new 2013 black 5.0L GT to show to the Gotta Have Builds team. Beaver Bob bought a nicely optioned 6 speed manual that had a very cool red interior. It even had a red, leather wrapped steering wheel. This was the first time that anyone on the team had had the chance to see the red interior, and they thought it looked great when combined with the black exterior. Beaver Bob was impressed with how well Gotta Have it Race ran and will be bringing his black 2013 GT to CJ Pony Service for similar upgrades in the near future.

Gotta Have It Street making a pass during time trials.

Gotta Have It Street making a pass during time trials.

While grabbing a some dinner, another driver, Heath, approached. Heath also has a 2013 Mustang GT in Gotta Have It Green. Even though his car is stock, with the exception of an axle back exhaust, Heath has been following this blog and the installation videos for future parts ideas, and he was impressed with how well the Gotta Have Builds Mustangs ran. Since he is a rookie racer, Rick and Bill gave him a little advice based on what they have learned with the cars, and Heath ended up running a new personal best later that evening!

Gotta Have It Race's fastest time of the night!

Gotta Have It Race’s fastest time of the night!

A little after 8 p.m., Beaver Bob announced that the lanes were open for one more test run before they would be closed in preparation for eliminations. The sun was going down, so Bill took Gotta Have it Race up to the line to get one more shot. The slightly cooler weather and a much cooler car made a noticeable difference, as Bill ran a 12.18 @ 113.99 MPH, which was the best pass of the night!

Bill and Gotta Have it Race was first to be called in the Street Stick class. Once the sun went down, the temperature and track finally started to cool. With the better conditions, Bill expected that Gotta Have it Race would run close to the previous pass, but he wanted a little wiggle room, so he dialed in at 12.28. Our competitor in the first round was driving a stock ’96 GT that was dialed in at 15.54, so Bill would be chasing her. Bill cut a .028 light and was in front of his opponent well before the finish line and ended up running 12.45 @ 105 MPH.

Rick was up next with Gotta Have It Street in the Street Auto class. He knew the cooler weather was going to make Gotta Have It Street faster, but he dailed in at 12.95, expecting to have .1 seconds or so to play with. Rick had the better reaction time at the line and chased down the other car by the end of the 1/4 mile. Even though he was hitting the brakes before the end of his run, Rick and Gotta Have It Street still broke out and ran a 12.86 @ 99 MPH.

Bill was ready for the next run, and his match up would be against the current track champion. Bill knew that he had to cut a good light and make a great run if he was going to win this round. Bill cut a .057 to his opponent’s .010, but, unfortunately, tried to put too much power to the ground for the Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials 275/50-15 tires, causing Gotta Have it Race to spin the tires when leaving the line. It was all over from there, as his competitor ran a good race and won with an 11.39 @ 111 MPH to our 12.46 @ 113.93 MPH.

Everyone had a lot of fun at the Friday Night Street Races at Beaver Springs. As an added bonus, the track runs the .500 Pro Tree, just like the Roush Super Stang class in the NMRA, which gives us some practice between NMRA events. We will surely be back to Beaver Springs several more times before the year is over.

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Race:

Here are the parts that we have installed so far on Gotta Have It Street:

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