Pass Time tv show + 1st run = fail

[DADx2]

Had an interesting weekend. Went by a local race shop on Thursday to see a friend of mine.They were all talking about being at the dragstrip the next day for the filming of "PASS TIME". He said "come on out tomorrow to Atlanta Dragway, and I will get you on the show". I thought "cool" so I loaded the car and headed out Friday morning. The plan was for test & tune to be from 11 till 3ish, and filming would start around 4. I arrived at 12:00, to find out there was NO test and tune.:mad I knew I really needed to make a few passes to learn the car. After sitting around for 3 hours, and then signing Speed TV release forms, I was placed into episode 7 group (they had to film 10 before they left Atlanta)... Episode 1 and 2 took over 2 hours each, then in Episode 3, A popular 10.5 street car (Tim Lynch for those who know who he is) put his car in the wall at over 200mph... shortly after that it began to rain. So the producers told everyone that they will resume taping the next day at 2pm........... I arrived at 12pm, only to find out they had re picked ALL the spots from the bracket racers that showed up at 8am for a scheduled bracket race that day. Needless to say, I was sorta pissed that they changed the plans without contacting the particpants from the previous day.:mad

I hung around all day to see several friends. They happened to arrive early enough to keep thier spots. Well, througout the day, several rain showers came and went, which SLOWED production terribly. I did happen to get on a list just in case someone decided to leave.

So around 9pm, they said that I was back in.:buttrock I was placed back into episode 7 to run the "combo" round against a late model automatic Firebird with a rear mount turbo.

Finally around 12:30 AM, It was time to make my (our) run.

The procedure is that we pull from the staging lanes, up to the line, then get out for the couple questions the contestants throw at us. The big dude (host) asked me to talk about my car so I said : "Its a 97 M3, 6spd manual, custom turbo with 22lbs boost".... I only got one question from a contestant and he asked "how much boost you runnin".....:lol.. I repeated... 22lbs !

Anyway.... got back in the car, let the other guy do his burnout, then eased up to the line... I staged first, then him, .. pro tree goes green,,, and that's where I choke:(

I dang near stall the car and barely get rolling... and am willing to bet that I had a 3+ second 60ft... Once I got into boost, the car started hauling butt, but by that time, my run was ruined.. plus the Firebird was long gone :mad

I ended up running a pathetic 13.54@122 mph, and he ran a 12.5@112.

Needless to say that I was terribly disappointed with my performance.

Here are my excuses: :D

* First time on the strip with a turbo car, plus been close to two years since I went with the previous setup.

* I was so worried about the dew settling on the track, that I didn't want blow the tires off during launch and totally screw up the run... ha ha,, I screwed it up anyway.

* I will admit that I was a little nervous with the cameras and all

All in all it was a neat experience, but I certainly didn't do anything impressive.

Oh, the episode is set to aire sometime around Sept/Oct 09.

[avus95m]

Sweet ill be watching for that episode even though it was a bad pass. Ive been waitng for some bimmers to be on there.

[Volcom8190]

to bad you didnt blow the guys doors off :(

[avus95m]

The trap is +10mph so the M was obviously faster but with a chuncked start..

[bennyfizzle]

Way to suck.





Jk, shit happens...but putting your whole right foot in it and blowing the tires off would have made for better TV.

[JordanMD88]

Wish I could have been out there this weekend Jim :wave

[DADx2]

to bad you didnt blow the guys doors off :(

OMG... you have no idea how bad it sucked to get beaten by a 200whp less car.:mad


The trap is +10mph so the M was obviously faster but with a chuncked start..

Yeah, I knew I had him covered since we talked 3 hours before we ran... I had never told him what kind of power I was making, but he spoke real early and said he had 330ish rwhp... I was thinking this will be real fun if I can get out of the hole, and keep traction.


Way to suck.

Jk, shit happens...but putting your whole right foot in it and blowing the tires off would have made for better TV.

:lol It is all good... I had a pretty good time, and a chance like that would never come up again... If I had even ONE opportunity to make a pass, I would have known SO MUCH more about my car and track conditions. That's why I am so aggravated that they didn't allow a few hours of test & tune before they started filming the first day.


Here are a few pics I took before I left home, and at the track. At least I can say I looked fairly good.. :stickoutt

[JordanMD88]

Jim you working friday?
:devillook

[DADx2]

Jim you working friday?
:devillook

Nope !!! I am ready to redeem myself, if that is what you're getting at..:stickoutt

[JordanMD88]

Nope !!! I am ready to redeem myself, if that is what you're getting at..:stickoutt

We'll see how this week plays out for me... But yea I'm trying to keep my Friday Open :wave

[DADx2]

We'll see how this week plays out for me... But yea I'm trying to keep my Friday Open :wave

Then I will keep my Friday open too.... Wish I was off Thursday to be a part of your other stuff... looking forward to vids of that :D

[card counter]

Suck or not, you waited it out and made the run...SWEEEEEEET:redspot

[MrBlonde]

You mean.. it's not as easy as it looks????

[DADx2]

Suck or not, you waited it out and made the run...SWEEEEEEET:redspot

Yes I did, and I was pretty stoked to get to make the run.:)


You mean.. it's not as easy as it looks????

Ha Ha Kenny, I know it is not as easy as it looks.:help That's why I was aggravated that I didn't get to make a few passes ahead of time..:D

I would guess most racers are not "on their game" the first run of the day, even if they were at the track the week before.:)

[MrBlonde]

Ha Ha Kenny, I know it is not as easy as it looks.:help That's why I was aggravated that I didn't get to make a few passes ahead of time..:D

I would guess most racers are not "on their game" the first run of the day, even if they were at the track the week before.:)

Good to see you giving it a go. It's amusing when people expect they will make a clean pass first time with a new setup or even first time ever to a drag strip.

You can hear the glass shattering when they realise it's not like watching it on TV.

[PEI330Ci]

I would guess most racers are not "on their game" the first run of the day, even if they were at the track the week before.:)

That's what separates the great drivers from average drivers. Great drivers doing their worst are better than average drivers doing their best. The more practice you get, the closer to that head space you are.

Great to see you making it to the track!

[JordanMD88]

Then I will keep my Friday open too.... Wish I was off Thursday to be a part of your other stuff... looking forward to vids of that :D

Hehehe :wave

Rafa Is more excited than I am

[OnUrleft]

Good job man, it's a shame you didn't get a clean pass before you got to run. You ran the same E.T as my N/A E36 M3!!

[Jean-Claude]

Jim just needs some time with his turbo motor. I've seen the kind of 60' he can get with a supercharged m3. It's a matter of time till he's ripping up the asphalt.

[Skorcher]

Had an interesting weekend. Went by a local race shop on Thursday to see a friend of mine.They were all talking about being at the dragstrip the next day for the filming of "PASS TIME". He said "come on out tomorrow to Atlanta Dragway, and I will get you on the show". I thought "cool" so I loaded the car and headed out Friday morning. The plan was for test & tune to be from 11 till 3ish, and filming would start around 4. I arrived at 12:00, to find out there was NO test and tune.:mad I knew I really needed to make a few passes to learn the car. After sitting around for 3 hours, and then signing Speed TV release forms, I was placed into episode 7 group (they had to film 10 before they left Atlanta)... Episode 1 and 2 took over 2 hours each, then in Episode 3, A popular 10.5 street car (Tim Lynch for those who know who he is) put his car in the wall at over 200mph... shortly after that it began to rain. So the producers told everyone that they will resume taping the next day at 2pm........... I arrived at 12pm, only to find out they had re picked ALL the spots from the bracket racers that showed up at 8am for a scheduled bracket race that day. Needless to say, I was sorta pissed that they changed the plans without contacting the particpants from the previous day.:mad

I hung around all day to see several friends. They happened to arrive early enough to keep thier spots. Well, througout the day, several rain showers came and went, which SLOWED production terribly. I did happen to get on a list just in case someone decided to leave.

So around 9pm, they said that I was back in.:buttrock I was placed back into episode 7 to run the "combo" round against a late model automatic Firebird with a rear mount turbo.

Finally around 12:30 AM, It was time to make my (our) run.

The procedure is that we pull from the staging lanes, up to the line, then get out for the couple questions the contestants throw at us. The big dude (host) asked me to talk about my car so I said : "Its a 97 M3, 6spd manual, custom turbo with 22lbs boost".... I only got one question from a contestant and he asked "how much boost you runnin".....:lol.. I repeated... 22lbs !

Anyway.... got back in the car, let the other guy do his burnout, then eased up to the line... I staged first, then him, .. pro tree goes green,,, and that's where I choke:(

I dang near stall the car and barely get rolling... and am willing to bet that I had a 3+ second 60ft... Once I got into boost, the car started hauling butt, but by that time, my run was ruined.. plus the Firebird was long gone :mad

I ended up running a pathetic 13.54@122 mph, and he ran a 12.5@112.

Needless to say that I was terribly disappointed with my performance.

Here are my excuses: :D

* First time on the strip with a turbo car, plus been close to two years since I went with the previous setup.

* I was so worried about the dew settling on the track, that I didn't want blow the tires off during launch and totally screw up the run... ha ha,, I screwed it up anyway.

* I will admit that I was a little nervous with the cameras and all

All in all it was a neat experience, but I certainly didn't do anything impressive.

Oh, the episode is set to aire sometime around Sept/Oct 09.


That was me :) I figured you had me on power at 22 lbs, but thought I might get lucky because of your street tires. Either way, it was fun. I know I'll get killed, but once you get used to the whole thing, let me know and I'll run you again for fun!
For the other folks on here, he's exactly right. I'm only at 344 rwhp for now, with my measly 6 lbs of boost. Let me turn it up a bit, we'll see what happens then!
Regardless, it was good to meet you, and win or lose it was a great time with an opportunity that rarely comes along. :buttrock

[DADx2]

Thanks for chiming in Skorcher.. It was nice to meet you too. I am planning on going back to the track Friday night hopefully to learn the car some more. It was fun, and it will be cool to see it on the TV.

[DADx2]

Well, I still don't feel any better. Went back to the strip Friday night, and ran only a little better. I ran a 12.65 at 123. I made three passes, and each one I am getting wheel hop pretty bad. I don't stay in it of course, and that obviously kills my 60ft. My Toyo T1R's are just not cut out for drag racing I guess. It is time to get some tires for the strip, plus I think I will swap in my 3.46 to see how that does.

[Skorcher]

Well, that's an improvement over our run. Getting more used to the new setup though?
Time for some sticky tires, street tires just don't cut it with that kind of power. :D Other than the wheelhop, any other problems? No bogging down or anything like that?

[DADx2]

Well, that's an improvement over our run. Getting more used to the new setup though?
Time for some sticky tires, street tires just don't cut it with that kind of power. :D Other than the wheelhop, any other problems? No bogging down or anything like that?

No, no bogging at all. At green the car leaves fair, but as soon as boost builds, violent wheel hop begins. Once out of 1st gear, the car pulls great. I am looking for some wheels to put some drag radials on, plus have a few plans to beef up the rear diff. Hope to accomplish that this week. Once I have some decent tires, I can leave harder and maybe make it into the 11's.... The mph is there, so it is all about getting going that is keeping me from running a good time.

[savage217]

Damn that's awesome. Sucks you didnt get a good run but you had a very impressive trap which everyone will realize.

[MrBlonde]

Different rubber will probably not cure your wheel hop.

[DADx2]

Different rubber will probably not cure your wheel hop.

Well I am hoping that with better known traction, I can be more brutal on the clutch. Plus more time in the seat, will help.:)

[MrBlonde]

Well I am hoping that with better known traction, I can be more brutal on the clutch. Plus more time in the seat, will help.:)

More seat time might help but in my experience wheelhop is a suspension setup thing that you need to engineer out.

[PEI330Ci]

More seat time might help but in my experience wheelhop is a suspension setup thing that you need to engineer out.

Correct.

It's simplest description is "undamped" motion. You either need firmer suspension pickup points that won't absorb and then reflect the energy uncontrolled, or you need better control of the control arm(s) with the damper. (shock)

I went as far as removing every piece of rubber in my entire rear suspension. (All solid pickup, and pivot points)

Change your rear shocks?

[DADx2]

I agree with what your'e saying Kenny, and will look into that. I will first try going with a drag radial,or even slicks before anything else. Once I replace a factor (low profile street tires) KNOWN to be a bad idea on the strip, with tires designed to do it.... Then I will go looking elsewhere if the problem continues. :)

[MrBlonde]

I went as far as removing every piece of rubber in my entire rear suspension. (All solid pickup, and pivot points)

Bingo.

[steve shadows]

That does suck.

Trust me I know the feeling.

My olde 500 WHP S13, I used to pull 11s all day (even with the car setup at 400 whp levels).

I have messed up so many starts because of being ancy. Luckily now I am a bit older and do not screw up at the line but I blew some serious track competition runs (with crappy 60 foots or most commonly bogs) thanks to too much lag on the big turb on a 2.0

You feel like you have been caught with your pants down acting out a scene in the birdcage, really embarassing crap

Anyways you can get em next time.

[Colby Colbs]

props for getting out there and giving it your best!!

[DADx2]

Did anyone see the episode? It aired tonight, but I missed it. My brother called me and said "you're on dude",, but I was at away from a TV...:(

I may be glad that I didn't see myself choke on National TV.. :D

[E36 328is]

I just saw it. It wasn't to bad the car looked great too! You could definitely tell after the 1st gear bog the car really took off. Ken Herring said "man there goes the turbo on the bimmer" as it started to take off.

[mcoupemindy]

I just watched the episode off my DVR. Your car is VERY nice representation of the marque. Sure, you ran a 13.563, but who cares when you're running at 122.90 MPH trap. I would love to have that stupid amount of power.

[MrBlonde]

I just watched the episode off my DVR. Your car is VERY nice representation of the marque. Sure, you ran a 13.563, but who cares when you're running at 122.90 MPH trap. I would love to have that stupid amount of power.

When a stock car can be a better ET you care! ET is King

[creeves328]

Looking forward to the next time its shown! Give any jabs to Brent, like Ken always does?:D

[avus95m]

amn I missed it! I will be looking ror the replay.

[DADx2]

Looking forward to the next time its shown! Give any jabs to Brent, like Ken always does?:D

Nope, I didn't. I was not on my game. By the time we got to run, it was nearly 1am... I was so ready to go since I had been there ALL DAY !!!


amn I missed it! I will be looking ror the replay.

If you catch a replay, it would be by chance. They don't have a description on their site that say which episode of the 10 they filmed in Atlanta. I did get to tivo it... I wonder if there would be any way that I could get it on youtube besides actually filming my big screen while it plays.

[nitrofed7]

Good to see you giving it a go. It's amusing when people expect they will make a clean pass first time with a new setup or even first time ever to a drag strip.

You can hear the glass shattering when they realise it's not like watching it on TV.

amusing yes but some people can get it done :) My first time ever on a drag strip period with any car as well as on a brand new setup and not driving the car for years since it took so long to complete netted me a 10.6 @ 130 with a 1.49 60'. beginners luck i guess. They kicked me out so i couldnt make another pass but it felt good leaving with a 10 sec slip on my first time at any dragstrip. I was like this drag racing stuff is a piece of cake :buttrock

to the OP,, just keep going youll get the hang of it in no time. And nice car btw congrats on making it on the show.

[MrBlonde]

amusing yes but some people can get it done :) My first time ever on a drag strip period with any car as well as on a brand new setup and not driving the car for years since it took so long to complete netted me a 10.6 @ 130 with a 1.49 60'. beginners luck i guess. They kicked me out so i couldnt make another pass but it felt good leaving with a 10 sec slip on my first time at any dragstrip. I was like this drag racing stuff is a piece of cake :buttrock

to the OP,, just keep going youll get the hang of it in no time. And nice car btw congrats on making it on the show.
Bullshit.

[nitrofed7]

Bullshit.



LOL.. want proof ? I have the whole rx7 forum, videos, witnesses, other shops and racers that know me that can back my story up. No bullshit it can be done and has been done by many.. Just because you had a hard time doesnt mean others will have the same problems.

[MrBlonde]

LOL.. want proof ? I have the whole rx7 forum, videos, witnesses, other shops and racers that know me that can back my story up. No bullshit it can be done and has been done by many.. Just because you had a hard time doesnt mean others will have the same problems.

I find it hard to believe that you or anybody else can cut a 1.4 short time on your first ever pass with a BMW street car.

By posting your comment that your first ever pass at a drag strip netted a 1.4x short time in a street car you are basically putting out misinformation to the reading audience. This forum is about sharing knowledge and experience, not about you boosting your ego with lies.

[eye145]

amusing yes but some people can get it done :) My first time ever on a drag strip period with any car as well as on a brand new setup and not driving the car for years since it took so long to complete netted me a 10.6 @ 130 with a 1.49 60'. beginners luck i guess. They kicked me out so i couldnt make another pass but it felt good leaving with a 10 sec slip on my first time at any dragstrip. I was like this drag racing stuff is a piece of cake :buttrock

to the OP,, just keep going youll get the hang of it in no time. And nice car btw congrats on making it on the show.


I find it hard to believe that you or anybody else can cut a 1.4 short time on your first ever pass with a BMW street car.

By posting your comment that your first ever pass at a drag strip netted a 1.4x short time in a street car you are basically putting out misinformation to the reading audience. This forum is about sharing knowledge and experience, not about you boosting your ego with lies.

My guess is that it was done with the 815hp RX7 and not the BMW, How's about a linky link to said vids.

[MrBlonde]

My guess is that it was done with the 815hp RX7 and not the BMW, How's about a linky link to said vids.

So I would ask what is the relevance in a BMW street car drag racing forum? That stuff belongs in an RX7 forum where people with similar cars can draw relevant information from the content.

[nitrofed7]

It's amusing when people expect they will make a clean pass first time with a new setup or even first time ever to a drag strip.

You can hear the glass shattering when they realise it's not like watching it on TV.

Nowhere in your statement does it say it only applies to bmw's. This seems like a pretty general statement to me. And I really dont see how the brand of the car will make any difference anyway. Unless its a racecar then no car is designed for drag racing and all street cars should be in the same catagory. Whats the reason a bmw should be in a class of its own on this topic ?

I have nothing to gain from lying my ego is fine the way it is, just trying to point out that just because you (Mr. Blonde) cant drive your car doesnt mean others wont be able to drive theres.. Dont be so closed minded.. your far from a standard to be telling people what they can and cannot do.


not spreading any misinformation in fact YOU are by telling others what cant be done when in fact it can. Heres my vid yes an Rx7 but when I only had 501rwhp on a bone stock motor, tranny, drive train, car weight. all i had was a gt35r turbo kit and et streets thats it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waOAcRxD7zg

stay tuned for my 9 sec pass in under 10 passes ever at the dragstrip. and half were wasted because of broken rearends, tranny and burnt clutch. Nothing is impossible your very ignorant to think otherwise mate.

[MrBlonde]

Nowhere in your statement does it say it only applies to bmw's. This seems like a pretty general statement to me. And I really dont see how the brand of the car will make any difference anyway. Unless its a racecar then no car is designed for drag racing and all street cars should be in the same catagory. Whats the reason a bmw should be in a class of its own on this topic ?

This is a BMW forum and this area of for drag racing BMWs. Everyone here has a street BMW. The information here is about how to drag race your street BMW. There are lots of forums elsewhere to talk about drag racing other types of cars that have different behaviours. Why not go there where you belong?

The brand makes a big difference when the basic characteristics of the car are different. For example a rotary powered car behaves differently to an inline 6 cylinder. Or an IRS car behaves differently to a live axle car.

Telling people that a first timer should be able to step up and crack a 1.4x short time or else you "can't drive your car" is spreading misinformation. Your first ever drag pass has a better short time than than the best launches of every single racer on this forum. With a BMW.

So what you are saying is that Mike Radowksi, Donovan Marvin, Ulysses White, David Tran, John Donovan .. and all the other drag racers here .. can't drive their car.

After years of practicing. Including guys here who have drag racing licences. Including guys here who have hundreds and thousands of passes at a drag strip. And guys who go out to their track every week they can to get more passes. All those guys "can't drive their cars" because you cracked a 1.4x short time on your first ever pass on a drag strip.

Right.

[PHARMDVIPER]

well is there a video pf the OP's pass anyone?

[nitrofed7]

This is a BMW forum and this area of for drag racing BMWs. Everyone here has a street BMW. The information here is about how to drag race your street BMW. There are lots of forums elsewhere to talk about drag racing other types of cars that have different behaviours. Why not go there where you belong?

The brand makes a big difference when the basic characteristics of the car are different. For example a rotary powered car behaves differently to an inline 6 cylinder. Or an IRS car behaves differently to a live axle car.

Telling people that a first timer should be able to step up and crack a 1.4x short time or else you "can't drive your car" is spreading misinformation. Your first ever drag pass has a better short time than than the best launches of every single racer on this forum. With a BMW.

So what you are saying is that Mike Radowksi, Donovan Marvin, Ulysses White, David Tran, John Donovan .. and all the other drag racers here .. can't drive their car.

After years of practicing. Including guys here who have drag racing licences. Including guys here who have hundreds and thousands of passes at a drag strip. And guys who go out to their track every week they can to get more passes. All those guys "can't drive their cars" because you cracked a 1.4x short time on your first ever pass on a drag strip.

Right.

omg lol.. You would think after 7,462 posts by yourself that you would actually know how to read a post. Nowhere in any of my posts did I say a beginner "SHOULD" be able to cut a 1.4. I only said "CAN" when you said "CANT" ! I was only responding to YOUR arrogant statement that a first timer should not expect a clean pass and WILL be disappointed. thats just bullshit and based of your own shortcomings. Has nothing to do with the actual numbers OR cars themselves. A clean pass could be a 2.0 60' foot lets say if you had street tires and thats all that was capable out of them. A clean pass meaning not missing gears getting a decent 60' netting a time very close to where the power and weight of your car would put you in regardless of the type of car you had. I did that on my first try and here you are telling people it cant be done. and what are you trying to say its the cars fault ? bmw's have disadvantages that other cars dont ? So whats so difficult about getting a clean a pass with a bmw im dying to hear this one ?

Motortrend rated the stock m3 e36 a 14.0 quarter mile. So a first timer with a stock M3 would never be able to do that i guess huh?. Granted a higher horsepower car is harder to drive but thats what separates people that can handle the car and ones that cant. you assuming everyone will be like you or anybody else on this forum is pathetic and arrogant on your part.

and btw since you think "the brand" matters my 60' time is top 4 on the rx7 forum, a forum with thousands of more members then this one and with a much longer history of drag racing. Drag racing bmw's is still new and there is hardly anybody out there doing it so for you to think the few that have are the standard to go by is just sad. Nobody is saying they cant drive but there is always someone better especially given the small amount of people actually racing bmws, I wouldnt be so quick to make assumptions.

[DADx2]

well is there a video pf the OP's pass anyone?

I did happen to catch the episode on my tivo. I wouldn't expect to find the footage on youtube or anything. I guess the only way to get it posted here would be for me to actually film my big screen with my vid camera, then post it. I don't have a problem doing that although it does seem kinda cheesy to do so....:D

[Skorcher]

I did happen to catch the episode on my tivo. I wouldn't expect to find the footage on youtube or anything. I guess the only way to get it posted here would be for me to actually film my big screen with my vid camera, then post it. I don't have a problem doing that although it does seem kinda cheesy to do so....:D

Hey Jim, it's Chris again. My neighbor caught it on his tivo, and we burned it off onto a DVD. The catch is, the audio is extremely quiet on it for some reason. Give me a little time to try and re-encode the audio, and crop it down to just our run, and I'll try and get it up on youtube after that. :cool

BTW, haven't seen you at the Varsity the last couple of months, you going tomorrow?

[DADx2]

Hey Jim, it's Chris again. My neighbor caught it on his tivo, and we burned it off onto a DVD. The catch is, the audio is extremely quiet on it for some reason. Give me a little time to try and re-encode the audio, and crop it down to just our run, and I'll try and get it up on youtube after that. :cool

BTW, haven't seen you at the Varsity the last couple of months, you going tomorrow?

Hey Chris, that would be pretty cool to get it to youtube. Please let us know when you pull that off.

Couldn't make last month due to being at work, and I am headed out of town tomorrow morning for the weekend.

[a32guy]

Jim, did this ever make it to youtube?

[creeves328]

How much boost?? j/k C'mon Mason, get it together, he said 22lbs.

[DADx2]

Jim, did this ever make it to youtube?

I don't think it has. I've not heard back from Skorcher (the Firebird that spanked me on the show LOL) about loading it.


How much boost?? j/k C'mon Mason, get it together, he said 22lbs.


Ha Ha, yeah I thought that was hilarious. I guess the dude was nervous too, with all the cameras around, that he didn't hear me.

[IWannaBMW]

i watched that and was wondering if the guy was on bf.c. Haha this is awesome :buttrock

[blueIce]

Had an interesting weekend. Went by a local race shop on Thursday to see a friend of mine.They were all talking about being at the dragstrip the next day for the filming of "PASS TIME". He said "come on out tomorrow to Atlanta Dragway, and I will get you on the show". I thought "cool" so I loaded the car and headed out Friday morning. The plan was for test & tune to be from 11 till 3ish, and filming would start around 4. I arrived at 12:00, to find out there was NO test and tune.:mad I knew I really needed to make a few passes to learn the car. After sitting around for 3 hours, and then signing Speed TV release forms, I was placed into episode 7 group (they had to film 10 before they left Atlanta)... Episode 1 and 2 took over 2 hours each, then in Episode 3, A popular 10.5 street car (Tim Lynch for those who know who he is) put his car in the wall at over 200mph... shortly after that it began to rain. So the producers told everyone that they will resume taping the next day at 2pm........... I arrived at 12pm, only to find out they had re picked ALL the spots from the bracket racers that showed up at 8am for a scheduled bracket race that day. Needless to say, I was sorta pissed that they changed the plans without contacting the particpants from the previous day.:mad

I hung around all day to see several friends. They happened to arrive early enough to keep thier spots. Well, througout the day, several rain showers came and went, which SLOWED production terribly. I did happen to get on a list just in case someone decided to leave.

So around 9pm, they said that I was back in.:buttrock I was placed back into episode 7 to run the "combo" round against a late model automatic Firebird with a rear mount turbo.

Finally around 12:30 AM, It was time to make my (our) run.

The procedure is that we pull from the staging lanes, up to the line, then get out for the couple questions the contestants throw at us. The big dude (host) asked me to talk about my car so I said : "Its a 97 M3, 6spd manual, custom turbo with 22lbs boost".... I only got one question from a contestant and he asked "how much boost you runnin".....:lol.. I repeated... 22lbs !

Anyway.... got back in the car, let the other guy do his burnout, then eased up to the line... I staged first, then him, .. pro tree goes green,,, and that's where I choke:(

I dang near stall the car and barely get rolling... and am willing to bet that I had a 3+ second 60ft... Once I got into boost, the car started hauling butt, but by that time, my run was ruined.. plus the Firebird was long gone :mad

I ended up running a pathetic 13.54@122 mph, and he ran a 12.5@112.

Needless to say that I was terribly disappointed with my performance.

Here are my excuses: :D

* First time on the strip with a turbo car, plus been close to two years since I went with the previous setup.

* I was so worried about the dew settling on the track, that I didn't want blow the tires off during launch and totally screw up the run... ha ha,, I screwed it up anyway.

* I will admit that I was a little nervous with the cameras and all

All in all it was a neat experience, but I certainly didn't do anything impressive.

Oh, the episode is set to aire sometime around Sept/Oct 09.


HAHA WOW!!! I just saw this on TV about 5 minutes ago on Speed Channel in New York City. I was so excited to post about it but, because im not a noob, i searched first and found the source of it all haha.

I was watching the green Nova do a burnout and saw a glimpse of a silver E36 M3 in the background 1 or 2 cars back from the Nova. I started to record on the DVR, anticipating what might happen... and then a minute later I see the M3 pull up to the staging area, see its boosted, and got real pumped about seeing what it would do. Right before the race one of the contestants says "I bet the bimmer is faster" and the other 2 guys both agree, one saying "yeah, 22lb of boost.. for sure".

And the rest wasnt so great but I was pretty pumped to see a turbo E36 on TV haha! What a great surprise.

I do have it on my DVR if anyone wants to stop by my apartment and see it. Im moving to a new apartment in 4 days though and it will be gone forever.

[95s52]

POST IT HERE! I've yet to see the race