See how the SS has progressed at the track!

December 2, 2001:
RT: .5329
60': 1.7325
1/8: 7.8509
MPH: 86.78
Raceweight: ~3,650#
D.A.: 1,100'

I went out to a new 1/8-mile track, Redline Raceway, to see what kind of 60' times I could net with the 3.73's. The DA was ~1,100', and traction was just not there. I was pleased to see the 7.85 considering the worse weather and bad 60', though. Low 1.6 60' times are easily attainable with full traction, and high 1.5 short times can be had in good air. I'll just have to wait for a better track on a better day.
New mods: 3.73's, Ed Wright tuning, free ram air

October 28, 2001:
RT: .541
60': 1.689
1/8: 7.835
MPH: 87.08
1/4: 12.357
MPH: 107.86
Raceweight: ~3,625#
D.A.: -500'

I made the 300-mile round-trip to Hallsville Raceway for the Ford. vs. Chevy shootout. The weather was looking nice and I was getting antsy to run brackets again, so I loaded the SS up and took off. The stock tuning has hindered my ET from the day I bought the car, but now it started tagging the rev limiter on the 2-3 shift. This was definitely hurting my ET and MPH. Combine this with a very low 5,400 RPM shift-point on the 1-2 shift and bad torque management on the shifts, and you can imagine just how much ET is being lost! My worst reaction time during eliminations was a .528, and my best was a .503. I went three rounds that afternoon, but I lost when the car ran .12 off of its dial-in. My MPH was off on this run as well, and I attribute the bad ET to a rattling exhaust system. I feel that it was causing false knock, and the PCM pulls timing out when this happens.
New mods: none

October 17, 2001:
RT: .535
60': 1.699
1/8: 7.878
MPH: 87.45
1/4: 12.416
MPH: 108.08
Raceweight: ~3,610#
D.A.: -570'

I made a quick trip to Houston Raceway Park since the cool fall weather was finally showing up. The cooler temps and quicker 60' helped the most with the ET reduction, but the other mods did account for some of it. With the stock idle hovering at 550 RPM, the car would trigger a service engine soon light due to a misfire code. I tried clearing the code by pulling the PCM BAT and PCM IGN fuses, but it didn't work. Luckily, Larry Cato (PaiN) was there and was nice enough to let me clear the code with his AutoTap.
New mods: TransGo shift kit, ASP crank pulley, ported throttle body, throttle body by-pass

September 15, 2001:
RT: .538
60': 1.773
1/8: 8.064
MPH: 85.55
1/4: 12.704
MPH: 106.14
Raceweight: 3,640#
Density Altitude: 1,500'

I was determined to have my new f-body ready for the trek to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the first-ever NFRA event at Beech Bend Raceway. I made the 1,600-mile round-trip from Dallas, Texas just for this event! This was the first time that the SS was run down the 1/4-mile, and I was pleased to see the car solidly in the 12's for its first time out, especially since I still had temporary tags on the car! I entered into the bracket class, and paired up with some decent reaction times, the car was consistent enough to win the class. You can see my car and more on this event in the January 2002 issue of Popular Hot Rodding magazine.
Modifications: Vigilante 3200, ported stock MAF ends, FLP headers and off-road y-pipe, 3.5" Mufflex, MTI lid, K&N, BMR SFC's