Irwindale Dragstrip

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Whiny little bitches.


That's what anyone who lives within 100 miles of LA and complains about not being able to find a legal place to race is.

Today, I went to Irwindale Dragstrip (www.irwindalespeedway.com) to run the WRX. I got there at 9:30am and they ran the track from about 11 to 3pm. Wanna guess how many passes I got?

twenty four

Yes, you read that right. Two dozen runs. And I could have had a lot more, if I didn't stop to let the car cool down and get some lunch. There were maybe 35 cars there today, and one particularly ambitious guy got in 40 passes...

So like I said, if you live anywhere near LA, and want to race, you really should check out Irwindale. I don't know if it's always like that there, but it's hard to complain about getting basically as many trips down the track as you and your car can stand.

I'm going back next Sunday, May 5th. I'm formally inviting SoCal SRO members who want to race to come and join me.

Or, you can keep complaining about how the cops harass you, the streets are clogged with spectators and idiots in minivans, how you always end up racing somebody in a bone-stock DX, and basically keep being a whiny little bitch.

[Angel5]

Damn, I'd love to be able to get that many runs in.

I'd go there all the time if it was remotely close by.

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So, I guess I shouldn't expect to see anyone from SRO there on Sunday, then. I won't bother bringing the canopy, in that case.

[CAMARO383]

I hit up irwindale occasionally. Im gonna start going to just about every test n tune session they have. If i ever get off my ass and hook up that damn neutral saftey switch, i'll be out there. Possibly this thursday to race, if not i'll be watching on sunday. I think my street racing days might be over now that irwindale is running all the time, and its only about 10 minutes away. I just wish it was a 1/4 mile. Oh well, theres still california speedway.

[PNG]

They actually bounced you for that?

My tech inspection consisted of "Is your car stock? OK... (signs off on tech card)" It was slightly anticlimactic.

[CAMARO383]

They let me race that time, but he said next time i wouldnt be able to. They're waaay more strict on older cars. My bro took his 97 stang and just asked if it was stock, and that was it.

[PNG]

Having run a tech inspection program, I can say that it really doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to do a decent job inspecting a car, and you'd be surprised at what turns up on new, "stock" cars - Missing lugs (the owner sheared one off swapping tires), loose batteries, "hidden" nitrous (PNG tip - if you go to the trouble of hiding the nozzle, you should probably hide the throttle microswitch too, and do more than just cover the bottle rolling around behind the seat with your jacket), you name it.

Besides, I really like poking around under peoples' hoods. :p

[greg]

DAMN YOU SCUBA STEVE!!! i was gonna ask for directions, but i looked at my schedule and i work 10-2!!!

[Dr. Disque]

There's a track around here that doesn't even do Tech inspection. They just read the rules over the PA at the beginning of the day to make themselves not liable. But then again they also have dirt pits and no time-boards and you pick up your timeslips at the snack bar. But it is a 1/4 mile track at least.

[ShadyDave]

Which track is that? The only dragstrip I visit is Milan Dragway...yeah, it's a bit of a drive, but I like the track.

[Dr. Disque]

Lapeer (Mullet) International Dragway

[PNG]

OK, the weekend is just about upon us... Anyone coming out to Irwindale on Sunday with me?

[LT WHAT?]

Good luck PNG. the problem with the so-called street racing scene is it's gone away from what it used to be. it's now a bunch of kids who are more interested in having people look at their cars and fronting as racers rather than actually racing. it's just become the thing to bitch about not having a track. many of these idiots will never even see the inside of a block let alone understand spark timing fuel maps compressor maps, why nitrous works, hell, they don't even understand the basic function of an internal combustion engine. 2-stroke vs 4-stroke? lol theyre lost. let them lead the cops around for 4 hours. i'll be in my garage tuning for the next weekend.

[CAMARO383]

I MIGHT be out there spectating tomorrow. The cars still not ready. I'll probably take the nova to the next test n tune though.

[PNG]

Originally posted by LT WHAT?
Good luck PNG. the problem with the so-called street racing scene is it's gone away from what it used to be. it's now a bunch of kids who are more interested in having people look at their cars and fronting as racers rather than actually racing. it's just become the thing to bitch about not having a track. many of these idiots will never even see the inside of a block let alone understand spark timing fuel maps compressor maps, why nitrous works, hell, they don't even understand the basic function of an internal combustion engine. 2-stroke vs 4-stroke? lol theyre lost. let them lead the cops around for 4 hours. i'll be in my garage tuning for the next weekend.

Thanks... My philosophy is that the kids who are racing on the street right now who have half a brain will eventually figure out the risk-to-reward ratio sucks and get right with Jesus. I just want to speed them along that path if I can.

The stupid ones? Well, they presumably already have a mother, so they're on their own.

[crazycelica]

is this s 1/8 track or a full 1/4 track??

what kind of times did you run PNG in your WRX??

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It's 1/8th, but a very, very nice 1/8th. They have enough shutoff room to let guys run deep into the 6's.

I, however, need not worry about that, as the fastest the WRX has run is a 9.54 at 71mph in the 1/8th. Today, I couldn't convince it to spool at the line, and though my trap speeds improved, I couldn't make a sub-10-second pass to save my life. I think it has to do with intercooler heat soak and the ECU pulling timing.

[Qx4Beebs]

The 1/8th track that I go to has an 1/8th mile shut-off area, but there are cars doing really high 4's... ~4.95. It takes balls of steel. There are only tech inspections on the really fast cars, and there are no rule sheets or anything. I think there is atleast 2 serious crashes a month.