Day Five: Final Day
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Drag Week was about to be over, and it seemed odd not to be planning for the next day's races. This meant that everyone could go for broke. The Dr. Performance team had finally started making headway on their computer issues, and their 60-ft times improved from 2.0 to 1.8 seconds. The truck was running low 13s, with a best of 13.18 seconds. Project X had 4.33 gears back in, along with a fixed wastegate, so everyone was hoping that Greg could pull off a 10-second pass. Sadly, it was not meant to be, as the converter just wasn't loose enough to let the turbo spool at the line. After the loudest nitrous backfire we have ever heard, the truck ran 114 mph on the top end with the turbo lighting at half track. The combination is there for 10s, it just needs tuning. Mike decided to listen to our complaining that he wasn't running enough nitrous on his Mustang, and wired up a second stage. Guess what? He found that his first stage hadn't been coming on, and he had been running the entire week with no nitrous! After a pedaling mid 10-second pass, he pulled off a 9.91-second run at 138 mph, to become the quickest diesel of Drag Week with the quickest single pass. Congrats to Mike on the victory, and for proving to the world how incredible diesel-powered vehicles can be. We're expecting Mike to soon be in the eight-second zone, and we'll keep you updated on his progress.
Epilogue
Everyone had a good time at Drag Week, and that's really what this event is all about. You'll see eight-second cars pulling trailers and driving through rainstorms, get to make multiple passes at five different tracks, and meet new and interesting people. Although we've focused mostly on the racing here, the drives through the countryside are a unique part of Drag Week. We hope to see you there next year.
 Speaking of nitrous, Kenny...  Speaking of nitrous, Kenny Laughlin and the rest of the Dr. Performance crew kept changing nitrous jets on their truck, running a .067 all the way to a .136. None of it seemed to make much difference, as it was their theory that the truck's computers were still limiting power somehow. |  On the final day Mike succumbed...  On the final day Mike succumbed to our pestering and decided to add more nitrous. He found that due to a wiring mix-up, he hadn't made a nitrous pass the entire week! With the bottle on, the difference was immense, as his trap speed went from 127 mph to 142 mph. |  Greg finally got a set of...  Greg finally got a set of 4.33 axle gears on the fourth day, and is seen here creatively installing them on the back of a tailgate using two jack handles for leverage. This kind of thrashing occured the entire week, whether the entry was diesel or gas. |
 We have to admit it was pretty...  We have to admit it was pretty cool following Mike's Mustang around. How many cars with parachutes do you see driving on the street? In addition to the gawkers, Mike also got comments at every fuel stop. "Hey, you know you're filling that Mustang up with diesel?" was a common question every time we stopped for fuel. |  With 1,200 hp and a 3,500-pound...  With 1,200 hp and a 3,500-pound race weight, Larry Larson's twin-turbo big block Nova was the winner of Drag Week 2008, posting an average E.T. of 7.97 seconds from all five tracks. We've seen diesels make more than 1,200 hp, and in a light enough car we think a diesel could take the overall honors. If you're building something for next year, this is the guy you're shooting for. |  After all was said and done,...  After all was said and done, Mike Woods won the "Quickest Diesel" title by a mile. His low ten-second average for all five tracks was also about a second quicker than last year. What did he do to celebrate? Why, replace an axle seal of course. After the event, Mike still had to make the 900-mile drive home to Texas. |