Hot Rod DragWeek 2022 as a competitor.

As I said, I would give a synopsis post on how my week went...

First off, I survived and finished even if the last day was a rainout. 

Secondly, I know a few scoff at the very idea of having to drive from one track to another, rinse and repeat until you arrive back to the original track 5 days later, "What's so tough about that?"... It's easy to be a keyboard warrior. Given the tracks and route changed "last minute", it added more stress to everyone. Some previous competitors remarked the same tracks as in '17. Illinois roads suck. I didn't change tires the entire event. Just aired up and down as I packed up to drive that afternoon/evening to the next one. This is one thing I would have changed. A floor jack and electric impact and I could have changed tires easily and I feel, easier, than one set. I didn't pack one tool outside of my M12 Milwaukee inflator, and Moroso tire pressure gauge. Did I worry about snapping a half shaft or twist a driveshaft? Oh yeah, but I had a backup truck and trailer on speed dial if necessary. I packed 5 days of clothes, laptops, and a foldable tie-dye chair. I wish I had brought a scooter because my feet hurt after having to walk for everything.

Thirdly, I just want to thank everyone involved to make E36 M3 like this happen. People like the event staff at Hot Rod/MotorTrend, David Freiburger and Brian Lohnes for the announcing entertainment, Lonnie Grim, NHRA national tech director, and Keith Turk for keeping everyone "safe" and compliant, everyone at the time slip turn in for putting up with people either elated or disgusted in their turn in timeslips, I was both, All the people locally to the tracks making sure they were open and ready to race at the asscrack of 8am, and many others I am forgetting.

Fourthy, I drove a car that is meh. I've gone through thousands of photos and besides what is in the videos, I have seen it twice. I mean how many black post-2018 Mustangs do you see everyday? I see lots. If you want photos, drive something like the Commanche pickup with the turbo'd 4.0L or something you just don't see everyday. There are plenty of "I haven't seen those in years..." out there. I plan to either get Plan A 1.0, Project D2D, or Plan A 2.0, the 66 Ranchero, out there for next year.

Fifthly, if someone asked me, "Would you do it again?", my response is a resounding," When is it?"

Sixthly, related expenses to running a week away from home... I didn't pay for a single hotel room, as I used every reward point I had available from either Hilton or Marriott to lay my head on a pillow every night. Most rooms were from $120-190 per night. Fuel used, I averaged 23mpg over racing and transits for 850-ish miles. I used premium for about a $4.70/gal average. Food was right around $250 for something at the gas station, normally 2L of H2O and a fountain Code Red, and a meal before going to bed.

Seventhly, I've rambled enough. Have questions ask away.

#hotroddragweek22 #dragweek22 #dragweek #notmurdernova #ThePlanB_Mustang

It's super cool that you finished the event, there are a lot of people who can't make that claim :) I'm not of the drag racing world, but I liked following the coverage of Drag Week on this forum. When your run group is inactive, what does everyone do? Watch the other competitors? Nap? Drive to the nearest diner for the finest local gossip?

In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :

It depends, but most either sit and wait or watch some others go down track, unless they limped it in and are wrenching on it to make a pass.

Run order was also changed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Per the rules, it was to be a and b group run "together" with c following and d finishing up. Then it becomes an "all run" group until lanes were closed right about 2pm. The change put c group first, my group, with a and b to follow. You could make as many laps in your hour long run group as you wish. Typically, no one left until you turned in your slip. Gates also opened at 7am-ish.

How many competitors are there?  Do you have groupies... Folks who drive the transits with the group to spectate each race?

337? competitors started. I know the attrition rate was low this year at 16% vs the normal 20% going into the last day.

You could purchase a "race track" package to tag along. This is patterned off the raceweeker with Rocky Mountain Raceweek or the SickWard associated with SickWeek.

Edit: per the Hot Rod email I got today, 270 finished or you can count on the final results pdf. That's right at 20%.

I guess first question is would you run it again in a 12-14sec car?  Is it still a fun event in a not slow to almost quick car?

You touched on it for the most part but I've always wondered roughly what it cost to run the event and how hard it is to find hotels near the tracks?  Like do the hotels nearby fill up really fast and does anyone ever have issues being targeted for theft around these events?

RMRW and Drag Week are on the bucket list for sure.  I'm trying to figure out how soon I can do one of these events.

Assuming you would have an appropriate car, which class would you most want to run in?  I'm curious, because I'd like to put something together for Street Machine Eliminator, but if there is something that looks like more fun, I'd like to know.

RacetruckRon said:

I guess first question is would you run it again in a 12-14sec car?  Is it still a fun event in a not slow to almost quick car?

You touched on it for the most part but I've always wondered roughly what it cost to run the event and how hard it is to find hotels near the tracks?  Like do the hotels nearby fill up really fast and does anyone ever have issues being targeted for theft around these events?

RMRW and Drag Week are on the bucket list for sure.  I'm trying to figure out how soon I can do one of these events.

First question: it depends. If it was my D2D project truck? Maybe. Plan B Mustang? No. I know I can put a 200 shot on it and be well into the 10's...

Second question: I just picked what was available during my drive time from track to track. I'm pretty sure either tracks like Byron or Cordova are the worst because they are in small little towns. For Byron I stayed in Rockford and downtown Moline for Cordova. Both were like a 20-25 min drive away. I didn't hear about any thefts.

So you ran it on street tires then?  If you were going to swap wheels/tires, what would those tires have been?  This might be a fun event to do in my 911...

eastsideTim said:

Assuming you would have an appropriate car, which class would you most want to run in?  I'm curious, because I'd like to put something together for Street Machine Eliminator, but if there is something that looks like more fun, I'd like to know.

SME is the catchall for where you don't fit anywhere. But then again if you want to be in a magazine you better run 10.40's because of the shootout on the last day.

For me retrospectively looking at this years classes, I would have run hot rod. Easy to get a fiberglass flier with a regular sbc and t350 that will run low 12's. There were only 3 cars in class and they were not fast. Looking forward, I'd probably do a turbo LS/9.5 deck Windsor or like a 250 fogger shot.... That would put me in modified. I can't run the 7 or 8's to win but wheelstand that mofo.... everyone will know your name quick.

In reply to docwyte :

Nitto NT555Rii drag radials in 275/40r19. I probably would have ran a same diameter tire but on a set of 17x10 wheels I have or I would have degraded the brakes and run a 26 or 28x10 slick on a set of 15x8's I have.

In reply to Ranger50 :

Good to know. I have been tempted to get my Ram50 running well with the cammed 5.3 and see if it can be a mid 12sec 6 speed truck on one of these events.  On the other hand, I have enough spare LS parts I could also throw together a high 9's capable turbo LS combo in a dedicated drag project too.

I have wanted to do one of these since the first one in 06. RMRW is totally my bucket list when they get back in to the mountains (because western Colorado are my favorite roads). I would love to DW. I'm trying to convince my Dad to do it with me. What you did was still awesome, no matter the car or the ET. I think doing it with no tools is freaking awesome!!

In reply to RacetruckRon :

Gen 4 bottom with rings gapped and a set of ported 243/317's or something mildly better but still "stock" like a tfs 235 or afr offering.

I spoke with a guy building a car after being a codriver for years and in his words, "CID heads are great, but everything is custom. I'm running Brodix headhunters instead because anyone and everyone has parts if they break. Sure it will have less power but I want to finish."

Javelin said:

I have wanted to do one of these since the first one in 06. RMRW is totally my bucket list when they get back in to the mountains (because western Colorado are my favorite roads). I would love to DW. I'm trying to convince my Dad to do it with me. What you did was still awesome, no matter the car or the ET. I think doing it with no tools is freaking awesome!!

Perhaps a good data point would be to ask all the participants whether they plan to do it again next year. Personally, a number of the videos appeared to show people most definitely not having a good time.

In reply to kb58 :

You would also have to ask why? I know the Swedes in the Volvo were not having fun because they didn't get radial track prep which is much different than slick prep. Alex Taylor will be back even if she didn't have fun even though she can run 6's anywhere. If Cleetus doesn't by SickSeconds 2.0, Bailey will be back. Etc etc etc

Thanks for posting about this.  I've been wanting to do one of these for a couple of years now, but car and time selection seems to be critical.  I'm also not a guy who takes well to breaking down--I'll usually just quit at a track day, if I break after a couple of sessions.  In other words, you took the right approach this time!

Is there really more enjoyment street driving an 8-second car, or would a 9.5-10-second car be just as much fun, but without the potential for breakage/disaster at every turn?

In reply to rustomatic :

Depends on what you E36 M3box you start with.

I like the idea but want to do it in a 20 second car.

In reply to buzzboy :

Please no 1913 Franklins...

In reply to Ranger50 :

Thanks for the response.  I need to go through the rules again, and see if hot rod would be for me or not.  My leaning towards SME is because I'd like to build a low budget Colonnade or G body with an LS, and have at least some comfort on the road portion.  I also don't want more than a 6 point bar on a street driven car.  I thought that limited me to 10.5, but reading the NHRA rules, maybe it is 10.0.  I need to do more research.

In reply to eastsideTim :

Hot Rod is for pre-48.

Well if you guys decide to do it next year, do yourselves a favor and start early. Don't be "that guy" who's up 'til 2am the night before assembling his engine. That is unless of course, you're a YouTuber who knows that having stuff break left and right makes you more money than if your car is reliable...

Ranger50 said:

In reply to buzzboy :

Please no 1913 Franklins...

I've run my Benz down the track a few times with the original engine to a blistering 19.7@66mph. No tools, no spare parts, just me, a friend and a lovely week of "racing."

Maybe I should do a road rally. That might be a better idea.

To close this out, here's his last video - where they broke again on the way to the last event. One of the comments summed it up: "A lesson in not planning ahead, and having the spare time and spare money to not care…"