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Old 02-22-2011, 6:38am   #1
itsaz
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Default Annual West Texas Wildlife Eradication Program

AKA the Big Bend Open Road Race is set for April 23rd this year. This is the event that the Corvette was made for. 118 miles on a closed Texas highway at any speed you have the cajones for and you're being cheered on by state troopers and sheriff's deputies who have a radar lock on you. Obstacles include buzzards, deer, javelina, skunks and jackrabbits just to keep things interesting.

It's not a straight road either. There are 59 turns and elevation changes in the last 50 miles that will tighten the ole' sphincter. We've seen .74 lateral G's at 130 MPH! The idea is to come as close to your preselected target speed as possible. Often the margin of error is less than .001 MPH. Contestants use stopwatches, GPS, accelerometers, computers and luck to gain any possible advantage.

This is no "run what you brung" event. Cars have to meet strict safety standards and driver's need up to date helmets, fire suits and the like. We use a harness bar with a 6 point belt system including arm restraints. It can take 10 minutes to get all buckled in and ready to go.

Registration opened right after the 1st of the year and hit the 160 entry limit within days. The waiting list had 39 on it the last I checked. The interesting thing is that the Lone Star Corvette Club has 24 cars that made the list. That's 15% of the field.

Bunny rabbits & Corvettes don't play well together:



That's rabbit remnants on the REAR bumper!

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Old 02-22-2011, 7:16am   #2
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Sound like a Blast!! Need some cheerleaders at the finish line?
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Old 02-23-2011, 11:39am   #3
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As a matter of fact, we could use some help pouring and distributing the "adult beverages" after the the race. It gets awful hot and dusty out there in the desert.
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Old 02-23-2011, 12:05pm   #4
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Can do!
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Old 02-23-2011, 3:20pm   #5
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Can do!
Here ya' go! They even feed you.

BBORR - Workers Registration

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Old 04-24-2011, 4:57am   #6
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**Update**

The race is in the books. No wildlife incidents to report, however we did take home a 2nd place finish in the 125MPH class. We were 1.155 seconds early after 118 miles for an average speed of 125.0425MPH. I've got to give Dawn the credit for this. Thanks, Honey!

There was some excitement in the unlimited division, though. Charlie Friend, driving a highly modified 1965 Corvair, was clocked through the radar trap at over 209MPH, but failed to finish because of a broken distributor. Joel Hannig, in an alcohol fueled '62 Polara, caught fire 7 miles into the race and had to withdraw. Joel is fine, but caught a lot of hell about his red BBQ pit. Tom Whalen, driving a '02 Vette, won the unlimited division with an overall average speed of 165.888MPH. That's 2 years in a row for Tom.

Last edited by itsaz; 04-27-2011 at 8:19am.
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Old 04-27-2011, 8:20am   #7
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Some pics of the Polara with his hair on fire:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ccircle...Pyh-I7ao8KZJw#
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Old 04-28-2011, 8:57am   #8
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**Update**

The race is in the books. No wildlife incidents to report, however we did take home a 2nd place finish in the 125MPH class. We were 1.155 seconds early after 118 miles for an average speed of 125.0425MPH. I've got to give Dawn the credit for this. Thanks, Honey!
Congrats Tom & Dawn
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