Nevda Open Road Challenge Recap; Caution Lengthy Post
05-17-2010, 11:22 PM
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Thread Starter
Nevda Open Road Challenge Recap; Caution Lengthy Post
Just got back from Ely, Nevada and rookie attempt at the Silver State Classic Challenge, Nevada Open Road Challenge (May edition).
Preparation;
This post must begin with my sincere thank you to fellow Rennlist Members, Bill (CalvinC4S), Jim (JDS), and Tony (skywachr) for their time, expertise, dedication, and patience with working so hard on so many Sundays over the past 4 months to insure that I would have a car ready and capable of successfully completing this event. These guys are outstanding!
The Nevada Open Road Challenge
Takes place in May of every year, followed by exact same format in September (Silver State Classic Challenge); Highway 318 from Lund, NV to Hiko, NV is closed off and utilized for this high speed TSD, 90 mile run. Competitors enter their class according to selected "Target Speed". Rookies are limited to 95, 100, 105, and 110 mph classes. Entrants run the 90 miles with a goal of finishing dead on time. These rookie classes have a "Tech Speed" or max allowed speed of 124 mph. Advanced classes include 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, and 150. "Tech Speeds" or max speeds for these upper classes range up to 165 mph. There is an ultimate or unlimited class, fastest time wins... (no entries this weekend).
Qualifying School
First time entrants must complete a 2-3 hour qualifying session conducted at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Very basic driving school, with instructors showing proper lines, apex, on the outer Road Course at the Speedway.
Friday and Saturday 1/2 mile and 1 mile "shootouts"
Competitors have the option of entering these flat out 1/2 mile and 1 mile runs...though rookies are restricted to the 1/2 mile shootout. Elevation is 7000 feet at Ely, Nevada so times and speeds are limited. (Friday's winner was a blown Mustang with a top speed of 149 mph.)
Main Event Sunday
Coordination, execution was flawless. With over 100 cars entered, I was amazed at how smoothly this event was conducted. First car (150 mph class) was off at 8:00 am sharp. Subsequent cars launched 1 minute apart. My navigator (ex-wife) and I slowly staged 100 feet from the start line. Last minute tire check and we were given the"go ahead" to the start line. Heart was racing. GPS set, two stopwatches set, and course notes securely anchored to my navigators thigh...we were as ready as we could be. 9:26 AM and we're off. Once we confirmed clocks and gps set correctly we accelerated quickly. Ran about 3/4 mile before 1st sweeper to the left and I quickly realized the 993 was more than ready....glanced down to see the speedo quickly approaching my blue taped speedo and personal max speed of 120.....found myself backing off much sooner than expected. We planned buffer time and I can still remember Norma calling out "118", 115", "112", "108".....the car was in it's element with no doubt. Roughly 40 miles into the run, we were prepared for some rough pavement, under construction, and to our relief, upon arrival discovered that NDOT had worked through the night, Friday and Saturday to insure a safe run.........Speed Trap was next....our goal was 122 mph, again, remaining ever so aware of our Tech Speed max of 124.
Our plan called for arriving at the infamous "Narrows" (68 miles into the course) with an overall average of 106 mph.....we were dead on. "The Narrows" 5 or 6 twisties through a canyon were taken between 95 and 100 mph. (roughly 3 miles). Exiting the Narrows, we had 18 miles to the finish. Two more sweepers to negotiate, then 15 miles up and down straight home. We were 6 seconds behind. It was at this point that our inexperience caused us issues. I've autocrossed for years, I've road raced Karts, but never had any interest in TSD events until now. We finished accelerating through the finish line at 51:28. something 3.1 seconds off our Target time of 51:25.7 seconds. We're proud of our finish but honestly folks, 3 seconds off is an eternity...class winners were finishing anywhere from .02 off to .05 off, incredible performances!
Results
Our goal driving up to Nevada was threefold.
1) no harm to the car our ourselves
2) finish with a time, regardless of how competitive, NO Disqualification
3) simply enjoy driving the 993 as it was built and meant to be driven
Our 105 class was small, only 4 competitors and our 3 second lapse resulted in a third place finish, but we trophied and honestly we were excited as hell to complete the course with no incidents.
A few notes on our qualifying session on Thursday morning. During my last qualifying lap with instructor, I shredded my alternator belt....dash lit up like Christmas Eve....ABS, Alternator warning light, .... I figure it was all over for the weekend. Towed into Vegas, found "All European" a small indep shop who was willing to drop everything to get us back on the road. 1:15 minutes later we were heading up to Ely to compete. Good people.
I must say, my navigator and I both thoroughly enjoyed this event. Emphasis was on Safety all weekend and again, coordination and administration was outstanding. These people do a fantastic job. If you live within driving distance of Vegas and have never participated, I highly recommend it. Where can you pick your speed and drive these cars like their meant to be driven, safely and legally? No incidents this weekend, 2 or 3 cars broke down, but no off course excursions. We had a great time.
Cars observed included, more Corvettes than I can count (I must say, some beautifully prepared Vettes), A 997 Turbo, a 993 Turbo, a Cayman, one Ferrari, one Aston Martin, a Ford GT40, an old 1969 McLaren M6, many blown Mustang GTs and Shelbys, one wild V8 mid engine Corvair, and on and on and on.
Bill...you still interested in selling that DAS rollbar? We want to go back and run the 115 class. By the way, for first timers, largest class was 110 mph group with roughly 20 cars.
http://www.silverstateclassic.com/home.htm
And one last time...Thank you Bill, Jim, and Tony for your support, encouragement, and time spent preparing my car. You guys are outstanding!
A few pics from the weekend....
Preparation;
This post must begin with my sincere thank you to fellow Rennlist Members, Bill (CalvinC4S), Jim (JDS), and Tony (skywachr) for their time, expertise, dedication, and patience with working so hard on so many Sundays over the past 4 months to insure that I would have a car ready and capable of successfully completing this event. These guys are outstanding!
The Nevada Open Road Challenge
Takes place in May of every year, followed by exact same format in September (Silver State Classic Challenge); Highway 318 from Lund, NV to Hiko, NV is closed off and utilized for this high speed TSD, 90 mile run. Competitors enter their class according to selected "Target Speed". Rookies are limited to 95, 100, 105, and 110 mph classes. Entrants run the 90 miles with a goal of finishing dead on time. These rookie classes have a "Tech Speed" or max allowed speed of 124 mph. Advanced classes include 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, and 150. "Tech Speeds" or max speeds for these upper classes range up to 165 mph. There is an ultimate or unlimited class, fastest time wins... (no entries this weekend).
Qualifying School
First time entrants must complete a 2-3 hour qualifying session conducted at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Very basic driving school, with instructors showing proper lines, apex, on the outer Road Course at the Speedway.
Friday and Saturday 1/2 mile and 1 mile "shootouts"
Competitors have the option of entering these flat out 1/2 mile and 1 mile runs...though rookies are restricted to the 1/2 mile shootout. Elevation is 7000 feet at Ely, Nevada so times and speeds are limited. (Friday's winner was a blown Mustang with a top speed of 149 mph.)
Main Event Sunday
Coordination, execution was flawless. With over 100 cars entered, I was amazed at how smoothly this event was conducted. First car (150 mph class) was off at 8:00 am sharp. Subsequent cars launched 1 minute apart. My navigator (ex-wife) and I slowly staged 100 feet from the start line. Last minute tire check and we were given the"go ahead" to the start line. Heart was racing. GPS set, two stopwatches set, and course notes securely anchored to my navigators thigh...we were as ready as we could be. 9:26 AM and we're off. Once we confirmed clocks and gps set correctly we accelerated quickly. Ran about 3/4 mile before 1st sweeper to the left and I quickly realized the 993 was more than ready....glanced down to see the speedo quickly approaching my blue taped speedo and personal max speed of 120.....found myself backing off much sooner than expected. We planned buffer time and I can still remember Norma calling out "118", 115", "112", "108".....the car was in it's element with no doubt. Roughly 40 miles into the run, we were prepared for some rough pavement, under construction, and to our relief, upon arrival discovered that NDOT had worked through the night, Friday and Saturday to insure a safe run.........Speed Trap was next....our goal was 122 mph, again, remaining ever so aware of our Tech Speed max of 124.
Our plan called for arriving at the infamous "Narrows" (68 miles into the course) with an overall average of 106 mph.....we were dead on. "The Narrows" 5 or 6 twisties through a canyon were taken between 95 and 100 mph. (roughly 3 miles). Exiting the Narrows, we had 18 miles to the finish. Two more sweepers to negotiate, then 15 miles up and down straight home. We were 6 seconds behind. It was at this point that our inexperience caused us issues. I've autocrossed for years, I've road raced Karts, but never had any interest in TSD events until now. We finished accelerating through the finish line at 51:28. something 3.1 seconds off our Target time of 51:25.7 seconds. We're proud of our finish but honestly folks, 3 seconds off is an eternity...class winners were finishing anywhere from .02 off to .05 off, incredible performances!
Results
Our goal driving up to Nevada was threefold.
1) no harm to the car our ourselves
2) finish with a time, regardless of how competitive, NO Disqualification
3) simply enjoy driving the 993 as it was built and meant to be driven
Our 105 class was small, only 4 competitors and our 3 second lapse resulted in a third place finish, but we trophied and honestly we were excited as hell to complete the course with no incidents.
A few notes on our qualifying session on Thursday morning. During my last qualifying lap with instructor, I shredded my alternator belt....dash lit up like Christmas Eve....ABS, Alternator warning light, .... I figure it was all over for the weekend. Towed into Vegas, found "All European" a small indep shop who was willing to drop everything to get us back on the road. 1:15 minutes later we were heading up to Ely to compete. Good people.
I must say, my navigator and I both thoroughly enjoyed this event. Emphasis was on Safety all weekend and again, coordination and administration was outstanding. These people do a fantastic job. If you live within driving distance of Vegas and have never participated, I highly recommend it. Where can you pick your speed and drive these cars like their meant to be driven, safely and legally? No incidents this weekend, 2 or 3 cars broke down, but no off course excursions. We had a great time.
Cars observed included, more Corvettes than I can count (I must say, some beautifully prepared Vettes), A 997 Turbo, a 993 Turbo, a Cayman, one Ferrari, one Aston Martin, a Ford GT40, an old 1969 McLaren M6, many blown Mustang GTs and Shelbys, one wild V8 mid engine Corvair, and on and on and on.
Bill...you still interested in selling that DAS rollbar? We want to go back and run the 115 class. By the way, for first timers, largest class was 110 mph group with roughly 20 cars.
http://www.silverstateclassic.com/home.htm
And one last time...Thank you Bill, Jim, and Tony for your support, encouragement, and time spent preparing my car. You guys are outstanding!
A few pics from the weekend....
05-18-2010, 12:24 AM
#2
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Join Date: May 2007
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Cool story! 
Congratulations. 
I lived in Las Vegas for 31 years and traveled that road up to Sunnyside for duck hunting when it was nothing but moon dust. I can still see the narrows you refer to. That was a great place to get out an find petroglyphs in the rocks (still there, just tougher to get to now). The road south of Alamo was a place where the old 65 chevy hit, well, pretty fast on the way back from an Alamo dove hunt.
-Doug
Congratulations. I lived in Las Vegas for 31 years and traveled that road up to Sunnyside for duck hunting when it was nothing but moon dust. I can still see the narrows you refer to. That was a great place to get out an find petroglyphs in the rocks (still there, just tougher to get to now). The road south of Alamo was a place where the old 65 chevy hit, well, pretty fast on the way back from an Alamo dove hunt.-Doug
05-18-2010, 02:07 AM
#3
Denny, awesome... Just awesome! This is what these cars are all about.
BTW, the cage is not for sale. It will be in the car that beats you next year.
Tony, Jim and I are going to do the PCA Prescott trip this weekend. Call Tony for the info.
BTW, the cage is not for sale. It will be in the car that beats you next year.
Tony, Jim and I are going to do the PCA Prescott trip this weekend. Call Tony for the info.
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Just curious, what kind of prep did you do to your car? 
05-19-2010, 10:28 AM
#12
Pro
Thread Starter
All filters, oil, brakes bled and pads replaced, new front rotors, gear lube drained and replaced, mounted fire extinguisher, a full service and thorough inspection of the car. That's about it.
05-19-2010, 10:38 PM
#14
What a story, with your "ex" as navigator yet! You made for your a real pro team, and congrats to all who helped make this story a success!!! Cheers to all of you, what a group you have there near Cave Creek and Presscot... and beyond I guess. Also thanks for sharing the pictures. I just love the RL.
A loud cheer to the whole gang,
From "up here",
Bert
Calgary Canada
A loud cheer to the whole gang,
From "up here",
Bert
Calgary Canada
