FE DOMINANCE

[CaptCobrajet]

Some of you guys may follow the Indy Nationals, and some may be unaware.  Ray Paquet continues to dominate SS/A class in NHRA Super Stock.  He laid down an 8.55 in class eliminations in his Thunderbolt, on his way to winning SS/A.  About two tenths ahead of the next fastest A car, and some of those other guys are not slacks!  Congrats to Mr. Ray.......still running an original Dearborn Steel car, with modern upgrades, of course.  For those who don't know Ray, he is a prince of a guy.  An honest man, very smart, very quiet......all business in Clermont, Indiana for many years.

Long live Ray and his High Riser!!

[XR7]

I think someone said he has won a class wally 40 times! Crazy when you think about that, dominance for sure. It is great to see him keep doing what he does best after all those years. Not too many guys keep doing it for that long, let alone winning and breaking records, etc.

I know Charlie Wescott built an engine for him maybe 3 years ago, kind of a work in progress, but as far as I know Ray hadn't run it at least the first couple years. Anyone know if he was running that engine at Indy this year and/or made passes with it yet? It had a very interesting rocker stand set-up and bolt together billet intake manifold,   among likely many other things.

[CaptCobrajet]

Not the engine in the car.  It had Ray's baby in it.

[TomP]

Then he ran 8.54 in first round too. He and all the other cool cars seem to have lost first round.

[Barry_R]

Some of you guys may follow the Indy Nationals, and some may be unaware.  Ray Paquet continues to dominate SS/A class in NHRA Super Stock.  He laid down an 8.55 in class eliminations in his Thunderbolt, on his way to winning SS/A.  About two tenths ahead of the next fastest A car, and some of those other guys are not slacks!  Congrats to Mr. Ray.......still running an original Dearborn Steel car, with modern upgrades, of course.  For those who don't know Ray, he is a prince of a guy.  An honest man, very smart, very quiet......all business in Clermont, Indiana for many years.

Long live Ray and his High Riser!!

Ray is without question the best that ever was.

[falcongeorge]

Been following Rays heroics since the seventies. Betcha that's the highest mileage 'bolt in existence 1/4 mile at a time, man that car must have a lot of passes. Growing up in Division 6, I got to watch Jim Van Cleve and Jim Waldo in person a lot, I still remember watching Eckstrand and Waldo square off on Wide World of Sports as a teen. Big time seeing a "local" racer on TV. Man, those were the glory days of class racing. I don't even get it anymore, the idea of a Super Stock car with aftermarket heads and a non-OEM carb is anathema to me (yes, I understand the "reasons", and making things "easy" is the way of the world now, but some things sure as hell got lost in the translation). Still good to know Ray is still taking names and kicking @$$ though, some things are still right in this screwed up world.

[plovett]

A T-Bolt has a VIN and can be legally driven on the street, right?  Unlike a Hemi Dart?

[TomP]

Hemi Darts have a VIN,  even an AFX Cammer Mustang had a VIN

[plovett]

So could you legally drive them on the street?  I thought I read different.

paulie

[gt350hr]

   Well they had a vin so the potential was there. The Mustangs were "sold" under a $1 contract to specific ( Ford chosen) racers and there were some serious "stipulations" regarding the use of the vehicle. A 427 SOHC Mustang was hardly a car you would WANT to drive on the street. Well at least in the day anyway.

[C8OZ]

No doubt "legally" was often open to interpretation.  An old friend has a car clearly marked as not for highway use, but as it has a VIN, it has been tagged (and occasionally street driven) since the '70s. At this point I'd worry more about the insurance adjuster in case of a catastrophe.

[thatdarncat]

Steve Atwell did Drag Week 2005 with a real ‘68 Hemi Dart, which requires registration & plates, so it’s possible.

[gt350hr]

   Ray has the same dedication to Super Stock that Bob Glidden rip had to Pro Stock. ALWAYS looking for that little extra thing to give him an edge or one horsepower. I helped Ray years back on some of his internals. Made changes that made no difference but he was never discouraged. His reply was "well that's not an area that matters" , and look at some other component that could unlock power. Obviously he is very good at "finding things". For a "wedge" to run almost as fast as a Hemi ( and faster than "some") is an incredible feat!
   Randy

[Barry_R]

   Ray has the same dedication to Super Stock that Bob Glidden rip had to Pro Stock. ALWAYS looking for that little extra thing to give him an edge or one horsepower. I helped Ray years back on some of his internals. Made changes that made no difference but he was never discouraged. His reply was "well that's not an area that matters" , and look at some other component that could unlock power. Obviously he is very good at "finding things". For a "wedge" to run almost as fast as a Hemi ( and faster than "some") is an incredible feat!
   Randy

There were 19 entries in the Hemi Challenge, which run on more liberal rules.  Ray's best pass would have put him somewhere around #4....

[427fordman]

All I can say is that is more than extremely impressive.  Thats the definition of a bad ass hot rod.