I am very belatedly posting the results of the very belated first tournament of 2023..,so far the 1985 racing season has barely begun, so it’s a safe bet this vintage year will run over into 2024, depending on what the future holds.
This was the first race I’ve done with my new method of running a tournament with groups of 32 cars, since I now have far too many cars to race in a single tournament, and naturally this first running represented “Group A.” The format was what the DC Muscle Car races are known for: 5 laps, no “sudden death” penalty, with the fastest race time advancing to the next heat until a final battle determined the overall tournament winner. The initial grouping of cars was, of course, based on the time trials performed earlier this year. The time trials alone took well over a month to run, because at this point we’re talking about 96 cars!
It was an exciting race with a few surprises; for instance, a few of the cars that have the best performers in my fleet are clearly getting long in the tooth and due for an overhaul; a few members of “Team ’67 Heaven” didn’t show nearly as well as expected. There were some underdog surprises as well, especially for the final battle; the winner’s circle consisted of 3 white Chevrolets, with the 3rd and 2nd places going to newcomers while the overall winner was a veteran who’s underdog status has been augmented by a sketchy past! The tournament win went to Bram “Blackjack” Brodie, the Detroit native with his 383 “Stroker”-powered ’67 Camaro RS “Ghost Rider.” Brodie has been a pledge for “Team ’67 Heaven” for a time now but hasn’t made the grade due to the exclusive club’s high bar for membership; his performance in this tournament is sure to seal his fate as a club member now! Coming in only a few second behind was newcomer “Maximum” Mike Hall, who’s full-sized ’62 Impala coupe “Touch Of Class” surprised everyone at the track with its performance; few expected a placement this high from such a big, heavy car; the race-spec 427 under the hood must have had something to do with that! Rounding out the top 3 was another newcomer that many did expect great things from: Tony “Traction” Tulowitzki with his Trans-Am spec 302 powered ’69 Camaro SS/RS “Its Only Money.” Tulowitzki is liable to be a formidable performer on a regular basis.
It was a fun race with a much tighter schedule, using 32 cars instead of 96 made the field more manageable. It is with great sadness, however, that the fun I had racing these cars between April 23rd and 25th means that I was wrapping it up as my dear departed friend was reaching the end of his ride here on Earth. As a result, I decided to retroactively name this race the Dale Pratley Memorial 32-Pack Muscle Car Challenge, and I hope to make this an annual event.
Due to all the changes that life has wrought for your humble blogger in 2023, it is not possible for me to estimate when the Group B and Group C 32-Pack muscle car races will be run; I hope it will be soon, but the rest of this week is taken up by work, while another out-of-town weekend looms ahead. Losing my good friend has made my approach to everything feel different, and life is increasingly pulling me in other directions. Nonetheless, whenever those races happen, you can bet you will read about them here at thunderjetheaven.com.
I think it is great the real life rules you put into your races that make it really real. It’s also nice to hear about the surprises and just goes to prove that it is so much more than just cars going round and round. The named dedication tournament is a wonderful honor.