Re: New Z06\'s smoke Vipers?
I love how all the guys talk about the times that WE MASSACHUSETTS GUYS ARE RUNNING!!!!
I ran the 11.76 a couple of months back at Englishtown, and I ran in the 11's 4 times that day - 11.76 was the best. My friend Ric has the 2001 black Z06 that ran 12.003... but even Ric will tell you that it was a one-in-a-million time for the Z06. It was a really cool day, he ran behind a big pro-dragster that left a wide patch of gooey rubber down the track. Ric runs consistent 12.4's. On good cool nights, he can get to the 12.3's and has even hit the 12.teens and 12.2's a few times as well. He runs drag radials now - his MPH always is between 113 and 115.
I have run Ric heads up 3 times. He has been drag racing for over 40 years and is VERY consistent. If I blow the launch bad enough to get a 12.5 or worse, Ric will win. If I can get a good run, I win. We both run at the track all the time, but don't usually get to line them up head-to-head.
As a point of comparison however, we were both at the track tonight. My best was a
[email protected]. Ric ran a best of 12.4 I think at about 113mph. My MPH is up over 120 on a good air day, and Ric is in the mid-high 115's in MPH. Again, to be fair, Ric wasn't launching too hard because he didn't want to blow his clutch, so he was launching easier than he can.
YOU CANNOT COMPARE TIMES FROM DIFFERENT DAYS GUYS! Jeez, how many times am I going to hear that "12 flat" time for the Z06 tossed around? ONE Z06 ran ONE 12 flat run, and everyone tosses it around like THEY ran it, or that all Z06's can run it. I am not aggravated because the Z06 guys are proud - hell I would be too - it aggravates me because it is a VERY VERY good run, and truly one-in-a-million, and it is a testament to Ric's driving skill. 99.99% of drivers on 99.99% of days at 99.99% of tracks will not hit a 12.0, so please guys don't act like "Z06's can run 12 flats... I heard about it". blah...
I will say this. Ric is the nicest and most personable guy you will ever meet, and he is a MUCH better drag racer than me. The only reason I win is because the Viper is the faster car, so even if I screw up, I can still win, unless I really screw up bad. Anyone who is honest with themselves knows this. Ric and I talk about it alot - we both agree that the Viper is the quicker car - thats just a fact. We also agree that Ric is the better driver. Fact. So either of us can win, depending on how well we both do. ALL things being equal, the Viper is a good 1/2 second quicker than the Z06. I personally do NOT think the 2002 Z06 is ANY quicker than the '01. There was a '02 at the track tonight that ran a 14.7@97mph... but because the time was so ridiculously slow, I wouldn't ever try to say it was a representative time of a Z06.
Don't get too cocky guys... if you run into a Z06 driver who KNOWS how to drive, and you don't, he's probably gonna get ya. If you are equal, you smoke him.. if you are Ok and he is good, you smoke him.. if you both ****, you smoke him bad. The Z06 is NOT (IMO) tolerant of bad driving. It takes skill to run in the 12's in a Z06. Any gaboon can hit the 12's in a Viper.
