Just got back from my fourth BBORR, the most successful to-date. This race has been held annually for the last twenty years in West Texas, where they close down a 59-mile stretch of public Highway (Rte 285) between Fort Stockton and Sanderson. The race runs a total of 160 cars down and back in groups. Unfortunately we could only run one-way this year because a Porsche crashed into a utility pole and took out power for the whole area. Obviously it took a long time to repair all this, so we only got to run down, and not back.
This year my run group was the 150 class, meaning that I had to average 150mph for the entire course. If you go above 168mph or below 120mph you are disqualified. The person with the closest-to-perfect time wins. My target time was 23 minutes and 36 seconds. I got second place for a time error of 0.79 seconds and speed error of 0.038mph. The winning C7 Corvette was a little closer, but it was loaded with ghosting software, multiple Garmins, and GPS with electronic timing, whereas I stuck to my trusty old $3 Walmart oven timer.
I ran most of the course between 160 and 170 to build up some allowance for the final section of twisties, where I slowed to 125-135. Running so fast for so long is pretty brutal on cars but the GT never missed a beat. In addition to the race, the week is filled with parades, shows, and school visits. It's a vital part of the area's economy because the region is so desperately poor. As you can see from the pictures. the radiator outlet is a pretty good place to stow all your racing junk when driving up to the start line.
I had a blast, driving about 1700 miles round-trip from Houston. In the "small world" department Ed Sims' daughter spotted me one day on the streets of Fort Stockton!
Can't wait to do it all again next year in the New GT!
This year my run group was the 150 class, meaning that I had to average 150mph for the entire course. If you go above 168mph or below 120mph you are disqualified. The person with the closest-to-perfect time wins. My target time was 23 minutes and 36 seconds. I got second place for a time error of 0.79 seconds and speed error of 0.038mph. The winning C7 Corvette was a little closer, but it was loaded with ghosting software, multiple Garmins, and GPS with electronic timing, whereas I stuck to my trusty old $3 Walmart oven timer.
I ran most of the course between 160 and 170 to build up some allowance for the final section of twisties, where I slowed to 125-135. Running so fast for so long is pretty brutal on cars but the GT never missed a beat. In addition to the race, the week is filled with parades, shows, and school visits. It's a vital part of the area's economy because the region is so desperately poor. As you can see from the pictures. the radiator outlet is a pretty good place to stow all your racing junk when driving up to the start line.
I had a blast, driving about 1700 miles round-trip from Houston. In the "small world" department Ed Sims' daughter spotted me one day on the streets of Fort Stockton!
Can't wait to do it all again next year in the New GT!
