Kit Car Builder magazine, Feb 2013, pages 52 through 54, covers the 25th annual Run'N'Gun event, held this time at Hallett Motor Raceway just west of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I entered this event with my 2012 Ariel Atom 3 demonstrator/company car, and was blessed with winning four first place trophies. The trophies were for Time Trials, Road course, Autocross, and a larger one that says Overall Champion.
The Autocross was held on the third and last day of the event and was huge fun for me. I had never even seen an Autocross before, let alone driven one, but the Atom's acceleration, braking, and handling, (not to mention being able to see the cones better) more than made up for my lack of experience, and we had Fast Time of the Day.
My Atom 3 is stock except for the track wheels and tires (and I take the fenders off when I run the track tires), and an unmuffled pipe in place of the stock muffler. There were some very expensive cars there, and all the other cars had V-eights, some with over 500hp.
The Atom required nothing more than adding some pump gas. I do check tire pressures and lug nuts, but no air needed adding, and lug nuts did not move.
To go to a prestigious national event like this and have "the fastest thing on the track" (their words, not mine), and be able to relax and drink Dr. Pepper between sessions instead of having to work on my car, was really satisfying to me, especially so after all the work required on on my previous top fuel gee-generators. I was afraid I'd be terminally bored when my top fuel days were over, but the Ariel Atoms have saved my life.
I would love to take my Heritage GT out and play with it, but it has become so valuable that I can't get comfortable with the idea of taking the chance that I might hurt it, should I do something inappropriate. I don't worry about the Atom at all, and don't mind pushing it until my instinct of self-preservation takes over.
Anyway, huge fun, and one of the very few regrets in my life so far is that I should have discovered road racing sooner.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
Eddie :biggrin
I entered this event with my 2012 Ariel Atom 3 demonstrator/company car, and was blessed with winning four first place trophies. The trophies were for Time Trials, Road course, Autocross, and a larger one that says Overall Champion.
The Autocross was held on the third and last day of the event and was huge fun for me. I had never even seen an Autocross before, let alone driven one, but the Atom's acceleration, braking, and handling, (not to mention being able to see the cones better) more than made up for my lack of experience, and we had Fast Time of the Day.
My Atom 3 is stock except for the track wheels and tires (and I take the fenders off when I run the track tires), and an unmuffled pipe in place of the stock muffler. There were some very expensive cars there, and all the other cars had V-eights, some with over 500hp.
The Atom required nothing more than adding some pump gas. I do check tire pressures and lug nuts, but no air needed adding, and lug nuts did not move.
To go to a prestigious national event like this and have "the fastest thing on the track" (their words, not mine), and be able to relax and drink Dr. Pepper between sessions instead of having to work on my car, was really satisfying to me, especially so after all the work required on on my previous top fuel gee-generators. I was afraid I'd be terminally bored when my top fuel days were over, but the Ariel Atoms have saved my life.
I would love to take my Heritage GT out and play with it, but it has become so valuable that I can't get comfortable with the idea of taking the chance that I might hurt it, should I do something inappropriate. I don't worry about the Atom at all, and don't mind pushing it until my instinct of self-preservation takes over.
Anyway, huge fun, and one of the very few regrets in my life so far is that I should have discovered road racing sooner.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
Eddie :biggrin
Attachments
Last edited:
ld: you know what she said to me? she said "i don't care".... :agree: