New Texas Mile Record Run

278.2 by a Ford GT this past weekend. While not exactly a grassroots type event, it is an impressive showing of horsepower. The pop you hear is an electrical gremlin they were chasing, apparently the car has more in it.

Texas Mile Record Run.

Who says the Texas Mile and other similar events are not Grassroots? Since speed costs money, it just means you are going to be optimizing for a lower speed. Mostly it is about racing against your previous accomplishments.

True. Although I won't be doing much Lambo hunting in my 95 mustang or 97 saturn...lol.

tell that to Andy Hollis, with his mostly self built CRX that turned ~ 170mph ... sure it's not Lambo-ish, but it's a CRX ... that's street driven

In reply to gofastbobby:

Your 95 Mustang could be a platform to go "Lambo hunting" if your wallet can deal with it. Guess it depends what kind of hunting party you'd want to throw...

Great point, with money anything can be fast. I'm not sure why you felt the need to point that out, but I agree.

Back to the car that is fast though, 280mph fast.

Patiently awaits the arrival of that awd 2000+hp saleen s7.....

Wow, that's crazy fast! I'd love to see an in-car video! Or one of it flying past the mile marker.

gofastbobby wrote: Back to the car that is fast though, 280mph fast.

...and it got there VERY quickly.

Badass.

yamaha wrote: Patiently awaits the arrival of that awd 2000+hp saleen s7.....

IIRC that's one that's being built...locally.

The Texas Mile is definitely a grassroots event. There is a wide diversity of cars (and motorcycles) that participate. Sure, there are maybe a dozen vehicles that are entered by tuning shops looking to show off their prowess. There are also a smattering of expensive exotics (Lambo, Porsche Turbo, etc). But the vast majority are folks like you and me. Plenty of Mustangs and Camaros with motor upgrades, boost buggies sporting mega-boost, all kinds of Corvettes and pretty much every GT500 that resides in the middle of the country (25 this year).

For many, it is a place where forum friends meet up twice year. For others, it is a venue to see just what their car can top out at...legally and safely.

Look for coverage of this year's event in an upcoming GRM. Along with some lowdrag aero tips and tricks, many of which we tested out ourselves.

That's awesome. I can't wait to read about the event.

edit: don't post with low blood sugar

Andy Hollis wrote: The Texas Mile is definitely a grassroots event.

I've never been, but it sounds as grassroots as the GRM UTCC - some high budget stuff, some low budget stuff that can give the big boys a run for their money.

How many of the exotica owners are simply people who are not interested in autocross, don't like the risks involved with track days, and want something a little longer than a quarter mile?

In other words, people who have this cool toy and just want somewhere to stretch its legs out a bit. Car guys being car guys, not people who bought a status symbol and treat it like a statue.

Knurled wrote: How many of the exotica owners are simply people who are not interested in autocross, don't like the risks involved with track days, and want something a little longer than a quarter mile? In other words, people who have this cool toy and just want somewhere to stretch its legs out a bit. Car guys being car guys, not people who bought a status symbol and treat it like a statue.

Lots of that. Especially among the Ford GT guys (I saw four running and a couple more attending. What else are you going to do with that car? Plenty more in the Corvette and Mustang ranks.

And a lot of these folks don't really have much in the way of driving skills, nor do they want to learn to turn corners. OTOH, they love their cars, spend gobs of time hopping them up, and want some kind of acknowledgement besides a dyno chart.

I gotta say, time spent above 150 mph is pretty damned cool.

And then there's the guy with the teal Karmann Ghia with all kinds of legit aero mods...that does 128. About as grassroots as it gets.