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MARTIN, Mich. - It’s not always about winning, although Alan Pittman has experienced that particular thrill already this season. No, this weekend it was all about harnessing newly found horsepower and getting his unique supercharged ’62 Chevy Bel Air to run with consistency. At the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, all of Pittman’s goals were met.
“We’ve got a hot rod now,” said the chassis builder from Greenville, South Carolina. “We found what we were looking for when we went to [engine builder] Carl Spiering’s shop before last month’s race in Toronto. We tested our motors on his dyno and found some more horsepower, but the race was rained out, so we had to wait until we got here this weekend to confirm everything.”
The long wait was worth it once Pittman and his team took their “bubble top” Chevy to the starting line on Friday for the weekend’s first of three qualifying sessions. He laid down a solid 6.135-second, 230.06 mph pass, which was second quickest among the 41 cars shooting for a spot in the field. On Saturday, he blew the tires off in the early session, but came back with perhaps the most important run of the weekend. When the scoreboard lights flashed 6.143, 229.70, the Pittman team knew they had the power, and more importantly, the repeatability they were searching for.
“We just made two changes, but they seem to have worked,” Pittman said. “We went back to an old barrel valve that we had been using, and we added a vent to the fuel tank. These two small changes made a lot of difference and the numbers are there now. We had two .993 sixty-foot times and went four-seconds flat in the eighth-mile. A lot of people want that, so it feels good to be there right now. We could have hopped the car up and maybe gone a little quicker, but if it didn’t go then we wouldn’t have learned anything. Getting the car to repeat was our main goal, and we made it happen. I guess that’s the bracket racer in me – I just want to do the same thing twice, and we did.”
Pittman ended up in the No.3 spot in the quickest Pro Mod field in IHRA history, which had a bump spot of 6.188. In the first round of eliminations on Sunday, Pittman lined up beside the nitrous-injected ’68 Camaro of No. 11 qualifier Jim Halsey. Pittman took the advantage off the line, 0.013 to 0.051, but Halsey drove by for the win, 6.196, 226.85 to 6.251, 226.01.
“We had a good light and the car went straight - we just ran through the clutch,” Pittman said. “Halsey passed me like we were on the freeway and he was in the hammer lane. It was a good race - we just missed the clutch set-up a little.
“We’ll hang in there, though. We’ve got a different car now. It has always gone as straight as a string, but now we have the power to go with it.”
Pittman Satisfied With Gains Made at Northern Nationals
MARTIN, Mich. - It’s not always about winning, although Alan Pittman has experienced that particular thrill already this season. No, this weekend it was all about harnessing newly found horsepower and getting his unique supercharged ’62 Chevy Bel Air to run with consistency. At the Torco Race Fuels Northern Nationals at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, all of Pittman’s goals were met.
“We’ve got a hot rod now,” said the chassis builder from Greenville, South Carolina. “We found what we were looking for when we went to [engine builder] Carl Spiering’s shop before last month’s race in Toronto. We tested our motors on his dyno and found some more horsepower, but the race was rained out, so we had to wait until we got here this weekend to confirm everything.”
The long wait was worth it once Pittman and his team took their “bubble top” Chevy to the starting line on Friday for the weekend’s first of three qualifying sessions. He laid down a solid 6.135-second, 230.06 mph pass, which was second quickest among the 41 cars shooting for a spot in the field. On Saturday, he blew the tires off in the early session, but came back with perhaps the most important run of the weekend. When the scoreboard lights flashed 6.143, 229.70, the Pittman team knew they had the power, and more importantly, the repeatability they were searching for.
“We just made two changes, but they seem to have worked,” Pittman said. “We went back to an old barrel valve that we had been using, and we added a vent to the fuel tank. These two small changes made a lot of difference and the numbers are there now. We had two .993 sixty-foot times and went four-seconds flat in the eighth-mile. A lot of people want that, so it feels good to be there right now. We could have hopped the car up and maybe gone a little quicker, but if it didn’t go then we wouldn’t have learned anything. Getting the car to repeat was our main goal, and we made it happen. I guess that’s the bracket racer in me – I just want to do the same thing twice, and we did.”
Pittman ended up in the No.3 spot in the quickest Pro Mod field in IHRA history, which had a bump spot of 6.188. In the first round of eliminations on Sunday, Pittman lined up beside the nitrous-injected ’68 Camaro of No. 11 qualifier Jim Halsey. Pittman took the advantage off the line, 0.013 to 0.051, but Halsey drove by for the win, 6.196, 226.85 to 6.251, 226.01.
“We had a good light and the car went straight - we just ran through the clutch,” Pittman said. “Halsey passed me like we were on the freeway and he was in the hammer lane. It was a good race - we just missed the clutch set-up a little.
“We’ll hang in there, though. We’ve got a different car now. It has always gone as straight as a string, but now we have the power to go with it.”
