Atlanta Heavies

[Paul T. Casey]

Just got back in from the Shootout, and will try to post some pic's. Marauders were well represented, from stock to blown (man that Mathis Marauder can HAUL!!). Stocker ran a 14.7, with full trunk! Thanx Smokey. That'll teach em. Announcer was real impressed with Bob's first run, shutting down a red lighting SS. I stunk up the joint, still learning, although a .565 RT on one run made me feel pretty good. (I backed it up with a 1.112, too busy watching Dave's Marauder go I guess). Anyway, here are some photo's. Ooops, photo's too big for attachment, I'll put them in events.

[TAF]

We did have fun didn't we??!!

And guys...just to let you know...when you throw Mrs. Casey your keys...WATCH OUT!!!...she starts "trolling" for street races :lol:

Seriously!

[TAF]

I told you my car was "back and better than EVER!!!"
http://www.mercurygallery.net/mmnet/watermark.php?file=506/557DSC01860-med.JPG

Actually...this guy was smokin' others in his class all day!!!

[Paul T. Casey]

Todd, she's still talking about it. I'm thinkin' I'm getting stage 1 & 2 for Christmas!! WooHoo!!! Also, I don't want to forget to thank the MMer's, and the SS guys for making me feel welcome. Also, two thumbs up for the track drying guys. They may have been too good, we all broke out by 1/4 second.

[prchrman]

actually that guy won A class and king of the hill...302 crate in a 81 merc station wagon...he ran 14.4s all day and broke out with a 14.29 but won because other car broke out too...ok just got home from the heavy shoot out and I had a blast...MM were well represented...5 MM ran and 8 showed up...Bob M. led the way in his trilogy blown ride...let's set the stage for what I saw and heard...I see a black SS and a MM waiting in the wings...the SS pulls into the burnout area and promptly lights em up for over 10 secs...Bob goes around the burnout area and calmly stages...I thinks Bob is in big trouble...the light goes green and the SS jumps out by at least a length and I am feeling sorry for Bob-but something happens...it looks as if Bob has some how reached out and grabbed hold of the ole SS and begins to swiftly reel him in...the announcer (SS guy fer sur) says ole so n so in the SS has got a really good car and he is really getting it down the track (moment of silience then he says) but he just got smoked by that Marauder driven by Bob Mathis...well I quit feeling sorry for Bob...Bob gets to second round but simply put out runs himself...he dialed at 13.26 and he pulled off a 13.04 a personnal best...man it will take 2 weeks to get the smile off his face...all the MM guys lost by breaking out...Smokie in a bone stock MM and the first time ever drag racing on a strip had a super day...with the trunk loaded and overdrive ON not manually shifting he got a 14.9, where he dialed in at...he lost because he broke out at 14.7...IN A BONE STOCK MM...Mad3R ran some sub 14.4s he broke out also...not sure Pauls times but he also broke out...bknblk ran but do not know his times either...maybe thesed guys will post their times later...the MMs got lots faster as the day went on...guys this was a fun time and we need to do this next year all the way...OBTW a Merc wagon won A class (see pic above)...SS won B class...Ford truck won C class...SS won big dog...and Merc wagon won King of hill...fastest time was 10.31 by a Linc (for real)...he got there late and could not enter Big Dog or he would have won it...also I have listened to the bickering about stock SS vs stock MM...I did not know until today...the MMs ran 15.2 or better all day, all day mind you...lots of SS were running 15.3 to 15.6...lots...so I will not listen to the talk that the stock SS will tear us up any more...the cars seem to be matched pretty evenly but to say one will just kill the other stock is just not true...because I saw the times...this is why I get so upset with mags that praise the SS and diss the MM...we do have as much guts as they do...I am not downing the SS guys met several and enjoy talking with them...but our cars are no dogs....TAF thanks for the keys...guys his car handles, goes and stops the way it should...really nice...thanks taf...really the best part was meeting so many nice people and having a good time...everyone I met was great...no jerks...and all the MM people were first rate...good to have met all of you and your wives...I am going next year but my wife has a plan...Commerce is a good shopping place so she shops and I get to play...sorry for the long post but the guys said who gets there first report...so there it is...next year we need to see about 40 MMs there from A to Big dog....willie

[prchrman]

Paul thanks for the pics...especially the King of the Hill Merc wagon...no one would have believed us without the pics...who would have thunk it...willie

[BISHOPSS95]

You Guys are a class bunch too.

As for stock vs stock, I am a believer NOW both are an even match.

As for Big Dawg competitors, come on, lets go.

As for the 81 wagon that stole the show, cool.

As for a the announcer, that was me.

[prchrman]

You guys did a great job...I will be back next year...obtw what happened to the fast red SS on his last run...he had a 10.55 then his last run was like 12.6...yeah you SS ruled the Big Dog...give us some time...K...willie...good job anouncing...

[TAF]

It was a LOT of fun Bishop...everyone was very nice!

Hey you and any others are always welcome to join us for breakfast. We usually have 1 or 2 Impalas show up (3rd Saturday of every month).

Here's the info on next weeks monthly meetClicky Clicky (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5571)

[Smokie]

The wife and I just got back home from the event in Georgia and first I want to say what a pleasure it was to meet Bob Mathis and his wife Jean , Paul Casey and wife, Phil and Natasha, Willie and Mrs. and Todd, who was kind enough to let me test drive his very incredibly fast and unique car. If I forgot to mention anyone please forgive me, the day stills seems like a happy blur. Willie already gave an incredibly precise and accurate accounts of the highlights so I will try not to repeat (too much). This was my first time in my life I race and I was very nervous. I want to thank all the SS guys that I met face to face and were kind and helped me thru my ignorance. I was made to feel welcome and actually met SS guys from my home town. Bishop SS I wish I had known you were the announcer so I could shake your hand, you pronounced my name correctly (Javier) which is not easy and you did an excellent job !!!. I ran 5 times and probably could write a book on "what not to do" and some people probably thought I was crazy when I was so happy after a race that I lost to a 95/SS. He ran 14.696 @ 92.79 mph, my time 14.795 @ 94.99 mph, by coincidence we ran against each other 3 times that day and he won all 3 times. After our last race we went back to park got out and shook hands I congratulated him and he said something that made my day: " I can't believe how you were gaining on me at the end another 20 feet and you would have won". Anyway I'm rambling on I guess the adrenaline still flowing :D :D :D

PS: His SS was not stock and he told his time was his personal best.

[RCSignals]

Smokie, perhaps with more practice you will win over him next time.
Pretty impressive performance there

[MAD-3R's Wife]

Mad-3R and I are home. I will let him tell you all about our time. Unfortunately his computer died over the weekend.

[Smokie]

RCSignals Thanks, I been home a while now and calmer, reflecting back on the whole show. I believe that all the MM. guys that raced feel like winners and exceeded their expectations. Bob's Trilogy car that ran 13 flat with stock tires that would not hook-up, Paul's near perfect reaction time, Mad3R low 14's. I feel that my opponent to defeat were all those magazines that trashed the MM. and "some" SS owners that made so many deragatory remarks about our cars without really knowing any real facts about them. I think that maybe "some" will now realize that the MM. stock after a break-in period is worthy of respect and can be a worthy opponent to the SS which I always respected and admired.

[RCSignals]

Smokie, so true. It would be nice if one of those magazines did a review of events such as this.

As for the impala guys, I think many have "come around"

Look what BishopSS95 said
As for stock vs stock, I am a believer NOW both are an even match.

[Paul T. Casey]

The quote I heard most from the SS guys in the staging lines, "We get away good, but man you guys run us down at the end." Give us some time to learn this real racing thing and maybe we can run 'em down the whole track. They (the SS dudes) are a great bunch though, made me feel more than welcome. As for practice, there's an 1/8 mile track here in Chattanooga...

[Bob Mathis]

Will we are at home and have gotten a little rest. I want to say that the Impala guy's are AOK! in my book. They did a great job with the shoot out. I think that all of us that showed up had a great time. I know that Jean and I did. We meet some new friends. This is what we like about going to these meet's ,having fun and meeting people that like the same style of car's,Marauder ,Crown Vic ,Grand Mar. and Impala . Now about my racing, I did my personal best , 13.04 at 105.45 MPH the car was great and the track was getting better all day long. I broke out because I had to run the guy down, he had a half second on me and I took my eye's of my light to see his and that caused be to be late, but I did run him down but went to fast. I was so close to my goal of 12.999. I hope to get there soon. Let's remember I'm still on stock tire's too. My 60 foot time was 2.09 I just want to say I had a great time again and thanks too BishopSS95.

[MI2QWK4U]

Bob, you are right there. If you had some cooler weather, and those wider tires, you would be consitantly under 13 seconds.

[prchrman]

Next year maybe we can do some Bone Stock SS vs Bone Stock MM...just for fun...no trophy just heads up racing like in college hoops ACC vs Big Ten kinda thing...what you say BishopSS??? I will give it a go next year...but will still be stock...willie

[RCSignals]

Are there any bone stock Impala SSs left?

[BCKNBLK]

My very first time ever on a dragstrip.

15.835/92.11 with od on
15.283/93.61
15.069/94.36

After seeing Bob run, want to get a helmet and a Trilogy kit.
Glad to meet Paul and Smokie and Prchmn and Mad3r and talk
to taf. Hope to see y'all next year or sooner.

These cars sure look slow from the stands, but when you are
in the drivers seat it is a great rush.

Congratulations to the junkyard wagon on the class A win. As
in everything, money is not always the answer.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by BCKNBLK
These cars sure look slow from the stands, but when you are
in the drivers seat it is a great rush.


I think this is because we tend to leave the hole kind of soft, then really pour it on about midtrack... by then, the angle of view from the stands makes it still look slow. I'm willing to bet that if someone was to stand at 1/3 track, they'd really get a show worth watching!

I gotta admit that my recent track visit surprised me, in that the low end softness I complained about this past summer (when I was running low 15s) was all but gone. Cooler temperatures certainly helped but I wonder if choice of fuel had something to do with it. I suspect the '04 MMs with their dual knock sensors might have yet another edge there. I'm eagerly awaiting some baseline numbers from the '04 owners.

So all this time I've been saying that the MM was a match, stock for stock, for the SS, but this completely blows me away. Seeing all these nicely broken-in bone-stock '03s in the 14s is the true definition of satisfaction. :up:

And with our aluminum blocks, we can keep those numbers all day long, too! (and in some cases improve!) :cool:

[MAD-3R]

There's not much I can add other then I had a great time, and want to come down next year and do it again. Only problem is that next year, it's the wifes turn to race...

I made my personal goal of not losing in round one. But that track just kept getting faster and faster... people were breaking out left and right.

5 Marauders raced, 3 made it to round 2 and then all three of us broke out... Tells you something.

I met up with the guy I beat in round one, and he was saying that he couldn't belive how he had me off the line, but I pulled that hard and walked with the win.

All in all it was a great time, great people, and great racing.

[prchrman]

Originally posted by RCSignals
Are there any bone stock Impala SSs left?

I hope they were stock running in the mid 15s...they were a nice bunch of guys and gals...but it seemed to me that the SS and MM guys were pretty much over 30 or 35 years of age...the young guys were the T bird and Linc croud...willie

[VicRattlehead]

i went on to round 3 when i lost to a ss wasnt fun didnt get any good runs in durring tnt my bottle was empty they said they had a refill station on site but they didnt, had to run down to Year One (20 miles) to fill it, got back and ended up with one run befor round one, i actually made round 1 my second tnt run had to buyback to go to round 2, i beat a SS you know the black one, and then i lost to one in the 3rd round. i was a little ticked. good time though, i was back in the back with the tbird guys we had about 15 cars there and about half were running. was a great time, cant wait til next year.

[RCSignals]

Umm, Whose Marauder was "rained" on?? :eek:

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/10/web/442000-442999/442101_41_full.jpg