Nevada Open Road Challenge

[Dave Tabor]

https://sscc.us/


South of Ely Nevada (Lund to Hiko). Highway 318 in Nevada.
100 mph group. Two, 60 mile legs, south then north.
Hand-timed. 2.2 secs too slow, cumulative. 99.95 average speed over 120 miles.
Max speed 120 mph.

Also ran the half-mile 'shootout' the day before (3 runs) - hit 120. Power was way down at 6500 feet.

Highly recommended to do this event and it is addictive.

Of the events I've done with my car- the Adrenaline Schedule:

Drags: 13 second injection, repeat 5-6 times
Autocross: 60 second infusions, repeat 5-6 times
HPDE: 20 minute infusions, repeat 5 times
Open Road Rally: 35-minute slow-drip, repeat

All different kind of highs- cool!


Videos of each leg here, time-lapsed to speed up through the 'boring' sections.
I made these videos as a sort of 'tutorial' so folks/me could pre-run the course to understand what they are getting into.

Southbound:
https://youtu.be/7sGLKJ2ZvW4

Northbound:
https://youtu.be/3ufPHC1W-UI

Dave
Gen III Coupe #17
~13,500 odometer miles






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[Jim1855]

Dave,
Good to see that you are using and enjoying your car. Great videos.
?? Is there a max speed for the Open Road Rally? Or is it the car's and your threshold?
I really like HPDE and would like to try the rally but don't know much about it. I need to research.
120 is a nice cruising speed but you're pushing a lot of air and using a bunch-O-gas.
Thanks,
Jim

[Dave Tabor]

Dave,
Good to see that you are using and enjoying your car. Great videos.
?? Is there a max speed for the Open Road Rally? Or is it the car's and your threshold?
I really like HPDE and would like to try the rally but don't know much about it. I need to research.
120 is a nice cruising speed but you're pushing a lot of air and using a bunch-O-gas.
Thanks,
Jim

Well, there are are classes/groups from 95 to 160 mph- as a 'rookie' you are limited to 95-110. You choose a speed and try to average that as close as possible. Cars go off in one minute intervals so you don't need to worry about passing.

You are not allowed to drop below 80 nor go above 124 mph in the 95-110 group- so you can't just arrive at the finish early and trigger the beam right on time.

The 'Speed Trap' thing is a RADAR trap where you can (if you want) bring the car up to just under your maximum allowable speed (124 in my group) to get a printed speed certificate - just for fun.

My car got 11 mpg going south and 10 mpg going north due to elevation differences of the start/finish legs.

I'm a carbureted 302 with a 0.82 TKO600 with a 3.55 rear. RPMs were around 4000 the whole time.

I spent over $600 in fuel just trailering the car from home (CA) to Nevada and back (2021 Honda Ridgeline got 15.2 mpg towing).

I'd say 'do it while you still can' - that is, burn fossil fuels for fun.

Dave

[Dave Tabor]

Just found this posted by a course-worker at one of the gates:

https://youtu.be/ihINBcxBnS8?t=252

Dave

[GoDadGo]

Very Cool & Thanks For Sharing!

[Windsor]

Dave,
Good to see that you are using and enjoying your car. Great videos.
?? Is there a max speed for the Open Road Rally? Or is it the car's and your threshold?
I really like HPDE and would like to try the rally but don't know much about it. I need to research.
120 is a nice cruising speed but you're pushing a lot of air and using a bunch-O-gas.
Thanks,
Jim

The faster speed brackets have increased safety requirements, the higher the speed, the more safety features that are necessary.

For example, the Grand Sport division requires a roll bar. The cage construction of the T65 Coupe may qualify, someone with first-hand knowledge would have to speak up.

Once you get up into the SuperSport (160mph+) division, you need a competition roll cage, the description of which follows rather closely with NHRA requirements. Naz had pointed out in a few other posts that the T65 Coupe construction specifically does not meet NHRA roll cage specs.

The beauty of these open-road challenges is that you need to run a handful of the slower brackets before you even get up to the "needs roll cage" group, so you'll have lots of opportunity to ask questions before you (as a driver) are qualified.

[Jim1855]

Thanks Rob. I started reading some off the rules but didn't get through all. Your comments help. Sure looks like fun. Jim

[Dave Tabor]

It's one of those things where the sum is greater than the parts.

There is a half day at SpeedVegas, pre-drive up the Course with tips, Tech Inspection, Navigator's Tutorial, Parade through town (throwing candy out the window for the kids), Car Show in the park, Pancake Breakfast hosted by the mayor, the actual Rally (really just 70 mins of actual driving), Banquet Dinner...and the 100 new friends you will make without even trying.

If you have any questions about passing tech, email the organizer ahead of time- that's what I did.

Have any other FFR cars done this event (to anyone's knowledge)?

I'll be back in September in the 120 mph group.

Dave
Gen III Coupe #17

[Skuzzy]

This sounds like something I need to add to my bucket list.