So I advertised that Richmond International Raceway was doing this little thing where you could go and run laps around the track. Well the Torino and I went to Richmond on Thursday afternoon and had a great run!

Here is the video. I know it's 7 minutes, but my mom recorded from the time we rolled onto pit road until I stopped the car in teh garage area. IF you want, you can fastforward to the end and see some video of the steering wheel, dash pad, and gauges in my car. My mom was looking more at me than my near perfect entrance into one of the pit boxes on pit road too.

1968 Torino runs Richmond! - YouTube

^ Video in HD!!! ^

This is a picture in the infield...





Coming off Turn 4...



I was going so fast dad missed the car (55 mph...)



But I was running down the Porsche...



Gained another car length...



Lost it back...



Then I was ahead of him....



And then this shot in the infield....

And on to victory lane!!! WOO HOO!!!!










Then this is the diner we ate at in South Hill, VA on the way home...







And another shot of the track logo before you go....

 

 

There were Corvettes and Camaros, but no Monte Carlos that I saw. Maybe I'll take mine next month!

The limit was 55. When you watch the video, you can hear me talking about the GMC truck behind me that kept slowing down so he could surge forwards at about 80 mph I guess it was. The fastest I made it was when the Porsche in front of me slowed down and did the same thing and I just stuck with him (the lap where I "lost ground" to the Porsche", we ran about 70. The pace car stayed at about 55 though.

 

 

Hey 'Space, hopefully I can win the MCF race at Richmond (or Charlotte, where I have the picture from November) huh? That would be a very appropriate picture if I can win that race!

 

I'll bet that was an awesome experience and it looks like you played the part well.

 

Duane it looks like an awesome time. One of these days I'd like to do a lap around Daytona. Back in 68,69 was their anybody that ran a white Torino in NASCAR? If so you should get magnets made up you can put on your car for events like this to duplicate the old Grand National cars.

I see that your are in Victory Lane, did you do a Jimmy Johnson type burnout? Lol.

 

Looks like a great time. I know that you are teaching and I was curious, do you share these experiences with your students. I remember when i was in high school we had a teacher that was a car guy and all you had to do was get him talking cars and science class was done for the day.

 

Nice experience, too bad the speed was so limited.

 

I've told my students I restored cars, never shared any of these track expereinces with them though.

The car in my avatar with the black hood, Lee Roy Yarbrough, was a plain white Torino. I don't think it would look right without the proer wheels, plastic headlights, and the little piece of metal welded in place of the taillight.


The experience is really more fun than it looks like... same can be said about Martinsville or Charlotte and the videos I had there. This is especially the case on a 45 year old suspension with no power steering. You're really pulling that car down into hte corners.... you know how when you're stopped on a vehicle with no power steering, they're near impossible to turn, then when you take off, it gets easy? Well, there actually comes a point in your speed when it starts getting a lot tougher to steer again, and the front stretch at Charlotte was about that point, actually. The banking at Richmond made it a lot better, but I was still going faster than the steering wanted me to go!