This is the first year in awhile that Silly Season does in fact feel like Silly Season... There's a lot of talk circulating, and here are all of the highlights -
Race #11 "Miss America" - Thanks to Mark, we already have a pretty good idea about what is going on with Miss A this year. It sounds like Brent wants to make sure the plane is fast enough to beat Dreadnought without any question. The airframe and engine package may be as ready as they've ever been, but it will also come down to Brent's strategy on the course. Miss A could end up being a seriously fast plane, and it might take Brent a few days on the course to get a good grasp on this new horse. The thing is, Dreadnought might not be the issue this year...
Race #8 "Dreadnought" - The talk after last year's race was that Dreadnought was on the verge of being flat out and possibly overheating on the last lap. How much more is actually left? 10mph without risking it? 426 on Sunday, 430 in qualifying, 435-440 max maybe???
Race 86 "Czech Mate" - Yep, that's right... There's been social media chatter from those in the know that John Moore is very much considering bringing back Czech Mate this year, to the point that it's currently being prepped "just in case". Also talk of Stevo at the stick. Is it Czech Mate's race to lose? If Brent has a spot in front of Dreadnought come Sunday, is Miss A going to be fast enough to keep up?
Race 26 "Rushin' Thunder" - A new favorite of mine after watching videos from PRS. Scotty Crandlemire doesn't seem to be messing around with his R-2000 Yak-11. Talks of ADI, nitrous, etc., this is getting fun! Is it a competitor for the Gold win? Unlikely, but it's a VERY good "keep everyone in the Gold race honest" type plane, and will likely be pushing (and likely passing) Argonaut and 924, maybe even tagging along behind the top 3 if those mods come to fruition.
That's some of the talk I've heard about the 400mph club so far, but the rest of the Unlimited class is not a bunch of stock Mustangs this year either - Dusty is hoping to bring "Shanty Irish" back, and the restoration did include a few "extras" for Reno. "Sweet and Lovely" has been sitting happily stock at POF, but who's to say what Jeff has planned. Same goes for Jim Rust and "Barbara Jean".
And we still aren't done!
Vicky is cautiously optimistic that "Race 64" will be finished in time. I don't know if the restoration includes any race mods (my expectation was a similar setup to Goldfinger).
And LASTLY, there is still hope for Sam Davis' R-2000 Yak-11 "Miss Trinidad" to be ready as well. I believe John Maloney was at PRS - if this is true it's a good sign that the team is hopeful it'll be ready (it is being restored at Chino, and has not yet flown). Throw that plane into 400mph club as well to push the top 3 with Scotty.
It seems like we're on the path to keep totally stock Mustangs out of the Unlimited Gold, something that will be a plus for safety, and the good mix of competition will keep everyone honest and prevent "parading" around the course if you want to finish in a good spot.
Anything else?!?!?!?!
Race #11 "Miss America" - Thanks to Mark, we already have a pretty good idea about what is going on with Miss A this year. It sounds like Brent wants to make sure the plane is fast enough to beat Dreadnought without any question. The airframe and engine package may be as ready as they've ever been, but it will also come down to Brent's strategy on the course. Miss A could end up being a seriously fast plane, and it might take Brent a few days on the course to get a good grasp on this new horse. The thing is, Dreadnought might not be the issue this year...
Race #8 "Dreadnought" - The talk after last year's race was that Dreadnought was on the verge of being flat out and possibly overheating on the last lap. How much more is actually left? 10mph without risking it? 426 on Sunday, 430 in qualifying, 435-440 max maybe???
Race 86 "Czech Mate" - Yep, that's right... There's been social media chatter from those in the know that John Moore is very much considering bringing back Czech Mate this year, to the point that it's currently being prepped "just in case". Also talk of Stevo at the stick. Is it Czech Mate's race to lose? If Brent has a spot in front of Dreadnought come Sunday, is Miss A going to be fast enough to keep up?
Race 26 "Rushin' Thunder" - A new favorite of mine after watching videos from PRS. Scotty Crandlemire doesn't seem to be messing around with his R-2000 Yak-11. Talks of ADI, nitrous, etc., this is getting fun! Is it a competitor for the Gold win? Unlikely, but it's a VERY good "keep everyone in the Gold race honest" type plane, and will likely be pushing (and likely passing) Argonaut and 924, maybe even tagging along behind the top 3 if those mods come to fruition.
That's some of the talk I've heard about the 400mph club so far, but the rest of the Unlimited class is not a bunch of stock Mustangs this year either - Dusty is hoping to bring "Shanty Irish" back, and the restoration did include a few "extras" for Reno. "Sweet and Lovely" has been sitting happily stock at POF, but who's to say what Jeff has planned. Same goes for Jim Rust and "Barbara Jean".
And we still aren't done!
Vicky is cautiously optimistic that "Race 64" will be finished in time. I don't know if the restoration includes any race mods (my expectation was a similar setup to Goldfinger).
And LASTLY, there is still hope for Sam Davis' R-2000 Yak-11 "Miss Trinidad" to be ready as well. I believe John Maloney was at PRS - if this is true it's a good sign that the team is hopeful it'll be ready (it is being restored at Chino, and has not yet flown). Throw that plane into 400mph club as well to push the top 3 with Scotty.
It seems like we're on the path to keep totally stock Mustangs out of the Unlimited Gold, something that will be a plus for safety, and the good mix of competition will keep everyone honest and prevent "parading" around the course if you want to finish in a good spot.
Anything else?!?!?!?!
There have been whispers around that he's up to something, but I have no clue if those whispers hold any truth or not. 
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