You can look now - I've got pants on again. And they're shorts -- now you could see the big tattoo of Nancy and her tattoos. Too bad for you that you're not out here to see it.
We're still waiting for the Stude to get ready for a run. The weather report: 72F, 18% humidity, Station pressure = 25.62", DA is 5989'.
The event is a child of the Cook Top Speed Shootout. The salt wasn't good enough/long enough for the traditional 11-12 mile international course (as it's known) to be run for FIA and FIM records so the Top Speed Challenge was born out of necessity. There were a handful of vehicles out here that wanted to run, and therefore the course was set up for one way runs - about 5 miles to the lights, a timed mile and an exit speed trap (132'). No "official" records or certification. But Cook is hoping that the salt will be good enough for the real Shootout on the rain date. I think the dates are 6 - 10 October -- right after WF/SpeedWeek.
The reason there aren't many vehicles is that it's quite expensive, relatively speaking, to have FIA and FIM certification, and also because the event was intended for just what it says - to be a top speed event, thereby involving mostly the fastest of the fast. Everyone is welcome to sign up and race, and the cost, while it can be high, is sometimes born by a sponsor. Top One Oil has paid the motorcycle entry fees for a few years, making it affordable for teams that aren't funded by a factory or business or whatever. I don't know if there's the same type of "fairy godmother" helping the cars -- although I might guess about it.
The Shootout has commonly attracted a dozen - 2 dozen vehicles. One major advantage of the concept is that there aren't many waiting lines. Work on the vehicle 'til it's ready, notify Mike Cook or Junior that you'd like to run -- and the course is yours once patrol and fire and ambulance are in place (which they usually are already) and once the spectators and camera crews' cars are under control and locked down.
Further questions?