Jim, jim, jim, jim,
Now settle down a bit, and read what I am saying any (many can contest to this). The better half of folks racing have found that the dream of 200 mph is easy, but in reality it takes development time, what does this mean, maybe 2, 3, 10 or 20 engines. Different combinations. Many trips to the salt. Handleing issue one year, wet course no traction the next, ruin a set of tires, ruin a few motors, spin the car and ruin front end stuff, windows break, rear ends explode. You put that all together and you may have 5-10 years invested. How much can you spend in a year? We are talking about getting a car done, engines, support equipment, gas on the way out, gas on the way back, hotels, food.
All we are saying is keep your visions high, but even the best equiped teams get the misfortune of the "salt gods". Things happen.
My statement was actually the truth when I said It could be cheaper to just buy Joe Laws lakester and go run it, already a proven car, nothing to iron out there, engines are pretty solid, support equipment comes with the deal.
Ask Keith turk about what he spent to reach his 249 mph run.
I know a racer that has been racing since maybe 1997, and he reached this goal last year. I would guess his budget was well over the 100K. I DONT KNOW THAT FOR A FACT. Maybe ill ask him someday. But I do know it was very well designed cars, big engines but a whole lot of misfortune.
Nobody has all the right answers for every project on what the formula is for 200 mph. Some know the hp, some know the chassis. But you always have a guy or lady behind the wheel to make split decisions, Ruts, debris on course, bump, wind gusts, tire slip, blown tire these are the things that can happen. Which in turn, like Glen had said, leads to spins. you could not have prevented them maybe you could have but that is where experience comes in. How do you get that, years on the salt.
Cheer up, stay with your plan, we all want to see you succeed, but the reality of it is, it takes money and dedication.
Keep us posted
Jonathan