Sept. 6th, 2014 - Silent Thunder @ Pacific Raceways

brianman · Aug 23, 2014

I didn't see it posted on TMC yet, but perhaps I just missed it...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...
----------------------------------------
EVENT:
Silent Thunder All-Electric Drag Racing and Road Racing Nationals.

Pacific Raceways and the National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) present the first all-electric drag racing and road racing combination event.

WHERE:
Pacific Raceways
31001 144th Ave SE
Kent, WA 98042
(253) 639-5927
Pacific Raceways -- Where the Excitement is Accelerating!

WHEN:
Saturday, September 6, 2014
8AM - 5PM

DESCRIPTION:
Event is open to all electric vehicles and will be an exciting combination of road racing in the morning with professional driver instruction on the 2 1/2 mile road course, and then continuous drag racing in the afternoon on the 1/4 mile drag strip. Competing vehicles will include high-performance conversion EVs, purpose-built racing machines, and factory produced EVs including Tesla, Nissan, BMW, Mitsubishi and others.

Additionally, there will be a car show for all electric vehicles and a vendor area for performance and eco-related vendors.

This is the only NEDRA event scheduled for the Pacific Northwest this year. Your participation helps the efforts of NEDRA and Pacific Raceways to support the EV community.

Normally a day of racing like this costs upwards of $10K and the fees for road racing are about $395 per car, but Pacific Raceways believes electric vehicles are the future and in order to promote EVs and to make a successful and fun electric-only event track managers are willing to take on many of the costs themselves for this first year, including installing multiple high-current charging outlets for participants.

Vendor participation is FREE with pre-registration. Please contact Stephen Johnsen ([email protected]) before September 3 to reserve your spot.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please contact Stephen Johnsen ([email protected]) for more information.

PRICING:
Gates open at 8 a.m.
Gate Admission for all spectators and participants-
*Adults 18 and over $15
*12-17 $5
*Under 12 FREE
*Pre-Registration SAVE $5!- -Gate Fee Only $10-. (must call Pacific Raceways before Sept. 3rd at 5pm for discount). Pre-registrations are payable over the phone by credit card and are non-refundable.

Road Course-
10am – 1pm
$50 for 5 laps (1/2 hour sessions on 2 1/2 mile course) 8 cars maximum at a time. Instruction from professional drivers. There will be a discount (price TBD) for 3 track sessions. (Due to insurance issues, full-size cars only, no motorcycles.)

Drag Racing-
2pm – 5pm
$40 - Test and Tune. Make as many runs as you like down the drag strip. Open to all types of vehicles. Multiple 240v and 120v outlets are available and the track is installing many more for this event.

PLUS!- Discount for combination road racing and drag racing competitors which is $15+$50+$30 so total - $95 for racing both events day-of, or $90 for full event if pre-registered with the track before September 3rd.

All vehicles and drivers must pass safety/tech inspection. Please wear sensible shoes (no open toes or sandals) and make sure your vehicle is in safe operating condition. Come early to speed through safety/tech inspection and maximize your racing time!

--------------------
ABOUT Pacific Raceways-
Pacific Raceways is Washington's premier racing facility and NHRA sanctioned 1/4 mile drag strip first opened in 1959. The management at Pacific Raceways sees electric vehicles as an integral key to the future of racing and is boldly taking this on as an all-electric event.

ABOUT NEDRA-
The National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) exists to increase public awareness of electric vehicle (EV) performance and to encourage through competition, advances in electric vehicle technology. NEDRA achieves this by organizing and sanctioning safe, silent and exciting electric vehicle drag racing events.

NEDRA is a coalition of drag racing fans, electric drag racing vehicle owners and drivers, individuals interested in promoting the sport of EV drag racing, EV parts suppliers, EV manufacturers and other environmentally concerned companies and individuals. Working together as a group, we put excitement into electric vehicle drag racing.

CONTACT:
Roy LeMeur
NEDRA Pacific NW Regional Liaison
[email protected]
http://www.nedra.com

Silent Thunder All-Electric Nationals: A day of drag strip road racing for EVs! - DIY Electric Car Forums

JohnMc · Aug 24, 2014

Regarding sensible clothing I believe that long pants are also required while racing. No racing in shorts.

romp · Aug 25, 2014

typo in the subject of the thread: it's Sept 06, not Sept 16.

Alysashley79 · Aug 26, 2014

Do you know if you have to have your "license" from PAC raceways?

brianman · Aug 26, 2014

Alysashley79 said:
Do you know if you have to have your "license" from PAC raceways?

My understanding is "no" but definitely confirm when you call to register. ( "When" not "if".

)

Zextraterrestrial · Aug 26, 2014

hmmm, almost forgot about this.

sounds fun

freds · Sep 3, 2014

I just called on this inquiring the charging infrastructure and the lady who answered the phone said that Tesla is installing four to five chargers which I am thinking are HPWC unit's; so I should be able to put my Twin chargers to use...

Taking a Passenger: Absolutely not on the road course, ok for drag if you will be slower then 13.99 for the 1/4 mile.

brianman · Sep 3, 2014

I'm planning on heading down the night before and staying the night near Muckleshoot. Anybody interested in meeting up for dinner Friday night?

- - - Updated - - -

romp said:
typo in the subject of the thread: it's Sept 06, not Sept 16.

Yah, I updated the first post title but whichever mod I asked (in PM) hasn't updated the thread title yet.

dsm363 · Sep 3, 2014

Mod note: I didn't get a PM but just saw this. Title updated.

lorih · Sep 4, 2014

I will be going with Brianman on Friday.

I hope to ride shotgun with him on the track at Silent Thunder, maybe even an EV drag race. (And, based on his rep for road driving, I wouldn't bet against him on that!) He says he will have a white canopy and possibly cold water to share on Sat (maybe even snacks, Bman?) Stop by and say hi. I will probably be hiding from the heat in his shade when I am not in a car.

Hope to see you folks again soon. Once a year is too long to wait for TMC reunions.

EarlyAdopter · Sep 4, 2014

Aarrggghh. I so want to do this, but I already promised to watch the kids this Saturday, as I'm going to Maryhill Loops next weekend. Ah well. Should be a blast.

freds · Sep 4, 2014

EarlyAdopter said:
Aarrggghh. I so want to do this, but I already promised to watch the kids this Saturday, as I'm going to Maryhill Loops next weekend. Ah well. Should be a blast.

Heck bribe a baby sitter to come along and watch the kids while you are out on the track!!!! Still a quality day with dad; we went to the races and dad drove!!!

Alysashley79 · Sep 5, 2014

EarlyAdopter said:
Aarrggghh. I so want to do this, but I already promised to watch the kids this Saturday, as I'm going to Maryhill Loops next weekend. Ah well. Should be a blast.

Kids are free.

I'm sure there's got to be some teenage boy you can bring along with you to watch you kids that would love to watch

brianman · Sep 5, 2014

EarlyAdopter said:
I'm going to Maryhill Loops next weekend.

Excellent. Look forward to seeing you there!

freds · Sep 6, 2014

Hi Everyone

I would have to say that Tesla was well represented at this event especial the lead follow of the road course, over the PA it was a distinct announcement of lead follow trip (five laps) that was none Tesla!!!

Of course I was probably the only Tesla to go off the track!!! No damage!!! Anyways my consolation prize for the day was fastest Tesla model S for the drag racing portion of the day!!! Some pictures and video links to follow!!!!

I highly recommend anyone in driving distance attend next year!!!!

brianman · Sep 6, 2014

It was great to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Also, "no Teslas were harmed on or off film for this event" which is always a good thing.

v12 to 12v · Sep 6, 2014

Nice meeting you today brianman. It was long overdue. Were any world records broken? I know one run was close. Too bad he was running with the AC on!

v12 to 12v · Sep 7, 2014

So it was Fred that was hundredths of a second away from breaking the record?

I was wondering what kind of tires people were choosing to run out there.

brianman · Sep 7, 2014

v12 to 12v said:
I was wondering what kind of tires people were choosing to run out there.

My standard Michelin Pilot Super Sports (21" summer tires).

freds · Sep 8, 2014

Silent Thunder After action report

First off it was a great day to be at the track, not too hot and a nice friendly crowd.

The day started off with an early alarm to range charge the car which I did from my Nokia 1020 windows phone, rolled over and went back to sleep for much longer than I should have.

I had pre-registered but it somehow got lost, while the front gate was willing to take my money to do the drag racing they were unsure about the road course. Told me to hit the office and inquire.

I notice some Tesla’s lined up so I parked behind them to hit the office, signed some paperwork, pay some money and head back to the car and out on the road course. Total elapsed time was about ten minutes from arriving, so the day got off to a rapid start!!!

Here’s a picture of the Tesla’s lined up behind me waiting to start the lead follow.

I ended up going off the track into the gravel, but no damage. I videoed the road course by zip tying my 1020 to the passenger side sun visor so not the greatest view, GoPro quality they are not!!! At some points in the video you can see different view as the sun visor swings back and forth.

Here’s a link to my OneDrive if you wish to view the video which is about ten minutes long. I didn’t ace the course so I think I was slowing the pack down….

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...00&authkey=!ADxVnntlxg3ADGU&ithint=folder,mp4

There is two HD videos (so quite large) the first one is the lead follow and the second is a couple of runs down the drag track later in the day.

It’s hard to see on the video but at about 4:38 there’s deer that about stepped out on the course on the third lap! And of course on the forth lap at the 6:00 mark I run off the course!!!

After the road course I range charged again. Tesla had donated two HWPC’s; one of which was modified with a switch to select between 60 and 80 amps and a J1772 connector to support the Tesla Roadsters.

Unfortunately a fiat 500EV was sipping on this charger and I had to wait while he charged at soda straw rates….

Actually it’s very commendable the support for EV’s that was added the week before!!! The raceway installed the two Tesla HWPC’s, 7 or 8 NEMA 14-50 receptacles. One of the stations had a couple 14-50 receptacles and one monster 100amp receptacle!!!

Tech inspection for the drag racing was vary abbreviated; yes you have a Tesla and your tires are not bald; you’re good to go!

Surprisingly the drag racing portion of the day was less stressful than the road course. Of course in hindsight you are simply pointed straight ahead slamming the pedal down and hanging on!!! Something we do every time we exercise our inter-demons on a daily bias right?

I was actually able to make ten runs during the afternoon which was great fun!!!

Here’s the results of my first four runs:

Time	Reaction Time	1/8th Mile	speed	1/4 mile	Speed
1:22PM	.964	8.228	90.57	12.627	105.05
1:26PM	.178	8.008	90.40	12.389	110.65
1:37PM	.571	7.982	90.11	12.388	109.86
1:49PM	.345	8.317	87.33	12.899	106.96

On my first run I had let up on the throttle after the first yellow line, rather than the second.

After four runs I had decided to return and range charge again.

While I was waiting I overheard someone talking about my time and how I might have a record. So out came the cell phone and tablet and we went to the web site and determined the record was 12.371 by another Tesla owner in Florida, so missed it by .018 of a second…

Everyone was throwing out suggestions as to how I could go faster, turn off the air-conditioning, take out seats, put in a lighter driver (yes I could afford to lose some weight, etc).. So I unload the UMC and some other items all fired to go after the record when the range charge was done.

Sadly to say it was not to be!

Here’s the results of my last six runs:

Time	Reaction Time	1/8th Mile	Speed	1/4 Mile	Speed
2:43PM	.116	8.148	89.85	12.559	109.96
2:47PM	.113	8.148	89.88	12.556	109.65
2:51PM	.751	8.171	89.63	12.595	109.06
2:54PM	.930	8.236	88.12	12.710	108.27
2:57PM	.077	8.800	80.27	13.692	100.33
3:01PM	.109	9.138	76.56	14.291	95.33

After the last run I noticed the dashed yellow line that was limiting the maximum power from the inverters, so I called it a day…

I was told to stick around as I had a trophy coming!!!

So all in all I would have to say beginners luck and maybe because my car range charges to 267 mile?

I don’t think I looked the speedometer but once during the entire day, it was just fun driving!!!

Sept. 6th, 2014 - Silent Thunder @ Pacific Raceways

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