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All things Drag Racing.

Cleetus is out of sick week with a hurt SMX...

On instagram he said this is the 4th time in a row and hes going to switch it up, wonder what else he is going to do? I thought a SMX was the best of the best.
 
Saw yesterday Steve Morris heading out to meet Cleetus at Motion with a set of lifters. Steve said Cleetus broke a lifter and was running on 7, but he didn't think it was any big deal. I don't think it's any flaw in the SMX, I think they're just trying to push a very heavy car really hard. I don't knw exactly what he means by switch it up, other than he is having a 69 Camaro built by CJ's Race cars right now with the goal of running 5's in the 1/4 mile.
 
Saw yesterday Steve Morris heading out to meet Cleetus at Motion with a set of lifters. Steve said Cleetus broke a lifter and was running on 7, but he didn't think it was any big deal. I don't think it's any flaw in the SMX, I think they're just trying to push a very heavy car really hard. I don't knw exactly what he means by switch it up, other than he is having a 69 Camaro built by CJ's Race cars right now with the goal of running 5's in the 1/4 mile.
I really want to see what engine he puts in eagle.

The elco is just to big and heavy, I thought they were only doing about 50lbs of boost and it’s capable of 70? Either way the weight doesn’t help that.
 
Looks like the SMX broke a couple of main caps...lucky they didn't run over the crank at 200+ mph!! Apparently Steve Morris has never seen that failure on an SMX before. It sounds like Cleet might just go back to the regular BBC he had before and live with less HP...at least it was more reliable.
 
Looks like the SMX broke a couple of main caps...lucky they didn't run over the crank at 200+ mph!! Apparently Steve Morris has never seen that failure on an SMX before. It sounds like Cleet might just go back to the regular BBC he had before and live with less HP...at least it was more reliable.
I would say so!! A least it's an epic break.
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Maybe a new machined block and start over? The big block was cool but I don’t see it making the power of a smx.

Yes he has the new car in the making but it won’t be a drag and drive car.
 
I love Cleetus and his crew. But half of the time, they don’t know if there’s oil in the damn car. No matter what engine he’s running, they’ll blow it up…
That’s a fact. I’m not sure how much the clowning on stuff like that is an act or legitimate stupidity. I love to watch them too.

I think of it like watching coyote and road runner cartoons as a kid. I rooted for the coyote, but you always knew he’d mess up. How he did was the fun part. Cleet never fails to fail. But give him credit, him and his crew keep trying anyway.

Besides he is hard on equipment even when it’s taken care of right.
 
I mean it's racing, if you are not breaking stuff you are either lucky or not racing hard enough for a W. Everything breaks eventually, this is why prep is so key.
 
I don't think it's clowning when it comes to the racing or the breakage. I think it's just life at 4000+ hp. Factor in it has about 20 different sensors, profiler traction control, CO2 operated boost control and shift control. It's life at the edge, in a complex vehicle, and a harsh environment. Then, let's not forget this was a "scratch and dent" SMX that Steve Morris himself blew to smithereens, repaired and sold to Cleetus at a discount. I think another factor in this failure was the trans losing second gear and them not noticing right away...which led to several 9400 rpm shifts during testing and the first couple of hits at Sick Week.

For comparison I look at Tom Bailey, Steve Morris with his wagon, dude with the Javellin...and they all blow shit up at about the same rate that Cleetus does.

AFAIK, the new build will also be drag and drive capable.
 
Oh man I forgot it's Rocky mountain race week. It's live streaming on Bang shift video right now.. guess I'm leaving work early .. :whistle:
 
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