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 Ashlee Akey and dad Dean Smith...  Ashlee Akey and dad Dean Smith ran in the 100 mph class in their '61Chrysler 300R. The 440-powered Chrysler is the veteran of many open roadraces and has competed successfully for years. Dean was plagued withsome technical difficulties before the race involving his alternatorbracket, but overcame the problem with a bolt, a piece of threaded rod,and a bunch of creativity. Dean and Ashlee are our kind of people; theydrive a car even more aerodynamically challenged than an M-body!  The '68vintage 440 features...  The '68vintage 440 features 9.5:1 compression, a MP hydraulic cam, a Torkerintake, a Holley 650 HP, and an MSD ignition. The rest of the drivetrainis comprised of a 727 trans spinning a set of 2.76 gears in an 83/4rearend.  The ever-present John Schneider...  The ever-present John Schneider and his stroker Hemi-powered General Leewere on hand and managed a Fourth Place finish with Lee Priestnavigating in the 125 mph class.  Marko Radosavljevic (no relation...  Marko Radosavljevic (no relation to the author) made another go at the140 mph class in his '03 Viper Competition Coupe. Chrysler handbuildsthese factory race cars, harkening back to the days of the factorylightweights and the '68 Hemi 'Cudas and Darts. Ma Mopar still has it;it just costs a bit more than it used to.  An unfortunate accident during...  An unfortunate accident during the race red-flagged the entire event,bringing it to a grinding halt for a couple of hours. Fortunately, noone was seriously injured, enabling a restart of the race. The decisionwas made by officials to eliminate the times for the middle section ofthe course of those who were on-course during the red flag, and torestart the race combining the average of the first portion with thefinal portion. The restart forced all of us to throw our strategies outthe window and come up with creative new tactics to get us back ontrack.  Here, the author and his faithful...  Here, the author and his faithful copilot Gilligan . . . er, JeremyWorkman, relax after having finished shiny side up. Jeremy managed towork out a scheme to get us back in the game despite having our entiregame plan flushed down the toilet. But, that's racing. We managed toeek-out a Fifth place finish in a field of twenty-plus cars. WithoutJeremy's diligence, we would not have done as well.
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