Learn me about the transmission in that mustang....
Photography Credit: Courtesy Holley
Justin Peachey’s fall season wasn’t supposed to be like this. His plan was to run his C6 Corvette at the SCCA Tire Rack Solo Nationals, compete for a championship in the Super Street Modified class, and maybe steal a class win in the ProSolo event.
But fate intervened as early as the first ProSolo run that opened competition in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday. A left-front upright snapped, sidelining Peachey and his several co-drivers, forcing them to seek other rides until a replacement could be delivered Monday, in time for the beginning of Solo Nats on Tuesday.
That upright was delivered just in time for the clutch throw-out bearing to explode, rendering the car immobile and again stranding Peachey and his co-drivers, including Hilary Anderson and our own J.G. Pasterjak, who were planning to run the car in the XA class on Tuesday and Wednesday.
[Triumph! Awesome people help us win surprise Solo Nats trophy]
Another heroic effort got the car back on course by Wednesday, allowing all of its drivers to make at least one day of runs behind the wheel of the Vette. Peachey had a rough time in SSM, having borrowed a ride in the JXB Audi on day one and clobbering cones on every run once he was back in his Vette on day two.
It was an inauspicious end to a difficult week, so when Peachey loaded up his trailer Wednesday afternoon and left Nebraska for Holley LS Fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky, he was concentrating on just having a good time driving his car for a weekend.
Then he won the Grand Championship at LS Fest.
Photography Credit: Justin Peachey
With podium finishes in the autocross, speed stop and drag race competitions, Peachey took home a trophy as tall as himself, along with some much-needed validation after a difficult week.
High off the triumph, he went back to Bowling Green the following weekend for Holley MoParty, a celebration of all things Mopar.
“It wasn’t part of any plan, I just thought it would be fun after winning LS Fest,” Peachey said of his MoParty effort. For that event, Peachey borrowed his brother Eric’s 2008 Viper–which Eric had just driven to a runner-up spot in CAM-S at Solo Nationals–and again claimed the Grand Champion trophy.
Photography Credit: Justin Peachey
Suddenly, Peachy realized that the final edition of Holley’s fall meets, Ford Festival, was coming up two weeks after MoParty, right back in Bowling Green. Surely his luck and skill would run up against reality at some point?
Well, not really. Peachey found a Mustang, courtesy of Bring It Muscle Cars, and spent the following weekend getting a handle on autocrossing the S550 that had been set up mostly for drag racing. The car was a handful, but he figured just being competitive in all three Holley festivals would be a good showing.
Then he won the Grand Championship at Ford Festival.
Photography Credit: Justin Peachey
Albeit without the dominating performances from the previous two events, Peachey drove what was largely a suboptimal car for the autocross and speed stop competitions to a third-place finish in those events, along with a third place in the drags.
How full were his hands? In-car video from the drag race shows about 90 degrees of wheel movement at 140 mph to keep the Mustang on the strip.
In winning Ford Fest, Peachey became not only the first driver to take the Grand Champion award at all three Holley festivals, but the first to accomplish it all in the same year–within a single calendar month.
It may not make up for his tough week at Solo Nationals, but those three giant trophies will look great on his floor–or a very, very low shelf.
Learn me about the transmission in that mustang....
jfryjfry said:Learn me about the transmission in that mustang....
I think it's the stock 10-sp auto. I'll check.
Hmmm. Mebbe my ears don't work too well... it just sounded like a 1-speed
@jfryjfry
I think it was so busy spinning that It was hard to hear the tiny rpm change. You can hear or downshift at the end, though.
Having never had the problem, where does one put trophies that large? Maybe next to the life-size painting of myself?
In reply to kb58 :
Sames. Never had that problem, either.
Actually, a few years ago I won a trophy for a BMX bike show. The trophies were purposefully rather tall. Mine's almost as tall as my desk. So, not as tall as me but still sizable. It's sitting in the corner of my office.
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