Challenging Continental America's "Little Cannonball"
- The Silver State Classic Challenge Event in Nevada -
By Tama DX

[p. 66-67]

One year ago, BLITZ R348 and Dai entered the "Silver State Classic Event", which meets in Ely, a town located approximately 300km (187.5miles) from Las Vegas, in the state of Nevada. Route 318 (a public road, can you believe it?), which runs between Ely and Hiko, is completely closed of for this 144km (90miles) event, in which drivers take their cars to the outer edges of speed limits set according to the participants' car class. This year, I shipped my own beloved car, 180X, all the way from Japan to Route 318 in order to participate in the event. It was a historic occasion for me as I got my very first international driver's license and found myself entering the world of 200km/hr (125mph) racing for the first time as well. What could a rank beginner do but her best? OH! MY GOD -!!

Three hours before speeding off along a highway
I first noticed how nervous I was while attempting to adjust my seat. I couldn't get the seat to go far enough forward, no matter how hard I tried. I was slaving away, muttering "What's up with this thing?" when Dandy's mechanic, Sugimura, came over to help me with the seat. He immediately pointed out: "This is as far forward as it goes." When you're nervous, the steering wheel always seems farther away than usual, doesn't it?
I glanced over at my navigator and noticed that she looked pretty nervous too. My navigator was Kazue Saito, a member of OPT Girl P. Dandy Tanaka invited me to join this event, and I leapt at the chance: that's how I got myself into all this in the first place. Kazue, who just happened to be standing next to me at the time, got caught up in the moment's enthusiasm and agreed to navigate right then and there. Riding in the navigator's seat next to Tama DX, now that was a pretty reckless plan…

Speeding off amidst foreign cars!
Each car starts in turn, at one-minute intervals. Finally our turn came. Gods, smile down on us. Amen…
And then, the Tama DX who had been faint with nervous tension simply disappeared. The moment the green "GO" flag waved at me, all the adrenaline inside my head responded just like one of Pavlov's dogs, and I floored the gas pedal. With a roar, we instantaneously entered the world of speeds above 200km/hr (125mph).
Tama 180SX was in the 193-225km/hr (120-140mph) class. Other cars in the same class included Mustangs, Panteras, Corvettes, and Porsches - it seemed pretty likely that we wouldn't be involved in any battles at all.
Route 318 is basically laid out in long straight stretches broken up with occasional wide curves. When approaching a curve, the cars follow an in-out-in line, utilizing both lanes of the road. Sometimes when entering a curve the tires would squeal; everytime I heard that sound my heart would almost stop, but I'd just grit my teeth hard and maintain our speed (after reaching the goal, I realized that my gums were bleeding).
Another feature of this highway is numerous ups and downs. Until you reach the top of a hill, you can't tell if the road on the far side will run straight or veer off into a curve. After passing through the curves, we'd find ourselves on straight stretches of a length unimaginable in Japan.
From inside my helmet, all I could see was desert and blue sky and … a retired Mustang?! What?! A little farther on we saw a Porsche that had also dropped out of the event. Well, we haven't actually gone tumbling off the road yet, so we must be okay, right?!
Next, a Corvette driving in the left-hand lane became visible up ahead of us. Since the rules said passing had to be done in the left lane, the 180SX switched over leftwards. The Corvette pulled into the right lane. At 220km/hr (137.5mph), our first overtake. Passing a Corvette! Looking good, 180SX.
"Slow down! Here comes that narrow stretch!" Kazue's voice sounded rattled. The Narrows, known as the most difficult stretch of Route 318, is a series of blind corners where rocky cliffs obstruct one's field of vision.
Having been driving for a good 110km (68.75miles) at an average of 210km/hr (131.25mph), my nerves had become completely paralyzed. Just before entering the narrow stretch, the navigator's voice slapped me awake and I slammed on the brakes in a rush of overcompensation, dropping my speed to 160km/hr (100mph). With my level of technical expertise, however, it was pretty difficult even at that speed! At the tight corners, the hillside pressed in right in front of my eyes. I was scared that I might pee myself.
Fortunately, once you've made it safely through this stretch, you only have about 25km (15miles) left to the goal. Only one more step till we know we really survived!

[p. 68]

My beloved car made it through in one piece - us, too!
"Alright, we survived the narrows!
Kazue and me were overjoyed that we made it through without a scratch: we didn't roll over, and no boulders fell on us, either.
Then the finish line appeared to greet us. Everyone on Dandy's great staff and a bunch of Americans surrounded the 180SX. One of the event representatives held out a microphone to us and said a bunch of stuff in English. I think he was saying something like "Congratulations! Are you feeling happy? Was Route 318 exciting enough for you?" It was all we could do to answer "Yes."
After speeding down 144km (90miles) of highway at 220km/hr (137.5mph) we felt great!! (It was 112km (70miles) from the starting line to the narrows). Next year we're going to compete in the unrestricted class, where we can really push the gas pedal all the way to the floor!!

Goal!!
The second we got out of our car, we both burst into tears. No one else was crying. I ought to mention that the people who participate in this event are a bunch of speed demons and car lovers gathered from all across the U.S. Drivers from all age groups, even old men and women nearly 70 years old, had gathered to enjoy the thrill of high speeds. Some middle-aged women drivers got worried about us and started patting us on the head: "What's wrong, baby? Are you feeling homesick?"
From start to finish, the 144km (90mile) event took us 44 minutes to complete. I have a feeling that I was actually nervous for about four months beforehand, ever since the day I agreed to join the event.

All the cars on the "Dandy Ladies" team finished the event!
They even won the "Rookie Award"!
All three cars finished. The large support staff had 21 members in all. Perhaps in recognition of the group's great teamwork, at the awards ceremony the "Rookie Cup" in the team category was given to Dandy Tanaka. The most amazing thing was that all three cars on the team finished the event, although it was their first time participating! Congratulations!

[p. 69]

Day One
The driver's test is held on this day, at the Las Vegas Speedway. An instructor rides along with each driver to make sure they can control their cars.
After the driver's test, a vehicle examination is held at the Showboat Hotel. "Beautiful machine," they told me: it was as simple as that.

Day Two
Everyone travels about 300km (187.5miles) to Ely, where the starting line is located. The first-time drivers are gathered for an orientation, in which they travel from the event's finish to the starting line.
After arriving in Ely, all the participating cars drive from the high school into town in one long parade.

Day Three
The participating cars are put on display at Ely's football field.

Day Four
On the day of the event, all the cars gather once again at the football field at 6:00 in the morning. Then they drive together to the starting line.

Introducing some American drivers!!
From granddads and grannies to fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers, everyone enjoys this event in a festive spirit. In the days leading up to the event, I spoke with a number of American drivers (with the help of an interpreter, of course), some of them old men pushing 70, who were nonetheless still powerful drivers. In America, emission restrictions and speeding penalties are more stringent than those in Japan, but people there also enjoy a setting where their car-loving, speed-loving natures can have free rein in natural surroundings - I admit I was a little envious. The United States of America, where speed-loving, car-crazed drivers are brought up amidst nature! If you ever get hooked, you'll never be able to quit! And now, allow me to introduce some of the American drivers whose cars were displayed in the show the day before the event!

[Captions p. 69]

Rick Doria drives a '92 Corvette. Rick, who can say "I'm America's Number One driver!" without blushing, drives a 630ps Corvette with an engine block constructed from a Chevrolet engine base, incorporating Chevrolet cylinder heads. He says he loves driving it - it makes him feel like he's playing a computer game (could this be one of those American jokes?) An ultra machine, speeding along at 300kn/hr (187.5mph).

John Killeen drives a '85 Honda CRX Si. His engine has a Garrett T3 turbo kit. The "blow-off" valve that can be seen in the photo is made by HKS. It looks a little old-fashioned, but he told me it's still quite popular.

Mike, who drives an '84 Camaro, was given some real police lights by a good friend on the force, so he decided to decorate his whole car in "Highway Patrol" fashion. "Kids love it!" he says. "I drive like this everyday!"

Dean Smith drives a '61 Chrysler. In 1998, he switched the engine for a Chrysler 440 engine. "When I'm driving this car, people really pay attention," he tells me, looking pleased. He said his car is perfect for everything from commuting to private business. "I just can't get enough speed!"

"The machine driven by super-Honda-lover George Collins is a '91 Civic. It has a Jackson Racing supercharger on board. Jackson Racing is a parts maker that released lots of parts since the time before Honda was selling any. At that time, America was full of Civics with Jackson Racing parts. Collins' machine also has DC Sports upper strut tower bars and lower control arm bars and a Weapon R air filter. At his feet are a combination of Eibach springs and Tokiko shocks."

Edited by - Jane Barker on
Thu Apr 5 10:23:59 2001