Have you ever ever wished to only flat-out punch your automobile’s accelerator to the ground and preserve it there till you had been nicely past 100 miles per hour? And to have the ability to do it legally? I had that privilege over the weekend, and it was one of the crucial exhilarating experiences I’ve had in my driving life. Better of all, I did it with each of my brothers who additionally wished to push their very own autos to the bounds. I may need completed the day with the dead-slowest entice velocity, however I had a smile on my face the entire time.

Racing Expertise – or Lack Thereof

So far as efficiency / competitors driving goes, my expertise is restricted. I participated in an autocross session in 2009, I’ve drag-raced a quarter-mile twice in 2016 and 2021, and I’ve had a number of closed-course non-public occasions with street programs and observe days. My favourite race occasion was once I ran within the 2007 “Bonneville 100” open-road race in northern Nevada. The race course was a 50-mile closed part of desolate Freeway 93 simply outdoors Wendover, Nevada. I used to be capable of drive my private automobile – with some security provisions added – at 105 miles per hour common velocity for 100 miles (down and again).

No Fly Zone Background

This time, it was again to tug racing, however with an airplane runway because the observe. Gila Bend is a distant small city about an hour southwest of Phoenix, Arizona on what was once a stretch of outdated U.S. Freeway 80. An airstrip positioned there will get repurposed as soon as per 12 months for a race occasion known as “No Fly Zone.” The occasion is placed on by Omega Motorsport; Omega had organized to make use of the roughly one-mile-long runway for this system (half of it for dashing up, and half of it for slowing down).

In Good Firm

My two brothers and another members of the family got here from Utah for the event, and so they packed some fairly critical {hardware}:

Payton has a 2002 Lexus IS300 with a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six mated to a six-speed handbook transmission. The upgrades made to this automobile are prolonged, and the automobile has been dyno-tested at about 900 horsepower. Bentley introduced his 2017 Acura NSX with an estimated 550 horsepower courtesy of a turbocharged V6 hybrid that makes use of three electrical motors for instant torque supply.

My weapon of alternative was a bone-stock 1992 Acura NSX five-speed with 119,000 miles on it. The automobile has served me nicely as a weekend cruiser for the dozen years I’ve owned it, however I’ve by no means put it by way of any form of high-performance time trial till now. It has solely 270 horsepower, however it’s adept at dealing with.

The opposite 118 autos on the participant checklist – excluding sponsors, which weren’t listed – ranged all the best way as much as over 1,300 horsepower. The occasion gave the impression to be largely dominated by home makes; there have been 25 Camaros and Corvettes mixed, for instance. My automobile ranked second-to-last when it comes to highest to lowest horsepower for your entire registered attendee checklist. It was additionally among the many oldest automobiles there at 31 years outdated; a few late Sixties Camaros and a Barracuda had been the one different automobiles older than 2000.

Race Day

Shiny and early on Saturday, October 21, we rolled out to the airstrip, and it took a bit over an hour to get there from Phoenix. Climate was comfy if not a bit crisp, however issues would quickly warmth as much as triple-digit ranges (sure, even in late October!). Omega Motorsport established an environment friendly check-in and driver schooling course of through a 9:00 assembly earlier than the observe went “scorching” for the day.

As with all efficiency driving occasion, security was key right here. Waivers, helmets, and a car tech inspection had been all a part of the method for getting the approval to play the sport. Within the curiosity of fostering correct competitors and rising consciousness for staging functions, race representatives additionally wrote the horsepower score on the aspect home windows of every car. All of that apart, proper off the bat, I knew my first opponent wanted to be my automobile’s much-newer NSX sibling.

Closing Outcomes

The way in which that No Fly Zone works is that you could take as many journeys down the strip as you need (and as many as your automobile can deal with). Contributors had been staged in two lanes that inched ahead till go-time. At occasions, the wait was about 15 or 20 minutes to stand up to the beginning line primarily based on the quantity of autos. In the long run, the white 2017 NSX left my crimson 1992 in its mud – however this was anticipated. In any case, it had a 300-horsepower benefit, triple electrical motors for fast take-off torque, and all-wheel drive for max grip. I rolled by way of the entice at 125 miles per hour, nicely behind the white automobile that ran a 149.

My automobile – and my talent stage – proved to be constant all through the day, and after three runs inside a one-mile-per-hour end result, I made a decision that was about all I’d squeeze out of it. The shocker of the day was how nicely Payton’s IS300 carried out. Granted, he’s spent the final 10 years perfecting the construct, however he far surpassed his expectations of operating a 170-mph entice velocity. He ended up hitting 176 – twice – and the second time, he had a passenger within the automobile which gave a transparent power-to-weight drawback. Wow.

Congrats, Payton, on a profitable day together with your insane modified Lexus.

Be a part of the Enjoyable

Omega Motorsport operates “No Fly” occasions in each California and Arizona. The subsequent one will run this Saturday, October 28 at Minter Subject in Shafter from 9:00 a.m. to five:00 p.m. Registration prices $250 and spectator tickets can be found for $10 every on the gate. When you have ever wished to place the pedal to the steel in your individual automobile to see what it’s able to, No Fly Zone is an unbelievable expertise.

Now, the place can I squeeze a number of extra horses out of my little 3.0-liter V6…