Strega News

[Sky Critter]

The Strega web site is reporting that Tiger is showing up with a stock Merlin just to have fun. I find it hard to believe he's just going to take it easy around the course

Could he be sandbagging?

[MRussell]

Re: Strega News

Could he be sandbagging?

Can a duck with one leg swim in circles?

[t-dub]

Re: Strega News

The Strega web site is reporting that Tiger is showing up with a stock Merlin just to have fun. I find it hard to believe he's just going to take it easy around the course

Could he be sandbagging?

YEAH! He's gonna have some fun alright! Seeing how many people he can convince it's "stock" should be loads of fun indeed!

[paintboy]

Re: Strega News

Believe it as gospel, because they are going to race with a STOCK Merlin. No time to put together a race motor for this year as Tiger has been extremely busy with personal projects. They will begin the process of building a race motor for 2008 after Reno. Tiger just wants to have an easy year and enjoy Reno week for a change. The ole gunslinger will be back on the street calling out the competition next year.

Dave

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Strega News

Nobody believes me when I tell them.


Toetappygirl

Ain't about believing anybody, or about telling lies, it's really, truly about building excitement, enhancing the experience that is "RENO"...

You guys hadda go tell us there ain't no easter bunny....

Sometimes the truth can be harder to swallow than crow..

[wolfee]

Re: Strega News

You guys hadda go tell us there ain't no easter bunny....

Ummm... Ummm... whata you mean he aint real!
40 years and I just now find this out!... OMG!

[Skyracer]

Re: Strega News

You guys hadda go tell us there ain't no easter bunny....

But...but...Where'd Easter Bunny face come from then? Huh, 'splain that one!!!

[MRussell]

Re: Strega News

Nobody believes me when I tell them.


Toetappygirl

I wonder how much nitrous a stock Merlin can take... It wouldn't surprise me if this is the year we find out.

[Hawkeye]

Re: Strega News

Fine...

Feel free to embellish what you want. I'll sit quietly in the corner.

WHAT!!!!! Sit quietly in a corner???? Where is my egg timer.........

[Shawn Aro]

Re: Strega News

enjoy pictures by my dad. Shawn

[speeddemon]

Re: Strega News

enjoy pictures by my dad. Shawn

1983. Nice.

[David E. Wells]

Re: Strega News

Just Exactly WHAT is a Merlin "Race" motor? Somewhere I heard it is has a Transport case w/stiffener plates and a gear case stiffener bracket, "slow" gear Ratios, Allison rods w/custom pistons, P-82 blower parts, a Tube intake instead of an aftercooler, disconnected boost controls, "Merlin Fingers", re-line bored main journals w/ thicker main bearings, and NO NITROUS-OXIDE! Which parts does Tiger have and what parts doesn't he have? OR, do you just run a "stocker" at 100"+ and hope that the Magnificent Aerodynamics will do the job for you? 3 "Race" motors in the back of the hangar? WOW...D.

[SCEPTER]

Re: Strega News

Last year the fastest "stock" Mustang went -+ 360mph. Is Strega 50 mph faster than that?

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Strega News

The Easter Bunny is real, so are the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.
And Tiger has three race engines on the back of the tractor and will be ready to go by Labor Day.

Happy now?

Actually, I'm in the truth business. People kept asking what was going on - and I told the truth.

Feel free to embellish what you want. I'll sit quietly in the corner.

I really do try to stay out of explaining things as I see them on this board... but... since I don't think you understand where I'm coming from.. perhaps because you are a racer and you're looking at it strictly from your viewpoint....

Here's how I see it.. Air racing, though a true, hard fought sport, is, indeed, a show business event... At least, those who promote and sanction it need to think this way.. RARA sees it, they do a pretty good job of keeping it "showy"...

As a "publication" dedicated not only to reporting the action of the sport but to the promotion of the sport, I've always tried to capture the air of "not knowing" exactly what we're going to see when we top the hill driving to Stead on that first day we arrive.

To many, coming back to Stead for the first time since a year before is an almost spiritual experience... I don't think it's embellishing to not tell the whole story on something like Tiger's engine situation.. Well.. we did tell the whole story didn't we? Both here on this board and on the strega.com updates page...

Did I embellish by leaving the door open to speculation that maybe the sly ol' Tige might have something up his sleeve? Does it do anything other than make that first day all the more exciting for the race fan coming through the gate full of expectation of what the coming week might bring?

I don't think I'm stepping on my own soap box or breaking my arm patting myself on the back by saying that I think this website has helped grow the sport over the last 10 years since we started it.. We've never lied, we've often not told the whole story (OFTEN at the request of whichever team we were covering) we've done our best to build the suspense to the point that visitors here piss themselves with anticipation of that first sound of a racing Merlin, Griffon, 4360 or whatever other round engine they might hear..

So, diss me for what I do, do your best to get the absolute truth on this board as fast as you can, I'll continue to do my best to play the "show business" end of things and make the off time as exciting as possible with little thoughts of "what if"...

Nuff said, I'll go back to MY corner...

Wayne

[Skyracer]

Re: Strega News

Just Exactly WHAT is a Merlin "Race" motor? Somewhere I heard it is has a Transport case w/stiffener plates and a gear case stiffener bracket, "slow" gear Ratios, Allison rods w/custom pistons, P-82 blower parts, a Tube intake instead of an aftercooler, disconnected boost controls, "Merlin Fingers", re-line bored main journals w/ thicker main bearings, and NO NITROUS-OXIDE! Which parts does Tiger have and what parts doesn't he have? OR, do you just run a "stocker" at 100"+ and hope that the Magnificent Aerodynamics will do the job for you? 3 "Race" motors in the back of the hangar? WOW...D.

Basically, it is just like any other Merlin only it has "things" done to it so it will make a lot more power for longer than a Merlin without "things" done to it will. Sort of like adding explosives to a hand grenade and installing a delay fuse; it takes longer to blow up, but when it does it sure makes a bigger bang. (ROFL)