The weather couldn’t have been better if I had ordered it myself, another beautiful Pennsylvanian fall weekend. We were at Pocono again, running the North course. There were 120 cars registered for this event and everyone was having a great time. I had two students that weekend, the usual when I instruct for Riesentoter, since I’m a “newbe” with them. I was tired and decided to sit out a run session, when I noticed a very fast car on the track. It was a 993 wide-bodied turbo car, number 99, moving incredibly fast as it negotiated the course. The sound this car made as it past was the unmistakable high-pitched whine of a modified turbo car. I also noticed two pipes exiting the rear instead of the usual one, which told me this guy had twin turbos. I had to get out there just to see if I could stay with him.

I got into my car, strapped myself in as fast as I could and took to the track. I drove one lap, not pushing too hard, to warm up both the car and myself. I have driven this track so many times that it is almost second nature. This guy was going to have his hands full in a minute. By luck, my timing was right. As my “warm up” lap was coming to an end, he came up behind me. I gave him a gentlemanly “point by” and tucked in right behind him.

Here we go. He pulled away from me on the straight like I was dragging an anchor. But as he braked for turn one, I was on him again. Right on him through turn one, looking for a way by on the next short chute. Come on man; give me a “point by“. I see him look into his rearview mirror. He knows I’m here. But ... no good ... he didn’t see me in time. Here we come again onto the main straight, and there he goes, pulling solidly away from me. He’s got some real power. Turn one comes up fast. I climb up on him again, in the breaking zone. Come on, let me by this time. He sees me but there’s no room to pass. On each little straight, he pulls away. Then, I’m on him. This is great. I know we’re both loving it. Here comes that straight again, and there he goes. Man! His car is fast. Here’s the braking zone. He goes in deeper and he’s too deep; he has spun off and I’m past him. Whew, that was great. Time for a rest in the pits.

I was resting with my friends in the garages, when a soon to be new friend came up to me and introduced himself. With his right hand extended, he said, ”I thought I was out there for a Sunday joy ride. Then you came up on me. What the ____ do you have there? I had a real good time out there. My name is Gene, Gene McGillicutty.” Cool name, I thought. Really nice of him to come up and say hi. We chatted for a while. He didn’t know it, but he was the reason for my next series of engine modifications. I had to have that kind of power. At the end of that D.E. season I took the engine out and the quest for more power was on again.

At that time, I was running a CIS type fuel injection system, seriously limiting the engine’s ability to produce real power. Whenever I turned the power up over 475 horsepower, the pistons would melt down or break, due to a lean condition or detonation. The CIS (constant injection system) can flow only a finite amount of fuel, not enough for a sustained 475 horsepower engine. I had two options: First was to use the 1984-88 Carrera intake manifold, with electric fuel injectors and some type of engine management system. This type of fuel system can be tweaked a little past the 600 horsepower range. Try to keep in mind that we are still dealing with a stock displacement of 3.3 liters. I had already done so many modifications on my car, that I knew if I chose this type of fuel system, I’d be changing it again sooner, not later. Option two, the one I chose, is a multiple throttle set up. Basically, each cylinder has its own throttle bore. Atop these throttles sit two beautiful plenums that turn up into a very large intercooler. I also chose a two fuel injector per throttle setup. The more air you pump in, the more fuel you have to feed it. I opted for twin injectors because they would yield better idling characteristics. The second set of injectors could be programmed, to come on anytime above idle or at any boost pressure. This would be controlled by the engine management system. I chose Haltec fuel management for two reasons. It is comparatively inexpensive at $1,200 and it is very easy to program. More knowledge and bigger budgets have led me down other engine management paths on later cars, but we’ll save that for another column.

The turbocharger also had to be changed again, this time, for a bigger unit, one that would be able to flow enough volume to get me into the horsepower range I wanted. Last year’s K29s wouldn’t cut it. I bolted on a huge Garret hybrid. I also wanted the exhaust- flow better too. I called another friend and had a set of equal length headers with no heater boxes welded up. I also swapped out the 993-sport grind cams I was running in the 450-hp version, for a pair of Web Evo- 2 cams. These Evo cams have a higher lift and more duration (the length of time the valve is actually open) then the sport grind. They would allow more air and fuel into the cylinders by opening the valves higher and holding them open longer. I also had to run much bigger fuel pumps to keep up with the demands of the new system. New fuel lines of bigger diameter were put in. Two Audi Quattro turbo primer pumps were put into the fuel tank, feeding two huge Essex main fuel pumps. The monster had to be feed.

With the project car completed, I was off to a friend’s shop in New Jersey for some final tuning on a chassis dyno. After a full day of adjusting and tweaking the engine, my efforts had yielded over 650-rear wheel horse power! That’s over 700-engine hp.! Well worth my time and money.

Neither Gene nor I knew it at the time, but watching him pull away from me at Pocono that fall day was the next little push in my, seemingly never ending, quest for power. Gene turned out to be one of the nicest guys on the track. He had been racing for quite a while before I got involved in club racing. When he saw me at my first race at Treblant in ’99 he came over to me, on the grid, to wish me well and gave me a few tips. One tip I’ll quote: “Don’t try to win this one, kid. Just try to finish without hitting anything.” We both laughed, shook hands and wished each other well. I hope I see him often this season. These days, it seems like I live for the track, D.E., instructing and racing (secondary only to my twins, of course). My heart rate goes up as I relive my track experiences in my head. Thank God the season is here. The winter is always too long for me, for I am a “ Track Junkie.”