[DanElam]

Yep. Same Jag. Funny thing was that it was *loaned* to a guy who brought it out on the track and raced it. I think the car had like 970 miles on it when it showed up. It was scary fast. I almost nailed it when I misjudged the closing speed and didn't think there was any way he could catch me and get inside me. It was disconcerting with that thing around.

One of the SP cars I raced against last year was a factory carbon-fiber Vette. Same confuguration that ran Le Mans. It didn't even win the race. Same thing for Porsches with engines too big to be legal. So that gives you an idea what you might expect.

The problem with the Cobra is drag and that is why the BMWs, Vipers, etc. do so well. They have great balance and get better runs on the straights, especially if they are longer. You can get a $50K Grand-Am V-6 BMW that doesn't have much trouble smoking a Cobra. Throw in one of the $240K V-8 BMWs and....

For the Spec Racer, we basically run a stock 5.0L from a Mustang, VictoRacer V-700 tires (wonderful DOT tire for the track, but they aren't slicks. Great tires though), and whatever you want for brakes. We generally get 215-225HP from the engines, weigh in around 2400 lbs, and can out accelerate just about anything up to 45 miles an hour. There also isn't a whole lot that can outbrake us. There are plenty of things with less drag, better high end power, better tires, and better suspensions. With FFR's 3-link, the suspension gap isn't as good as it used to be. Not to shill for FFR, but they've really done a great job with these cars. They are cheap to run (cheaper than Spec Miata), relatively inexpensive to buy (a little more than Spec Miata), and are always among the fastest cars on the track (the nearest Spec Miata was 6 laps down to me at VIR before I wrecked the Cobra).

Bottom line, bring your car out the track and play with it. You'll have a blast no matter who you are competing against!