Best Pontiac Powered Stockers

oldskool · 08-09-2020, 07:50 PM

Breaker !!!

I must make an apology to a long time Pontiac racer, who has raced the same Pontiac for a long time. I don't know when he started racing it. Maybe somebody can tell us.

And, I apologize to the Pontiac fans who knew about this car/racer, & wondered why I have not said more about it.

I've seen his name on Q-lists, in recent years. But, I suppose that because the times he ran were not very impressive, I just never thought to look for the car in the older records, until today. I am very thankful for all the race records that are available on DRC !

The car is a '74 Grand Am. The owner/driver name is Don Elgin. He raced in most of the div 6 races, & the nat event held up there every year.

They show up on DRC, in 1998. The class was N/SA. The index was 13.30, back then. He ran 12.20's at lots of races. Obviously, all those 12.20's times showed up as being more than a sec under.

I don't have a clue what the best ever ET was. But, so far, I did find this 12.132, which was 1.168 under, & good enuff for #2 position on that list.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2003#indextop

7/30/99 - Northwest Nats - #2 - 1.088 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1999#indextop

7/28/00 - NW Nats - #2 - 1.095 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2000#indextop

7/27/01 - NW Nats - #8 - 1.001 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2001#indextop

When NHRA reduced the N/SA index from 13.30 down to 13.00, Don instantly lost .30, for qualifying. This '15 Q-list is a perfect example. The 12.155 would have been more than a sec under, which would have qualified near the top of most lists. But, with the 13.30 index, his time was only .845 under.

7/18/15 - div 6-4 - #18 - 12.155 - index 13.00 - .845 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2015#indextop

It appears that he just sorta backed off, at most races & ran 12.40's - 12.60's. I suppose there are not too many N/SA entries in most of the races he runs, therefore heads-up performance is not a big issue. At last years NW Nats, he actually qualified slightly above Brad Burton. Both cars were the only cars in their class.

8/2/19 - NW Nats - #25 - 12.401 - .599 under.

https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2019#indextop

The 1st time I ever saw Don on a Q-list was probably in around 2014 or maybe even 2015. So, his index was already 13.00. That's why his times did not impress me that much. Unless I missed something, I think I saw his name on the NW Nats Q-list every year except for one, from 1998 thru 2019. That's a pretty good attendance record. Anybody know when he 1st began racing the GA ?

Many here are by now very familiar with Don's GA. It is quite unique, & has LOTS of racing decals on it. Hey, I use to jokingly say that "Every decal adds at least 1 horsepower". Nowadays, some racers seem to want their race car to look more like a street or show car, & refuse to put any decals on 'em. As I've probably said here, I like for a race car to look like one. If I wanna see a show car, I can go to a local car show. Opinions differ.

08-09-2020, 07:50 PM	#11
oldskool VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: The Land of Bayous, Boudin & Crawfish Posts: 1,668 Likes: 223 Liked 748 Times in 363 Posts	Re: Best Pontiac Powered Stockers Breaker !!! I must make an apology to a long time Pontiac racer, who has raced the same Pontiac for a long time. I don't know when he started racing it. Maybe somebody can tell us. And, I apologize to the Pontiac fans who knew about this car/racer, & wondered why I have not said more about it. I've seen his name on Q-lists, in recent years. But, I suppose that because the times he ran were not very impressive, I just never thought to look for the car in the older records, until today. I am very thankful for all the race records that are available on DRC ! The car is a '74 Grand Am. The owner/driver name is Don Elgin. He raced in most of the div 6 races, & the nat event held up there every year. They show up on DRC, in 1998. The class was N/SA. The index was 13.30, back then. He ran 12.20's at lots of races. Obviously, all those 12.20's times showed up as being more than a sec under. I don't have a clue what the best ever ET was. But, so far, I did find this 12.132, which was 1.168 under, & good enuff for #2 position on that list. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2003#indextop 7/30/99 - Northwest Nats - #2 - 1.088 under. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r1999#indextop 7/28/00 - NW Nats - #2 - 1.095 under. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2000#indextop 7/27/01 - NW Nats - #8 - 1.001 under. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2001#indextop When NHRA reduced the N/SA index from 13.30 down to 13.00, Don instantly lost .30, for qualifying. This '15 Q-list is a perfect example. The 12.155 would have been more than a sec under, which would have qualified near the top of most lists. But, with the 13.30 index, his time was only .845 under. 7/18/15 - div 6-4 - #18 - 12.155 - index 13.00 - .845 under. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2015#indextop It appears that he just sorta backed off, at most races & ran 12.40's - 12.60's. I suppose there are not too many N/SA entries in most of the races he runs, therefore heads-up performance is not a big issue. At last years NW Nats, he actually qualified slightly above Brad Burton. Both cars were the only cars in their class. 8/2/19 - NW Nats - #25 - 12.401 - .599 under. https://www.dragracecentral.com/DRCS...r2019#indextop The 1st time I ever saw Don on a Q-list was probably in around 2014 or maybe even 2015. So, his index was already 13.00. That's why his times did not impress me that much. Unless I missed something, I think I saw his name on the NW Nats Q-list every year except for one, from 1998 thru 2019. That's a pretty good attendance record. Anybody know when he 1st began racing the GA ? Many here are by now very familiar with Don's GA. It is quite unique, & has LOTS of racing decals on it. Hey, I use to jokingly say that "Every decal adds at least 1 horsepower". Nowadays, some racers seem to want their race car to look more like a street or show car, & refuse to put any decals on 'em. As I've probably said here, I like for a race car to look like one. If I wanna see a show car, I can go to a local car show. Opinions differ. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by oldskool; 08-10-2020 at 12:28 AM.