15 Minutes of Glory

History note: (seeing Indy is 12yrs old now) Back in the early/mid 90s, pick/up trucks were not that sporty looking and pretty slow. 94 Sema show Dodge brought the infamous concept VTS Viper truck. Sent the truck world on edge, I remember drooling over pics of it in a Truckin issue. I was a Chevy guy back then and after that, I wanted a Dodge. In spring 96 due to the huge response from the VTS they released the limited edition Indy Pace truck (only 2802 made). That was it for me, I was in! Most people thought they were the same truck, viper v10 powered (Viper V10 450hp then). I figure in the first 3yrs of owning the truck I was asked a 1000x if it had a Viper motor. First couple weeks shocked my wife n I especially on the big avenue we use often. Driving down middle lane of 3lanes a couple times had multiple vehicles circling us while moving. Honks, thumbs up, some hanging out doing both. Bit embarrassing and had to warn friends/family if we went somewhere together or gave rides or to the drive in, any how that said

15min. of Glory !

While paying for breakfast July6/97 in Cayuga's local hotel on the way to the Chrysler meet I spied a new Viper GTS at the lights outside. Knowing where he was going the wife & I jumped in the truck & gave chase. As the track's only a couple of miles from the town we had no time to waste. I managed to catch up & get behind him just before we entered the gates. This wasn't an easy task as other's were jockeying for a better look as well. (rare car around here). Due to the fact we both looked so nice together the track had us park beside him. Right up front by the beer tent in the show & shine area (Best spot at track). Ended up talking to him for a bit & the other rides in his stable were just as impressive as the Viper. When he opened the hood I tried not to drool too much or get too giddy LOL. He only ended up making 3 passes down the 1.4m that day. First two were mid 13s spinning bad off the line. I mentioned the articles I had read about his car and how the guys testing had the same problem. They babied it off the line then got on it and knocked off .5 The last time trial he made, it ended up being a against me. The crowds must have loved our matching paint jobs. We got swamped with people taking pics in front, beside & behind us as we tried to roll into the waterbox to do our burn-outs & stage. I ran .2 slower than usual & cut a bad light (distracted by camera flashes) but was still having a hard time wiping the smile off my face an hour later. The Viper ran under 13. On the return road people were jumping the fence & diving in front of us to stop us, again snapping pics including the track photographer. I guess the track liked it because the next year they used one of the pictures for the Chrysler's at Cayuga 98 Flyer. After looking threw all my time slips I noticed I didn't do that great as far as racing that day. Think I went out in rnd 2. Funny thing is it didn't really matter as it was probably the most fun I ever had at the track. RM Indy@wot

The Viper ran his fastest pass smoking his prior 13.5 time. After we got back he did