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Video: Clutch Modulation Fail

[1]You’ve gotta be pretty confident to turn your beloved car over to a bunch of writers and editors for them to flog on an autocross course, but no matter how foolproof you try to make it, the universe will invent a better fool…

[2]Yep, that fool is me, strapped into James Shipka’s “One Lap Camaro” [3] right before I broke it. Invited to the GoodGuys Del Mar Autocross Editor’s challenge [4], my first lap of the day was behind the wheel of this beautiful Optima Batteries-sponsored ’67 Camaro, which has multiple honors to its credit. A combination of sticky tires, a Katech 427CI LS7, and a total lack of talent on my part led to a fried clutch.

[5]That’s not tire smoke – that’s my ego (and my desire not to stall the car right off the line) absolutely murdering the clutch lining. James and the rest of the One Lap Camaro team [6], though clearly disappointed, were gracious in the face of my massive fail. The good news is that the car was still drivable, and there is plenty of time to get the car fixed before this year’s One Lap, where they will be defending their Vintage Class title.

I can’t apologize enough to James and the team for killing their magnificent Chevy, and to my colleagues in the business who were denied the chance to drive the car. That doesn’t mean I won’t try – Look for an upcoming feature on the One Lap Camaro, and full coverage of how the powerTV team did overall at the GoodGuys autocross.