To cover his wide wheel and...
To cover his wide wheel and tire combination, Randall cut the wheel arches wider, and installed carbon-fiber and fiberglass fender flares from Tiger Racing. A cut-down fiberglass door on the driver side jettisoned 75 pounds, and eases entry and exit. Randall installed plenty of vents in the fiberglass cowl hood to cool the engine compartment, and a scoop on the roof to blow fresh air to the instructor and student.
The only thing Randall enjoys more than driving his attention-grabbing track car is teaching. Randall shares an interesting viewpoint that stems from his years of instructing: "Generally, most instructors think the best students are women. There are several reasons for this. 1) Women have fewer preconceived ideas on how to drive quickly; 2) Women listen better; 3) Women don't have anything to prove; 4) Women may not be as competitive; 5) Women smell better."
Women or men, the most important task Randall stresses to his students is to look ahead. After learning about Randall Shannon's track car, they may also want to keep an eye on their mirrors for this black, white, and yellow Mustang.
Heel-And-Toe Homework
Randall has been asked a number of times what is the hardest thing for a beginner or intermediate student to learn regarding driving quickly on a road racing track. Without hesitation, his answer is heel-and-toe downshifting.
A quick web search for heel-and-toe downshift will yield thousands of hits, including how-to videos, so rather than explain how or why it's important, Randall shares three tips to get you heel-toeing like Boris Said.
1) "One of the keys is to consistently place the right foot in the same, correct position on the brake pedal for the heel-and-toe downshift. The challenge is to position the right foot on the brake pedal in such a way that you can roll your foot over to the right and blip the gas as the clutch is released. If the foot placement is inconsistent, the downshift will not be smooth.
"In order to position the foot in the same spot on the brake pedal, I installed an aluminum 1x1-inch angle bracket to act as a 'fence' at the left edge of the brake pedal. This keeps the foot from being too far to the left in order to reach the throttle."
2) "The second tip is to move the brake and gas pedals closer together so that when the braking foot's left side is against the 'fence,' the right side of the foot is in the perfect place to roll over to the right and blip the gas pedal. I installed a wide aluminum throttle pedal cover and positioned it to the left side of the pedal."
3) "Finally, I installed a 1 1/2-inch block of wood between the OEM brake pedal and the aftermarket aluminum cover. When braking hard, this raises the brake pedal to the same level as the throttle for easier heel-and-toeing."
5.0 Tech Specs
Engine And Drivetrain
Block Ford Racing Sportsman 351W
Crankshaft Ford Racing cast, 3.85-in stroke
Rods Ford Racing forged
Pistons Ford Racing forged, 10.25:1 compression
Camshaft Comp Cams hydraulic roller
Cylinder Heads Air Flow Research 185 aluminum
Intake Manifold Edelbrock Victor Jr.
Carburetor Demon 750 double-pumper
Fuel System Fuel Safe 20-gallon fuel cell, Holley black pump, BG regulator
Exhaust BBK 1 3/4-inch, full-length, ceramic-coated headers; Dr. Gas X-pipe; DynoMax super turbo mufflers
Transmission Centerforce Dual Frictionclutch, Ford Racing flywheel, Tremec TKO II
transmission
Rearend Currie 9-inch axle, DPI Racing Black Gold differential, 3.00:1 gears
Electronics
Ignition MSD 6AL box, coil, and distributor
Gauges Pegasus dual exhaust gas temp; Auto Meter tach, brake, fuel, and oil pressure, water and oil temp, voltage, fuel level, and 160-mph speedometer
Suspension And Chassis
Front Suspension
K-member AJE chrome-moly tubular
Control Arms HP Motorsport/Bart's Works short-long-arm
Shocks Koni adjustable yellow
Springs Eibach
Swaybar Griggs Racing 1.275-in
Brakes 2000 Cobra R four-piston Brembo calipers, Coleman rotor and aluminum hat
Wheels CCW three-piece, 17x11-in
Tires Kumho V710, 295/40-17
Rear Suspension
Shocks Koni adjustable yellow
Springs Eibach
Control Arms Griggs Racing HD torque-arm, control arms, and Panhard bar
Brakes Wilood four-piston calipers, vented rotor and aluminum hat
Wheels CCW three-piece, 17x12-in
Tires Kumho V710 335/35-17
Chassis Stiffening Full road-race cage with subframe connectors