NATCHEZ &045; The best way to flaunt one’s ignorance of racecars is to ask how much money they cost.

Charles Jordan, after cryptically tossing out some ball park figures, declines further comment.

&uot;You’d get me divorced if you print that,&uot; he said.

&uot;You’d get a lot of people divorced,&uot; his father, Kenneth, added.

Crises diverted, attention turns to the numbers that landed Jordan in Hot Rod magazine’s September issue.

Jordan’s overall average elapsed time of 9.301 seconds was good enough for eighth place &045;and a coveted Top 10 jacket &045; in the second annual Pump Gas Drags portion of Hot Rod magazine’s Fastest Car in America shootout in Memphis in May. His best of his three runs took 9.222 seconds at 148.02 mph.

Jordan was one of 50 car owners &045;the only one from Mississippi &045; invited to Memphis to compete.

He was invited based on an application consisting of official time slips from tracks where Jordan has run as well as proof his 1987 Pontiac Firebird was not only street-legal but could actually function in everyday driving conditions.

This last part is no mean feat for cars built to go a quarter of a mile in under nine seconds.

At the event’s start, every car was drained of gas and then given a rigorous technical inspection. As soon as the inspection began, no further work was allowed for the duration of the event.

With tech inspection passed, the driver was given 12 gallons of 93-octane gas and a map.

The map led Jordan and his co-pilot and crew Jimmy Eames on a 30-mile trip through downtown Memphis during rush hour traffic. While probably not a bad way to promote the night’s racing, the drive mainly served to test the cars’ street-worthiness.

&uot;You’ve got to prove you can make that cruise,&uot; Jordan said. &uot;You can’t pull over for any reason, or you’re out immediately.&uot;

According to Hot Rod’s account of the competition, five cars failed to make it through the cruise. Reasons included overheating, transmission problems and the universal &uot;unknown.&uot;

The 45 drivers who made it back to the track went immediately to the staging area for three quarter-mile runs. The car with the lowest average elapsed time would be declared the winner.

With little time between runs and plenty of commotion in the staging area, keeping track of who was doing what fell to Jordan’s brother.

Doug Jordan sat in the stands with their father and crunched numbers to keep Charles informed of his position. Going into his third run, his brother estimated Jordan was in the top 10 and could play it safe &045; if you can call doing anything at 147.30 mph safe &045; and still earn a jacket.

He is ambivalent about his finish, saying that he was happy but not quite satisfied.

&uot;I was disappointed somewhat that I didn’t do better. That was my goal, to go get a jacket, that’s what everybody’s goal is.&uot;

Like any self-respecting racing junkie, Jordan has set his sights on next year.

Asked whether he is chasing another jacket, Jordan said next year he’s going for broke.

&uot;I don’t need two, I’ll be first or 50th next year.&uot;

Jordan and his team are hard at work at Jordan Carriers, where a garage houses the family’s race cars. Eames works building engines, and Ted Gloppe does just about everything.

The race-loving public can see his progress locally at the Natchez Fastest Street Car Shootout, a twice-yearly event held in Lucas, just outside of Prentiss. The event is hosted by Jordan Carriers.

Fifty cars from within a 30-mile radius of Natchez compete in four divisions for trophies and local bragging rights.

A fall-spring event, the next Shootout will be held in the first week of November.

Jordan’s wife, Lyda, doesn’t flinch when asked her opinion of this, saying her husband is the &uot;safest person I know,&uot; and she personally watched the myriad safety systems installed in the car.

Still, there is always a chance something could go wrong, no matter how safety-conscious the driver.

&uot;We were at Lucas, and I saw Charles’ car get squirrelly,&uot; she said. &uot;It did scare me watching him get close to the wall.&uot;