Loss of "fast" question

[roccit_53 at scirocco.cs.uoguelph.ca (C Boyko)]

Yeah, so we had a fun and entertaining day at the track yesterday (okay, it
sucked, my 79 stayed parked, and the other one was like a second off its
best time). Anyway, the question is regarding my 16V. 60' times are fine
(2.1s), 1/8th times are okay, but in that second half of the track in
particular, it just doesn't cut it. So what are the possible causes for a
good first few gears and then just not much forward motivation?
I'll check basics and probably replace some basic tune up items, but what
do you think? (And NO, the car does NOT want to go live elsewhere...).
Cathy