The western swing is a long grueling string of races. It is hard on everyone, especially the crew members on each team. With a lot of distance to travel in between races and a lot of races in a short period, the guys are really moving.
I will have to say that even though it is difficult it is one of my favorite stretches of races. It is pretty hard to beat the scenery in Denver, Seattle and Sonoma.
Denver brought about a change in how we do things. For the first time we would be racing 1000 feet instead of the standard 1320. I am not a proponent of the switch. I think we should fix the facilities and not change the heritage of our sport as a band aid. I hope the change is only temporary and we go back to the quarter mile next year.
Qualifying in Denver went okay. While we did not run as quick as we would have like we were very consistent and ended up in the 12th spot. Although we were in the bottom half we were not far off the top half times and didn't feel that we were at a disadvantage. We would face Hillary Will in the first and needed a round win very badly.
We made a good run, in fact we ran top speed of eliminations and won with a 4.04 at 306 mph. In the second round conditions got much worse. The air temp went up as well as the track temp. My opponent Antron Brown and I both smoked the tires, and in a race it looked like we were going to win we ended up losing as the blower belt decided it didn't want to stay on. We missed a good opportunity there.
As we got into Seattle I started the week off with a visit to a UPS center in Seattle. Harry Smith, a big drag racing fan arranges a visit every year. I get some time during the morning PCM each year to speak to all the drivers and I really enjoy it. I get to meet a lot of great people this way and turn a few more people into drag racing fans. I even got a chance to visit the office where Harry works and meet a bunch of employees I wouldn't normally get the chance to meet, although there were a few that gave me some good natured grief and if you are reading this I am coming back next year so be ready!
Also in Seattle I decided to do something I have been meaning to do for awhile: get back into cycling. It is a great workout and something I missed. There just never seemed to be enough time, but I am now making time. My buddy and former alcohol dragster and current nostalgia racer Dale Carlson owns some bike shops in the Seattle area and just like that I am now the proud owner of a new carbon Trek road bike. I used to ride with Mike Dunn and Whit Bazemore a lot many years ago but since Whit is not racing anymore it is just me and Mike. (Details on our ride later.)
In qualifying, like in Denver, we weren't the quickest but were reasonably consistent, and although we were not happy with our 14th place position we were again not at a big performance disadvantage. We would once again face Antron Brown, this time in round one. For once, we got a break as we both lost traction. I was able to get our car to recover and take the win but that was the end of our luck.
In round two against Doug Herbert in another tire smoke battle our blower belt decided to leave once again and we lost a race we were ahead in.
To ease the frustration of losing that one the afore mentioned bike ride was scheduled. Mike thought it would be great to take my bike out for a little get acquainted ride and make sure everything worked right and I fit right so when we got to Sonoma I would be ready to go. Well, Mike's idea of a get acquainted ride and mine are a little different as 20 miles later I was really acquainted with my new bike!
In Sonoma, as always, the UPS support is unmatched. We started my week off there playing golf. I got the chance to play with two of my biggest supporters Joe and Mike and the big cheese they all report to out there, Mary Gill, who by the way is a pretty good golfer. We had a great time and I know they aren't going to like me reporting this but Mary beat everyone but me! I followed that up with my normal visit to the Petaluma center where I see the third member of my support group, Dave, who takes care of me like no other and all the other great UPS employees who seem to follow us religiously. It means a lot to see that kind of support especially with us struggling this year.
Heading to the track we qualified better. We made a pretty good run on Friday night that would hold up for the eighth spot. On Saturday we tried a few things and smoked the tires and settled for the eighth spot and would face Larry Dixon in round one. With qualifying behind us it was time for another bike ride, this one off into the hills near Petaluma. While we only increased our distance to 23 miles this time it was much more difficult as there were three pretty intense climbs of around 2 miles each and I could really feel my legs burning as I struggled up each one cursing Mike under my breath the whole way. I guess he doesn't believe in working your way into it. I did make it and am pretty proud that I did, to be good at cycling you must enjoy a little pain and I guess I have always like pushing myself so it's a good fit.
Unfortunately, we lost our first round match up with Larry Dixon on Sunday. We missed the set up and smoked the tires right off the starting line and missed another opportunity to make up some ground. With only three races left we find ourselves a little more than three rounds out of the countdown and really need to make a move. As we head to Brainerd it's time to make that move. Keep your fingers crossed.
Thanks for reading,