My heart has always been in road racing but my soul belongs to the NHRA. Long before I ever strapped myself into a race car I was at the local dragstrip watching the grudge matches, or a few blocks off of highway 100 doing some runs of my own. This past weekend my family and I got to take in the circus otherwise known as the Full Throttle NHRA Nationals in Joliet Illinois. Three days of tire smoke, Nitromethane fumes, and enough percussion to crack your sternum.
I attended my first pro event just a few years ago with my son at this very same track. Until then I had only witnessed this caliber of competition on the TV screen and boy let me tell you it does no justice to the sport at all. I explained this to my wife and daughter on the drive down and still had the impression that they had no idea of what to expect once we got there.
Armed with all of the hearing protection one could ask for, we made our way to the stands just as the Top Fuel Funny Cars were taking the grid. And as I expected, the first pair off the line made the two of them jump nearly out of their skin. Ok, I did a bit too. After all its been five years since I had last been there.
You can't really explain the feeling other than what one must feel like when a bomb goes off in front of them. The atmosphere around you literally explodes to the point that your insides feel every shockwave. The stands literally sway when one of these behemoths take off. Even with good hearing protection you find yourself a bit weak from the sound after one full day at the track. And if you're not used to it, the smell of burning rubber and nitro can be a bit much for some. I myself feel that if they could bottle it, I'd wear it after every shower.
The Dragsters and Funny Cars always steal the show but it was Pro Stock Motorcycle that was the highlight for us this time around. In the past my daughter would sit at home and watch the races on tv with me and always say that she was interested in doing this some day. Bringing her to the track to see first hand what it takes to pilot one of these things, and the speeds involved in which they do it, would not prove to deter her one bit. It wasn't until I explained what it cost to be competitive at this level did she say she didn't want to do it. That's my girl, always worried about the check book balance.
We were particularily drawn to a new rider from California by the name of Katie Sullivan. A relative newbie to the scene, she wanted to ride PS motorcycles since she was twelve years old as well. After talking with her for a while she had told us that her climb to the pro ranks was a slow one, but considered herself quite lucky on the contrary. Had she and her father not met the Gann family in Las Vegas she never would of got her break into the pros. Now, at the tender age of 18 she is going toe to toe with the best. She actually beat one of the top seeded riders to move on to round two but unfortunately for her that was where her charge came to an end. She was eventually beaten by another rider and sent home early. Something tells me she'll be back.
And Money. We all know it takes a lot of it to get anywhere in this sport, and after this weekend we know where a lot of the checks are being written to. It still amazes me that in our current economic climate we still see teams with three and four semi trucks loaded to the gills with everything one would need to perform their job out on the road. Several of the bigger name teams would even have one truck dedicated to hospitality alone. Vast areas dedicated to nothing but feeding and entertaining the folks who pay their bills.
So with that I have to say goodbye to my beloved straightliners and return to the sanctity of my left, right, go, stop world. These tickets that I recieved for this event were courtesy of Goodridge USA which is one of the largest suppliers of high performance hose and plumbing products in the world. I thank you again for this opportunity to take in one of the greatest shows on earth.
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