I
was going to write about what a great and dramatic start this has been to the
2007 drag racing season.

I
was going to say a bit about the drama of the finish of last year in Pomona and about the
excitement of John Force and Ashley Force fighting for a qualifying spot in the
first race of this year.

I
was going to write something about the great turnout at the Torco’s CompetionPlus.com
Eastern Spring Testing Nationals at South
Georgia Motorsports Park.

In
addition, I was going to talk about the first IHRA event in San Antonio and how the IHRA made a brave
decision to turn the event into an eighth-mile national event.

It may have started as a way to make chicken salad out of chicken
you-know-what, but the IHRA’s decision to run an eighth-mile national
event may just prove to the drag racing community that short-track
racing is doable. It could be a safer alternative. It could be a
cheaper alternative.
 
It should be done.
 
The IHRA’s decision was made for two reasons. First, San Antonio
Raceway’s surface began to come apart Friday evening when a well-known
dip ultimately gave way, resulting in a potentially dangerous
situation. A paving crew was summoned, and they worked throughout the
night repairing a large portion of the right lane. That created a
curing issue, which could have compromised the newly paved area,
rendering it not much better than it was before the work was completed.

Rodney reached a milestone
on December the 10^th of 2006. Rodney is the name that my frequent
travel companion Brian Wood and I have given to the Astro van in which I have
criss-crossed the country for the last 5 years. We gave it that name because
any time someone asked what I drive and I tell them an Astro they usually roll
their eyes and give me that “I’m Sorry” look. Since the Astro gets no respect,
it has earned that name.

However, not many vehicles
can boast of the accomplishment that occurred about 7 pm on the 10^th
of December. Rodney rolled over 300,000 miles while rolling down the right lane
of Bristol Dragway. Each year, Bristol
allows cars onto the grounds to view thousands of Christmas (not holiday)
lights decorating the complex.

Okay, so I’m king of drag racing, and I can make up whatever
rules I want. Here are some more “what-ifs” that I would recommend to the
association rules makers.

What if…NHRA introduced Top Dragster to the divisional
eliminators? Well, they’ve actually done it in Division 2 recently. Top
Dragster, the fast dragster eliminator that has been contested in IHRA country
for years, now comes to the NHRA, to go along with Division 2’s Top Sportsman
Eliminator. Division director Bill Holt made the announcement in the first part
of November, and Top Dragster will be a go for all 2007 divisional races.

Regardless
of religious background or affiliation (or lack thereof), people
usually view the Christmas holidays as a season of peace. But I wonder
at times if peace is as common a condition as it once was in our
society. Sociologists tell us that peacefulness is something that all
mankind seeks and is willing to go to great lengths to find.
Unfortunately, it appears to me that more and more people every year
seem to be in a constant search for what I call the missing peace.

I imagine that one of the most distressing experiences a racer can
endure is to finally complete an engine rebuild—only to discover that a
few extra pieces still remain. (And, yes, I speak from personal
experience, but please don’t ask.)