Bob Gilbertson probably is hearing that "I've Been Everywhere, Man" song that the phone book ads have resurrected. The Funny Car driver has been just about everywhere, criss-crossing the continent several times already as he competes in both IHRA and NHRA competition -- and back home to Gastonia, North Carolina.

Since July 4 alone, he has been to Milan, Michigan; Denver; Seattle; Sonoma, California; Martin, Michigan; and Brainerd, Minnesota, and this week he's heading to Memphis.

By the end of the drag-racing season, he'll be able to sing, "I've been to Norwalk (Ohio), Indy, Epping (New Hampshire). Reading (Pennsylvania), Budds Creek (Maryland, Richmond, Rockingham, Vegas, and Pomona." Oh -- and throw in either a trip to Dallas for the NHRA race or the make-up of the IHRA's rained-out event at Cayuga, Ontario, Canada.

And marathon travels are not without their share of problems. Such was the case at Brainerd this past weekend for the Autolite XP Spark Plugs/Prestone Antifreeze team.

Nicky Boninfante Jr., co-crew chief with Tommy Delago, was sidelined with food poisoning for Sunday's eliminations.

Bob Gilbertson probably is hearing that "I've Been Everywhere, Man" song that the phone book ads have resurrected. The Funny Car driver has been just about everywhere, criss-crossing the continent several times already as he competes in both IHRA and NHRA competition -- and back home to Gastonia, North Carolina.

Since July 4 alone, he has been to Milan, Michigan; Denver; Seattle; Sonoma, California; Martin, Michigan; and Brainerd, Minnesota, and this week he's heading to Memphis.

By the end of the drag-racing season, he'll be able to sing, "I've been to Norwalk (Ohio), Indy, Epping (New Hampshire). Reading (Pennsylvania), Budds Creek (Maryland, Richmond, Rockingham, Vegas, and Pomona." Oh -- and throw in either a trip to Dallas for the NHRA race or the make-up of the IHRA's rained-out event at Cayuga, Ontario, Canada.

And marathon travels are not without their share of problems. Such was the case at Brainerd this past weekend for the Autolite XP Spark Plugs/Prestone Antifreeze team.

Nicky Boninfante Jr., co-crew chief with Tommy Delago, was sidelined with food poisoning for Sunday's eliminations.  

Gilbertson qualified 14th and faced points leader and good friend Ron Capps in the first round. So it was up to Delago to see if Gilbertson could pull off the upset.

They did, although Capps suggested that their starting-line procedure possibly harmed his Brut Dodge Charger. Then Gilbertson had to race Capps' teammate, reigning champion Gary Scelzi. Gilbertson lost that one in a close, tire-smoking run.

Scelzi said races like that one "are exciting -- but they're hell." It wasn't easy on Delago, either, the crew chief said.

He said he spent a lot of time on the phone with Boninfante during the rain delay Sunday morning deciding on the tune-up.

"It was pretty tough not having Nicky at the track on race day,"  Delago said. "We always kick ideas around on how to run the car and instead of just turning around and talking to him, I had my cell phone in my ear all morning. We decided to stand on it for the first round, as the track was really good and the result was the 4.81 against Capps, which was our best run of the race. The best part of the deal is that we now have a race car that's competitive that Gilby can win with, and with a little luck we could be a spoiler in Memphis."

Said Gilbertson, "This was a great race for me and my team. Even though one of the 'Super Mario Brothers' was back at the hotel, sick as a dog, the whole team stepped up and gave me a great race car. The first-round win against Capps was big, and if I had done a better job reigning in the car after it smoked the tires against Scelzi we probably would have been in the semis.  Our performance this weekend moved us up into a tie for 12th in the points and we're now going to Memphis with momentum on our side. Hopefully we'll be able to continue winning rounds and maybe even win."