We learned a lot from testing the car but we also have more questions than I think we have answers for! Our lives are a lot like that these days. It is a whole lot like our situation with our house. We almost had our house finished after years of planning, work, and anticipation. Our almost finished house flooded the first time and over the next year, we rebuilt again and were nearly where we were before the flood, only to flood again. After having our house flood twice in two years, not only do we not know when we will rebuild again, but we don't even know if we are going to rebuild this house.
We realized last night that we are in a similar situation with our drag racing hobby. Our test session was a complete success and we are so excited about that. We are so proud of the fact that the car made 4 runs down the track without a mechanical failure, a part falling off of it, an electrical issue, or any other "real" problems. That is a huge accomplishment for our first car of this caliber. We left the track on cloud nine!!!
It wasn't until last night that we realized where we are at now. Our realization began with a simple statement and question from Traci. First (I believe) was her saying that she was sad that our dragster would not be use by myself any more. I told her I would use it and she said "I know you and you and you are not going to get in a slower car after driving "The Black Hole"". She was really sad that our simple bracket racing days were over.
She then asked me several questions: Did you enjoy driving the car?, too which I replied " Yes I had fun" Then she asked, "Are you afraid of the car?, I replied. "Driving the car didn't scare me at all, but I am scared by how difficult it is to get out of the car". I am very comfortable once I am in the car and strapped into it, but it is almost impossible for me to quickly get into or out of the car. That would not be a big deal if these car's engines never failed. Truth is, it is almost inevitable that major engine failure IS GOING TO HAPPEN if you drive these cars. Catastrophic engine failure causes lubricating oil to spill outside of the engine and it can be ignited by the hot exhaust from the engine. That is the reason we have a fire suppression system, a 20 layer fire suit, breathing air, etc., etc., etc. Being able to escape from the car quickly is a basic survival skill for Pro Mod racing. As of today, I am very concerned about my ability to get my tall lanky body out of the car quickly!!!
And that brings us to where we are today. Today, Traci asked if I could take her for a drive to just get away and relax after a very stressful week (and 3 years for that matter). She wanted to go to Galveston to see the beach, grab a bite to eat, and then go watch our friend Dusty Finch drive our dragster in a race at Houston Raceway Park. Yes, Traci asked to go to a drag race to relax. What a woman I married 38 years ago!
I gladly took her on our day away from stress. Several things happened on our day out. First, If you have ever seen the movie "Indian Summer" about adults that go back to the summer camp that they went to when they were kids. They all realize that all of the things that were so great about that camp, didn't quite have the same impact as an adult! They kept using the line, "It is so small". Finally one of the adult campers reminds the gang that the camp has not shrunk, they grew up.
That same phenomenon happened to us all day. "The ocean is dirtier than I remember", "It is more crowded than I thought", "It is more run down than I remember", "It is more commercialized that I remember". The final incident happened when we watched our dragster racing down the track from our seats in the grandstands. It was different watching it for the first time as a spectator. We had a new point of view after the excitement of running "The Black Hole" for the first time and this will put it into perspective: Prior to this week, the quickest I had ever gone down the drag strip was in "The Blue Banana". One Friday night about 1 1/2 years ago, I ran a 7.78 second elapse time running a full power run in a quarter mile (1320 feet). This week, I set a new personal best elapse time of 7.63 seconds in "The Black Hole" and I shut the throttle off at a little over 500 feet into a 1320 foot run. I was over a tenth of a second quicker and I held the throttle open less than half of the run.
After talking to Dusty (the young man driving our car) and his girlfriend, we got in the car to head home and Traci surprised me. She said, I am done with that. We are headed to a new and exciting place. She pretty much told me that we have run a Pro Mod car and bracket racing a dragster just would not do! Now that brings us to the problems! How are we going to do that? How are we going to get our license? How are we going to have the time to run a car enough to be good at it? How are we going to get this old man in and out of a car that is so small that it is like stuffing a marshmallow into a Coke bottle.
All the way home we discussed: Is it going to be possible to make the car fit me?, What series would we race in (NHRA, Midwest Pro Mods, etc.), How many races can we get a crew to show up? Do we need to build a car that fits me? Do we need to buy a car that fits me? What will we do with the dragster and/or "The Black Hole"? How will we perfect the art of running the car?
What we have realized is that we both are hooked on the power and excitement of a Pro Mod car! Now we have to figure out how we will successfully run one. We also realized that we CAN build and drive a good Pro Mod car. Other than making a mistake during a burnout (a pretty stupid one on my part), we were able to make straight runs down a track and improve which each run. I was conscious and aware enough in the car to follow most the Janis's instructions.
Again, GOD blessed us beyond belief. It could have been a total disaster this week but it wasn't. We are taking that as a message from God to proceed. We just aren't sure what that means yet!
Step 1-How do we get a 6'1" marshmallow into and out of a Coke bottle? Here is the reason that is important!
https://www.facebook.com/NHRA/videos/453050022176031/
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