Anniversaries: some are more important than others, and several have slipped by lately.  My second wedding anniversary was November 7th, a date that will live in infamy (okay, I’m being a smartass, but FDR can be plagiarized on occasion).  November 11th marked Veteran’s Day, but that date bears some explaining, as my research turned up some interesting facts (and I know all you guys and gals like this trivial stuff).  This day actually commemorates a specific day and time, corresponding to the signing of the armistice ending World War One.  That would be the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (though the saying “eleventh hour” really has it’s origin in the bible.......Matthew to be specific).  Anyhoo, from 1918 on that day has been recognized, first as Armistice Day, and then Ike (or Dwight David, if you prefer) changed it to Veteran’s Day in 1954.  Congress actually moved it to the fourth Monday of October from 1971 to 1977 to guarantee a three-day weekend (sounds like something Congress would do), but public pressure put it back to 11/11, regardless of what day of the week it falls on.  How’s that for some trivia and history?  Jenna and I will just continue to celebrate our anniversary on 11/7 no matter what.  This Saturday will mark the anniversary of JFK being assassinated back in 1963.  That’s certainly no cause for any celebration, just a black day in our history.

Though I proudly displayed the American flag outside of the house for Veteran’s Day, I forgot to include a couple of photos.  The first is an old newspaper article about my dad receiving an award from the National Guard.  I would guess he would be 17 or 18, so the year should be 1955.  I was looking for my discharge paperwork in boxes in the garage when I came across it.   He comes to many of the races, and lots of the fans comment on how friendly he is, so you can always find him around our pits.  However, he doesn’t quite look the same as this picture, so add a beard, a few years, and an arm cast for the next six weeks (long story).  The photo of me was taken in Basic Training back in 1984, when I was 17.  Yep, quite the babe magnet back then!  Thank you again to each and every veteran out there.

My knee hurts!  (Just thought that you guys should know that).  I don’t remember doing anything specifically to it.  I went surfing twice, spent a lot of time in the garage on my knees working on my motorcycle, and here I am, limping like a 90 year old.  I’ve been limping for two weeks, and all the icing, Tylenol, and wraps might finally be helping out. 

My knee was bothering me Wednesday before Pomona, but a little perspective helped out.  I paid a visit to the kids at City of Hope in Duarte, specifically the cancer ward.  From two to eighteen, these young ones were in a tough situation, and their parents are doing overtime on the prayer line.  I was honored to be able to share some time and talk about my cancer and recovery with the older ones, (I just played with toys with the little ones), and the knee really didn’t seem like too big of a deal on the way out.  I stayed late, as it was impossible to not visit all of them and spend the time that they deserved.     

I wasn’t exactly on time for the fan-fest before the charity softball game, so for any of you that were in line for my autograph out in San Bernardino, I apologize for being late, but now you know why.  Even as a Southern Cal. guy, it was quite a drive out east for the game.  Though we lost 21-12, I think the game was a big success.  I went one-for-three, and MVP Brandon Bernstein absolutely stole an extra base hit from me with his athleticism.  I had to have Hillary Will pinch run for me (did I mention my knee hurt?), but raising money for DRAW and hanging out with the fans was well worth it. 

I don’t want to stir up a mess, but I’ve been getting many inquiries about when my die-cast car is coming out.  The answer is June (which apparently is Latin for “never”), at least that’s what I was told at the beginning of the year.  I feel bad for any of you that have been waiting or put an order in, but it appears that the die-cast industry isn’t what it once was.  It was suggested to me by an e-mail from a fan that anyone who desires one should send a message to info@shoeracing.com to generate interest.  I am not doing this as an advertisement, but I think that if enough inquiries come in we stand a better chance of placing the order.

Thursday was a tough night, and not because of the knee brace.  After qualifying we headed out for a memorial for John Gates, a true racer.  I have known John and his racer son Eric since I began racing with them in the early nineties, and John did both the driving and the wrenching.  The past few years he has supported Eric wholeheartedly, and they now compete in CIFCA with a sportsman funny car.  John passed away last week at Barona dragstrip in the San Diego area while Eric was backing up from a burnout.  We all are still kind of in shock, but Staci Cannon rallied and set up the dinner, where over 70 folks came out to pay tribute to a good friend, racer, and person.  My thoughts are with the entire Gates family.

Another sad tribute took place in the Worsham pit area Friday night.  Eric Greendale, one of Mike Neff’s best friends, passed away earlier this year from liver cancer.  Eric was an elevator guy like me, and we immediately hit it off.  He was so positive, focused, and fun to be around.  I wore a tribute button for Eric for the rest of the race, and he too will be missed terribly.

The race weekend was fantastic.  Being “home”, I had lots of friends come out, some that I hadn’t seen for years.  I finally got to meet one of the icons of the sport, Jack Jones.  He is the man that posed for the Wally back in 1969, and I would have posted his picture here, but it hasn’t been sent to me yet.  I wish I could have spent a couple of hours talking with him, as the stories from back in that time are beyond fascinating to me.  I went to the NHRA Wally Parks Museum for the Friday night get-together, and many of the heroes were there: James Warren, Tom McEwen, Tommy Ivo, and on and on.  I met “Bones” Balogh in the pits Friday, so I got my fill of legends.

Friday night after the museum Jenna and I headed over to the Mitsos residence in Upland.  Nick and Irene own the Mountain View Tire Centers and Pro Stock car driven by Vinnie Deceglie.  I felt honored to be invited, considering I’m a “fuel guy.”.

Jason Line, wife Cindy, and Greg and Kim Anderson were there along with about 20 of the Mitsos clan.  They have got to be the most fun family at home and at the races, and I think I need my ear plugs in both places!  Paul Mitsos brought in his NHRA game, and everyone took turns crashing the funny cars.  I made some decent runs in last year’s MTS car, but Jason just destroyed Tim Wilkerson’s car about a dozen times.  Then Mike Mitsos and Greg went at it in the Pro Stockers while I, Chris Mitsos, Vinnie and Jason took notes. Qualifying was interesting. We missed the tune-up Thursday and Friday, so we entered Saturday not even in the show. Two solid runs on Saturday remedied that, and we were solidly in, ready to challenge for the championship.  On one of our good runs we had Lauren Jacquez ride along with us in the tow car. Lauren is not only a two-time cancer survivor, but a volunteer with the Relay for Life program. Friend Tom Denykot set up the whole deal, so thanks to all of them for making Lauren’s first race a memorable one.

Sunday our first-round pairing was with teammate Gary Scelzi, who will be taking at least next year off from racing.  Gary has become a good friend, and I really wanted him to go out on top, but we still had a shot at the championship.  My brother Ted and good friend Scott Sharp didn’t even know we had Scelzi first round, but that didn’t stop them from dressing as their favorite funny car driver.  They even had Valvoline ship them empty oil containers to fill with their drinks (I have a strong suspicion it wasn’t iced tea).  Gary and the rest of us had a bunch of laughs over that.   

Because we were the eighth, or last, pair of Funny Cars to run, we got to listen to all of the other pairings.  When Cruz beat Jerry Toliver it eliminated us from the championship, but we still could climb from our current fifth place position.  Beating Gary was bittersweet, but once in the car winning is all that is on any of our minds.  Second round we got by Melonie Troxel.  That, combined with the earlier losses of Tony Pedregon and Robert Hight moved us clear up to third in the standings.  If we could get past Ron Capps in the semis, we would end the year in second place.  The money difference to DSR was $50,000, but everyone knows that Don will not give team orders.  Each team wanted to win very much, and it probably was the best race of the weekend.  It would have been cool if the Napa team went on to win the race, but Cruz had other ideas.  I congratulate his entire team for an outstanding year and well-earned championship.  Finishing third behind Cruz and Tim Wilkerson wasn’t what we hoped for, but it really was a great year for the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services team.  I even got to debut my Clark Kent glasses for the first time in the car.  I got some prescription lenses in September, but it was very hard to squeeze them into the helmet (especially over my fat head).  After redlighting in Vegas I began to suspect the blurriness could be causing some issues in the car, so I tried my glasses in Pomona.  Even if I didn’t drive better, I felt smarter.

On a related note (not about my eyesight, we were talking about Mail Terminal Services), our Mail From Home program passed the 100,000-postcard mark at Pomona.  Add those to the 90,000 plus that were collected and shipped to our combat troops last year, and that’s something to be proud of.  I salute Rodger and Karen Comstock, Peg Gorski and Beth Hiatt, every MTS employee, as well as each fan that made this endeavor possible.

The best part about the NHRA awards banquet on Monday night following the race was the standing ovation that Wilkerson got when he was called out. Tim really schooled all of us this year and deserved to win the whole deal, but rules are rules and the Countdown wasn’t kind to him.  I took a knee when his name was called, as he really earned everyone’s respect. 

It’s hard to believe that the season is over. I can’t wait to start off next year with the number “3” on the car.  I can’t fully express my gratitude to all of the guys who helped make 2008 such a great year.  My crew: Chris Afflerbach, Joe Chrisman, Tommy Delago, Chris Kuhlberg, Dan Neal, Ed Otto, Terry Snyder, Mark Stewart, and Johnny West.   Also, our “tenth man”, Lanny Miglizzi, as well as the team members on the Rockstar, Napa, and Mopar /Oakley cars who assisted us throughout the year. Our fab. shop guys back in Brownsburg built us a great car, and all of the hospitality crew always kept us well fed and feeling good.  To Valvoline: thank you for the faith you put in our team.  To Rodger and MTS: you have been responsible for making my dreams come true, you and Karen have no idea!  And to Don: I still can’t believe I work for Don Schumacher. You were nine feet tall when I was starting to go to the races, and you settle for nothing less than the best in all that you do.  I can’t thank you enough for the opportunities you have provided me. Also, to Rick Cassel and Steve Beatty (both of whom left the team in the middle of the year): we sure looked good in Phoenix, guys! 

Sadly, “Tommy D” will be leaving my team next year.  The good news is he won’t be far away, and he’s getting the break he so deserves.  He will be heading up the crew on Matt Hagen’s DSR car for next year.  Tommy may take several of the guys we had this year, and I do understand that.  Still, it will be tough not spending the whole weekend with the crew that gave me such a great ride this year. 

On an unrelated note, I finally got to talk to my old Air Force roommate, Jim Gies.  I hadn’t heard his voice since my last day of active duty-February 4th^, 1988 (I had banked 23 days of leave, so I was officially a civilian on the 27th).  Anyway, that’s a long time.  Jim is still in, stationed at Vandenberg AFB, only about 150 miles away.  I can’t believe I was able to locate him after all these years!  Okay, prize for the next search will go to whoever can locate Lee West, another close friend that I lost touch with.  Lee would be about 47 now (I thought he was old when he was 26 and I was only 21!) and was originally from Florida.

Today I took the Beaver (our motorhome) out to Andy Montgomery’s storage building in Monrovia.  I think you might be able to squeeze a .050 feeler gauge around it, as we packed it in there pretty tight amongst all of the boats and other RV’s.

Tomorrow we leave for Hawaii, my first time!  Jenna’s dad, Bill, has a timeshare on Oahu, and I can’t wait to do some surfing with my brother-in-law Eric.  I just hope the knee will cooperate.  There are six adults plus the two little ones going, and we will be there a week.  We were booked to go the week after the Dallas race back in 2005, but the hurricanes postponed the event one week, we had a kid, and here we are three years later!

Some cold medicine, a water-proof knee brace, and some decent waves.....that’s all I kneed (get it?).