Friday in Phoenix was boring. It rained enough to keep us off of the track, but not so much that we could pack up for the day. That meant qualifying was down to two runs, and 21 fuel coupes were on site; tough deal again.

We got in, barely, and I had to pedal it on the last run to squeak into the 15th spot, but Sunday was better. Sunday was MUCH better. To be able to get a Wally for this crew after all of the work they have done is more than gratifying, it’s amazing. I’m so happy for all of us and for everyone at Don Schumacher Racing. Racing with the flu sucks, and the cold medicine I took at night Thursday and Friday didn’t bring much relief. I finally had to take two Extra Strength Tylenol after the second round Sunday because I was just getting too hot and feeling nasty once in the firesuit. Fortunately, it wasn’t a hot weekend, but even the photos in the winner’s circle were a bit of a chore (yeah, right!) with the suit on. My first Wally ever (1998 Winternationals) also featured Larry Dixon on the podium. And how about my good friend V. Gaines -- how awesome was he? Jason got to go up on stage with me for a few photos, but he seemed more entertained if we just let him chew on the winner’s medallion.

Normally that would be about it. We’d head home Monday morning and do our thing. However, the Matco Tools yearly expo was on schedule for Monday and Tuesday, and that meant taking the red eye out Sunday night. We (Tony Schumacher, Cory Mac, Antron Brown and 'Hot Rod') landed at 5 a.m. and were taken directly over to the Orlando (as in Florida) convention center. We started right at 7 a.m., and all of us were beyond exhausted. Whatever I caught was kicking my butt royally, and I felt miserable. I got about an hour and a half of sleep on the plane, and my head was so plugged up my ears were ringing. I felt like a Matco truck had run over my back, and I could barely talk. Matco has been such an integral part of what we do that I wanted to give back all I could, but this was torture.

The show itself was huge, entertaining, and I really enjoyed talking to the distributors when my voice allowed. Tuesday was a bit more of the same, though I could talk towards the end of the day. About lunchtime I felt the fever kick into high gear, and I must have looked like I just ran a marathon, but I think the sweat was a sign that I was past the worst. I flew out at 7 p.m. Tuesday, due to arrive back in Phoenix at midnight. Jenna and Jason had stayed at the track in the motorhome, but they weren’t alone. Many of our friends were staying to run the divisional race the following weekend, so they had plenty of company. Terry and Bambee Haddock were parked right next to us, so they brought son McKailen over several times. Hannah Vandermeer, daughter of Dick and Kathi, brushed up on her babysitting skills. Jenna got a pic of all of the kids during the race, and Grandma Cindy was a trooper keeping everyone safe and entertained.

Phoenix at midnight seems like a tough deal, especially with a big cold hanging on to me like it was. So I thought how nice it would be to get delayed out of Orlando, arrive too late in Atlanta to make my connecting flight, and stay there for an additional night. Standing up in the shuttle bus both ways was a treat. Those shuttle drivers missed their calling as F1 racers, and I think we may have gotten up on two wheels once. Anyway, I did finally get back to Phoenix, Wednesday just before lunchtime. We packed up, loaded, and hooked up once more (only this time I triple-checked the hitch pin) for the trek back home. Four hundred and twenty five miles of coughing, wheezing, and nursing a sore back sure made me glad to be home again. Only now Jenna and Jason were showing signs of what I still had, so much so that she took him over to Kaiser on Thursday just to be safe. Jenna had to go back for appointment three of six at our favorite dentist, “Drummer Steve,” and since we are all running at about 60 percent, it made for quite a long day.

Friday and we’re still sick, but there’s plenty to do. The new harnesses arrived for Jenna’s (now Emily’s) car, so I installed them. I put all of the tin back on, cleaned the whole car, loaded everything into the trailer, hitched up (no jokes about the pin please, this was already locked on), and pulled onto the street. I got all of my backup safety equipment packed (I’ll tell you why next blog), got the RV refilled with water, and came back in so I could tell you all how bad I feel for going this long without an update! We are leaving tonight for Bakersfield, and Jenna is already tearing up because her car is going bye-bye. We’ll get some photos of Saturday up at Famoso for the next blog, and I’ve got some cool stuff going on the next week or so. I’ll be more punctual next time, so …

Stay tuned!