It’s sure hard to complain when things are going like they are lately! We’ve been the hottest Funny Car on the circuit since the 1000-foot era, (or, the three-quarter of quarter-mile) and I’m with my family in our RV getting to see the country. Life is good! Winning the U.S. Nationals sure would have been icing on the cake, and we came oh-so-close, but you’ll not hear any griping out of our camp. We are so motivated right now that the next race can’t come soon enough, and we have a very realistic shot at the world championship if we continue to run as we have these past half dozen (that would be six) races.

Last blog we were already in Indy, camped out in the parking lot of DSR, and Jack had to break open the wallet for dinner for one ton (my estimated weight for our nine male “models”) of mechanical geniuses. The good-looking ladies weren’t included in the guestimate; they were there to add some beauty to the group. We tried our best to capture Jason’s face as we kept letting him suck on a lemon, but we couldn’t quite time it optimally. Before I start getting letters on how acidic lemon juice is on infant teeth and how the extreme taste is harsh on their buds, we only have done it two or three hundred times, max (joking). Besides, it’s damn funny!

There was plenty to do leading up to the “Big Go”, so my week stayed pretty active. We had a group from Lincoln Tech come through the shop, and Liz Fine (Army PR) and Will Truit (DSR) gave them a tour and had me answer some tech questions for them. It’s comforting to know that so many folks still are “gearheads” and are pursuing careers in automotive repair and modification. It’s fun to share some of my passion about the power and technology of our cars, and the group knew enough to ask some great questions.

Thursday morning I had to get up early (tough for me) and head across the street from the racetrack for a ground-breaking ceremony. Bill Simpson purchased a parcel of land and is building a motorsports complex. He will relocate his Impact Safety Equipment warehouse and retail outlet, as well as providing space for many teams and retailers. The governor of Indiana was on hand, which tells you how the state feels about their motorsports, and DSR VP Mike Lewis was the emcee. I conducted the “Simon Says” portion of the event, and this photo was snapped when the governor mistakenly touched his nose (Simon never said so) and was disqualified. Winner: Bill Simpson.

If you got a chance to tune in for the ESPN coverage, I hope that you liked our special paint scheme. Mail Terminal Services, to highlight our Mail from Home program for the troops in the war zones, stepped up and did a one-race promotion to thank our heroes. During the Don Schumacher Racing open house on Friday we unveiled the car, but I couldn’t wait that long. Thursday Chip Ellis and I snuck in and he snapped this shot of the car before the car cover was put on. It is one of the better vinyl wraps that I have seen, and after the race the body was placed on the show car in the lobby of DSR, which is very flattering to the entire team.

Speaking of Chip Ellis, what a neat guy; Chip works his butt off in the shop, as do all of the motorcycle guys. Steve Tartaglia has assembled quite a group. Craig Treble now is onboard, and Jason and Tom make sure everything is up to par. I see these guys in the shop on weekends, and often they are there past dark on workdays. Chip is extremely devoted to a career in the Pro ranks, and his work ethic shows it. Anyway, Chip, Tony Shoe, Craig and I went to the Riley Children’s Hospital in Indy to visit with some of the kids. Tony and Craig took the surgery wing, and Chip and I toured the cancer portion. I have been there half a dozen times, (that’s Latin for about six), and I feel comfortable talking about cancer with the children. Chip did awesome, and this was his first visit. Last year there were mostly younger patients, but this year many of them were in the 10-16 year range. We signed pictures for the kids, their parents, and siblings, and talked with many of the families. It’s unbelievably difficult for so many of these folks, but they have no choice but to deal with their circumstances. It makes you want to cry, but the other side of the emotions is that it is very gratifying to see the kid’s faces light up when you spend time with them.

I’ve told you before how fortunate I am to get to meet so many interesting and special people through racing, and there was more in store for me on Friday. I participated in the Army Youth and Educational Services (YES) program again, speaking to area high school pupils about careers and life choices. One of our special guest speakers is a gentleman named Anthony Munoz. Anthony has his own foundation for inner city and suburban kids and he is an outstanding speaker. He also is one of 241 human beings who have been inducted into the football Hall of Fame. Wow! I also got to meet another super cool individual named Scott Wallace, at least that’s how he introduced himself to me. And, his shirt did say “Wallace” on it, though the four stars on his collar were very distracting! I don’t think there are more than 3 dozen (that’s Portuguese for around 36) O-10 level officers in the entire military right now (that would be an interesting trivia question-wonder if Bob Frey has that stat in his computer?). Maybe if I’d have dropped Scott’s name they would have let me in my old Air Force Base in New Mexico. I think I’ll try that next time.

As soon as Anthony, Scott and I all hugged goodbye (maybe I’m exaggerating just a bit), I headed over for the Countdown photo shoot. Except in the winner’s circle, I dislike having my picture taken alone. However, this deal was totally cool for the fact that it meant “we’re in”. Plus, I really needed to break in my new firesuit, and someone needed to get a photo before the clutch dust ruins it.

The aforementioned DSR open house was packed, and we raised $19,000 (roughly 1,583 dozen bucks) for the Riley Children’s Hospital. I would have loved to stay even longer, but I had to head back to the track for the PRO (Professional Racer’s Organization) meeting, followed by the new Driver’s Council meeting. That was my weekly allotment of meetings.

The race was great. Though we smoked the tires in the final, which was a huge disappointment considering how strong our car was all weekend, we closed out the “regular season” strong, moving from 13^th (a baker’s dozen) place before Denver all the way up to 6^th to start the Countdown. Let history show that at 90% nitro, racing 75.7 percent of a quarter of a mile, as of now we are the most successful funny car team, second in round wins only to the Army car. We now are only 3 ½ rounds out of the lead with six races left! Everyone should take their hat off to the job that Tim Wilkerson has done this year, but our job is to win that championship. As much of a lead as Tim has had to give up with the Countdown points format, think about that Army team. They were 28 rounds ahead of 2^nd place!!!! In the old format they could have headed to the Bahamas, worked on their tans, and showed up in Pomona to collect the check. Now they are 1 ½ rounds out front and ready to make more history.

After the race we headed back to our new favorite campsite (no, not the Wal-Mart parking lot), the DSR back parking lot. We had lots of time to kill, and were sticking around until at least the following Saturday to attend the birthday party for Kaden, 3 year old son of Warrior, our “stoutest” crew member. Just for you conversion buffs, “the big W” tips the Toledo at a svelte 21.4 stone. Anyway, we had time to kill. We were treated to an Indiana thunder storm, so it turns out that 93 degrees for the race really wasn’t too bad. Since it was a rainy day with not much to do, we lined up all of Jason’s cars on the motorhome floor so he could have a mega-drag race. He wanted more.

Next we headed over to the apartment of Ed, Terry, and Mark (teammates) to hang out. Jason just loved the Wally’s and still thinks that they are toys for him to play with. While there we picked up our e-mails and sent out the ones stored in the computer.

Back at the home front, Jason was bored and decided it was time for a haircut……….for me! Pretty hypocritical for a guy with locks all over the place, but I’ll play along. Kelly Veenstra, whose husband EJ is on the Rockstar car, made the mistake of volunteering, and we accepted. Kelly’s father is Walt Rhoades, who will be honored at the Hot Rod Reunion this year. Walt is a great guy and was as tough as they came in Top Gas and Top Fuel on the west coast. Apparently he didn’t teach his daughter not to volunteer! Kelly and EJ also watched Jason while Jenna and I went and saw a movie (again, they volunteered, we accepted!)

Jason was still bored, so off we headed to the Children’s Museum. $27 dollars later we were in (that’s 18.9 Euro, or roughly 2916 Yen). There was a little bit of everything in there, and Jason loved it. The trains were the biggest hit for him, as he really digs them. We probably could have just hung out in the gift shop for 3 hours and let him play with the Thomas the Tank Engine train set, but we had fun. He and I took a taxi ride in cartoon land, then he played trains with his new friend. This shot of them looks like the winner and runner-up in the curly hair contest. Next haircut is his!

We are now packed and ready to hit the road again, but we’re not going straight to Charlotte. Monday I will make several test runs in the Rockstar car, as we are trying to get all four of the DSR funny cars predictable enough to tune off of each other each run. I will have to leave as soon as we are done Monday, as I have to be in North Carolina for media stuff on Tuesday morning. Leah LeDuc will be on hand Monday, and hopefully Tuesday she can finish her license as well as assist with the testing. I’m just hoping that all of these hurricanes don’t wash out our racing while on the east coast, and I hope no one gets displaced from their homes.

We’ve got another aggressive schedule set for the Carolina race, so stay tuned!