Well, it’s time for round two of my blogging and I am not certain I can top the first one based on all the feedback I received from it. It’s odd how much fun everyone had ribbing me about the speeding ticket. And, yes, I have received many of those infamous solicitations from nearly every law office in Florida promising me “the moon” on how they can make all this go away for only $69. It’s like the old saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” right? Therefore, I decided to go ahead and pay it online, only with a little bit of a “twist” if you will. I contacted their office via internet to pay online. Only I wanted to pay one red cent at a time and have someone have to post every transaction one at a time just for my personal satisfaction. It wasn’t meant to be as the online process would only allow a one time payment for the total fine in full so I went to “Plan B.”
I called the main number and asked if I could mail in the payment and they said sure. What they didn’t know is that I had been collecting my change for some time now and was certain there would be at least $191.50 for me to send. After all, I would be paying this fine as requested, right? So I took this picture for your viewing pleasure, hoping you would get as big of a kick out of my ingenious idea as I did. Unfortunately, one of my dear friends, Tony Owens, who practices law in Fort Worth advised me not to do this, as it would potentially create “issues” the next time I was in Florida. What a buzz kill. I was really looking forward to imagining the look on their face when UPS showed up with a 15-pound package full of coins and a copy of my ticket. Oh well, sometimes I have to step back and listen to those who are wiser than me. That’s not to say my friend Tony didn’t think it would be funny, too, he just did what he had to do and has done before, and that was to keep me out of trouble. Tall orders on occasion, I might add.
Oh well, that out of the way, let’s get back to racing. As you all know, going to Houston for the O’Reilly Spring Nationals is one of my home state races I look forward to most because so many of my friends and fans come out to support our team. I also got the opportunity to meet representatives from Shell V-Power who were along for the ride this weekend. They were blown away and couldn’t wait to get back to headquarters to tell everyone how great NHRA POWERade Drag Racing was and that Shell needed to stay involved more often. They were really cool guys and I enjoyed hanging out with them and talking about our race program.
To make it even better, it was yet another great moment for Team Vis Viva and our special-edition Shell V-Power CSK Top Fuel Dragster as we put our hot rod on the pole for the second consecutive race. It was awesome to lead the pack on both runs Friday, especially when you consider the company we were in.
Another cool encounter I had was getting to meet and hang out with my new teammate, Mikey Kile, who drives a Hooters Cup Series car sponsored by Vis Viva as well. He and his friend Bret had a great time and were in awe of the power these cars make. I am looking forward to both of us bringing home wins for Vis Viva. Be sure to keep up with him as well and cheer him on to victory lane, too.
Speaking of hanging out, I got to enjoy some family and friend time Saturday night at the Outback Steakhouse. A No. 1 qualifier celebration of sorts. It felt good knowing I was going into Sunday with a hot rod capable of winning. After a good ol’ steak dinner it was lights out early in preparation for the big day ahead of us.
On a personal note, throughout the weekend, I was fortunate enough to spend some quality time with Burnell and Gwen Russell, the parents of my dear friend, Darrell Russell. We got to visit on several occasions and just before round one Sunday morning, Mark and I managed to capture this Kodak moment with them. As I hugged Gwen, I could feel the excitement she had for me and yet the hurt she felt in having lost Darrell. It was almost too much, but I hung in there and kept on hugging and then made my way off to the car to prepare for battle with Urs Erbacher.
Unfortunately, we obliged the No. 1 qualifier jinx one more time, although I don’t really buy into all that. As I returned to my trailer following our round one loss, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Jim Will, PhD in our pit. He has been a guest columnist on NHRA.com covering the mental side of competition and how it influences drivers, either positively or negatively. It’s somewhat odd he ended up in my pit, because after a red-light in round one, I had a few things on my mind and definitely a few words I could have shared, but it wasn’t the time or place. Maybe we will get that chance. But for now, I will go back to doing what I do best, and that’s giving it 110 percent and never looking back.
As for the future, I can’t wait to go to Vegas and do battle. It’s time for Team Vis Viva to go rounds and put our money where our mouth is on Sunday!
See ya at the drags.