First things first. In a blink of an eye, the summer is almost gone and weeks just keep flying by and the next thing I know, I have a daughter who is a sophomore at Permian High School, which is home of the mighty MOJO. For those of you who don’t know about MOJO, let me bring you up to date. The Permian High School Panthers and their “MOJO” have been around since 1959 and are known for their prowess in Texas High School Athletics, especially football. In fact, the movie, Friday Night Lights, as well as the TV version, were based on our football team. The movie was actually filmed in our hometown. Many of our locals were used in the making of the movie, including our sheriff and even my nephew, Talon. If that isn’t enough, we actually have our own website, www.mojoland.net, that will tell you all about MOJO.

In case you wonder where this is going, it’s about the spirit of competition, which is what West Texas is all about. If you’ve seen the movie, then you understand what we are all about, and that is winning. That’s where my daughter comes into play. She is currently on the varsity tennis team and has already enjoyed great success at Permian which makes me really proud. She just returned from her last tournament this Saturday with multiple team wins over Midland High School, Franklin High School and our crosstown rival, Odessa High School. Unfortunately, they lost to San Angelo Central by one match in the second round and finished fifth out of 16 teams who competed in the Petroplex Tournament. Oh well, fifth out of 16 isn’t bad. I know I would sure love to have a finish like that in Top Fuel and the closest I have gotten was our semifinal finish in Chicago 2006 while driving for the BME Team. That was definitely a great day for all of us!

Speaking of racing, I got a chance to do some bracket racing this past weekend at the 2008 Southwestern Bracket Finals in Hobbs, N.M. Best I can remember, it had been more than 10 years since I last bracket raced. It was a blast and a family reunion of sorts. I raced for my friend, Dennis Barnard, and his team, Lubbock Dragway, since we go way back to the mid-'80s and the fact my hometown tracks didn’t field a team until the last minute and I wasn’t about to let my good friend Dennis down -- no way!  I saw so many of my old racing buddies like Omero “Camaro” Mendoza, among others. We had a chance to take a group photo of Omero, Randy, my dad Buddy, and I just like old times.

One of the most bizarre things I realized was the fact my ”older” racing buddies now had kids in their teens racing, just as I was when we first became friends. Talk about making you feel older … wow! The best part was that my dad and dear friend, Randy Bell, were there to help me just like the good ol’ days.

I made a few new friends over the weekend as well. One in particular should receive honorable mention for his help with a little bit of TIG welding on my chassis. His name is Jason Pollock from Dexter, N.M. Thanks again for your expertise, my friend. Without you, I would have been packed up and outta there Saturday morning without getting to race. In the end it was kind of funny because Jason ended up beating me in thefifth round on Sunday so I guess his good deed came with reward in the end. In case you are wondering, I managed to go five rounds on Saturday, reaching the quarterfinals and five rounds again on Sunday, reaching the final 16 cars before Jason beat me. I told my dad on Sunday afternoon, “I am liking this!” and he said, “Liking what?” I said, “I’ve won twice as many rounds in the past 24 hours as I did in Top Fuel the past three years!” He just laughed and we both agreed that we weren’t exactly comparing apples to apples but the point was well taken that it’s nice to go rounds and feel like you as a driver and a team have accomplished something.

Throughout the weekend, I heard three questions repeatedly. Number one was “What are you doing here?" Number two was “What’s your plans for next year?” and number three was “What’s it like going this slow again after having gone as fast as you have and racing against us guys instead of the Schumachers and Bernsteins, etc?” Without hesitation I reminded them that I just loved racing cars and it didn’t really matter how fast we were going, I just wanted to win! For the most part, most of them were stunned that I would go back to bracket racing. I reminded them I wasn’t done with Top Fuel racing. I also reminded them that my philosophy on life is that “the biggest tree falls without its roots!” and that I had never forgotten where I had come from and never will.

Speaking of Top Fuel, I am happy to say I am currently working on four deals for 2009 and one is as recent as last night. I had a meeting with a certain party for about an hour looking at options and logistics on putting a brand new team together with a new sponsor interested in NHRA Drag Racing. It looks very promising so keep your fingers crossed for me! Oh yeah, and by the way my name is in the hat along with hundreds of others with A.J., so don’t worry, I didn’t let that go by without action. Can’t you see it now, A.J. and A.B. team up for the title chase! Sounds good to me!

AB out

PS: Please pray for our nation and all of those who lost loved ones during the 9/11 attack as we memorialize the 7^th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 tragedy.