The National DRAGSTER staff engine is at full song today as we finally have everyone back in the office from numerous holiday vacations and illnesses (seems like a good percentage of the staff has a New Year's cough), and they're all vigorously working the phones interviewing last year's top 10 finishers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock for our annual What's New extravaganza in the first issue, which ships outta here a week from today. We're collecting photos of new iron, predictions for the year ahead, and much more.

The new-look National DRAGSTER is shaping up nicely, although, as one could expect, there are a hundred last-minute changes and decisions to be made as it gets closer to reality. I'm really pleased with the way it's looking; all of the pieces seem to be coming together wonderfully.

The first nostalgia column of the year – the print spinoff of this column – is a wonderful retelling of Tommy Ivo's terrifying top-end tumble at the 1974 Winternationals, told by "your hero and mine" himself, who did a bang-up (pun intended) job of respinning the yarn and got permission for us to use the great sequence of the accident. As I note in the column, even though Wide World of Sports was at the event, it’s rather ironic that Ivo, who embraces the public spotlight and made an early career in television, doesn’t have any footage of his accident. The Wide World of Sports team had decided it was getting too dark and turned off its cameras just as Ivo pushed out to make the run. I've seen some grainy video of the accident on YouTube, but the photos really give you a better idea of what happened.

I resurrected a National DRAGSTER feature name from the past – Pure Nostalgia – as the title for the new column, and the Ivo piece gives it a great launch. The story is full of cool observations, including this one, in reference to squeezing his eyes shut (mostly) when the car rolled over: "During one small peek, I saw that the ground was over the car instead of under it, the tower was upside down and in front of me instead of behind me, and fire was blowing past my ears. So I slammed 'em back closed again, thinking, 'I don’t want to see this happen.' (I guess ostriches aren’t all stupid for sticking their head in the ground to get away from the inevitable; they’re right -- it works.)"

Speaking of Ivo, Car and Driver magazine has a nice featurette on him in its February 2010 issue, in its "What I’d Do Differently" column by the prolific Steven Cole Smith. It includes the great portrait sketch here at right.

The Q&A format touches on Ivo's acting and racing careers, and I was surprised by Ivo's answer to a question about his famous four-engine Showboat machine. "That thing has been nothing but bad luck for me, but it’s my signature car," he said. "Of the 36 cars I built and raced, I hated that one the most. It was like driving a 200-mph Sherman tank." Ivo certainly has a way with words. You can read the column online here. 

Today is my last day in the office until next week as I'll be whipping outta here early tomorrow morning bound for frigid Lake Placid, N.Y., for the fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge. NHRA stars Morgan Lucas and Jeg Coughlin Jr., both veteran bobsledders, will show the ropes to new teammates Shawn Langdon and Melanie Troxel as they prepare to take on NASCAR stars on the 20-turn Olympic bobsled course on historic Mount Van Hoevenberg. 

The plan tomorrow is to fly through Dallas and then on to Columbus, Ohio, where I'll bunk with the Coughlin clan overnight before we hop a small jet to Lake Placid.

Friday is orientation day where we get issued some cold-weather gear, the drivers get Bobsled 101 for the n00bs and a walk of the course (pictured). Saturday is and endless day of sledding fun for the drivers and Sunday is the big show. There are actually two races, one for everyone against the clock and another that pits the best NHRA sledders against the best NASCAR sledders on a drag-racing-style ladder. We'll have full coverage on NHRA.com.

Though I'm super excited about going (and the possibility of being able to take a ride in one of the sleds!), the timing of the event probably couldn’t have been worse as it's the week of the first issue, and I'd normally over-obsess about babysitting the debut from start to finish. If all goes right, I'll be back in the office Monday afternoon and be here for the final two days of production. If it doesn't go right …

Well, I'm already a little concerned about the overall travel itinerary because my outbound flight lands in Dallas at about noon, where it's predicted to be 31 degrees and windy (18 degrees with the wind chill) and drop to 29 degrees (16 with wind chill) by takeoff time to Columbus, making delays a possibility. It's also supposed to be snowing when I land in Columbus. The return is probably more of the same. Fun! Well, I'll have my laptop and AirCard at the ready.

Weather in Lake Placid will be in the low teens when we arrive Friday morning and will hit a high of just 10 degrees Saturday with lows down to 0 degrees. It's supposed to snow on and off all weekend there, too. You Easterners (and residents of Woodbury, Minn.) probably wear T-shirts in this type of weather, but us soft Californians have been basking in mid-70-degree temps this week, so it's going to be a brisk adventure. Scott "Woody" Woodruff of Team JEGS, who's responsible for my trip out East, advised me thusly: "Warm socks, long johns, and boots."

(Oh crap. Just got this 'warming note from NHRA member Paul Cuff: "As a resident of Rochester, N.Y., I'd just like to warn you that you had better bundle up when you get to Lake Placid. The weather here has been a real bitch. The entire state has been getting a good blast lately. Being up in the mountains as Lake Placid is, it should be a real sweetheart for weather there. It's been snowing CONSTANTLY since about New Years Day, with daily totals running anywhere from two to 15 inches, depending what area you're in. The cold has been numbing, haven't seen anything above 30 degrees since mid-December." Great, if even the locals think it's cold, what a poor warmbody like me to do?")

Though I'm not a nervous flier by any means, this one should be interesting, given the weather and other factors. This will be my first plane trip since the underwear bomber set himself on fire, so security no doubt will be heightened. As if hurtling through the sky at 500-plus mph in a thin-skinned aluminum tube 6 miles above the ground wasn't of enough concern, initial reports were that you wouldn’t be allowed to get out of your seat in the final hour of the flight (better plan that potty break!), and some airlines were even preventing you from using portable devices such as laptops and iPods, but I hear that's been relaxed. I'm packing the new "Snake" and "Mongoose" book for reading enjoyment on the way, just in case.

If time and conditions permit, I'll try to drop you guys a postcard from Lake P.

A couple of other notes from my previous columns.

1. Though I have received a lot of supportive e-mails concerning the new deal here, I've also received some less than enthusiastic responses from those disappointed that the column will no longer share great old photos from the past and memories of those who took them. In case you didn't read my mission statement, I plan on continuing the Fan Fotos segment here, so you'll still get a healthy dose of great old photos. What's going into print are some of the more detailed and longer types of stories and photo features.

2. Readers Dave Kanofsky and Charley Powell pointed out that I'd omitted perhaps the best palindrome ever, at least as far as race fans are concerned: race car. Good one!

3. Responses have been brisk to my request for Your Heroes. I have some great lists going, but what I'm additionally looking for are more details about why these people are your heroes. A typical submission might be "Don Garlits, for creating a workable rear-engine dragster and everybody followed suit," but I'm hoping that you'll take the time to flesh out these types of thoughts, especially in light of how the person impacted you and how you felt about him or her. (I'm looking for a paragraph or so, not just a few words.) If you already submitted one with little explanation, please send me a follow up, and keep 'em coming. Email me

OK, it’s time to start double-checking my to-do list before I go. I'll be in touch, if my frozen fingers allow it.