After our win this weekend I’ve gotten a ton of phone calls about doing a new blog entry, so here we go. I’m actually in Hawaii for the Matco Tools Expo, but let’s go back and recap the weekend of racing at Phoenix.



I was nervous that I jinxed myself because I didn’t get to attend the Fan Fest on Wednesday. I wanted things to be just like last year. My flight in Las Vegas was delayed, but it didn’t end up having a negative affect.



Then, we thought we could run the monostrut. NHRA gave us the go-ahead, but we had some new chassis guidelines to abide by where we have to change the upper tube thickness on the frame rails of the back half of the car. We didn’t want to make that drastic change at the race track. It needs to go to Hadman’s and be placed on the chassis jig and get done properly. Safety is important and it needs to be done right.

I’m excited about the monostrut because it’s new and looks really cool, plus being the first to run this new-style mono at a national event intrigues me. And nobody has won with it. Don Garlits ran it, but didn’t win. I want to be the first driver to win with it on. On the other hand, we didn’t want to upset the balance of the car. We were the No. 2 qualifier at Pomona and went to the semis and you don’t want to change things when you’re doing well, which proved to be true.



The Phoenix race was awesome from the start. We were set up for a 4.49 on Friday and it just took off. It surprised all of us with that 4.471, including Rob Flynn. That’s when we came up with the term “Canadian Power.” I knew then, we were going to win the race. I just had a feeling. I could tell, during my days as a sportsmen racer, when I was going to have a good day. It seemed like things were aligned for us. I woke up Sunday morning and looked at the clock and it was 5:52 a.m. That’s my competition number.



That 4.46 in the first round set the tone for the day. I know Brandon Bernstein came behind us and ran quicker, but we showed the track was good. A lot of good cars like Larry Dixon's and J.R. Todd's smoked the tires. Between qualifying and that run, we ran three 4.40s, and a total of five. It also dropped two cylinders on that run and it didn’t hit the rev limiter. I knew I was on the same side of the ladder as Whit Bazemore. It was like a dual final round. It was great for our race team and David Powers Motorsports to have a car in the final round. It was a win-win for all of us. Now, we have to meet Whit in the finals soon. Why not at Gainesville? The coolest news after the semis was that I had taken over the POWERade points lead. That’s a dream for me. Even if it’s just for one race, I’m the No. 1 Top Fuel driver in the world.



The other weird thing was that we were racing Melanie in the final round again. Everything was the same. We were in the same lane. We ran the final at nearly the same time. I was nervous going into the final round. I’ve had some success against her and she has a great team. Richard Hogan was my first Top Fuel crew chief with Powers. It’s hard to beat someone twice. She did an awesome job in pedaling to win the second round. I had an awesome car. It was on! As soon as I hit the throttle, I had a good feeling. I saw the win light come on and it was celebration time.



It was special because it was a first win for a lot of my crew guys, and our first win as a new team. It helps you bond when you win, and we have pretty much have an all-new crew. We’ve jelled so quickly. It meant a lot to all of us. After we beat Whit, my old crew guys came over to make sure our car was prepared properly and that helped a bunch. We have a great team here. I’m so proud of Rob Flynn. I’ve known he’s a great crew chief but he flies under the radar. Well, now I think he’s proven he’s a top crew chief. We’re fortunate to have two top-tier crew chiefs in our camp. Lee and Rob work so well together. I’d give anything to have Flynn as my crew chief for the rest of my career. I feel that strongly about him.



I spent a lot of time with the fans in the winner’s circle. I like letting the fans see and hold the “Wally” and talk with them. I have a tradition; I like to walk with the trophy after a win. I don’t ride back with the team. I like to savor the moment and reflect on it. I’m very appreciative of what we’ve achieved.



After the race, we went to Outback for dinner and had a good time. It was neat to have both teams there. It was nice to celebrate with the entire team. We got a little rowdy, but it was a lot of fun. We didn’t get kicked out, so I guess we didn't get too far out of line. I went to the track Monday, but we ended up not testing after how the car ran. I helped the guys load up. I answered a lot of phone calls and did some interviews. I went to dinner with my longtime sponsors, the Jeffrey family of Western Stabilization, and then I flew to Hawaii. I’m going to learn how to surf, and I don’t even know how to swim. We’ll see what happens.