Hey everyone… I want to start off today by apologizing for not posting a blog since May 9. I know that this is a lame excuse, but there really hasn't been anything drag racing-related going on around here until last night. More about that later.

First off. I've received a lot of e-mails from you readers asking what's up with our racing this year and when will the "GilbyMonster" (his new nickname) be back at the track?

Answer… I'm pretty sure that we'll be racing at zMax Dragway right up the street in September. It will probably be our only race this year unless one of the sponsorship deals we've been working on happens. I can tell you that we've got a few Charlotte area companies interested in a one-race deal for the Carolina Nationals, so hopefully we'll have good news to report soon.

Now let's get to Gilby's guest bartender gig I told you guys about in a previous blog. This idea was hatched by Erica Meade, who is the former office manager at TEMCO. Her mom owns a bar and grill, The Pour House, just over the state line in Indian Land, S.C., just minutes from Charlotte. Erica, who tends bar there part time, was always telling her customers about Gilby's racing exploits, and after giving all of them autographed handouts and having the ESPN coverage on the bar's TVs, she created a few new drag racing fans that hang out there.

So a few months ago Erica asked me if I thought Bob might stop by sometime, hang out for a while, and meet some of his newest fans. I asked Bob if he was interested, and he jumped at the chance. Then it got crazy. Erica said let's get a band, make Gilby the guest bartender, and have a party. We had some scheduling problems to work out, but yesterday afternoon it all came together.

Now the Pour House is right on Hwy 521, a pretty busy four-lane highway. So we decided to drag out our original "Jungle Jim" tribute car, haul it down there, and park it right out front to attract some attention.

Well attract some attention it did. Literally hundreds of folks just cruising down the highway saw "Jungle" sitting there by the side of the road and stopped by to check out what was happening. We ended up with a pretty good crowd, Gilby was a maniac behind the bar, and a good time was had by all.

Insert shameless plug here… I'm very pleased to let all of you know that I've been invited by Cordova Dragway Park to announce their "NostalgiaFest" race on Friday and Saturday, June 26-27. It's one of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series races, and it will be one of the biggest nostalgia events in the Midwest. I was last at Cordova in the ’70s with "Jungle," and I'm looking forward to returning. Thanks to Scott and Tazz for putting this deal together, and if you're in the Quad Cities area that weekend please stop by and say hi. For more information on this race click this: http://www.cordovadrag.com/2009/events/nostalgiafest.html

That's it for now, I'll type at you soon…

BB