Posted by: Tom Hammonds, Hammonds Racing Chevy
It has been a week or two since my last blog, and a lot has taken place. To start off on a good note, we qualified in Bristol! Soooo, that was really good for us, but at the same time I do not want to bring out the circus yet, because we still have a whole lot of work in front of us.
We started the weekend off going over to Vance Middle School where we had a Race for Achievement program. The Vance Middle School students were outstanding. I think the students learned a lot about our program and about achieving success through hard work, dedication, and faith. Hopefully; it will make a lasting impression on their lives for many years to come. We look forward to visiting next year.
One of our highlights at Vance Middle school other than the school program was the chance to meet the lunch lady. We were out setting up our Chevy Cobalt for the students, and the lunch lady brought us out lasagna, pizza, green beans, and peaches. It was one of the best lunches I have had in a long time. It reminded me of the Saturday Night Live “Lunch Lady Skit” with Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, who played the lunch lady. I kind of got a big chuckle about that, but I give a shoot out to the lunch lady. She would not give me her recipe, but it was very good!
After the achievement program, I had a chance to play in a charity golf tournament to benefit the children’s hospital in Bristol. That was a lot of fun. My swing… I think I can learn from Tiger Woods, but my swing is not too bad. For one, I don’t keep score. I judge my golf game according to how many golf balls I lose. If I lose four or five balls in a day, then I am having a pretty good game. It was really a lot of fun. If I am not mistaken, my team finished in the top five. I also met some new friends as far as my teammates are concerned. I will tell you though, if you see some of those swings from my fellow NHRA competitors, man! (laugh) I tell you what; it looked as though some of my fellow drivers on the NHRA circuit have some sick swings, meaning they look like they are having some problems when they swing. (laugh) It was really funny to see them away from the drag strip.
I have to tell you about my trip to Denver this past week. It had to have been the worst time that I have ever had traveling commercial. First, our plane was late leaving Houston to pick us up in Ft. Walton. The airline turned the plane around as quickly as possible to get us back to Houston for the connecting flight. Well needless to say I missed my flight by only a few minutes. Actually, I could see that the plane was still sitting at the gate. The ticket agent went down to see if they would open the door for a few of us, but they said that it was too late. Oh, well no problem, yet! I know in the past that when you missed a flight, the airlines would put you up in a hotel. Not any more! They gave me a coupon for 20 percent off. But what can you do? I decided that I was going to rough it and find me a quiet spot to get some rest before my flight out the next morning. Boy was I wrong!
About 3:00 a.m., I was awakened by a gentleman with a vacuum cleaner strapped to his back vacuuming right next to my feet! My first thought was “Doesn’t he see that I’m sleeping?” I could not understand why he had to vacuum right next to me when there was a whole airport that was dirtier that the little space that was occupied by me. I wanted to wrap the hose around his neck! Lucky for him, I’m a Christian, and my better half prevailed. I thought you might get a kick out of my overnight escapade in the Houston airport. One thing I will say, that was my first time sleeping in an airport by choice, and it will be my last. I will take the 20-percent-off coupon.
Oh well, we’re here in St. Louis getting ready to test before Topeka. I would not say we are in a position to win every race, but I feel very comfortable with how our performance is coming along. Hopefully that first elusive win will not be far behind.