It’s that time of year again when we faithful NHRA reporters foray from the medium of print to bring you up-to-the-minute news and reports from the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil via the blogosphere. Phil Burgess, Candida Benson, Kevin McKenna, Kelly Wade, and I will seamlessly transition from being National DRAGSTER editors to being your online orators of ORP, the raconteurs of Raceway Park, the hosts of high-horsepower on high-speed Internet, the narrators of the Nationals, the Lords of Blogtown, if you will.

I, for one, can’t wait to exit the air taxi and step foot in the Midwest and venture about O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for the most prestigious event of the year. Most racers claim that they go to the racetrack to see their friends. Well, the U.S. Nationals is like a big family reunion.

I also compare Indy to a big music festival that all your favorite artists are taking part in. Even though the race spans six days, you kind of have to time it so that you don’t miss the performers you came to see but still have time to check out everything on display, cruise the facility, and pick the occasions to take a load off. The biggest difference between the two events is that being in the pits at the drag races is like seeing your favorite bands backstage, with a few whaps of the throttle being the dress rehearsal before the show.

I’m going to keep better track of my time this year so I can come up with somewhat of an itinerary for like-minded racing fans and to make my use of time as efficiently as possible at future events. As long as the event is, I still leave feeling like I didn’t get to ride every roller coaster at an amusement park. There is also so much to see and do that intentions of waiting around for one thing in particular can make the Big Go seem like the Big Slow.

Between doing my regular job at a national event (covering Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and pieces of the overall event), blogging here, and a debilitating Facebook addiction (I blame you, Burgess), I expect the pace to be nothing short of frantic, which I enjoy. I’ve grown up with a drag racing sickness that gives me a twisted sort of joy out of trying to do a lot in a short period of time. Driving into the facility for the first time gives me a rush similar to a football player leaving the locker room and running through the tunnel before the game starts.

This weekend, you can expect me to post blogs that recap my experiences from the race, profile racers, throw tidbits at you, poke fun at myself and others, and include obscure pop-culture references. I’m committed to bringing you, the reader, the news as it happens. If Alan Johnson drops a wrench, you’ll be the first to know.

This is the one of only one or two races this year where I make ill-fated attempts to take photos to post them onto blog posts. I'm going to have to have Marc Gewertz or Jerry Foss refresh my memory, starting with where the button is on the camera that I need to hold to take pictures.

Please be sure to check out all of our blogs, which will have something for everybody coming from our different perspectives of the race. Phil is not only our boss; he’s our Pat Foster, our “Mr. Everything.” His experience and storytelling ability will offer compelling reading, as those of you who read his other blog already know. Candida gives a great firsthand account of the event from her end as well. The two can get pretty landlocked due to their duties to all things NHRA.com, but it gives them a great overall feel for the race from seeing much of it from the tower, and they also provide great insight from their individual escapades to the pits.

Kevin McKenna has been in his own version of horsepower heaven having spent the week in Indy, going to the Moto GP event last weekend. I’m sure the two-wheel enthusiast will have stories that include Valentino Rossi along with his usual, unparalleled insights on Pro Stock Motorcycle racing and the NHRA Mopar Hemi Challenge. If Charlie Westcott stubs his toe, you’ll find it on "K Mac’s" blog.

I’m always interested to read what Kelly Wade finds, as she is our bottomless well of enthusiasm that my cynical outer shell restrains me from matching. Her tales are endearingly wide-eyed, though she has gotten pretty keen on her favorite class. I may have to request her approval to converse with some of my companions in the Pro Stock pits.

I want everyone to feel free to send any questions or comments to blittlefield@nhra.com. Complaints can be sent there, too, but go easy on me.

I’m going to Indy with an open mind, a laptop, and some blank notepads ready to be filled. My agenda is loose because I’ll let the course of the event dictate the stories. As the great Snoop Dogg once said, “I don’t get ready, because I stay ready.”