Kicking off the western swing in the No. 1 qualifying spot-- with a 3.92??? Hearing that you might have thought that you were reading an issue of National DRAGSTER in the year 2019 but no, this is 2008! By now everybody knows that we are racing to the 1000 ft. marker and it certainly is an honor to be the first Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier after implementing that change. The Fram dragster was on another tear, thanks to my crew and all of the great support that we receive.

You know, Antron Brown is always a tough competitor but I think that we would have put him on the trailer had we not lost a cylinder at the hit of the throttle during that third round match-up. That’s okay though, it was a good run and we are happy with the consistency of the Fram dragster and crew. Antron went on to the final to face my teammate Tony Schumacher, and Tony brought the Wally back home to DSR. Tony maintained his #1 spot and we moved up into the No. 4 spot in the points so it wasn’t a bad day at all. Obviously, we prefer to win, but it was a decent outcome for us.

The entire Schumacher organization was treated to a nice dinner by the kind folks at Gates. Not just us, but everybody at DSR. We all appreciate their support and hospitality; it’s a pleasure to have them on board. Speaking of “on board...”

Watch for a big surprise from Nordic Boats this weekend! Can’t tell you just yet, but it is going to be very cool! I can’t wait! Stay tuned and keep your ears open and the cat will be out of the bag soon enough. This is gonna be cool! (He jumps up and down and claps his hands with excitement....okay, maybe not, but it’s going to be cool!)

Denver went well, and now on to Seattle. The Fram dragster has done well there in the past, and with the “big mo” going our way, we are looking forward to a rewarding weekend. My daughter, Courtney, will be there with me and the Fram team this weekend so I will have plenty of support! Seattle is a beautiful place to be and it will be a pleasure just to be there.

By the way, did I mention that there is something cool happening with Nordic Boats this weekend?

I mentioned in a recent blog that my grandmother, Dorothy Jones, had passed away. My family gathered in California earlier this week to celebrate her life. It was nice to see everybody and hear all of the nice things that were said about her. I have attached a picture of some of the people who mean the most to me. From left to right: My girlfriend Debi, my daughter Courtney, some driver, my brother-in-law Ray, my mother Carol, niece Amy, sister Colleen and my dad on the end. Remember what I wrote last weekend, tell your family that you love them! -- NOW!

Speaking of family, we are like a big family here at DSR. We have another family within the Fram team. In the next couple of days, I will be preparing the blogs about my team that I promised to post. Next, I will be telling you about Mike Wingo and Mike Vendely. The team couldn’t get down the track without these guys. So stay tuned and I will be telling you their inner-most secrets...just kidding! I will be telling you all about what they do here and how important they are to the Fram dragster team.

Oh, before I close for today, did I mention that Nordic Boats has something really cool in the hopper for this weekend?

See you at the races!