Well, another Indy has come and gone, and it was another one to remember. As you know, things got a bit toasty for me at the top end in round two, more on that in a minute. I have to say that my crew is doing a fantastic job tuning the Fram Top Fueler, and they are more than ready for the Countdown. I thought that we had the baddest hot rod at the track, and a reliable source sitting in the grandstands confirmed that was the opinion of a lot of race fans. He heard one fan say, “Cory Mac and his boys are tearin’ up the track this weekend, everybody in the Countdown had better watch out!”

I have to admit that I believe that my Fram team is up and ready for this run for the championship. The guys are the best that they have been all year. We had three awesome runs during qualifying, then a minor glitch in round four and corrected it. We got a little greedy during eliminations, trying to win the race and get lane choice in the next round, and broke the tires loose a couple of times. Hey, ya gotta see what the track will hold, luckily, I was able to pedal and cross the line first. Round two was a big match between the Fram/Bud teams — the winner would get the No. 4 spot in the Countdown. It was a good race until I could feel the powerplant mixing it up behind me at about 850 feet. No matter what, a driver doesn’t lift on race day — I didn’t —BOOM! If I had to lose that round, I certainly had to do it with the throttle wide open. What good would it do to lift, lose the race, and save parts? I’m glad that you understand!

My “reliable source” in the grandstands had his trusty Nikon D-300 (I swear he sleeps with it next to his bed) pointed at the Fram dragster all the way down the track. You can see the nice sequence at the right. No, I didn’t get out of the car, face Florida, and thank Big Daddy. I was too busy trying to get out of the HOT fire suit! You might think that the fire was entirely behind me — think again! My helmet paint blistered from the heat, the fire suit, neck brace, gloves, everything except for my shoes, were trashed. The explosion sprayed oil in the cockpit, and the fire burned my suit all the way down my leg. Thank you Impact Racing Equipment. The heat was intense enough to make me feel like I had a sunburn. Again, thanks to Impact Equipment — AND Big Daddy Don Garlits, It wasn’t as bad for me as it could have been. The 55th U.S. Nationals is in the books, we are No. 5 in the Countdown, the crew is coming together nicely, and the Fram dragster has teeth — time to roll!

Time to roll down the highway to Charlotte and the zMax Dragway. Four lanes? That is going to be wild. I thought that I had experienced just about everything that there is to do in my 19 years as a Pro, now they want us to run down the track 4 at a time. Think about it, that’s 32,000 horsepower all at once. It might be worth buying a plane ticket to see this one! Even if I wasn’t racing, I would go just to see this up close.

By the way, I want to thank everybody again for their prayers for little Caroline and her family. If you haven’t read about her, please go back to the blog entry before this one and read it. I’m sure that you will be inspired to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She has a battle ahead of her, and trust me, your prayers will help immensely. Also, thanks again to Jack Beckman for going along and making the visit more successful than I could have hoped for. Little Caroline, we are still thinking about you!

By the way, did anybody find anything out about the paw prints on my laptop? Somebody has been using my computer... We are off this weekend, and the Fram boys are ready for the next race already. That’s a good sign. They are shining and tuning up the best running car that we have had all year long. This is the best time for that to be happening. It’s Countdown time. This is where it matters more than ever, and we are DUE! If you think that last run was hot, wait until the Fram boys are turned loose on the zMax. I remember a quote from General George Patton before his troops went after Hitler, he said (I cleaned it up for prime time) “Ya know, I feel sorry for those poor [guys], I really do!” Then he turned the American troops loose...

See you in the fast lane, it’s the one we choose... and if it breaks loose, I’ll pedal, and we’ll still get there first!