It sure was nice to see packed grandstands and smiling fans at Firebird Raceway again. I TOLD you the weather was going to be great! Good weather, great fans, fast cars, tricky left lane... You saw the coverage on t.v., I guess I don’t have to say much more. I think there were only two victories in the left lane in round one. It happens, kind of like premature acceleration...it happens! Yeah, I’ll get to the red-light in a minute.

We were in the number eight spot until Doug Kalitta punched his way into the show on his last qualifying attempt. Doug bumped us back to the number nine spot and that meant that he had lane choice. Number nine is a really tough spot because you are usually the first pair out and are put in the less desirable lane. Doug was on his game after winning the first Wally of the season at Pomona so I knew that I was going to have to cut a good light against him. The combination of needing a good light and the new timing sequence jumped up and bit me in the header pipe when the light went red. It didn’t help when the tires started to chatter either.

Well, it has always been said in drag racing that if you don’t red light once in awhile, you aren’t trying hard enough. Now that I have convinced myself and Fram dragster fans that I am trying hard, the team can move forward. Not until the green light comes on though! Looking back over my 18-year career as a driver, that was my eighteenth red-light start. One per year; glad I got that over with for the season! Negative people might see that run against Doug simply as a red-light start, I was thinking that it was a display of consistency... I didn’t think you were buying it... Okay, next race...

By the way, I want to thank Charlie Allen and the NHRA Safety Safari for their usual great job. Thanks guys!

Remember when I wrote about the cold weather in Indy and the snow, wind, hail and all the other good stuff that wouldn’t go away? I found a solution, drive a dragster and head to Florida! Gainesville is the next stop on the NHRA Full Throttle tour so that is the direction that the DSR caravan is headed next. Before we get down to business in Gainesville, the teams are going to stop in West Palm for testing sessions. Most of you know that we are only allowed four days per season for testing so this is a big deal. I’ll fire up the motor home and Tori the Top Fuel Dog (aka, the Torinator) will ride shotgun for the ride to Florida. Stay tuned for details and pictures!

Speaking of pictures, some of the neighborhood dogs are realizing that there is a Top Fuel hottie in the neighborhood and they are calling on Miss Tori. Every thirty minutes, some pit bull knocks on the door wanting to know if Tori can come out and play! Attached you will see a picture of the new neighborhood “stud.” At least he thinks he is! His name is Cyrus and he has the hots for Tori. I went out and bought a garden hose...stay tuned! Hey, maybe we can sign him with Fram and they can be top fuel “spokes dogs.” Just a thought. Okay, time to fire up and get to West Palm for testing. I have my camera with me and will snap some shots to share with you next time.

Cory and Tori are on the road again, see you in Gainesville!