A dreary, rain-plagued weekend in Joliet proved to be a dismal affair for the entire DSR team as everybody went out in the first round. Mama said there would be days like this… she wasn’t kidding. Even Tony’s streak of 35 straight first-round victories was snapped when Terry Haddock got by him with a 3.97. Well, now that we have a very bad day behind us, it’s nice to be able to move forward.

The weekend started with a magnificent team party hosted by Don and Sarah Schumacher at their home. As usual, it was a very successful event and a good time was had by all. Great food, adult beverages, wonderful atmosphere, and everybody enjoying each other’s company. Thank you Don and Sarah for another wonderful evening!

Friday brought a road bump or two for the Valvoline Guarantee boys (Usually the Fram Tough Guard boys!). After having some difficulty in the first two rounds of qualifying, Todd and Phil figured things out, and the Valvoline/FRAM machine was back on track and screaming down the dragstrip. As most of you already know, rain delayed the start of eliminations, but once we got going, there were no further delays and racing went on as scheduled.

The folks responsible for preparing the track did a fantastic job drying and readying the surface for racing. The track definitely had teeth, and there was very little tire smoke throughout the day. We were qualified in the No. 9 spot and were the first pair to fire up. Matched up against “Hot Rod” Fuller, who was making his debut appearance of the 2009 season, it was sure to be a tough race. Although the Valvoline/FRAM dragster made its best run of the weekend with a 3.861 to Hot Rod’s 3.885, our reaction times were the determining factor; my .091 light to Fuller’s .059 put us on the trailer. Definitely not a good way to start the day.

Something that hasn’t happened since 2004 occurred in Chicago this past weekend; all of the DSR nitro machines were defeated in round one. That certainly isn’t the way that we do business at Don Schumacher Racing. W.C. Fields once said, “Start each day with a smile — and get it over with.” Hopefully, we have gotten all of our first round ugliness over with and will be able to pick up the pieces and get on with the DSR winning tradition. Adding insult to injury, the Schumachers suffered the loss of a long-time companion, their Rottweiler, Apollo. You all know how much I love dogs. I can’t imagine losing what I consider to be a family member and still putting on a great party and big weekend of racing at my home track. Don, Sarah, and Megan, my heart goes out to you for the loss of Apollo. Better and brighter days are ahead.

It is hard to believe that it has been an entire year since we lost Scott Kalitta in that qualifying accident, but in fact, it is the first anniversary of that tragedy. Jim and Jon Oberhofer are hosting a private event where we will spend time celebrating Scott’s life and career. It will be nice to sit around with everybody and tell stories about Scott. All of us feel lucky that we had him for the time that we did. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that I haven’t thought about Scott. I’m sure that I speak for the entire drag racing community when I say that he is sorely missed.

It was our good friend, Rocky Balboa that said to his son, “It isn’t how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up and fight that matters.” This team is already back up on its feet and ready to start swinging and punching in Englishtown. Watch for the entire DSR team to come out gunning for big game on the east coast and get back to business. Tough times never last, but tough people do. We’re not called the FRAM Tough Guard team for nothing! Full speed ahead to Englishtown…

… and we’ll see you in the fast lane, it’s the one we choose!