Well, when race season is over and all the pressure is gone, we all like to let loose for a night or two. This was the case Sunday night after the race in Pomona. Del Worsham always has his “Megarita” mixer party and let me just say that everybody looks forward to this party. I bet I had 100 people ask me throughout the weekend, “Have you heard if he is still having it?” “Is the nitro mixer going to be there?” and so forth.

So Sunday night after the race was over and things were loaded up. We all headed over to Worsham’s pits ready to party. He didn’t have the nitro margarita mixer this year but it was still just as fun as the previous years. He had gallons and gallons of margaritas and lots of beer as well. He even had a live band, which was unbelievable. People were singing and dancing. Everybody was getting along. This is one thing that I love about NHRA; almost every racer gets along behind closed doors. We all had a blast!

After staying up all night Sunday night, we all woke up Monday morning ready to go to Palm Springs for the banquet. It takes about a little over an hour to get from Pomona to Palm Springs, so we all loaded up and headed out. We checked into the resort were the banquet was held. When you pull up to the resort it feels like you are in an oasis. It is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed. The resort is in the middle of the desert, but it has more flowers and waterfalls than you have ever seen.

We all got ready that night and headed for the banquet. Everyone is all dressed up in their dresses and tuxes looking totally different from what fans normally see at the racetrack. After chatting for a while with numerous racers, I headed to my seat. Before this past weekend I had never been to an NHRA banquet, so I had no idea what to expect. I have also never placed in the Top 10, so I was very excited to be going.

The food was great and the pictures that they showed during the dinner were very memorable. After all, I won my first race this year and the U.S. Nationals as well. Even though those memories have never left my head, it is still an awesome feeling again to see huge pictures of it on a big screen. It actually pumps you up and gets you thinking about the next year. I had a great season and even though I am going to enjoy my off-time, I can’t wait for next season to start.