We’re back on the road after being home for a week. I really thought we were going to have a rough time leaving Chicago with the crazy weather we had, but the flight was fine. While we were home, we had some bracket racing to do and more landscaping. We are having a pergola built in preparation for our outdoor kitchen. If you haven’t been able to tell by now, I love the outside, probably because I spend such a significant amount of time indoors for work.

Gary usually has our bracket-racing rig packed and ready to go for when I get off work. This time it was a Division 7 race in Fallon at Top Gun Raceway, and he left on Thursday. Mom, Dad, and I went up on Saturday to crew and cheer. Gary was pretty happy with his car’s performance and making it into the KD Canopy qualifying race. They take the top eight qualifiers after the first two qualifying sessions, and you race the rest of your qualifying for the KD Canopy purse. Our friend Tony B, whom I have written about in the past, also qualified. The guys were pretty happy since it was the first time for both of them to run their cars in the Super Gas category. Gary went a couple rounds in the KD Canopy race on Saturday. Tony was figuring out some mechanical issues with his car, along with some help from a few other regular Division 7 racers. Not sure, but I think finally on Saturday night, they isolated and fixed the issue. It was somewhat a who’s who of NHRA Drag Racing as “Fast Jack” Beckman made an appearance along with the notorious and ever-popular Alan Reinhart.

I started writing this blog a few weeks ago and put down my computer and just picked it up again after leaving an emotional race in Englishtown. I’m not really sure what to say, except that we are leaving with a heavy heart. It was one of the most surreal experiences to be involved in as the racers and fans alike seemed to all collectively hold their breaths Saturday night and engage in whispering prayers and comments of hope as we waited for some information. Fans slowly began to exit out of the stands and, almost in a dazed-like state, mindlessly walk around the pits seeking information like the hungry would scour for food. Ultimately, the news came, and it was as if God hit the mute button for a moment. I saw many eyes turn up to the sky and even more look down to the ground, and all seemed to be silent with the news or softly mumbling something for no one to hear. I walked back to our pit with little recollection of my travel, yet vividly remembering the unusual sense of quiet shock as the thousands of people exited the racetrack.

Race day too had a solemn undertone that was hard to describe, but evident by all. Fewer words were spoken and often times you would look around and see drivers, crew members, and NHRA staff sometimes grouped together, not saying a word, just gazing, thinking, remembering.

At the end of the day, we move on. We race, we crew, we cheer, and we will always remember.