Well we went to Las Vegas intending to make eight runs down the track – four in qualifying and four on race day. We got our eight runs in but we had to stay until Monday to complete that mission. We tested and made two runs the day after advancing to the quarterfinals on race day. Obviously we wish we would have completed them all by Sunday evening but I know it won’t be long before are able to do that. All in all, our KB Racing team had a good weekend especially considering our trips to Vegas in 2007 didn’t go so well. I’m glad we could get some good runs in for our team owners, Ken, Judy, Kenny Black, and all their family. We have qualified in the top half of the field for four out of five races and we have had the top speed of the meet at four out of five races. I like how things are looking for us in the remaining 19 races.

I’m also glad we were able to get the photo I posted here. It’s really tough to get all those guys together and it’s even tougher to get them to pose for a picture. I always get a lot of eye rolling when I pull out the blog camera. However, Lisa Vanbeek came by our pit on Saturday afternoon before our final qualifying session and rounded everybody up for a group photo. She works at Vicci and is responsible for our team uniforms. It’s really rare when we can get Ken Black, Kenny Black, my Dad, Steve, the Technicoat Cowboys, Bob Coffman, Glenn Williams, and my whole team including our crew chief Jim Oberhofer, assistant crew chief Troy Fasching, Coby Campbell, Jerry Cook, Tom Davis, “Beaker” Chris Glass, “Vander” Mike LaJoice, and Mac Savage all together. Unfortunately, Judy Black, “Waterboy” Dewey Burroughs and my Grandpa were missing from the photo. How fortunate am I to be able to stand amongst that group?

I really try not to, but I do feel a little more pressure at this race. For the most part, it’s self-imposed pressure but it’s only because I want to do well for a number of different reasons. For one thing, it’s the home track of our team owners, Ken, Judy, and Kenny Black. A lot of their family, employees, and business associates come to the race.

Ken’s friend Cliff Findlay also came to the race. He owns Findlay Automotive Group which is one of our associate sponsors. He has a number of dealerships in Las Vegas as well as in Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. We got our tow vehicle from his Findlay Chevrolet dealership in Las Vegas. I believe Bob Vandergriff’s team also got their tow vehicle from Findlay. We always talk about how good our dragster runs, but we never talk about our good our tow vehicle runs. It’s a big white van that pulls our dragster to the staging lanes, back to the pits, and it criss crosses the country from race to race. As cool as our big white van is, the Findlay dealerships have lots of other vehicles that are even cooler.

Also, one of our sponsors, Technicoat, is based in Vegas. Their home office is right down the street from the track. At this race, they had hospitality between mine and Dave Grubnic’s pit space so they could host a lot of their customers and clients. The hospitality area is great because people get to sit in the shade, relax and enjoy some refreshments while they are actually in our pits. It’s the closest you can get. It seemed like everyone had good time. They even had a margarita machine that they rented for the event seemed like it was pretty popular.

We always keep in mind that this event is the Summit Racing.com nationals and so we want to do well for Summit. We are really thankful to have their support. They are an associate sponsor on my dragster as well as the three other Kalitta Motorsports cars. Also they are the major sponsors of my KB Racing teammates, Greg Anderson and Jason Line. Jason won the whole event in Pro Stock which was really was really cool to see. I can’t wait until both the KB Racing Top Fuel team and Pro Stock teams get to be in the winner’s circle at the same time.

I also want my family to be in the winner’s circle when we win and they were at this race. My Dad and Grandpa made the drive from Northern California. My Mom also came to this race. I got to spend a little bit of time with my Mom over the weekend. It’s the first time she has seen me race somewhere other than Sonoma, besides on TV. She and her friend Ron also made the long drive down from Northern California. She sat in the grandstands and was excited that I was right in front of her when I stopped after my burnout.

Right now I’m in Minneapolis waiting for my connecting flight back to Michigan. I got my taxes done early for a change so I don’t have to rush back and try to get them done since today is the deadline. Actually I did them so early my refund has already been deposited to my account. Unfortunately, I won’t have money to deposit to my account from any Vegas gaming tables or slot machines. I guess you have to play to win and I didn’t. I’ll check back from Michigan in a few days.