Last weekend in Houston was the 50th event for the KB Racing Top Fuel team. I guess if we were trying to be spectacular for the occasion, we accomplished that. However it was not in the way we wished to be spectacular. On our third qualifying pass Saturday afternoon, we had an explosion like I have never experienced in my previous 49 Top Fuel events.

Ironically, I was really hot and dripping with sweat before the run because there was a delay and I was suited up and strapped in the car waiting for nearly 60 minutes. Little did I know, the cockpit was about to get much warmer. When it was finally time to go, the car launched and everything felt pretty good. Then, as expected, I got to the bump in the track and my KB Dragster became a handful. I was determined to keep the thing in the groove. The motor wasn’t going to let me. It didn’t feel right, and just as I was about to take my foot off the throttle pedal….KA BOOM. In that moment I didn’t have time to process what was going on. There’s no time get nervous, no time to wonder what’s happening or why. My brain just knows: CHUTES, BRAKE, CAR IN LANE, STOP.

Looking back, I think my head got launched forward because I lost sight of the track for a split second. I remember I saw a lot of orange all around me. It’s a really weird feeling to be enveloped in flames while going over 250 mph. Thankfully the flames disappeared from my vision as fast as they appeared. It seemed like the chutes took forever to deploy so I thought maybe they had burned off. I thought I was headed for the sand so I yanked the brake handle even harder. It was a very comforting feeling when I got pushed forward into the seatbelts because the chutes deployed. Thankfully the car stopped just passed the first turn off, the flames went out, and NHRA Safety Safari was there before I could even get unbuckled. I try to stay ready for anything but that was the last thing I expected to happen because that’s rare for us. It’s just a reminder that anything can happen with those cars. The most painful part was the expense. We damaged a lot of stuff that costs a lot of money to replace. Our team owner, Ken, doesn’t complain but we definitely don’t like hurting stuff like that.

On a positive note, a couple of good things did come from it. One cool thing was that I got to help out on the car. On most Professional race teams, the driver doesn’t do a whole lot on the car. I learned it’s best if I just stay out of the way because the guys have their routine. I feel kind of useless sometimes when my team is working all the time, and I’m not, but I know they definitely do a great job without the driver’s assistance. I felt helpless Saturday after our explosion. We had a huge mess. The guys were busting their butts and I was just standing there not knowing what to do. Plus it just happened to be the hottest and most humid day we’ve had this year. Then they asked me to jump in and help. You didn’t have to ask me twice. I was so happy to grab some tools, get my hands dirty, and help out. I used to be more involved with working on the race cars when I raced with my family. It was kind of a weird adjustment for me not to help when I went to Top Fuel. I was more than happy to help out when they asked me on Saturday.

We were able to make it back up to the starting line in time for the fourth round of qualifying. (not that anything I did made that possible. I think I was a bit clumsy with the tools from lack of practice) My team did what they had to do in a short amount of time through the sweat. It was lot of work but the team did an excellent job as always and everything worked correctly on our 4th qualifying attempt. Team members from Doug, Scott, and Grubnic’s cars came over to assist after they got their own cars ready for last qualifying run. It was a real Kalitta Motorsports team effort. I am always proud to be part of a team effort like that.

I like being a part of multi-car team most of the time, but I don’t like it when we have to race each other, especially in the early rounds. Our KB team got paired up with the Mac Tools team in round one on Sunday. I like everyone on that team and all, but I wanted to beat them pretty bad. It was our turn. However, we all know drag racing doesn’t know turns. Unfortunately, we came up just short. I never get used to losing and practice at it never makes it easier.

The Mac Tools team won a different kind of “drag race” on Thursday before the real drag race, so maybe they carried that momentum with them into Sunday. We all went to the 1st annual Team Kalitta Crawfish Boil and “Drag Race.” Andy, from the DHL Funny Car team, and his wife Mali, hosted a party at their house in Tomball, Texas, on Thursday night. All four teams went and I know I had a really good time. We ate crawfish and lot of other good food. Then the four teams squared off in a relay-style “drag race” where they were assigned women’s outfits to wear. I tried to take pictures but I was laughing so hard I didn’t really capture any good ones. Thankfully, Mali’s friend, Cara Dubcak, captured some photos that I could post here. Watching those guys trying to run in women’s dresses, high heels, wigs, and purses in hand was the funniest thing ever. I wish you all could have seen it.

So now, all our race cars, trucks and trailers went directly to Vegas from Houston so we don’t waste money on fuel bringing them all the way back to Michigan. I’m back at the office in Michigan helping try and secure sponsors for our team. I’m working with Ben, Todd, Rachel, Jim O, and John Glover on some different things. We are really trying to work together to make this happen. I think we have some good things in the works. I just microwaved some popcorn and I left it in there a little too long. I really burnt it up and now our whole office stinks. Jim O reminded me that it’s the second thing I’ve charcoaled in less than a week. Let’s hope it’s the last. I’ll check back early next week.