Everybody keeps asking me when I’m going to write my blog about our first win. Actually I did write it last week. In the blog I talked about how busy things were and how I hadn’t gotten much sleep. Well I guess I illustrated that point pretty well because I forgot to attach the actual Word document when I emailed the blog. Then I wasn’t around my computer for awhile and couldn’t resend it and thought it was too late. I guess it’s never too late, even in blog world, so I sent that one along with this new one.
Things have slowed down somewhat since then. The week following our win brought us a lot of media exposure. It seems like I was doing lots of interviews for radio, TV, and newspaper. We were on TV a bunch during the week and during the Chicago race. All that practice is good for me because I’m definitely more comfortable sitting in my 8,000-horsepower dragster than sitting in front of a camera. The timing of all this is great because, as you know, we have really been working on securing a primary sponsor for our team. All this media attention shows our potential sponsors the kind of exposure they are going to get by teaming with us.
We brought our car to downtown Chicago for a spot on the morning show of the local NBC station. It was so cool to roll out our KB Racing Dragster on the famous Michigan Avenue. I heard that this was the first time a dragster has ever been on that street. Thankfully it was at 6:00 am in the morning so it wasn’t too crowded around there yet. It was still dark outside when my team arrive so we all had to get up pretty early which wasn’t so cool but it was well worth it. I got to talk with the reporter on air for a good two minutes. Hopefully we turned some more people into NHRA POWERade Drag Racing fans!
On Sunday before the race, Jim O and I were on NHRA Race Day with Dave Rieff and Mike Dunn. I have never been on it before, but it was fun. While I was sitting up there, I couldn’t help but remember how I used to religiously watch that show. I used to spend a lot my Sundays stuck at home instead of racing. NHRA Today, as it was called then, would come on at 8 am on Sunday morning in California where I lived. I would set my alarm for 7:30 a.m., even though it was my one day off to sleep in. I would go get some coffee and make sure I was glued to the TV by 8 a.m. Then I would watch the race coverage on ESPN2 later in the day and wish like crazy that I could be there. It’s kind of cool to look back on those days and appreciate where I am today.
It was awesome to see the DHL Funny Car do so well this last weekend in Joliet. That team has struggled but they have hung in there and they ran well Sunday. Connie seemed really happy which was cool to see. Scott is kind of like an older brother to me. He has always been willing to help me out and give me advice whenever I need it. I was glad to see him drive the funny car to final. I can’t wait until both our teams are in the winner’s circle.
I also can’t wait to share the winner’s circle with my KB Racing teammates, Greg Anderson and Jason Line. I’ll be spending some time with them this weekend at Super Summit. They will bring one of their Pro Stock cars to the annual event at Summit’s headquarters in Tallmadge, Ohio. We will spend the day signing autographs and mingling with Summit employees and customers This will be my third time going to the annual event. I’m sure I’ll have some good pics to share.
I will have lots of cool news to share over the next couple of weeks. For example, our car is getting a wrap on it as I write this so we will have a new look for Englishtown. I can’t wait to tell you about it. I am hopeful that things are going to keep getting better and better for our team.