My off-season this year might be a little longer than normal, but so far I’ve been trying to make the best of it. I told you about our success in Australia so obviously that was awesome. Before I went Down Under, I had the unique opportunity to go to Iraq and Kuwait. I have always wanted to go to both places. I remember watching the footage of the Persian Gulf War when was about 11 years-old and for some reason I wanted to be there. Then I got that same desire again in 2003 when I saw the footage on TV of the war. I think I felt helpless and wanted to do something. I like to travel but not just for the sake of travel; I like to have purpose. My purpose for traveling to the Middle East this December was to help support and build morale for all our service men and women participating in the war. Plus it gives me the opportunity to learn a lot about those countries, and why we occupy them.

I was in Kuwait for about two days and Iraq for 10. Each day, our group of five would travel to as many bases as time would allow. I liked our group. Everyone was really cool, we got along great, and we were able to make traveling in a war zone sort of fun too. Carmen Clem of Pro Sports MVP was our tour director. Arie Luyendyk Jr. who drives for IndyCar went along with Jeff Bodine and Scott Wimmer who both drive for NASCAR. Most days we were up at 5-6 am and on the move until 10 PM. We did meet and greets and met with as many people as we could. We signed autographs and gave away T-shirts. A lot of times we would visit the different work sites on the base. Some soldiers would be really surprised when a group of racers showed up at their worksite. It seemed to brighten their day a little. We went to offices, hospitals, shops, highly confidential places, and any other place on the base where people might be working. What I liked the most was when we actually had the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with the men and woman who eat, sleep, and breathe the war. I learned so much. They asked us questions about racing and we also had the opportunity ask questions about what they do.

Usually we visited about three or four bases per day. It’s still too dangerous in Iraq for ground travel so we flew in BlackHawk helicopters from base to base. They got us where we needed to go really quickly and they’re cool machines. BlackHawks are really intimidating at first. I was a little on edge for the first few flights. You get in the bird and there’s a gunner on each side hugging a large machine gun and looking like they’re ready to shoot at any time. They fly around pretty low to the ground. Eventually, I got used to them and I enjoyed looking at the country of Iraq as we flew over. One minute we could be flying over a densely populated city like Baghdad and the next over a barren dessert of sand. I remember seeing lots of kids out and about in the cities. Sometimes we would see outdoor soccer games being played. That seems like normal occurrence to us, but it was explained to me that during Saddam’s reign, you never saw kids outside playing. Only recently have Iraqi children been able to go outside and act like kids. A lot of the military men and woman who go off the bases try to communicate and make peace with the citizens, especially the kids. They hand out a lot of soccer balls which is a popular item. In the very first MRAP I toured, I was pleasantly surprised to see a stash of toys set aside to be passed out to the Iraqi kids.

An MRAP is a Mine Resistant Armor Protected Vehicle. We got pretty familiar with them because when we visited the work sites, the soldiers liked to show us how their vehicles. They were very proud of their equipment which become their livelihood. It reminded me of me and my dragster which, like them, I’m proud to show to anyone who comes by. We would get full explanations of all the functions of the vehicles. We heard a lot of crazy war stories. Those guys have been through a lot in the MRAPS. They were kind enough to let us take their vehicles for little test drives. At one base, -don’t tell anyone- but they let us race the MRAPs through the mud and sand. They are a little sluggish when you hit the throttle pedal, but I felt pretty safe in them.

One time, the guys were racing around and loving it, but MRAPS’ inability to go forward with any sort of power or G-forces kind of bored me. I wandered around and talked with some different people. I don’t know how, but I ended up in a handstand contest with one of the soldiers. There was a large group around to witness the contest between the race car driver and the army soldier. He won the first contest, so of course I had to challenge him to best 2 of 3. He obliged, and then I won the last two, so thankfully I came away as the victor. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. The whole group at that base, was really up-beat and positive. It was really fun and one of the more memorable experiences of my trip.

I have a lot of memorable experiences from the trip. I could go on and on. I’ll talk more about it in my next blog. I think it’s easy to forget that there are a lot of moms, dads, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends over there sacrificing a lot. I know the economy is bad here and we all are focused on that. It’s easy to be unhappy about that and unhappy about the sacrifices we might be forced to make as a result. I know that after our 08’ season ended, I was feeling sorry for myself and acting kind of pouty because I didn’t and still don’t know when I’ll be able to drive Top Fuel again. However, now I’m trying to remember that I have no good reason to be down and pouting. Our service men and women in the Middle East are sacrificing a lot. I know I appreciate everything they do for our country. Everyday since my trip, I have woken up thankful that I’m not spending 15 months in a war zone, away from my friends and family. I’m grateful that I get to wake up in the USA. I hope we all take the time to honor our service men and women past, present, and future. I wrote down a quote a couple of months again and haven’t forgotten it: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. Life is about learning to dance in the rain.” Or in some cases, having a handstand contest in a war zone.