Aug 16

Why has it taken me 34 years to do this?


Posted: under Fun Stuff, General, NHRA, Praise, family.
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I’m sure that people who follow me on Twitter and Facebook already are well aware of this, but I’m posting it here ’cause I want to remember my feelings later on when I ego search myself and read my old posts.  (BTW, for those that are reading this on Facebook, do me a favor and click here to read the rest of this – my blog looks better and has pretty pictures you can look at..  :) )

Anyway, today, after 34 years of being an auto racing fan, following everything from F1 to WRC, I attended my first NHRA drag racing event.  Lori was away for the weekend, and the Lucas Oil Nationals were being held in Brainerd, MN, only a 2 hour drive from here.  As an added bonus, Lori got me tickets through her job, so the only thing I had to spend on it was gas money.  For about 30 bucks, this was a no-brainer for me.

I have been saying for years that I needed to get over to one of these, but never went, even when I had a venue in my backyard in NH.  And I am SO glad I did.  It’s hard to put into words what being at the event is like.  Tuning in on TV doesn’t do it any justice.  That is mostly true for any racing venue, but this is extra-true for NHRA.

I got to the track early, since Lori’s tickets included a pit pass and VIP tickets to the Fram/U.S. Army tent, and I wanted to soak it all in before actually watching some racing.  A few random thoughts and observations from the day:

  • NHRA does a GREAT job giving the fans the opportunity to really get full-access to the total experience.  I stepped onto pit road and was immediately surprised to see that spectators are allowed to go just about anywhere.  From watching the crews work on the cars, to the listening to the roar of engine-testing right up close, to the drivers and crew wandering the pits and signing autographs, there is virtually nothing that you aren’t allowed to see or do.
  • The wrench-head in me loves a good, loud, horsepower-laden motor.  A few feet into the pits, a crew fired one up and started revving it.  I am not going to lie when I say that it was so loud it scared the beejesus out of me.  There’s loud, then there’s 8000 horsepower loud.  Like nothing I have ever heard before, and probably never ever will again.  It’s pretty scary, and this was only a little “vroom-vroom”.  Little did I know at the time, this was nothing compared to what the on-track experience is like.
  • A tip for anyone that ever goes to a race: when wandering the pit lane, if you see a bunch of crew members start up an engine, then don full-face gas masks, don’t stand anywhere near the exhaust.  These cars burn nitrous for fuel, and when it comes out the pipes, it’s a little, um, caustic.  I quickly realized that I couldn’t breathe due to the intense burning in my mouth, nose, and throat.  Trying to quickly leave an area is pretty difficult too when your eyes are burning and watering so bad you cannot see.  Oddly enough, I was more excited about this than I should have been.  When I’m 85, and I wonder why I am not going to live to see 86, I will look back to this day and wonder.
  • It has been super-dry in Minnesota this summer, with only a couple of inches of rain in like 3 months.  Of course, since I decided to do something today where rain cripples all activities, it poured all morning.  This was the perfect time to check out the VIP tent, I figured.  Once in the tent, I was pleasantly surprised to see that on either side I was flanked by two actual racecars, to the right was Cory Mac’s Top Fuel dragster, to the left was 6-time world champ (1999,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008) Tony Schmacher’s.  Topping it off, the crews were assembling a bunch of parts on them, and I was allowed to watch from about 4 feet away.  I was channeling Tim Allen in my head with the man-grunts.
  • At 11, it was clear they were not going to start the racing anytime soon.  So, they brought out the two drivers to talk to the small crowd of about 20 people that had VIP tickets.  We all got to ask them questions, shoot the bull, etc.  Unfettered access to world-class drivers is truly the best medicine for a rain delay.  And as everyone who has talked to any driver from any racing class knows, they really are the best story-tellers.  I mean, who else can tell you “this one time when I flipped my dragster at 330MPH, I got hit by the other car, breaking my car into 20 pieces, broke both my legs, then got into the helicopter, which came 10 feet from crashing into power lines when we took off…” and then laugh their asses off?
  • Come 12PM, it was time for lunch.  The menu?  Filet Mignon with all the fixins.  And I mean *good* filet, not that rubbery crap you’d expect.  And to top it all off, Tony Schumacher himself joined our table for lunch.  Everyone gets to talk to him, ask more questions, whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t involve autograph requests or pictures.  I asked about the first time he drove an 8000 HP car at 330+.  He basically said he was “scared shitless”.  This was another in a line of awesome, awe-inspiring things I got to see today.  Not every day you get to lunch with the guy who has won 6 world championships in the past ten years, and on track to win the 7th.
  • Finally, belly full, my PGA fix satisfied (there were two 60 inch plasmas broadcasting the Hazeltine event in the tent), it was time to race.  I was somewhat disappointed in the seating.  We were about 50 yards or so from the start line.  I thought, based on everything else I saw, we’d be truly trackside.  After I saw the first top-fuel run, I saw that I was PLENTY close.  And even thought we were maybe too close.
  • I’ll try to explain an entire run.  First, the cars fire up (they are pushed/pulled to the line powerless).  That is loud.  Then they drive over some water sprayed down to get the tires wet for the burnout.  Then they go about half throttle and “burn” the tires to get them nice and hot and sticky for the run.  That is extremely loud, prompting me to reach for the free earplugs (something I have never used at a racing event).  It hurt my eardrums – literally.  They then back up and “stage”, meaning they pull up as close to the line as possible.  Then the really good stuff happens.  To call the launch off the starting line “explosive” is not doing it any justice whatsoever.  I read somewhere the description of a top fuel run as “feeling as though the entire drag strip is being bombed”.  That’s probably the best description.  There is lots of fire, a shit-ton of noise (120DB, louder than a Boeing 747 jet airliner at take-off power), and the cars leave the line so fast they are quite literally a vibrating blur.  It’s almost surreal.  The aluminum stands vibrate like an earthquake, your insides vibrate, and your eyeballs struggle to focus on what you are seeing – 16,000+ horsepower being unleashed all at once.  And then, in under 4 seconds, it’s all over.  The adrenaline rush is just insane.  You cannot wait for the next pair to start it all over again.
  • I wondered why no one was trying to take pictures after I picked my jaw up from under the stands.  I pulled out my fancy new camera, figuring I could get a shot or two of them launching off the start.  Talk about your exercise in futility.  Every shot I got was too early or too late.  My reaction time was no match for these guys.

All in all, this was an eye-opening experience that I am so glad to have been a part of.  I highly encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go and check it out. Even if you are not a fan of racing, it’s just something that you need to do at least once.  I have boatloads more respect to every one of those drivers who I used to laugh at for “just driving in a straight line”.  To my New England friends, get a ticket to the Epping Dragway the next time these guys come around.  Send me the bill if you are disappointed.

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