Drag Racing
Hey all, what's up? Wow, what a great weekend! Lol Friday, two friends came over and helped do the final little touch-ups on the Nova. Saturday...I DRAG RACED AT THE RACE TRACK!!! WOO! Lol It was great! I was nervous as hell during the entire drive to the race track (we drove in the truck and my nova was on a trailer), but right when we got there and I saw all the cars and heard the screaming engines, I got far less nervous and got much more excited. When we first pulled in, I got in the Nova and drove it off the trailer. Then Bob (my dad) and I had to fill out a bunch of papers. After that, I got to go inside the tower (for those of you who don't know, the tower is a small, two-story high building where the announcers sit so they can clearly watch all the cars the entire way down the track). Last but not least, the inspector came over to my car and inspected it and all of my racing gear to make sure it matched all NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) guidelines. When he was done, I went into the stands and watched a few drag races to get myself in the "zone". When I decided I was ready, my "camera-men" (two friends and my little sister who were recording all of my races) got into their spots and then I got dressed up into my fire-suit and helmet, got buckled in, and got into my lane.
I had a touching moment with my dad right then, :-). Lol I looked at my dad and said, "We've been waiting for this moment since I was old enough to talk. Now we're here, I'm drag racing." He had tears in his eyes and smiled huge and said, "I know! I'm excited!"
Anyway, when it was my turn to race, I pulled up into the burn-out spot, burnt out, then I scooted up to the Christmas Tree (the Christmas Tree is the column of lights that tells me when to scoot up, when to rev my engine, and when to go). When the light reached green, I let off the brake and slammed on the gas in .12 of a second (there's a sensor and the racers are given a little slip of paper with that information on it).
Although I've street-raced far too many times to count, this was my first time racing down a drag strip (a race track). As I was shooting down the track, I slammed my shifter into second gear and then only what was directly in front of me stayed in focus. Everything on the sides, top, and bottom of my field of vision turned blurry due to the speed. It was absolutely...amazing.
I then shifted into third gear in which I shortly after reached the Finish Line. I raced around eight times on Saturday, I had a blast.
**A special thanks to my dad (for everything), Rick (a professional drag-racer who gave me tips between each of my races), Scott, Blake, and Kelly (for taking time out of your day to hold a video-camera and record each of my races).**
I had a touching moment with my dad right then, :-). Lol I looked at my dad and said, "We've been waiting for this moment since I was old enough to talk. Now we're here, I'm drag racing." He had tears in his eyes and smiled huge and said, "I know! I'm excited!"
Anyway, when it was my turn to race, I pulled up into the burn-out spot, burnt out, then I scooted up to the Christmas Tree (the Christmas Tree is the column of lights that tells me when to scoot up, when to rev my engine, and when to go). When the light reached green, I let off the brake and slammed on the gas in .12 of a second (there's a sensor and the racers are given a little slip of paper with that information on it).
Although I've street-raced far too many times to count, this was my first time racing down a drag strip (a race track). As I was shooting down the track, I slammed my shifter into second gear and then only what was directly in front of me stayed in focus. Everything on the sides, top, and bottom of my field of vision turned blurry due to the speed. It was absolutely...amazing.
I then shifted into third gear in which I shortly after reached the Finish Line. I raced around eight times on Saturday, I had a blast.
**A special thanks to my dad (for everything), Rick (a professional drag-racer who gave me tips between each of my races), Scott, Blake, and Kelly (for taking time out of your day to hold a video-camera and record each of my races).**