Heartland Park Topeka, Sunday Tech, test and tune

We rolled into HPT at straight up noon, and straight into total chaos!! I was overwhelmed by the amount of cars and things going on in every direction. Our '06 DragWeek was much smaller. I began to wander as we pitted, if it would even be possible for me to enter on site, or if the 250 car limit had been reached. The only semblance of any organization was a massive snakelike single car tech line which was strung out throughout the whole facility.
After talking to a few people about the process, we realized the HR staff were just as overwhelmed as we were!! Get in the back of the tech line, and wait, someone will bring you a tech card as you approach the tech barn...that was it. We unloaded Boone's 67 and sent him to the line as our test subject. Meanwhile Dale's 66 had no working horn, and my Valiant had no working lights of any kind, so we unloaded them and went to work.
The line was moving terribly slow, and as seasoned NHRA vets, Dale and I realized there was no way on earth they could cut this thing off at 2.
"We've got time".
"Yeah..We'll just work on them 'til the line dwindles down then jump in."
"Wanna check 'em out?"
"Yeah, let's go see what they are looking at".

** Tech Tip **
It's always a good idea to meander up to the tech area of any new track or event and watch how they tech, and what they are keen on looking for...the process, the timing, and the individual inspectors. This can give you a better idea of how to approach them, and how to best get by with those 1,2 or 10 things on your car which aren't quite right.
** **

Boone went through without an issue, and came out of the tech barn, with his goody bag, and car numbers. 1 down, 2 to go. Darren wired my horn in, as Dale chopped out the original fuse box, and ran power into the stock 50 year old body wiring. Dims/brights, taillights, turn signals, all fired to life without a hitch. The brake light switch was trashed though, so no brake lights. Dale's 66 got a nitrous relay to replace his wounded horn relay, and we jumped in line behind the last 10 or so cars. The guy handing out tech cards was already gone, so Darren went to rustle up tech cards. He came back with a HotRod junior staffer, who said, "Hey, you guys were supposed to be in line by 2pm...
We cut him off with icy stares..."not that it's a problem, here just fill these out".

1st stop was the NHRA tech official. I managed to work him away from the interior of the car fairly quickly before he discovered the broken lower window net rod. One small victory at a time. Freiburger walked up next, twirling the famous "Go, No Go" guage in his hands, "What class?"
"Hopefully Modified," I replied, "Unless the tire is too wide and I'm forced into Pro Street."
He seemed pleased at the chance to put the guage to work, and crawled under the car to give the 315/60's a jab or two. "Yeah, those will work, looks like fun"
We tried to pull a fast one on Keith Turk, and nearly got by with the brake lights, but he wrote us down as having a taillight issue on his "naughty list" and said "Come see me tomorrow". The Valiant rolled across the scale at 2905 less driver... I was pleased with that after adding an extra seat, Dyna Mat, carpet, nitrous, and exhaust system.

Back at the trailer, we all 4 breathed a sigh of relief, teched in, ready for tomorrow(kinda)...the roar of cars running T&T, but all we wanted was out of the searing sun, a shower, and sleep. We left the cars at the track, disconnected from the trailer, and headed for the motel.