We pulled up in the driveway, and off in the grass, It appeared to be a long drive, with about 5 different houses sharing it, all built off to the right of that road. The first house was a good distance down, so we didn't feel as though we were parking in someone's yard.
Clarke had the passenger's side valve cover off, and it appeared as though he was checking the valvetrain, his sidekick, and James were each hold ing small flashlights.
Dale walked over, "thinks he nicked some lifters".
"Well, we can definitely supply some light" I added.
We pulled the generator out of Dale's car, a drop cord out of Boone's, and an aluminum bell, big bulb, clip light out of my car, and had it looking like a photo shoot in short order. Darren had a snap-on case out quickly, one of 2 or 3 he had brought...he's a bit of a tool junky, so I had no idea. Out came a borescope with removable screen, and the next thing I know, they have it shoved down in between the rockers and I hear Dale say, "See Clarke, it's the back 2, they look lower".
"Would be the back", Clarke lamented, "Better get it apart and see what we're dealing with".
I'd never really paid attention to what a dominator carbed big block engine looked like in a 95 Camaro, but I now know, it's not a fun deal!! The back of the carb nearly rests against the windshield, the rest of the engine from that point back is under the cowl. It was so tight the carb had to be removed separately, to get the intake off.
Clarke realized that neither he or James had torx bits, and we didn't either. Dale looked at his watch, "It's 8:30, O'reillys closes at 9:00, and we are only about 10 miles from Guthrie".
Clarke made a list, and Boone took off in the Belvedere. They drained the coolant, and had the intake off, when it became evident that a lifter swap wasn't gonna get it.
I heard someone say, "It ate the cam, one of the rollers is completely gone"! 20 years ago, I would've shook my head and made some degrading comment about his choice of engines, but I like to think I'm a kinder, more progressive Mopar Man now, or maybe it was his close proximity to long, heavy tools that tempered my judgement.
"Was leading my class..third year in a row I haven't finished, cam and lifters, then bottom end, now cam and lifters", Clarke was really bummed, "3 different engine builders".
We had seen quite a few different groups of competitors drive by, but no-one else stopped. An elderly man drove up in a 3/4 ton Pick-up, and asked if we needed help.
"You live down this drive?" I heard Clarke ask.
"Yes, yes I do".
"You think you could store my car in your drive for a few days 'til I get back here with my truck and trailer"?
"Not a problem, young man, let's go down to the house and get a tow rope".
Clarke jumped in the truck, as the rest of us stood there, kinda stunned. I guess that's how a Drag Week Veteran does it!!
Boone showed up, as Clarke and his buddy unloaded thier personal belongings, and stuffed the removed parts and tools back in the Camaro. James started loading up his stuff in the Vega, and we did likewise. Once they dropped off the car, I realized 3 of them wouldn't fit in the Vega.
"Clarke, you guys want to ride with us, we have plenty of room", I offered.
His buddy was ready to go, but riding to Tulsa in a Mopar was just too much for a proud Chevy man. "Naw, We have someone coming back for us, he's just a little bit up the road".
"Ok, no problem".
"Thanks for the help though, thanks for stopping, appreciate it"!
I felt a little less guilty for driving by the green Nova earlier.

We drove through Guthrie, without seeing any other competitors, and headed off towards checkpoint #3. We were just coming into Perkins, the town where the checkpoint was, and had past through the first 2 reduced speed signs, when a local police officer pulled off a side street in behind us. We tightened up the ranks, nose to tail, and continued on. I was busy watching my speed, and arguing with Darren about the directions, and I missed Boone and Dale diving into the first gas station we came to.
"You gonna go back", Darren asked.
"No, the checkpoint has to be just ahead".
"Naw, it's like 10 more miles", he didn't sound very convincing.
We drove another 2 miles, and saw it on the left. The Drive-in was closed, but there must've been 15 cars in the lot, at least 8 of them DragWeekers. We pulled in, took our pics, and started talking to everyone. It was my first chance to get a good look at the Blown red 240Z, with it's Datsun P/u bed trailer...very cool! After about 5 minutes I decided to leave Darren there, and go back a 1/2 mile to get fuel. I fueled up and came back, and still no Boone and Dale. The HotRod crew pulled in and Wes Allison walked up, "Can you go back to that station and let me get a few shots"?
"The one I just left"?
"Yeah, you were too fast for us"
"I was waiting for my brothers".
"We got them at the other station up the road, why didn't you stop there"?
"Yeah...I missed it, let's go".
We drove back up and he got a few shots. In my mind, I was thinking, he's tried twice today to get all 3 cars in a tight shot either on the road, or at a stop, and we've managed to screw it up by not being together both times!
Boone and Dale arrived at the checkpoint a few seconds after I did.
"Hey, the HotRod guys took pics of us at the station, and wanted to know where you were..."
"I know, I KNOW"!

By the time we rolled through Tulsa, past the host motels, past the track, and to Dale's house, I was feeling the effects of a long drive, and a long day. I walked into his spare bedroom, and was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.