Keith Turk was the first part of the tech gauntlet, he was in charge of class designation. He hasn't been as involved with Drag Week as much the last few years, and frankly, it's suffered without it's Napoleon. He's not always right, but he's official.
"What class you runnin', Sugar Britches?" He asked me with his usual toothy grin and a hand shake. Despite his upbeat demeanor, he was looking pretty haggard, and worn down...it had been a long day for all of us.
"Going for Pro Street Normally Aspirated", I tried to project an amount of certainty.
"You should've brought more car if you want to tangle with them boys", he observed, looking down the side of the Valiant, with his head slightly cocked to one side.
"I brought all I had, Keith!"
"Good enough for me! Pull up to this next spot, and those two will check your lights and horn, then Tonya will need your registration."
First rung on the ladder, done. Pulled the light switch, blinker handle up, then down, step on the brake, hit the horn button again, rung number two completed.
The headlight checker stuck his head in the window, "Pull up under the pavilion, and the NHRA tech guy will be with you in a minute...we're kinda in a delay because he's certing the chassis for one of the Aussies!"