Roughly 40 minutes after Ray started the festivities, Paul Cornman's Green 71 Demon pulled to the line. He was the defending Champion in Street Race Small Block Naturally Aspirated, but the class was loaded in 2015 with 27 other competitors shooting for him. He won the class in 2014 with a 10.02-134 five day average, so when he opened the 2015 attempt with a stout 9.79-139 I felt confident that he was capable of repeating his win.

Boone and I both decided to jet up before our first runs, Dale was waiting for a fresh nitrous bottle, Darren was swapping tires, and both Rachael and John were in Street Machine Eliminator, so they had to wait for the second session. So, even on opening day, even though everyone was at the driver's meeting before cars went to the lanes, we were going to be late to the party!