Forward
The 2015 tale has been a tough one to write, and I'll apologize for that one more time. The thing is, the way Friday was handled really stuck in my craw, and I don't like being negative or critical of an event that I enjoy this much. I really don't enjoy being negative or critical of the people who put in long hours of preparation leading up to the event, and even longer hours during the event to make it all happen. I have tremendous respect for the Hot Rod crew, the Drag Week crew, and Lonnie Grimm the race director for the effort they put in to make this the highlight of our year!

Combining my disappointment with the end of the 2015 version, and the fact that the 2016 version was a 2000 mile tow, I considered sitting this year out. The problem was, Boone and I had both finished 3rd in our respective classes, so we were afforded an early entry, which is a privilege that is difficult to waste. I only signed up the one car, and informed Rachael I wasn't going to enter the Belvedere, and that I would be at the Bakersfield March Meet when regular registration took place, so she was on her own!

Now, why "the last Hurrah?" in the title? Maybe it's just me being overly dramatic, I'm not sure, but I do know that nothing lasts forever. My brothers and I attended our first "Mopar Only" race in 1992, and thought we would run those types of events from then on. We went to the "Monster Mopar Weekend" event at St. Louis every year from '96 to '02, then just didn't go in 03...we haven't been back since. I started running NHRA Super Street in '99, and chased the Divisional trail hard from '02 to '08... then just stopped, and haven't been back since. We weren't even born in the Gasser years, we were too young and too poor for the KOS era, but Hot Rod Drag Week came around at the perfect time for my family and I to jump in with both feet and have a blast! It has been especially rewarding to share it with my youngest daughter Rachael for the last five years, but my Father's Day present from her this year was the announcement that I was going to be a Grandfather for a second time, so maybe it's her last trip on Drag Week!

At the beginning of last year's story, I put a link to the past editions, and Boone tells me the views on those have doubled and in some cases tripled in the last year. That's very flattering, but I suspect everyone was just bored with waiting for the next installment! In any case, I hope you find these somewhat entertaining, even if just for the pictures.