I parked in the pits, then walked back to the lanes to inform Lonnie Grimm and Kieth Turk that I had ran faster than 10.0 and was eliminated. On my way back to the Valiant, I stopped and talked with Lisa and her crew to let them know that they were still in the race, then I hung out in Harrison's pit to watch them try to glue enough of the passenger door back on the '34 coupe to make another run.

I was about to head back to camp Gebhart when I saw Lisa pull back in her pit with the V-6 Buick, so I walked over to have a chat.
"Lonnie said they weren't re-instating the cars that lost in round two, so both of us were out!" She didn't seem upset in the least, which caught me off guard a little.
"That's crazy...they're just changing it up round to round?"
"No big deal really", she smiled, "We've been slowing down all day, and I borrowed this engine from my brother, so I'd rather not tear it up!"

Robert and Aaron were hanging out around the Valiant when I finally returned to our pits, and I relayed the story about the trans-brake failure to them as Dale swapped a fresh bottle into the Gremlin.
"Let me see the time slip", Aaron asked with his hand outstretched. He pulled out his phone, and took a picture of it as soon as I handed it over.
He gave it back and smiled, "I can't believe it ran in the nines...and made it look effortless."
"Oh, there's plenty left in it..." I began to explain.
"Spoken like every drag racer in the world", Robert interjected with a hearty laugh.

I pulled a cold drink from the cooler, and handed the slip to Boone.
"Why did you take so much stripe? You had her covered."
"Well, I'm pretty sure that V-6 ran nines earlier in the week, and she has her brother and Pranis wrenching on it so I wasn't taking them lightly!"
"Pranis", he cocked his head to the side, "Where do I know that name from?"
"James Pranis, 572Charger from Moparts, that brutal black Hemi 68 Charger that ran at the Pump Gas Drags a few years ago!"
"Yeah, OK, but why would he be helping her out?"
"He's her boyfriend..."
"What the heck!" Boone sat up, "I was hoping that title was available! So they are a couple AND he's got that awesome Charger...he's two for two. He must've signed a deal with the devil."
"I'm two for two...it's not that unheard of, I've been married to Holly for thirty years and I have the Valiant..."
"HAH! Now you've just proved my point", he laughed.
"What do you mean? Holly is your favorite sister-in-law!"
"True", he shook his head, "But the Valiant is no 68 Hemi Charger...not even close!"
"She's sitting right there within ear shot, Boone!"
"Yeah, dripping trans fluid on the asphalt. She knows her place in the pecking order of desirable Mopars, and a nine second time slip doesn't move her that much closer to the top!"
"So...you were checking Lisa out this week?" I changed the subject.
"She reminds me of Seger's 'Night Moves'..." he smiled.
"Humming a song from 1962", that reminds me more of the Valiant than a T-type Regal", I shot back.
"She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes, and points of her own, sitting way up high", He laughed.
"Way up, firm and high, I quoted the next line and laughed, "Ok, that's a valid comparison, but if she's been on the back roads with James in that Hemi Charger, you've got nothing to offer her!"