Every year at holiday time I enjoy telling the story of when my wife and I went to the 5-day bracket races at Moroso in Jupiter, FL in 1985. My wife was only 19 at the time and had never gone camping or been away from home before.

My good friend Jack Balcom had won $10K in '84 down there, footbraking a 10.90 door car. This was unheard of at the time, so the result was that there were 11 teams from the Cincinnati area that made the trip in '85, it seemed like easy pickings down there. The final race in Super Pro in late October at Edgewater was won by Jack, I was runner-up, so we were confident.

I had a 2nd shift job, drove my '78 Dodge Tradesman Van and open trailer with race car and all my junk to work on Thursday. Back then, the races started on Friday and concluded on Tuesday. My wife met me at work at 11:00 pm and we planned to drive all night to make the first race Friday. I got to somewhere south of Orlando and had to pull in to a rest area to take a nap. After a short rest, I hear someone banging on my side door, I open up and it’s some old guy that says he needs a jump. I crawl out and jump the old [Edited by Moparts - Family Friendly Site - Keep it clean] from the race car battery, then look around and realize that it is like 3:00 in the afternoon! We had slept for 5 or 6 hours.

I had never been to South FL before, so I figger we are pretty close to the track. Wrong, the personal computer had not been invented yet, so Mapquest was not even an idea yet. You go down the Beeline Highway over swamps and lakes for about another day before you get to Moroso. Needless to say, we miss the first day of racing. My wife is tired but quite thrilled when we check in to the PGA Holiday Inn.

Saturday we pull into the track, all races are run at night. Coolest thing about this track is that it is 80 degrees all day, sun goes down and it goes down to 75 degrees…and it stays there until the sun comes up again! Put a dial on your windshield and forgetaboutit. I see my buddy Victor Rich loading up his car, blowed up last night. He pulls out and gives me his pit space. One cool thing I’ll never forget was that the Space Shuttle lifted off on a night mission from 75 miles South of us, it lit up the sky like a jet car.

The next three days and nights are the same, go to beach in the morning, go to track, lose first round, drink beer and have fun until late. The final day I get on a roll and win a few rounds. We are looking around and there are 11 or 12 cars left, 3 of them from Cincy. Of course, I have to run good friend Dave Loudon, I win and we are in the quarters. Next round, I lose with a .509 and run right-on at 11.66. I still have the ticket stuck to my toolbox. No clue as to what my opponent ran. My friend Earl Lee wins the race. I ran 9 rounds of eliminations down there and ran 11.66 dead on 6 times, $500 in entry fees and finally won $250 (buy-backs had not been invented yet either).

Now we are armed with cash and there is another race at Bradenton that some of the guys are going to. Somehow we find our way there with a gas station map and go to war once again. I win first round and go back to the lanes, David Rampy is two cars ahead of me with his “High Times” Opel GT. My wife has been a trooper all through this, but she is starting to think I am not right when all I can think of is racing Rampy. I lose, and am distraught at missing the chance to race one of the top bracket racers in the country.

We load up and hit the North road, get to Ocala and decide to see the Garlits museum. Gar is not there, but we talk to his wife and see all the cars. Days Inn hotel right off the highway, I think it was $16 for a room. Heading home the next day, now it is Thanksgiving day. Oh, yes did I say my wife was a kid and had never gone anywhere before, the cell phone had not been invented yet and she had not talked to her family for a week. We see a sign in GA at a Dennys that says “Turkey and Dressing Dinner $2.99”.

We go in and there is no-one there but a few truck drivers, order the turkey and they say it is sold out. I order a burger and my wife orders a French dip. All is well until the food is presented and the waitress says “Happy Thanksgiving”. That’s when my wife lost it and started crying, she finally realized that she was stuck with a racing fool husband.