I woke up with a start at 6:45 AM, and headed off for the shower. I was dressed when I heard John and Opal's Cummins powered Dodge coming around the side of the house. I went out to greet them, and they were apologetic for making noise when it appeared everybody was still sleeping.
"Don't worry about it", I shrugged, "they probably didn't hear anything, and they need to be up anyway."
Both of our cars were covered in dew, so we wiped them down, and packed a few things before we decided to go ahead and leave. Dad was the only person moving around, and he was busy trying to clean up the hopelessly trashed yard. "You want to ride out with me?" I questioned him.
"Naw, I'm going to stay here and help Darren, until he misses the deadline and realizes he's not going this year."
"Yeah, I understand."
We fired the two white Valiants up, and drove out of the driveway. Our first turn to the right headed us directly into the morning sun, and my windshield was fogging up quicker than I could wipe it off! I had to hang my head out of the side glass just to see anything in front of me. The next right turn took the sun away, and I was able to see well enough to proceed cautiously. Two miles later the engine heat was sufficient to finally clear off the glass, and I could see John's bumper in the distance.
We literally drove less than 200 ft. through the gate, and right into a full fledged mess. We had pulled up to the back of what appeared to be two lanes, with a sign which pointed to the left lane for class cars, and the right lane for Daily Driver and Unlimited, so I pulled up to the left and motioned John to pull along side me on the right. The sign also had an arrow pointing to the staging lanes for "Wait List" cars who would be let in afterwards, but when I looked at the lanes, I realized they were full of cars, and some of those folks were giving me the evil eye!
A few guys came up and explained that the actual line wrapped into staging and out onto the track, and suggested that we back up, and drive through one small opening to get to the back. I declined that invitation, pointed at the sign and held my ground. Many of the faces waiting in staging were the same guys who had pushed their way into the lanes ahead of us in 2011 when Tulsa had no lane directors, so I felt no remorse. Once the line moved past the gore point, and I felt confident we wouldn't have to fight anyone to remain in our spot, I set out towards the front of the line to get our registration sheet, that you fill out, and get signed off to get through tech. The difficulty in that task was running into old Drag Week friends every two cars, and exchanging pleasantries and a few stories with each.
Opal came towards me with two ladies in tow, and said, "Billy, this is Joyce and Linda, Steve Bowyer's sisters..."
Joyce grabbed me in an embrace and said, "Thank you so much for what your family did for ours!"
So, I went from playing the tough guy, to hanging out with old friends, to tears running down my face in the span of about 30 minutes.
I was reminded of the Jimmy V quote, "If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."
That's Drag Week boiled down to it's very essence, and I was thankful to be on the cusp of another one.
"We saw Dale yesterday", Joyce continued, "Where is Rachael, and the rest of them?"
"Hopefully they will be here soon", I shrugged, They'll probably be the last ones through the gate!"
"Okay, we are going to be here all day, so tell them to look for us!" Linda added.

Once I reigned in my wits, and emotions, I decided I had better check to see what was going on with everyone else. My first call was to Rachael, and I jumped her about where she was at.
"I'm still at Chad's...I got up and took a shower, and I'm ready to go, but I drank all these pansies under the table last night and they are still passed out!
"Good grief! Call your Aunt Kathy and see if she can give you a ride, you need to get the Belvedere out here!"

Next up, I called Dale and didn't get an answer. Then Darren.
"I'm out here working on the truck, James and Dad are helping me, but Dale isn't up yet", he complained.
I had this image of Dale's wife standing in front of the bedroom door with a shotgun in one hand, and his turned off cell phone in the other!

I feel like I was there!

Finally, I ran into a Tulsa Raceway Park tech guy, who had the proper registration sheets for us to fill out. Now, one of the reasons I started writing these tales back in 2011, was because many of the comments on this and other message boards made me feel like most racers and car guys didn't understand the feel, spirit, and sense of accomplishment that this event brings about, and simply look at the E.T. on the sheet as the only barometer of success. I'd like to think I've been able to convey the message somewhat, but there are still a few things that despite my best efforts haven't made it through.
#1 What class is my car legal for?
What class do you want to run. Read the rules, get close, enter that class on your pre-registration. A representative from the Hot Rod Drag Week staff is going to approach you in the lanes, and this is how it works:
HR Guy- "What class are you running?"
Me- "Modified NA"
HR Guy, looking under hood at clearly visible plate nitrous system, "NA, really?"
Me- "Yeah, no bottle in the car this year."
HR Guy, "Ok...modified is small tire right?"
Me- "Yeah".
The HR Guy looks at the tire and comments that he has seen that specific size pass the go-no go guage plenty of times, then he slaps my number and class designation on my window.

If that feels like it took all of 45 seconds, and was a simple exchange between one competitor and one official, you would be correct! See, no point in posting questions on three different websites, and sending out detailed pictures of every modification you've made all over social media! They've got 7 hours to do 310 cars, don't make it harder than it has to be!

#2 Can my street car pass tech.
I have posted a copy of the tech sheet we fill out to register for Drag Week. Most of you have filled out a tech sheet at a drag strip before, and you know how detailed they can be. I want you to look closely at the three sections, and pay attention to the part the track tech official is given to work with. Now, I want you to put yourself in the shoes of that official, and realize that he has 310 cars to do, and basically one multiple choice question to fill out. I'm not saying...I'm just saying!

Hot Rod Drag Week is much like running a Marathon. For a first timer, it can be a daunting task. The trick is to cut it up into portions that you can master, then put behind you and move on to the next obstacle. For Drag Week, there are a set of "hard deadlines" that must be met to stay in the game. I also compare it to multi-day bike races such as the Tour-De-France, where the popular saying is "You can't win the race on the first day, but you can certainly lose it!"

The first hard deadline for Drag Week is that you must be in the back of the tech line, on registration day, by 1pm. They began making an announcement fairly early Sunday, that because of the huge car count, they were extending the deadline to 2pm, and in a moment of complete stupidity, I called Boone, and relayed that information to him! You have to understand that Dale has raced for twenty years, always asking when tech closes, or when the staging lanes close for time runs, never once asking when the gates open, and now I just gave away a nice one hour cushion! Another little tidbit that might not be considered, passing tech on Sunday is not a hard deadline, let's say your headlights or horn don't work, or your rear wheel is falling off...they will finish registering you, but require the items to be checked off by the official Monday, buying you another 12-14 hours to finish up. Screwed up paperwork however, and you are screwed, make sure all the numbers on your registration, V.I.N., and insurance match!

The line was moving slowly, but I didn't mind, as I spent most of the time just catching up, and bench racing with Moparts, and Bangshift guys. Ross had his Road Runner, with an added whiff of N20; Clark, and his Dad were ready in the blue barracuda; James (BBR), had his BBF Mudstang ready for another trip; Hemi Joel was in an Olds Convertible; Charley had his Challenger in line along with his brother's yellow Cuda that I was checking out for the first time; Scott and Kim were back for another go in the 70 Road Runner. I don't mean to beat the Marathon comparison to death, but I've stood in a staging area with nine thousand others waiting for the starting gun to go off, and the giddy anticipation is just as palpable as it was on Sunday at Tulsa Raceway Park!

Love the engine pic of Jay Browns Mustang.The most EVIL sounding car I have ever heard.If it weren't for bad luck........

I'll add a pic for emphasis. Great tale telling as usual, Billy. Carry on.

Here's the oil trail the Shelby left, all the way down the return road.

Dang it Robert! Those are awesome pictures, I love it...but I wasn't quite ready for them within the context of my story! Anyway...the title of the thread is "THE experience", not MoparBilly's experience. So any of you guys who went, please, PLEASE feel free to add any anecdotes, examples, pictures, adventures, that you wish to share. That's why I prefer to write this story in a forum/thread format as opposed to a blog. I enjoy the feedback, and campfire feel of telling it like this.

Now, Jay's Mustang... When John cleared tech, he parked with Robert, on the return road, and I joined them when I got through. The Mustang was right across from us. I was explaining to John and his Dad, as they prepared to make their first time run, that I wasn't big on making runs on Sunday, and would probably not do it, even though the car had zero track time.
"Look guys, I'm a bit superstitious about it, I've seen too many cars out before the event even starts, especially guys who hammer their stuff hard on Sunday! Heck, they even have an award on the internet for the first guy to tear his stuff up!"
Just as I finished making that statement Jay's Mustang popped once or twice at the finish line. As it came back up the return road, I told the guys, "That's Jay Brown's Cammer Mustang, he's the 800 lb. Gorilla in my class, I'm sure he'll dominate it". When we saw the oil trail, John, who is the King of one liners, looked at me, smiled, and said, "Well, now you don't have to worry about the Gorilla, or being the first to break something, so get that Valiant ready to make a pass, and get your butt to the staging lanes!"

If you look closely at the pic of the oil trail up the return road, you will see the Olds convertible of our own Hemi Joel, and most of you know that he is a close friend of Jay Brown. So, when he followed the oil trail to Jay's car, he got a little excited and drove the Olds off the asphalt and onto the grass at a bad angle. I don't know if the asphalt or the full frame got the worst of it, but it was quite a spark show, and brakes weren't needed to slow it down!

That does it! I'm going next year as a spectator. I'll follow the trial in my rent a car darn it!

Wait. Has anyone done daily driver in a rental just to do it?

Doug, Rental cars are not allowed, although plenty make the trip, following along every day.

Most of you know, I'm a N20 enthusiast, so I tend to root for fast nitrous cars over similar pro-charged or Turbo cars. The fastest N20 car the past few years has been Todd Maschmeier, and Travis Gilpin in their Modified Power Adder 68 Camaro with this engine combination:

Man there is a lot of stuff going on under that hood.

This year they showed up with coil packs and EFI, but got the thing together at the last minute, and couldn't make it work, I'm not sure what the final straw was that prevented them from competing, but even though Monte tried to help, they withdrew from the 2014 edition of Drag Week without ever firing a shot after turning in the third quickest average last year, and taking home one of the guitars.

I understand some thrive on the thrill of the thrash. Hope I'm not wrong in my assumption. But seems to be the case with your family. All pulling together to make it happen as a family. I envy you that. My dad never went to one race with me or even inquired about it. I think what you do together as a family is great. That is why Fat Jack was like a brother I never had. Loved that man like he was my brother.

IIRC Todd told me only brought 2 spare pistons but due to the tune he should have brought 6.

Sorry for de-railing your story line.

I saw the Mustang's engine pic in your post and remembered I had those.

Anyway, I think these are relevant now.

Here he his, the Master wordsmith, making mental notes for his tale.

And since I didn't get my project 'Cuda finished in time, I drove my truck in DD. Not a contender by any means, but I learned a lot and had tons of fun anyway. Now back to Billy's story...

I was about 15 cars from getting through the tech line, when Rachael called to tell me she made it to Dale's, was ready to come out in the Belvedere, and did I need anything.
"Food! Just bring me food." In my haste to get out to the track, there was no breakfast. "What are those idiots doing there," I questioned her before she hung up.
"Dale and James are changing tires on the Gremlin, and everyone else is scrambling around the Dakota", she was gone. Kids these days, send you a two paragraph text, and talk on the phone for 10 seconds!

Rachael had pulled up into the tech line and parked, then brought me food as you can see in Robert's pics. When I had finished tech and parked with Robert, and John, Robert brought me a big drink from the concession stand, so I was armed, for a brief time, with two huge sodas. I say brief because apparently all that time I spent in line, telling stories, had left me with a powerful thirst!

Every time I would return to check on Rachael in the tech line, she would have several guys standing around listening to her stories about Drag Week and the car. The story telling gene in her blood is two generations old from her Dad's side, the reason guys hang around and talk to her...all that came from her Mom's side!

John went up, and made the first time run in his 67 Valiant, which as expected, resulted in an emotional outpouring from Steve's family when he returned. Opal explained to me later, "I told John this Drag Week was about honoring Steve's memory, and his family's healing process, then after that, he could do whatever he wanted to make the car his." Watching Joyce, Linda, and Ken interact with John Sr., John Jr. and Opal, made me realize how fortunate Steve's family was that this little white Mopar brought them all together in this journey.
John and his dad didn't seem to be too happy with the mid 11 second time slip, and pulled a plug for a look, then immediately jumped the jets up front and rear.

It was 1:30 and I was beyond nervous at that point. I started blowing up my brothers' phones, finally reaching Boone. "We are on our way," he assured me, "We are pushing the Dakota on the trailer right now."
Fifteen minutes later, the Barnyard Viper Idled into the back of the tech line. "Where are YOUR brothers!" I jumped him as he shut the 508 off.
"They left ahead of me", he shook his head, "Maybe they went to the parts store first."
In typical Gebhart fashion Dale came through the gate at 1:56, with Darren following him in the 1 ton with the Dakota on the trailer...the exact same way he had entered the 2012 Tulsa tech line with the Charger! No sooner than they started exiting the truck and grabbing tools out of the bed, The Tech official walked up and wrote "LAST" on the back glass of the Dakota, and the 2014 Hot Rod Drag Week Tech Line was closed. There looked to be about 10 or 15 hardy souls waiting in the Wait List/ Walk Up lanes to see if they would be excepted after the final pre-registered car cleared tech.

As I walked back up through the lanes, someone (I should remember who, but I'm drawing a blank right now) told me in no uncertain terms, "You know that thing has to fire up on it's own in Tech, right?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, they call it the Gebhart rule!" He chuckled, and walked away, so I turned a 180, and told Dale about it has he stood in the driver's door of the Dakota with a fist full of wiring.
"Oh, it'll run when we get up there, count on it!" I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me, or himself.

Scott Abbott (Scott58, Moparts) came over and offered his assistance. He helped Dale figure out the pesky Ford starter solenoid they had put on to wire through, it was a model Dale wasn't familiar with, and he ran down the ignition wires in the stock harness that was strewn about the cab, so that was a big help. James was busy under the hood, throwing rubber hoses on the aluminum supply and return fuel lines, to connect to the Moroso regulator, so they could get fuel to the new E-85 carbs for the first time. As I glanced in, I noticed there still were no pedals in the truck, so brakes, and throttle weren't going to be in play today!

Once Rachael cleared tech, she wasted no time getting on the track, although without N20. First pass was a disappointing 13.43-101, I was expecting more from the 3.55 gear swap, but she hadn't raced the car in a year, so we could work from there. Next run was a 13.095, which is the quickest ET for the car on motor since I've had it, but the MPH was only 100.14, and from my vantage point at the finish line I heard it pop once or twice at about 1100ft.
"What the heck happened up there", I questioned her as I looked over the time slip, "I heard a pop, and there should be more speed."
"Uhh...well, I may have waited too long to shift to drive, it happens quicker now than before."
"That is does, you need to work on that."
John had picked up two tenths with the jet change, and was feeling pretty good about where the car was at with the air. John, his Dad, and Rachael, then set out on their "Get Billy to Make a Pass" campaign, badgering me mercilessly.
"Just go up there and cruise down," John Sr. instructed, "short shift it, take it easy...it's no big deal, then we will know that everything at least works right!"
Finally, I dropped the tire pressure a few pounds, grabbed my helmet, jacket, and headed up through the lanes. When I rounded the corner, and pulled into the water box, John pulled alongside me in the opposing lane, "I knew it! that dirty dog" I shouted in my helmet, as we started our burnouts. The 62 popped the front-end a little, then lazed it's way down the track as John and the 67 sped away, I shifted at about 6K, but it didn't feel nearly as strong as it did previously on the street. John ran 7.055-96.46, and 11.175-118.09 to my 7.899-85.9, and 12.532-105.40.

Back at our pits, Steve's sister Linda, asked, "Did you guys enjoy that friendly competition?"
"I didn't", I boomed out, "He kicked my Tail!"
"No he didn't" John Sr. shook his head, "you were just cruising down there, I heard it when you went by!"
"That's all I had!"
"You're going to have to work on that poker face, Billy", John laughed, "That's just all you wanted to give it!"

Gebhart rule! lol love it.