We concentrated our effort on preparing the Gremlin, figuring we couldn't help the other three until they arrived, and if Dale already had his pass done, we could all gang up on the stragglers.
"Trans is really soft, hopefully it'll be fine if it cools off enough sitting here", Dale surmised.
"Gonna take it easy, just to keep it going?"
Dale smiled and laughed, "NOT A CHANCE!"

Pops called me and asked where we were in the pits, a few minutes later The Belvedere rolled up in the general area of Dale's Gremlin, and the thrash to put on a new cable began in earnest.

About five minutes after Rachael arrived, Larry Larson rolled in with the S-10, and the place went nuts. Larry was thrashing to get the truck in race mode, Lutz was putting the head back on his, and what Lohnes later called "The craziest half hour in ten years of Drag Week" was about to commence, and we were right smack dab in the middle of it...not that anyone actually noticed...but it was real enough to us!

The Belvedere, in addition to needing the trans cable changed, seemed to be leaking water from several different hose clamps, and locations.
"What's the deal with the water leaks, Rachael?"
"Well, we overheated it pretty bad, back when we were with Boone and Darren. They pulled over to add fuel, and charge the battery on the Dakota, and I stopped behind them, but left the Belvedere running, because it was stuck in Drive. Then after a while, steam started coming out of the hood!"
"Great, then what happened..."
"Boone had me shut it off, then he added water, then he told us to go on without them...that was about fifty miles ago!"
"And she drove it like she stole it all the rest of the way here!" Dad added, as he shook his head.

I finally talked to Boone, and he told me they were really close, but Darren's Dakota was overheated to the point of trying to die at every stoplight by OU. I told him to park as close to the lanes as he could, so they could get in at the deadline.
Dale and I had the new cable in place, but we were struggling to get it routed away from the headers, and Rachael was yelling at him that she didn't want to burn up another one.
"Do you want to worry about the darn cable, or get a pass in before they close down?" He snapped at her, then frustrated, removed himself from under the car, "I've got to go run the Gremlin, so I can concentrate on all this other stuff!"
With that, he jumped into the Gremlin, fired it up, tested the nitrous, and was off towards the lanes, while we continued on the Belvedere.

Dale staged at 1:46pm, with Larry Armstrong's yellow 39 Ford Coupe beside him. He left with the wheels up, in a cloud of black smoke as the nitrous did it's best liquid drano impression and flushed all the carbon that had collected during the drive, right out of the engine and exhaust! 9.30-141 lit up on the scoreboard, and the coupe's engine expired as he cleared the traps some two and a half seconds later.

He parked the Gremlin, and jumped out, then looked around, as if to gain his bearings, "Why is it so quiet?
"Your partner in the other lane broke, and is still on the track." I informed him.
"Well crap, that's not good!"
"Might be good, if it's a long clean-up, maybe they will extend the cutoff time", I speculated.

While the track was quiet, the pits were anything but. Boone and Darren found a spot near the head of the lanes, and started the process of preparing to run down the track. As soon as Darren shut off the 499, the radiator started hemoraging water all over their pit area. Boone stepped out of the Barnyard, and immediately got an offer of help from someone he'd never even met before. He handed him the tire guage, and put him to work. Jeff Lutz and crew were finishing up a major head repair in the hopes of improving on the 7.70 pass from earlier in the day, and Larry Larson was in an epic struggle to get his S-10 down the track, and had captured the attention of the entire pit area.

Awesome job again Billy!!!!!!
Keep up the great work so I can keep following along.

drag345

The track clean-up, and removal of the coupe took a grand total of eighteen minutes. At 2:04 pm, 9 more cars made their runs down the track, of that group five of them either made the only, or their best run of the day, the passes they would turn in for their official run, so clearly we were down to "Make it or break it" time.

Dale had taken a fuel jug to get fuel for Boone, and didn't return, so I figured he was up there helping with both trucks. I finished up the Belvedere, dropped it off the jack stands, and told James to go up there with her to get in the lanes. I walked over to the fence to watch the show. I'd done my part, now they had to do the rest.

The nine cars finished their runs at 2:09pm, and the next car to push up to the head of the lanes was Jeff Lutz in the Evil Twin, that seemed to send shock waves through the entire place. John Gatliff, who had been hot-lapping his Mustang into oblivion, pulled alongside, but the lane director cut him off. Boone in the Barnyard Viper was the next vehicle to pull up. I watched him get out of the truck, walk around, then ask John what was going on. It was as if everyone had stopped what they were doing, and were just watching the staging lanes to see who would jump in before the 2:15 deadline.

Darren joined Boone in the lanes, followed closely by Rachael. Nick Plewniak in the Stretchy Truck S-10 rolled in at about 2:12. Walt Reynolds brought up his Daily Driver class Silverado truck next, followed by his wife Daphne in her Chevy wagon and finally, with about 30 seconds to spare Larry Larson in his S-10.

Brian Lohnes, and David Freiburger had been working the microphones during this entire six minute span, and suddenly as the deadline passed, looked around as if released from a mesmerizing spell and asked, "Why aren't we running anyone down the track?"

Gatliff made his twentieth or so pass, then the collective held it's breath as Lutz did his burnout. Better the 7.70, or another opportunity at a Drag Week overall win would slip through his fingers. The 57 left soft, then he corrected it once as the power came on. The crowd roared approval as 6.94-213 lit up on the board, his last ditch effort was two tenths off his pace, but it kept him in the hunt. Walt and Nick ran next, and the Stretchy Truck ran a soft 9.36 at 153, three tenths off what he had shown so far, but happy to be moving on.

No games were played this year. LOL.NOT!

Dale turned on the nitrous bottle, walked up to the Belvedere's open passenger's side door, and told Rachael to test it. She hit the button several times, and nothing happened. In their haste to change the cable, they had disconnected the ground side of the button. Dale grabbed it quickly, tore off the eyelet, and wrapped the bare wire around one of the bolts holding the shifter to the floor. The engine responded with a healthy roar the next time she tried it, he slammed the door, and motioned her towards the water.

I was standing on the fence with John when she started her burn out. "She's on the quick 32 bump right now...think she can improve?"
"Nope", I shook my head, "It's taken her three passes each day to get it right, so I'm not expecting a good run right off the bat".

She was a hundred feet out before the car responded to the juice, and I winced, "That's not going to do it". 12.75-110.6, was enough to sink any chances of bracket racing on Friday.

I gave her the bad news when she came back to the pits, but she took it all in stride, with a smile. "Dad...I love the drives, and I love making passes on the nitrous, I could care less about the quick 32!"
Well...ok then, I shouldn't try to shove my competitiveness off on her, as long as she is having fun...who am I to decide what's important to accomplish?

The next pair up was Boone and Darren. Darren had changed the oil on the Dakota, filled it with water, dumped water over everything, but it was just so heat soaked, that it still seemed to be running hot. When they completed their burn outs, and the Dakota lurched forward, both the starter, and the water box guy ran out beside the truck and did the dreaded kneel down to look under it.
Dale reacted just as quickly and addressed the starter immediately.

Now...you guys know I'm going to tell you what happened, how it happened, but I feel it may be necessary to put this in it's proper context. This is one Okie, making a point to another Okie, as urgently as possible. You've all seen Street Outlaws right? You've seen how those 405 guys talk to each other, and you thought it was just TV drama? You know those Roy D. Mercer "How big an ole' boy are ya" prank calls originated in Tulsa right? OK...so this is how it played out...

Dale walked out to the starter, pointed at the Dakota, and said, "This truck is going to make this pass!"
"I can't let him run, it's dumping water out!"
"Then we are going to blows", Dale paused for effect, "'cause I'm punching you square in the mouth if you back him off!"
The starter looked him in the eye, sized him up, as if to decide if this guy was bluffing, or had just pushed all his chips in the middle. "If he knocks the wall down, it's on YOUR head!"
"I'm good with that!" Dale spun around and removed himself from the situation as his brothers turned on the stage bulbs. The race was neither truck's best effort, but they got numbers, and Boone had bragging rights. Now it was time to move on to the next challenge.

They were picking up their time slips and returning to the pits, but every eye was on the last truck in the lanes, and a good burn out brought everyone to their feet, but a rolled sprag in the Gear Vendors unit was Larson's undoing, and he was saddled with a 20 second time effectively ending his chances to place in Drag Week 2014.

Small error.Daphne is Chads wife.Walt is her father in law.Carry on. BTW I was wondering what Dale said to the starter.Now I know.

BTW Happy number FIFTY Billy.

Thanks Don.

Dale called this morning and was discussing his projects for about thirty minutes, finally he asked what I was doing this weekend.
"Sitting around the house in my rocking chair, read the newspaper, maybe have a bowl of oatmeal", I responded.
"You sound like Dad!"
"Why shouldn't I. Think about it!"
"Ha...it's your birthday today! You're fifty, ha...dang what's it feel like to be that OLD!"
Every once in a while, he enjoys being the baby brother!

I can relate.LOL.

Billy
Every time you write, you paint the experience so well, I feel like I was there. Thanks for taking your time to share the experience for those of us that will never get to make it.
thanks
Jerry

Oh to be 50 again, what I wouldn't do...

I hope you have a good one Billy! Keep up the good work on the story telling.

Ahh yes. The first half of your sixth decade....

Happy Birthday Keep the installments coming.

You really should write a book. From Derelict to Dragweek in a Week and a Half.

Kevin