In my best Yogi Bear voice: Hey Booboo, do you think Mr. Ranger would mind if we borrow this giant pic-i-nic basket?

Tommy like!

We ran into David Meyers twin turbo Hemi Belvedere at the old gas station, a kodak moment for sure!

We've been to Lucas Oil Dragway in Indianapolis four times on Drag Week, and we also attended the Mopar Nationals there in '94 and '95, so we are far from locals, but you begin to get the lay of the land somewhat. The one thing we know for sure is that US-136/Crawfordsville Rd., the little two lane that runs past the entrance to the track, turns into a nightmare in evening rush hour traffic.
Armed with that knowledge, when I led our group left turn out of the track, I jumped the Valiant out into street with no concern to whether anyone would be able to follow me. I also knew I wouldn't be stopping at either of the two close gas stations on US-136, because it's nearly impossible to get out of them, once you're at the pumps. We made a right turn onto Northfield Dr., which took us into a warehouse area that features the shops of Schumacher Racing and others, but more importantly, got us away from the main flow of the locals.
We had only covered about three miles when I spotted a Casey's station with an O'Reilly's parts store across the street, always a consideration when looking for a good pit stop, so I pulled up to a pump, and texted Boone and Rachael to let them know. I was done fueling the Valiant when they pulled in, so I parked away from the pumps to make room for them.
As he had suspected, the radiator was leaking water when Dale pulled the Gremlin up, and shut it off.
"I'm going to run over to O'Reilly's, and grab several different kinds of radiator sealant, you need anything?" Boone asked me, as Rachael was pouring ice in my cooler.
"No...I'm thinking about going ahead, maybe scouting things out. I'm afraid the Valiant is going to overheat again, and I'd rather be pulled over, cooling it off than sitting here waiting for you guys to get the Gremlin fixed."
"This is definitely the hottest evening we've had on this trip", Boone agreed with a nod, "probably not a bad idea".
"You can also find us a nice place to eat", Rachael added.
"Bingo", Boone smiled, gave me thumbs up, and sprinted across the street.
"Where is Darren and Shari?" I asked Rachael, as I loaded my cooler back into the passenger's seat.
"They were staying at the track to help a guy with his alternator, I think Darren is taking it someplace to get it rebuilt?"
"See ya around, kid", I smiled and fired up the Valiant. I looked at my receipt, 6:16pm, another long night ahead!

SO comes to DW.Part 2.http://www.dragzine.com/news/james-goad-prepares-a-monte-smith-tribute-car-for-drag-week-2017/

We were instructed to take a right off Northfield Dr. onto IN-267 North. Essentially by running us north on 267 until we headed east on IN-32, they were taking us on a large loop over the top of Indianapolis proper, an even larger loop than I-465 which circles Indy already. Considering it was rush hour, they were doing us a big favor, and the lush green Indiana countryside was welcome scenery as well.

It was still very warm out though, and by the time I worked through the traffic trying to turn onto I-74, the 428 was pushing 220 degrees. My eyes would wander between the half-million dollar homes strategically placed on an acre and a half of prime Indiana farmland, and the temp gauge slowly creeping down to 210 for the next five miles or so. I rolled into thick traffic again at the overpass of I-65, which features a Loves Truck Stop nearby, and that bit of work pushed the temp back to 225. I cleared the bridge and eased around a left hand bend and glanced over to see three Drag Week cars on the left shoulder. It was the CBK team featuring James Karger's Fox coupe, Jason Doisher's Mercury (fox) wagon, and John Dodson's light blue 80 Malibu; three mid-eight second, small tire, LS turbo cars. The grove of mature trees on that side of the road was providing ample shade, and the guys had pulled off the road onto a freshly manicured grass bank. They weren't working on the cars, instead they had blankets lying on the grass bank, and appeared to be taking a nap in the cool shade. The scene was so idyllic, I wanted to turn around and join them but I doubted they would be keen on sharing a blanket with a fat Mopar guy!

Once I made the right turn onto IN-32, and started to head east, the sun was at my back, and the traffic was minimal, so the temp gauge settled back down to 210. The farmhouses in this area had asphalt driveways, pools, and multiple barns, shops, and outbuildings; definitely the high rent district!

Several miles later, I crested a hill, started into a low valley, and noticed triangles set out two or three feet into my lane. As I slowed and approached, I realized it was the Danes. The Green and Gold 34 coupe was broke down just past a narrow bridge, and they were unable to get completely off the road. They had Cristian Damgaard's massive 71 Impala behind it with his trailer, and the reflectors out, but it was still a very precarious position to be in, especially with the sun descending rapidly. As I passed, they gave me a thumbs up, and appeared to be working on the front tire, or brakes, or perhaps spindle, but I wasn't sure, I just hoped they could get out of there safely and quickly.

Once I crossed over US-31, and entered Westfield IN, my search for a suitable restaurant began in earnest. I passed by quite a few of the typical chains, but I was hoping for something a little more unique. I didn't see anything promising, so I continued on into Noblesville. Noblesville is the county seat of Hamilton County, and has nearly doubled in size over the last twenty years, obviously buoyed by Indy professionals looking to trade their urban digs in for a more upscale, country lifestyle. The options for eateries along this stretch of IN-32 expanded considerably, so I pulled into a Walgreens to ask a few locals. After the third glowing review for the Michaelangelos Italian Bistro across the street, I decided to walk over and check it out.
The host was a late twenties gal, friendly, and competent. I explained that I had a party of eight or nine, about fifteen minutes out, and she took me to a well lit room with hardwood flooring, nice furnishings, and a decent size TV with the preview for the Thursday night College Football game between Houston and Cincinnati already on. The waiter came in, also late twenties, friendly and competent. I helped him re-arrange the tables to suit us, and he asked if I wanted water for each guest. I knew the guys would kill the first glass before they were even seated, after such a long hot day, so this was a plus! After he had all the water, silverware, and placings set up, he asked if he should bring out salads ahead of their arrival. I agreed, so when the crew finally walked in, they were greeted with ice water already available, three large salad bowls with tongs in them paced strategically along the long table, and kick-off of an interesting game about to start. I leaned back in my chair, and extended my arms out, "Have a seat guys!" The looks on their faces told me I had nailed it this time!

Wow, a good place to eat on Drag Week? When I ask Joel if we are stopping to eat, I get "Nope, we don't have the time for that, eat the monkey chow I packed for you."

Monkey chow,,thats funny!, I'm envisioning Doritos, cupcakes, Mountain Dew etc.

That would be a step up... No name brand food, as that costs too much.

Duesenberg owners are funny.

That's how you get to own one.

I know! gotta save every penny

Not sure my stomach can handle anymore of that. Besides it tastes horrible.

You guys are a riot! I met the trunk monkey, but didn't meet his keeper @ Martin MI.
You put a big smile on my face before going out to work in yard/garden.
Thanks, Don

I don't know if you mean that's a characteristic of Mopars or not?!
I have seen that before now that you mention it. One time I put ARP flex plate to crank bolts that were too long, it clearanced it alright!
Jacked out all the thrust clearance on my first RBRE 451.
Boy did I feel stupid during the autopsy @ RBRE.
If it would've been something they did wrong Ray said they would fix it. NOT their mistake!!!
Life is full of lessons, some are more costly than others.

Don

Man I am jonesing for more of this EXCELLENT ADVENTURE! Way better than "Bill and Teds excellent adventure" LOL.

Anyway Billy and his band of brothers must be busy getting ready for DW 2017, no?

Don

Naw... Hell week starts one week prior to Drag Week. That gives them plenty of time to build 3 cars. LOL.

It took about fifteen minutes for everyone to get situated, wash up, and get orders made for food. Then we were able to decompress, and talk about everything that had happened, and what we had ahead of us.
"You've got A-Gas pretty much locked up, Jim?" Rachael asked, glancing up from her phone, where she already had the results of the day pulled up.
"Not really", Jim smiled, "Alexander in that black 41 Willy's actually ran quicker than us in Martin on Wednesday, so that's why we pulled the weight out today!"
"Even with a little cushion, anything can happen on Drag Week", his co-driver Dan interjected. Usually Dan is a man a few words, so a nice sit down meal gave us a chance to get to know him on this trip.

Dale seemed to be returning from his inward self-exile, so I looked over at him and softly asked, "How bad is it?"
He shrugged, shook his head, and finished a bite of salad before acknowledging the question. "Pretty bad, actually. It's pushing oil out of the valve covers, it's burning oil...at least one piston is just creating blow-by and a couple others are hurt!"
"Should we park it somewhere and come back for it?"
"If it was day two, yeah, it would be done", he shrugged again and took another bite. "At this point though, every mile we drive is one more closer to the truck and trailer...as well as finishing, so I'll drive it until it comes apart, or we run out of oil to dump in it!"
"Is it driving alright though", I asked, "I mean in the front end."
"Yeah, it's fine once we got the radiator sealed up, but I had to pull over once and yell at all these guys!"
"What for?"
"They stuck me out front when we left that first station, so I was trying to figure out the engine, determine if it was holding water, and trying to read the route sheet all at the same time. Finally I just pulled over on the shoulder to let them by, but they all stopped behind me. I lost it, so I jumped out of the car and starting screaming at them to drive around and take the lead!"
"Great!...well, better your brothers than half the bracket racers in division three, besides, they do have co-drivers..."
"Exactly what I told them", he cut me off, then motioned towards the waiter for another glass of water.

We were there for a solid hour and change, but it was substantially cooler when we prepared to leave, and everyone was certainly in a better mood, so I felt like it was time well invested.

Bah!!!!!

That'll buff out