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!
